Intuition

After guiding a stumbling group of females to the hotel a few blocks away, Eve thanked the warriors that were guarding them. The suite was large enough to accommodate everyone but Ellie was too drunk to make it to bed. She passed out on the sofa immediately.

Lana and Chelsea opened a bottle of champagne but fell asleep in their room before they could drink it. Faye stumbled to the overstuffed armchair and threw the legs over the side. She too passed out before even removing her shoes.

Eve chuckled at them and covered them all with the blankets from the mostly unoccupied beds. She closed herself in Ellie's empty room and sat on the now bare mattress. She dialed Flint's number on her phone but he never answered.

She hung up without leaving a voicemail and stared at her screen. Just as she went to stand, her phone started ringing. It was Flint; he was calling her over video.

"I thought you were asleep." Eve greeted him.

She examined his image on her screen. He was sitting at the desk in the office at HQ. Stubble covered his square jaw and his emerald eyes looked tired. His dark hair had been pushed back from his face. Eve knew he ran his hand through his hair when he was frustrated or anxious.

When he heard her voice, his expression softened. His eyes warmed and a small relieved smile graced his lips. Eve smiled back. She recognized that this warmth was only for her. The soft part of Flint's heart was a place that only she could access.

"Asleep before you check in? Not a chance." He scoffed.

"I should have known." Eve nodded. "So why are you at headquarters at two forty five in the morning?"

"I have a lot to do before the summit meeting Daniel demanded. Blair offered to stay but she was dead on her feet." Flint rubbed his eyes.

"You've been annoyed, frustrated, and anxious." She looked at him with curiosity.

"Have I?" He chuckled.

"What's going on, baby?" Eve refused to let him misdirect the conversation.

"First, tell me how your night was." Flint sighed.

His mate could feel that he didn't want to discuss the things on his mind. Partly because he was frustrated by the situation and partly because he was tired of rehashing it. Eve took a breath and decided to give him a reprieve, for just a moment.

"It was good. Ellie loved her presents and the ice bar. She spent some time watching the humans in the main part. The warriors and I had to basically pour them into the suite." She tried to ignore the blaring feeling that she was lying to him.

"Say what you want now but you're a lightweight, yourself." Flint teased her.

"I am not." Eve protested with a smile.

"Sure. You're also a bad liar." His expression remained coy but his words caught her off guard.

"What?" She asked.

"Something is wrong and you're hiding it." Flint explained.

"Nothing really happened. I'm just..." Eve felt cornered under his intense gaze. "I got kind of dizzy at the bar."

She said the first thing she could think of.

"Are you okay?" He became suddenly serious.

"I'm fine. I just want answers, you know?" Eve told the truth in a vague way.

"I know, baby. I'll figure this out." Flint stated.

"We, Flint. We'll figure this out." She added.

"No doubt." He nodded.

"It was good though. Unfortunately, tequila makes Faye chatty and I now know way too much about her and Jay's... Personal life." Eve crinkled her nose.

Flint laughed at her and relaxed back into his seat.

"So, how was your night?" She drew attention back to her original questions.

"The first of the beta rounds started today. Johnny is among the top two for his rank. He'll go on for more tomorrow." He answered.

"What are his chances in the later rounds?" Eve probed.

"Johnny is strong and fast but he's young. Inexperienced." Flint thought aloud. "He'll probably make it to the third set but after that, who knows."

"The lists are in, right? Who are you watching?" She asked curiously.

"I don't know yet. Duncan and Graham are both strong and battle tested." He shrugged.

"Duncan would be a good fit. Graham... That name is familiar." Eve pondered.

"Elder Clarke is his father." Flint filled in the blanks.

"Ah... Lovely." She rolled her eyes.

"Graham is much more personable but just as traditional." He smirked at her reaction.

"And what about the rest of your day?" Eve asked.

"I rehashed the communications between the Alphas and us after the treaty signing. Only GraySky backed us. SilverCrest remained neutral, like in all rogue issues. NorthWood was firmly against it. They wanted more and I can't even argue against it." Flint pushed his hair back, running his fingers through it.

"What more did they want? What are you talking about?" She was confused.

"I-" He exhaled sharply. "I let Bastian distract me. After HillCreek moved, I should have gone into the valley to deal with the rest of the rogues."

"The treaty forbade it. How could you have even done that?" Eve shook her head.

"I would have organized them all and found the remaining enemies to the mountain packs. Not to mention that we would have known about Star Dust Hope long before now." Flint pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Oh, honey..." She breathed.

"I didn't even talk to the other Alphas before the signing. The rogues against NorthWood were reinvigorated by the treaty signing and they started attacking again. Daniel felt blindsided and if I were him... So would I." He sighed deeply. "Bastian wanted to distract me and I let him do just that. I moved too quickly on the treaty."

"The whole thing was my idea. I didn't think about the other packs' enemies. I made you do it." Eve felt guilty.

"You did not. No one 'makes me' do anything. I chose to support the treaty and I will continue to. We solved a problem that plagued our pack for decades. The aftermath wasn't handled as well as it could have been, I admit that. Now there are new problems to solve. That's all." Flint stated firmly.

"Okay." She nodded slightly.

"When are you coming home?" He asked randomly.

"After breakfast tomorrow. I scheduled a car to bring us back at ten." Eve answered with a small smile.

"What's that look for?" Flint resisted the urge to smirk.

"You miss me and I've been gone for like half a day." She giggled.

"So what? You miss me too." He scoffed before grinning.

"Maybe." Eve nodded.

"Just maybe, huh?" Flint chuckled knowingly.

"Sleeping may be a problem." She admitted.

"Oh, that reminds me. Check your suitcase." He stated.

"What?" She chuckled and stood.

Eve took her phone and entered the room she had planned to share with Faye. She unzipped the navy blue bag on the still made bed and began to riffle through it.

"Is this...?" She pulled out a large, black wife beater.

"My shirt." Flint.

Eve buried her face in the fabric. The smell of her mate enveloped her, relaxing her every thought. She smiled and picked up the phone to see the screen.

"You're amazing." She beamed.

"I know." Flint smirked contentedly.

"Well, when are you going home?" Eve probed.

"After we get off the phone." He replied.

"So never?" She teased.

"Soon. You're exhausted as it is." Flint answered easily.

"Maybe." Eve yawned and laid back on the bed.

"Go to sleep, baby. I'll see you in the morning." He smiled at her.

"If I have to..." She sighed.

"You do. I love you, Eve." Flint stated.

"I love you too." The Luna smiled.

A moment later her screen went black. She tossed it to the side and grabbed the black wife beater from off the bed beside her. She kicked off her boots and curled up under the covers. Eve inhaled Flint's earthy, masculine scent off the bundled fabric in her hands.

We lied. Her wolf acknowledged.

No. We just didn't say anything. Eve silently denied.

Our mate would disagree. The she-beast answered firmly.

We know, okay? But what other choices do we have? She answered.

None. But lying to Flint is the wrong thing to do. Always. The animal reasoned.

We'll tell him as soon as this is settled. Eve tried to swallow the guilt in her chest.

We have to. The she-wolf agreed.

She took another deep breath from the shirt in her palms. His scent calmed her but her worries remained alert. Selena had reached out to her and she had agreed to meet with her. The implications of that were weighing on Eve, but none more daunting that the thought of not telling Flint.