Nia POV
This would have to be one of the most intensely, terrifying moments in my life. Walking into a meeting hall full of werewolves who were all now focused on me with eyes full of scrutiny and shock at my presence there. I calmly walked up to the stage where I could see Garrett standing with a disapproving look, which I should be used to by now since he's pretty much made his feelings about my presence in the pack obvious but right now was my moment. My moment to convince my new pack to trust me in place of their absent Alpha, who's gone missing.
"Good evening Hagen pack, I know what you experienced last night was a truly horrifying ordeal where I'm sure many of you felt that you were in danger. I'm also still trying to process what could have set Alpha Travis off to put him in that state of mind. Just know that even though I am human, I am also his mate who is more than willing to step in and act on his behalf as Luna to keep the pack running smoothly the way he wanted it."
I felt like that was the best thing to say to get them to feel more comfortable with me but I could see that my statement wasn't working based on some of the disgusted looks on their faces letting me know, many of them had already made up their mind about me being Luna but I didn't understand it, just last night they were all so happy and welcoming me into the pack but right now it's like I'm a stranger off the street.
"Why should we believe or trust anything you say? Just because you're the Alpha's mate, you think you can just come in here, take over leadership from our Beta and we're just going to let that happen, well I for sure am not, and those of you that think this human girl is capable of leading a pack of wolves, obviously don't support of what this pack stands for", said one of the men before he stormed out of the hall.
I looked back into the crowd to see the doubt on everyone's faces, except for one. It was an old woman seated up front by the stage that looked to be in her 70s from the long gray hair on her head that was pulled back in a ponytail. Her face stayed in a softened, understanding state that helped to put me at ease with all the tension in the hall right now. The old woman then stood up with the help of her cane before making her way to the stage being helped up by a couple of the warriors and walking over to me, taking both my hands in hers and facing the crowd.
"How dare you wolves doubt this woman. She is our Luna and should be treated with the same respect we have given our Alpha over the years. Just because she's human doesn't mean we automatically have the right to turn her away since it is obvious the gods have chosen her to be the perfect match for Alpha and all of you know that to doubt the gods is to doubt yourselves as wolves because it was the god's thousands of years ago that gave us this gift. All I'm saying is that if you are truly a member of this pack, then you will respect the traditions that it was built on which has helped it last from its founding up until now".
Her words must have hit the pack hard since most of them now had a look of shame and sorrow on their face. I'm not mad at them though, they've only known me for 24 hours and it takes way longer than that to fully get to know a person but I still appreciate her standing up for me because I'm still learning how to speak to crowds in an understanding way.
"Thank you so much for talking to them, I don't know what I would have done without your help".
"No problem Luna, it brings me joy to know that I can help the leaders of our pack prepare for the future while also remembering and connecting with the past but what you really must do now is find Travis. A Luna can't lead a pack alone which is why she must do it by her Alpha's side," she said before walking back down the steps to take her seat.
"Everyone I know it's going to take a long while for me to fully gain your trust, so let me take the first step in doing that by going out to find Alpha and bring him back so we can figure out who is responsible for last night's episode and punish them for their crime against the pack."
Everyone then broke out in loud applause that shook the hall with its volume. Even with everyone's support, I knew this wasn't going to be an easy thing to do. I walked off the small stage over to Stacy because I was going to need her help in finding my mate.
"Stacy, I know I'm not a wolf and don't have a mind link or the same senses as you guys, so I'm going to need the help of a wolf to find Travis".
She then started smiling as if she knew what I was about to ask and before I could ask for her to come to the surface, I was met with the golden eyes of Ida, who was more than happy to help me.
"Luna, it would be my pleasure to help you find Alpha but if we are going to be searching for him out in the wilderness of the territory, then you're going to need a full night's rest and to outfit yourself with the right winter clothing."
She was right, I had just gotten done with a full day of work and didn't really have any outdoor winter clothes on right now besides my boots and thick coat, plus it was dark outside, which would make things more hazardous for us.
"Ok then, since I don't have to go back to work until after the holidays, I'll meet you at the main packhouse tomorrow morning at dawn so we can start our search".
"Great, that way we will have all day to search, and hopefully I will be able to pick up his scent or find some of his tracks since it hasn't snowed again yet". But there is something you can do to help give us a better chance of finding him."
"What's that?"
"Remember how you said that you met Travis's wolf in the dream realm that night while you were asleep?"
"Your right, I forgot about that. There's only one problem".
"What's that Luna?"
"When I met Hakon in the dream realm, I wasn't trying to contact him, instead he came to me only after Travis revealed his secret. I just don't know how to connect with his wolf from a human standpoint".
"You're right about it being harder for a human to contact a wolf's spirit but you both share a forming bond. You are the feminine and he is that masculine side of it and when an alpha wolf senses the spirit of his female mate wanting him, then his wolf will seek her out whether it's in the physical or spiritual realm. All you have to do when you go to bed tonight is to let your body relax and let your spirit have control while focusing on Hakon and soon when you enter into the dream realm, you should find him or most likely he will find you."
Ida was right, his wolf was able to contact me right after I found out his secret, so I should be able to find him since I've become more integrated with the pack and have met everyone else's wolf also.
"Ok, I'll give it a try. I just hope that his wolf hasn't gone wild to the point of shutting out his mate as he did with the pack".
"I just know it will work Luna, you are his top priority now and he will always be open to receiving you even when he has others blocked out".
"You are right about him always being open to me. Even during that wild rage moment he had, his wolf still had a moment of clarity where he acknowledged me before taking off into the woods".
"Yes, he was and since then, he should be calmed down now, he's probably been wanting to communicate with you also but is probably nervous about how you'll react because your first experience seeing his physical wolf was almost a deadly one but as long as your patient and open to him, then he will come back to you", Ida said before her eyes faded back to Stacy's green one's.
"So what plan did you two come up with, are we going to go look for him, or are you going to try the dream realm first?" Stacy asked in a hurry.
"I'm going to try the spirit realm first just to communicate with Hakon so he can tell Travis that I am concerned and want to help him through this. I also want to do it this way first because if we go searching for him in the woods, then we won't know what form he's in and the last thing I want to do is put Ida in a position where she has to face off against a wild Alpha by herself".
"I understand, just call me if you need anything", she said before hugging me goodbye.
As I walked back to my car, I felt like I had eyes on me and that assumption was proven right when I looked back to see Garrett with a killing stare on his face as if he had some prey locked in his sight that he was ready to attack.