Nia POV
As I lay there in bed, a million thoughts raced through my mind. Would Travis be open to communication, is Hakon searching for me in the spirit realm, and even if I did find him out in the woods, what form would he be in? After a while of racking my brain trying to come up with an answer, I eventually felt myself drift off to sleep and just let my spirit drift until I found myself back in the same dream plane as before but the only difference this time was that I was in a grass field that was illuminated with blue and purple hues from the Borealis in the night sky overhead.
I was a bit confused, I felt like I was in the right place but the scenery around me was throwing me off until I heard a loud wolf howl in the distance that was soon joined by many other howls. It didn't make sense that I would be hearing other wolves since I had only met Hakon the last time I was here but as I stared off in the distance where all of the howls were coming from, I began seeing forms running towards me. At first, I couldn't tell what they were but when they got closer, I could see that they were wolves running over to see me.
Soon there were at least 30 wolves in the same form that Hakon was the first time I met him. They all stood there for a moment before I heard a collective chorus of "Hello Luna".
These were some of the wolf forms of the pack members that most likely were here looking for Travis as well.
"Hello, are y'all here looking for an alpha like me?"
"Yes, we are but he is not making his presence known unto us. Perhaps he will come to you since you're his mate", one of them responded before they all faded away into streams of light going up into the sky.
I just hope what that wolf said is true and Hakon will come to me. I paused for a moment before speaking out into the night sky-filled distance ahead of me.
"Hakon, if you hear me, please make yourself known. I know what happened last night wasn't your fault and that Travis is apprehensive to talk to me but I just want to let you know that I am not scared of you and I know you would never hurt me on purpose. Please tell Travis that as his mate, I want to help him get past this obstacle so that we can start working together for the pack's sake because right now as we speak, I feel that not only is the leadership of the pack in danger but my safety as well. I don't know exactly what he has planned but my instincts are telling me that Garrett has bad intentions towards me and maybe some of those in the pack that goes against his form of leadership".
I paused for a moment looking around not seeing anything until I felt it. That same feeling I got before when Hakon appeared to me on that night and it was confirmed when I looked up and saw a large wolf form come running down from the sky to stop in front of me, glowing the same blue and purple colors as before. In my spirit, I instantly knew it was Hakon based on his size which is the same in spirit form as it is in wolf form back on earth.
"My sweet Luna, I am so sorry for putting you in danger like that. That was not how I wanted our first introduction in the physical realm to go. You are my lifelong mate and the last thing I want is to be a danger to you or my pack and as soon as I find out who is responsible for causing that reaction, they will be paying for it with their life!"
"Hakon, I understand that it wasn't your fault and that you did warn me to get away from you before you shifted but what has me worried right now is how Travis is doing. Is he hurt, does he need help from me or the pack?", I said desperately for answers.
"Physically he's fine because of the fast healing abilities but mentally, that's something you're going to have to help him with since he still blames himself for almost hurting you. The one thing you have to understand about Travis is that for his whole life, he's been waiting for his mate and now that he has you, you're his number one priority, meaning that anything you need or want, he will provide it. Whether it be love, guidance, or protection from any danger from enemies or from within the pack, he will make sure you have it but when he became a danger to you, then that made him feel like a failure not only as an Alpha but as a mate and the only thing that can help him get rid of this guilt is reassurance from you."
" I understand, but how do I find him? the territory is at least over 2,000 acres and he could be anywhere", I said feeling overwhelmed.
"Don't worry about finding him, just let him come to you", he said before running off back up into the skylights.
In almost an instant my whole body jolted awake and I looked around my dark room and then towards my window seeing the moon shine through the curtains. I thought over what Hakon said but I just couldn't bring myself to sit there and wait for Travis to come to me because this whole ordeal is going to take the two of us working together from both ends to solve the mystery of who's the traitorous wolf in the pack.
*The Next Morning*
I know I promised Stacy that I would let her and Ida help me search for Travis since I didn't know the territory and there were at least two feet of snow on the ground that would be easier to get through riding on the back of a wolf but I trust my mate and his wolf and if letting Travis find me is what I must do than I'm going to at least meet him halfway.
I made sure to put on my warmest winter hiking clothes along with thermals and a pair of new snow boots to keep my feet from getting frostbitten. I didn't know how long I was going to be out there, so I figured that if I didn't see any trace of or find him by the time the sun went down, I would start heading back home and just hope he came to me.
After an hour and a half of trudging through snow, I quickly realized that I should have just come out here with Ida but being a human that's never been in this situation, I wasn't thinking logically. By the time it had reached noon, I was tired and hungry so I took a break on an exposed piece of rock that had been warmed by the sun and ate the lunch that I packed. It was nice and peaceful out here with only the sounds of nature and beautiful scenery around. I checked the GPS on my phone and it said I had walked at least 4 miles so far which means I'm now deep in the pack's territory but that didn't scare me since mostly everyone knew who I was now and the wolves were the top predators out here but I still knew to keep my guard up since this is still the wilderness and I'm a regular human without wolf powers.
After I finished my lunch I continued for another hour before I started feeling the effects of exhaustion take over. It was now 1:30 in the afternoon and I only had 3 more hours of daylight left before I would be stuck out here in total darkness. Since it took me well over 3 hours to get this far, I realized there was no way I could keep going and expect to make it back home before the sunset. At least I could say I tried to find him, unlike his brother who wasn't too concerned if he was ok or not.
Before turning around to head back, I decided to make one last effort to find Travis by calling out to him, just in case he was close by.
"Travis!", I screamed out hearing my voice echo through the empty snow-covered woods with no reply.
"Travis!", I yelled out again hoping for a response but getting none.
"At least I know I came this far to help my mate, I guess the rest is up to him now", I thought before turning back around in the direction of home before I started hearing some rustling in the distance.
I couldn't really tell what it was but I knew it was something big and here I am out here looking like a stupid human alone with nothing to defend myself with. I tried to get off the main path and out of sight but my legs had gotten weaker and the deep snow didn't help so I just jumped behind a tree and hoped whatever it was would just pass by without noticing me.
I kept looking from behind the tree at what animal it could be until out from the snow-covered bushes stepped a huge black wolf that was the same size as Hakon. From all the pack wolves I've seen recently, I never saw this one and wondered who it could be. I could tell he was highly ranked because of his size and build but I didn't get a calm feeling seeing this wolf. Instead, I felt nervous and scared seeing him which confused me, I shouldn't be scared of my pack but this particular wolf gave me a bad feeling.
I started thinking and could acknowledge the fact that my legs were getting weaker and there was no way I'd make it home before dark, so the only logical thing to do would be to ask this pack member if they would give me a ride back. I mean I was now recognized as Luna and surely this wolf would want to help me, so I cautiously stepped from behind the tree as the wolf's head turned in my direction.
"Hi, I'm Nia, Alpha Travis's mate. I came out here to find him but its obvious that the territory is too big for me to cover on my own and there are only about 3 more hours of daylight left and I won't make it back home before dark on foot, so I was thinking that maybe you could give me a ride back", I said waiting for the wolf to react in a way that said they would help me but instead I received a growl and barred canine teeth. Whomever this wolf was, they most likely weren't a part of the Hagen Pack which confused me because no wolves from outside packs were allowed on this land unless this one is a rouge that crossed over hoping to not be noticed. Either way, I realized my situation just got more dangerous when the wolf got in an attack stance and started charging toward me.
At this moment, I knew there was nothing I could do. I can't run away and fighting back was out of the question so all I could do was to try running back behind the tree which would only delay my imminent death but faster than I could even get to the tree, I felt myself being grabbed and thrown 10 feet into some rocks that instantly sent shockwaves of pain through my whole body. I looked back to see the wolf stalking me with a bloodthirsty look on its face. If this was going to be my final moment, at least I'll die knowing I was trying to find my mate.
The wolf charged again but before he could get to me a gray wolf the same size came running up the path ready to attack and I immediately recognized that it was Travis, my mate coming to save me.