Luna Lena

Chapter 9 - Haunting Reminders

"Rhett, that's great news!" I chirped excitedly, smacking him on the shoulder.

Rhett shrugged, barely reacting to my attempt at being playful, "I suppose it is."

I furrowed my eyebrows at him and frowned, "What do you mean? I'd expect you of all people to be ecstatic about finding your mate."

His eyes dulled as he looked up at me sadly, yet his expression remained hard, "It's complicated Lena. We're still trying to figure everything out. She lives far from here...very far actually. Sofia and I have been working on collecting more information and developing a plan every day."

My confused expression remained the same. How the hell did Rhett find his mate if she lives far away? I assumed Sofia played the main role in that, but with him being so cryptic, I felt there was much more going on with the situation.

"Alright, I won't pry," I told him, knowing he wouldn't tell me anything else even if I did.

"I'll be back in no time, Rhett. I promise. I'll even keep working on some of our mission while I'm gone," Sofia said as she placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

Rhett nodded, but his face didn't change. I was truly puzzled as to what could be so bad about finding his mate. Rhett rarely acted this way...so hard and cold. All I could guess was maybe she wasn't a good person, otherwise, I couldn't imagine why Rhett hadn't already taken off to find her.

I brushed off my thoughts about Rhett's mate and started back towards the woods with Sofia. Luckily, it was still early, so we should be able to make it back to Polar Moon before dark. Just as I entered the trees again, it occurred to me that Sofia wasn't a werewolf. Although I could sprint back to the pack rather quickly, she would be moving at a human's pace.

Shit.

I quickly spun around to face Sofia, hoping we could come up with some sort of solution. Unfortunately, I wasn't the biggest wolf, so carrying her on my back wasn't exactly an option. Just as I was going to open my mouth to speak, I noticed Sofia smirking at me.

"Don't you worry about me, Lena. I have plenty of tricks up my sleeve that could get me to your pack faster than your wolf could ever run," she said deviously.

I raised an eyebrow and smirked back at her, "Well, well little witch, you've been holding out on me."

Sofia chuckled and shook her head, "How about this – you and your mate feed me a good meal tonight, and I'll use one of my favorite spells to get us there quickly."

"I'm intrigued. Do explain this spell of yours."

"The slang term for it is 'the teleportation spell,' but I've always thought that sounded childish. We join hands and focus on our destination while I recite an incantation. It should get us back in a matter of minutes. In fact, it'll probably work even better since you have some hidden abilities as well," Sofia said with a wink.

"I don't think a Healer's abilities include teleporting," I laughed.

Sofia then grabbed my hands, twisting my wrists so that my palms were facing up. She gently laid her palms on top of mine and closed her eyes, nodding for me to do the same. I closed my eyes tightly and exhaled, envisioning the Polar Moon pack house just as Sofia had instructed. I took my time imagining every little detail as I heard Sofia begin her soft chanting. Her words were in a language I couldn't interpret, so I blocked her out.

I continued to focus on every aspect of Polar Moon. I figured since Sofia had never been there, at least I would have an advantage in this part of the spell. I thought of the beautiful, white, castle-like architecture of the pack house surrounded by the little cottages used for various pack activities. I imagined the beautiful pines coated in ice and snow that surrounded the area. I pictured Elijah's face – his beautiful golden eyes, pale skin, fiery auburn hair...