Chasing My Rejected Luna
Chapter 178

TEGAN'S

P.O.V

I wanted to reach out and touch it, but what if my touch was what they needed? I know that was sort of far-fetched, but this unwavering feeling in the pit of my stomach wouldn't go away. "What do you think we should do?" Novalee asked, her hand still outreached, touching the magical barrier.

"Call the people we have to meet, let's start there." I said while looking around our surroundings.

We were on a dirt road that was dead smack in the middle of nowhere. Trees were tightly coiled on either side of the road. It honestly felt like a breath of fresh air if you asked me. The air seemed more breathable than it normally did back home. A piece of me felt at home. Like I wasn't dying on the inside anymore.

"Ezra." I huffed out in disbelief.

That was the only thing that made sense. He had to be here.

"What did you say?"

"I feel him all around me. In the air I breathe. I feel almost normal." I said as I approached the veil. "I need to take it down, what if he was on the other side?"

"Wait, Tegan. Let's think rationally here. What if it's spelled to make you think what you want?"

Why would they do that? And how would they even have known?

"You know, like a spell that gathers what you desire the most and makes you think that it's there?" "Do you feel any different?"

She sat there pondering my question a little more. Considering her options.

"No."

"Well, then it has to be him."

"But why, after all this time, would he be with the rogue wolves we happened to stumble across?"

Unless it wasn't a coincidence after all, and we didn't just happen to stumble across these rogues like we thought.

"What if they work for her?" I asked, hoping it were true but also not true.

"Her as in Sibil?"

"Precisely. What if this illusion is what's holding Ezra back? The reason why we can't replace him?"

"But also, what if it's holding something really bad in?"

I let out a sigh while sitting firm on the ground. She was right. Of course, she was right.

"What are we going to do?" I asked with tears brimming my eyes.

I wanted to be right. I wanted with all my whole heart to believe that it was him. That I was sent here for a reason. Novalee plopped down next to me, looking at me with her big doe eyes. "Don't look at me like that."

"Like what?" She asked innocently.

"Like I've lost my mind in madness."

"You and I both know I would never look at you that way."

I absentmindedly rubbed my forehead, something that had become a new normal for me, as I thought about our next steps.

"Did they answer?"

"Nope, straight to voicemail. Something is definitely up."

There was always something up when it came to dealing with rogues. They were only in it for one thing; money. Which was why, when they willingly offered assistance, it took me by surprise. I let out a breath I was holding before standing on my feet and dusting off "Well, we have two options here." I paused to gather my thoughts before speaking again. "Option one, we break down the veil and take on whatever consequence there is behind it."

my rear.

"And option two?" She asked curiously.

"We leave and don't turn back."

"That doesn't sound like either of us." She said, letting out a sigh. "There is always option three."

"Which is?"

"We stand out here yelling for Ezra and see if he responds?"

I doubt that would ever work. But that one at least didn't have a consequence attached to it.

"Okay, so we should attempt option three. And what if that doesn't work, then what?"

"Then we do option one because we aren't scared bitches that run away from anything. Plus, if whatever is hidden behind happens to be evil, then we will destroy it, together. Because together we can take on the world."

Her confidence sparked a fire inside of me that I had thought was long gone. It also excited me how self-assured she was, which worked in our favor because it influenced me even more.

OPERATION OPTION THREE: ACTION

"EZRA!" I screamed first, making a smile appear on Novalee's face.

"EZRA, WHERE ARE YOU!?" I screamed again.

But as if history was repeating itself, there was no response. I was starting to feel as if I would never replace him. I know this trip wasn't supposed to be centered around locating Ezra, it was the artifact we were hunting down. But here I was placing hope in yet another disappointing mission. It was more like: OVERALL OPERATIONAL: FAIL.

I was starting to give up hope once again until something I wasn't expecting to come out of Novalee's mouth did.

"ALPHA, CAN YOU HEAR US, ARE YOU HERE!?"

She never called him Alpha. It must've been a tactic to make me feel better.

"ALPHA!" She screamed again, that time bringing a smile on my face.

"Well, we gave it our good ol college try." She said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"I didn't get the chance to go to college."

My voice came out like a whisper. It's not that I didn't want to go, I just hadn't exactly had the chance to. But to be honest, I truly didn't need it, I was the Queen for crying out loud. I did, however, like the idea of normalcy that revolved around college. "Wait, did you hear that?" Novalee asked, making my head snap up.

My senses were normally top-tier, but I was so lost in my thoughts, I hadn't heard what she did. And that says a lot, since I had werewolf hearing, and she didn't.

"What was it?" I asked, looking around.

"It was like, a..."

"Wicked voice?" A feminine voice I had never heard before asked from behind us.

"What the..."

"Who are you?" Novalee blurted out, interrupting me.

"You don't recognize your own blood?"

"Sibil..."

You could hear the fear in her voice from that one simple word.

"In the flesh! Well, mostly. Nothing that a little mix of the right blood can't fix."

"What's that mean?" I asked Novalee.

"All those rogue wolves didn't do it for me. That's too bad really!"

"It means she bathes in the blood of her victims," Novalee muttered.

"That didn't take you long to figure out. You really must be related to me."

"I was taught what not to do. To keep any of us from ever becoming..."

"Me?" Sibil asked, interrupting Novalee. A big smile painted on her face. "Okay, so let's get down to the business of why I really asked you for." She paused before contouring to speak. "I want my sword, I want my gem." "We don't have it!" I spat out angrily.

"Clearly, captain-obvious. However, he did." She replied as her fingers wiggled around, creating a foggy glow which illuminated in the palm of her hand like a globe. The picture became clearer the more she wiggled her fingers. "Ezra..." I huffed out slowly.

"Correct again. So here is the deal. You get me my belongings, and you can have your precious Ezra back."

"Or I can kill you and get him anyway!" I screamed as rage boiled my blood.

The finger on her free hand reached up and touched her lips in a dramatic effect before she let out the sounds of tsks.

"That's too bad. But before you try, let me give you a spoiler on what will happen. I'm immortal. I'll come back. Your little Ezra, on the other hand." She stopped talking as she put her finger next to her throat, making the cut throat gesture. "You wouldn't dare!"

"You misunderstand. I wouldn't be the one killing him. As fun as that sounds."

"They're still linked, T." Novalee then spoke up.

"Ding Ding Ding, we have a winner. So back to what I was offering, if you don't mind?"

I bit down on my tongue, frustrated that she was right.

"Finish." I demanded in a low tone.

"Perfect, thank you. As I was saying. Find me my belongings that your precious mate hid somehow from my sight, and we will make a trade. Him for my stuff."

"You're negotiating with me? What makes you think I can't just take him back?"

"He isn't behind the veil. That was just a distraction. He is in what you would call an alternate universe. One that only I can get inside." She said as the magical barrier came down with her hand movements. "And the link?"

"Consider it broken."

"And alive."

"Fine, alive and the link broken in trade for both the sword and the Alexandrite."

Her terms were simple, but if he didn't want her to replace it, why should I?