* * *

 Remus was needed in the morning to oversee some of the new recruitment, since there were going to be a new wave of high school graduates.

But after looking down at his mate on the opposite side of the bed caused him to frown, he didn't want to leave her. He wanted to fix all that transpired between them, how could he face today knowing that she was blocking him from his mind?

And no matter how many times he tried to cuddle beside her, Sage wiggled out and remained on her own.

After taking a very needed cold shower, he met his Delta halfway to the training grounds.
His expression saying it all.

"That doesn't look like the face of a mated man." He threw a glare and stopped his pace. 

"We didn't." 

"Oh...Is that what I felt last night?" That shocked the both of them now as Jack didn't understand what had happened.

"You felt her pain...When I stopped." Jack failed to make his next step after his Alpha had stopped his pace. 

"What?" He breathed, how in the world—why in the world?!

The Alpha closed his eyes, remembering kindly what happened the previous night and explaining it to his friend and one of the most trusted people he has within the pack.

"I offended her wolf." 

"Remember it's not the first time you've done that, the ceremony? Laura's challenge?" He growled in damnation and continued off towards their destination.

"She's not ready, she was confused." 

"Then talk through it! Tell her what's going to happen or what will happen! Or better yet, get Jade or Mrs.Elwood to." He couldn't ask them for any more favors, Sage was moved out. He had to take the position as mate, even if talking about something so odd would pass over her head a few times.

She needed to know.

Sage didn't have class until nine o'clock, meaning that she could sleep in until seven-thirty, unlike the Alpha who left at five. The young she-wolf started the daily process, and one of which calls for her to take a refreshing shower all before heading downstairs and get some breakfast.

It was a little strange, as it took a few tries to find a spoon when wanting to eat her yogurt. Having checked all the cabinets for a mug, she smiled in victory when locating them.
She knew how to use a Keurig, and now the math was starting to make sense outside the classroom. Especially when measuring the water to brew the few cups as she settled for about two or three.

This normal morning almost went swiftly along until Eli came over, on request of the Alpha, to escort her to her class.

"Goodmorning." 

"Well hello sunshine, did you get enough sleep?" She offered a grin and nodded, she held her bottled ice tea in hand and remained silent for the rest of the walk.

Usually, it was the same few questions when he did accompany her, but really he only arrived on account for his scared Alpha. Eli had told second hand what happened the night before, but from his viewing, Sage wasn't affected.

He couldn't understand how Remus had the power in withdrawing from his mate like he had, he couldn't image in the drawback...And then to be faced with tears?

Eli was feeding the Alpha all he could, but the wolf seemed undisturbed...Or until she caught her mate's scent off in the distance—There she decided to take the long way to the Pack house.

I guess we'll wait for dinner at your house, Alpha?

He asked, and it caused Remus to turned back to where he had thought he caught a whiff of his little munchkin. But he was met with Eli's retreating back as he trailed after the Luna.

Um, she doesn't feel mad? I don't think tonights bad, maybe it'll distract her.

Jack was the voice of reason, but Remus claimed that he was still blocked from her mind. As affected by everyone in the pack, her emotions dwelling deep inside her would still spread out to those around her as pack members.

Though it was more confusion than anything else.

When class had finished, Sage returned back home and breathed in a bit of relief that the house was empty. Not that she forgot she didn't live in the Elwoods, but sometimes the poor she-wolf wanted to be left alone.

And finally, she was.

Camilla had been here earlier in the day, or as telling to the smell of her mother's scent in the living room and kitchen. And Sage smiled in victory to see that there was an after-school snack waiting for her, she sent her mother a private link message and continued off to eat and read beside her plate.

Of course darling, you should be eating more often to get your weight up.

The two were talking, or as much as Camilla could hold a conversation before Sage claimed to have homework. She hadn't got all that far when the Alpha himself came in, heavy breathing making her turn her head off in the direction to the front door.

He stopped the second her eyes had locked to his, usually she would have a smile waiting for him. Or the natural excitement to tell him how class went, but it was silent all on her side.

Though it wasn't her who was punishing him, her wolf decided rightly how to act in terms with her mate. And an uncomfortable shift caught Remus' eye.

"You okay munchkin?" She blinked as though there was something in her eye, even going as far to rub it out. "Homework hard." 

"I think I can help you with that hun." He said, going to the fridge before sitting down beside her and smiling.

Especially when he saw her name.

Sage Elwood.

Her handwriting was small and cramped, but she was holding the pencil correctly and not damaging the paper anymore. It was adorable to see her confused down to a math equation, and when he saw the problems he too frowned.

How did she jump from simple addition to—To this?

He now regretted not looking at her last report card, especially when she was starting to figure out the problems without much thought.

"How was your math test?" 

"Evie says good grade." He smiled, taking another sip of his water when he caught that a lock of her hair was giving her an issue when it wouldn't stay put.

It caused him to wave it up and behind her ear, causing a shiver to pass through her little form. She refrained from looking at him, as her eyes began to itch when she wanted to, all her thoughts were met with a growl when they were in a positive space.

"No meeting today?" 

"I do, I had to grab a few things from this office. Eli and Jack are joining us for dinner tonight." She nodded in agreement but was still too silent for Remus' taste.

"Sage I think we need to talk." He started, and it caused her to draw her brows in as she attempted to continue her work. 

"Please?" It caused her to lift the pencil of the paper and look to him through her hair, and that still didn't give his wolf the amount of attention. So he acted purely off one thought and no amount of proper consideration that she didn't want to be touched after last night.

He placed her onto his lap and hugged her incredibly close, his nose suffocating and imprinting her scent in his mind. "You smell wonderful munchkin." She huffed, and he turned up with a smirk. Although she was a little angry, she was surcoming to his closeness and melting into his touch.

"Sage what happened last night was me jumping to what we will be doing in the future. Remember my promise?" She looked down upon him and wiggled a slight bit to get more comfortable.

"Promise?" 

"I promise that when we do, we're locking all the doors and I'm not letting you leave my side." It caused her to lean in with the intent to cuddle, but her wolf retracted at the last second. Giving her a sensible pain in her head.

"Hey...What's wrong?" He instantly brought his hand to her head, and although he couldn't feel her pain. The heat of her forehead and cheeks sent warning signs through his brain.

"Did you eat today?" She nodded, her eyes fluttering just a bit and responding again. "Tired." 

"Well that'll do it hun, how about you take a nap?" She hummed and nodded, but before she could properly move from his lap, he rose with her in his arms.

He settled her in just nicely, and on his side as well. Which his wolf lived for when her head stuffed into his pillow. "I can call the house phone in an hour if you want?" She pointed to the clock and he chuckled.

"Hour alright? Or is that too long?" His questions were falling on almost deaf ears as she was seconds away from floating away, so he chuckled and set it to an hour ten.

Her whine admitted, perhaps he won back her wolf? 

He couldn't be sure, but for the next few days the vow of being closer with her seemingly made his wolf rumble that he should've done this days ago when they weren't living together, when their scents weren't combined euphoric.

*

Sage had found herself reading off by herself in the lone room, well it wasn't technically lone because there were a few boxes that lingering in the corner and closet as she checked. But the door was open and she liked emptiness, however, her wolf liked it for a few other reasons.

It gave her a sense of mind it gave her familiarity to claim an empty corner. Even now as she just enjoyed her tea and reading her assigned book before tomorrow's discussion.

"Sage? Darling are you home?" The she-wolf scrambled to her feet and darted out to meet her mother looking up the stairs. 

"Hi." She mumbled, and it caused Camilla to chuckle.

"Are you eating enough darling, you know if you're stressed about your homework you can take a break. I'm sure Caleb can take you on a run if you're interested?" 

"No run. Tired. Date night." She smiled to her daughter and kissed her on the forehead when she made her way down the stairs.

"I think it's adorable you two going on dates, the movie night?" It was like this any time Camilla came over, doting and plotting her own sayings to help Sage further.

But no matter how far the conversation had got about mating, it seemed like every time was interrupted. Not making it to be, on the other side of the packhouse was Remus coming into the high school to meet Sage's art teacher.

It didn't seem like there was an issue over the phone, but when it concerned his mate...He wasn't going to overlook a damn thing again. Especially when he thought she was still on elementary math, not jumping to straight algebra.

"Alpha, thank you for coming. I know you're a busy man." The elder wolf was sweet, and he followed to where Sage would sit within the room and kindly pictured her being quiet and intuitive in class.

Only a frown settled on the elder wolf's face.

"Is there an issue with Sage? I assure you whatever it is I won't—" 

"You said at the ceremony that she had a difficult upbringing...What was it?" It wasn't the first time someone had asked, and by now it was spreading to a few different rumors.

One being Sage was a captured Rogue turned right, others were closer to the truth. And after he explained the short version, understanding washed over the teacher's face.

"I didn't catch it straight away, not when she was drawing forests or trees...But I think you should see them." She whispered, and so Remus had opened the offered folder, the scent of his mate lingering heavily on it as she used it the most.

The first was of the packhouse, but it wasn't colored in at all. Just a brief sketch, and when he placed it down onto the table he stilled at the next.

Sage shared memories with him once, and he could never stomach it again. The fear and overall dead silence coming from her side while reliving those memories caused his stomach to churn.

Luke. Liam. I need you to come to the art room at the high school now.

His order was followed as either stated they'd be there within a few minutes, but soon Remus was rushing through. When the council had come before, Sage hadn't provided much of anything...But now?

Now he had visuals, he had copies to share.

Either of the Elwoods had made it, obviously breathless in terms of having rushed over to respond to their Alpha's calling. 

But now? Now they understood.

"What is this?" Liam whispered, taking hold of one of the many pictures, but even Luke felt heavily uncomfortable seeing what he assumed to be himself in the cage from Sage's point of view.

"It's what Sage has been drawing," Remus whispered, and Luke was the first to take the stool from underneath the table and go through them. Not that he wanted to, but he explained to the art teacher and Remus what the areas were.

The Gym.
The Labs.
The cells.
The showers.

Hell.

That is what it was, and the only reason Remus allowed Ms.Terriance to remain was because he wanted to be alerted when she drew things of this nature.

"It has to be her wolf, she's been trying to share...Remember when she heard the waitress sharing the plates?" Luke looked up from the one picture of himself off to his brother, and agreed with what he was attempting to say.

"Think back then all she used to say was 'chicken' 'beepbeep' and...What was the other one?" 

"'Potatos'...She was mumbling numbers. Alpha, her wolf is smart. Damn smart, and if she's drawing them...I'm scared she's reliving it." Remus pinched the brink of his nose and shook his head.

"She's not having nightmares. She's talking more than usually...I don't think it's reliving." The three males were stumped, and so the woman off to the sides came over with a small smile.

"May I, Alpha?" Remus would take anything to understand what is going on in his mate's head, and so he watched the woman sort through the images in a specific pattern.

"I tasked the class to chose a point of view...And here we see what she would've seen from the cell. She followed all the instructions for each lesson, but she doesn't have much else to go from. Sage has been a member of the pack for a few months, but as you said...you don't know how long she was there." Luke closed his eyes and nodded.

"It'll still be a part of her. We can't erase those years." The woman silently agreed, Sage didn't mean to be dark. She was simply drawing the first thing that came to mind.

So even with her freedom, and a beautifully bedroom with a desk to work at. The girl felt more comfortable on the floor of an empty room.

Even though she could order anything, she still decided to eat chicken and potatoes.

Her habits have been there as they always gave her comfort, and these were simply what was going on in the back of her head from time to time.

Hey munchkin, what're you up to?

He called out, his wolf pacing at the lack of response before her presence trickled in.

Mom bring snack, homework. Coming home soon?

Liam saw the strain that this meeting had taken on the Alpha and his brother, Luke hadn't let go of the image of himself since he first saw it, and their sibling bond was going beyond the normal signal.

"Luke. Brother, she's with us now." Liam attempted, and it caused Remus to turn his attention back to the wolves he called. 

"Remus, could we stop by the house?" The Alpha agreed without a second thought, he wouldn't have pushed their date night away if it wasn't such a need to go and see her right now.

They thanked the art teacher, deciding that it was the best option to get them copied and send it all to the council. Along with a note that they will not be forcing Saage to draw anymore, and when they come then the file will be updated.

But the council will not dictate his mate in any regard. They were lucky that he didn't put up more of a fight in meeting them, Eli suggested to get it over with and allow them to see how Sage is. They would understand just by that meeting on why there was cation, and out of concern for an unmated mate, he held more than enough reign.

Remus was as antsy as the two brothers, which bucked up the level of panic rising into the three of them.

It wasn't a habit of locking doors in their culture, not when they could identify with a single sniff who had come and gone throughout the day. So the second the door opened, Remus yelled out for Sage.

But it fell on deaf ears.

Luke looked around the room, trying to get his mind out of where it was returning to it. The brothers hadn't talked about it since they sat in a meeting with the council, otherwise their father had pushed past it with heavy amounts of training.

His boys were not going to be under that torture ever again. It had almost torn his family apart when they went missing...But Remus stilled, he still hadn't heard any movement upstairs.

"Sage?" He called out again, and all three had turned ridged at the idea she isn't here.

Without a second thought, Remus took the steps two at a time before following the trail of Sage's scent, only to find her in her spare room with headphones in.

She acted with a startled jump, and Remus sighed in utter relief. 

"She just has headphones in!" He called back downstairs, and it caused Sage to pause the music and get up. Though paint covered the likes of her wrists, he didn't care. 

Instead he rushed over and suffocated her into his chest.

"Munchkin you cannot do that to me." 

"Do what?" She mumbled, and now she peeked her up to look to him, her chin planted towards him. "I'm sorry?" He growled in confirmation and pulled her so she would come to her feet.

"Your brothers are here, they miss you...How about they join us for dinner tonight?" He knew that she wouldn't understand the severity of what she has been drawing in a stressful sense, that is why he wanted Eli to copy the drawings and then return them so that Sage wouldn't notice a thing missing.

One thing was for sure, one look from Luke and Sage had the urge to tackle him with a hug. There were no boundaries in their relationship as he held out his arms and she jumped into them without a second thought.

Her wolf purred in delight, snuggling further. "Haven't seen you in a while Sage, are you alright?" 

"Yes." Liam chuckled. "And we were worried about her." He chuckles, before walking off to the kitchen to smirk.

"Sage has been living it up here, Gigi's cooking?" Remus smirked, nodding as he helped Liam with setting the oven up while Luke asked Remus if he could sit outside with Sage for a few minutes.

And as much as he felt parted with her, his wolf pushed him to do the right thing.

The brotherly protection had gotten Sage across the country and survive the confinements of the pictures he'd just whitnessed. While he was with Kelly.

"He's a big teddy bear with her...It took a while before he warmed up to her, I think he still regrets that." 

"What do you mean?" Liam's shoulders slumped further, not that he was past it either.

"Aside from him still getting used to her not living in the house, he's guilty for treating her so coldly. It wasn't until he came back from the gym one time, he saw her fighting. He came back and told me that she was strong." The silence lingered for quite some time before Liam spoke once again, and the scene caused Remus to shiver.

"I want to say our company near her made her feel united, there's a difference between her attacking that guard and escaping, to the girl still in the cage...To not know what's outside to getting to move freely around the house? Alpha I don't know how she does it, how she's not confused twenty-four-seven. But she's fine, and I keep telling him that." Remus knew that the brothers imprinted on her to bond as brothers, but it was far deeper than just that.

"I didn't want to take her away, Kenzie said that her wolf is going to get anxious for not mating. There's a few times I see it, but I can't do that to her." Liam eyed his Alpha once again, and nodded in thanks again.

"If anyone has any regrets it's me. I wanted to kick her out." 

"Yeah, but not allowing yourself to mate is more than enough of a punishment." Remus hummed, closing his eyes as it was a difficult reminder on that end.

"The pack is curious to when—" 

"When she can make choices for herself. Your mom was right that first day, she didn't know she could refuse me." Liam could spot it a mile away, his Alpha was being cautious. And in that...His wolf was growing self cautions as his human was.

"My mom also helped the two of you move in, you've right your wrongs. The next time it's...Close, don't think about it, you're already living together." It was true, and he honestly didn't know why he was waiting. But after the display of denial, it hadn't ever been close like he hinted at.

"I offended her wolf again, it hasn't been that close since." 

"Oh." He tried to calm himself, but it was too easy to see his wide eyes and burning red ears. "Yeah, I'm gonna have to draw the line here." Remus let out a rough chuckle, and before long did he catch Luke lead Sage back inside.

"And math? Sounds like you jumped from addition to damn calculus." She smiled deviously until her eyes turned off to Liam, and her lips contorted into a pout.

"No hug?" 

"I'm just waiting for my turn hun, get over here." Remus couldn't even feel threatened or jealous, the face was far too pure and childish that he couldn't place it as flirting or otherwise.

And with his wolf being silent on this account, he allowed his little mate to latch herself to Liam's side.

He was indeed the only one who could hold her at night.

Dinner was a nice affair, Alpha liked having people in his home, and he could see how positively it affected the light in his mate's eyes. With two others, a conversation bounced back and forth. And with their audience, it had Sage speak more than she usually would to keep up.

Making her exhausted before her usual bedtime.

"You're like a baby bear today huh? Just latching on to everyone for hugs?" 

"Wolf, not baby bear." She growled, almost offended on the idea of her being another animal.

"Still want to get your own bear munchkin? Winter, we have to train hard for it." 

"Hunt big bear." He scoffed, thinking that his little mate could actually—Well maybe. They could double team it.

"How about you get a decent bear, and I'll help you with the big bear." 

"Hunt together?" He hummed in absolute delight at the idea, if they couldn't work together in pack setting...They would indeed find a common ground there.

Taking Liam's word into consideration did he place her down gently onto their bed, but unannounced to her...The Alpha didn't plan for the two falling asleep.

Instead he joined her, a demanding kiss left on her lips. Hopefully enough to enact her wolf, as her wolf knew more about the process than just—

A growl set the two apart, and Sage held her neck and withered away. Embarrassment growing on her cheeks, causing her to almost hide off. 

"Nuhuh. Come on back over." Remus realized that her wolf was still partly angry and now it was mixed with the shy side of Sage.

"I said no the other day munchkin, because even if your wolf is ready to give herself to me. I want both of you to be ready, not half. As a whole." She hummed, her eyes fluttering a few times before she fell asleep in his hold.

Liam mentioned that if she fell asleep in anyone's presence, it was indeed a matter of trust and being comfortable with those around her.

______

Date: 11-28-2020

Time: 10:11

Words: 4235