* * *

Unfortunately, Remus did have meetings to attend that morning that led right into the afternoon. He had to carefully transfer her to the bed, come to find out his mate could well indeed sleep through a war.

He contemplated his next move for far too long. Sage's lips were too delectable to ignore. Mind over matter took over as he crawled over her sleeping form, her plump lips parted with a small whine as she internally felt her mate come closer.

His nose traced a line against her cheek. Even though she was sleeping, her body reacted in response to his attention.

However, he felt her still when he elected to meet with a kiss, and gods did it give off a delightful burn. It had grown addicting, but before he could get a response from his mate, he pulled away.

What he could only expect was her first kiss was taken away by his inability to wait. This stolen kiss would be the only one he would give himself. Otherwise, this would've escalated further than what Sage was comfortable with.

Did she know what a kiss was?

Her wolf side was indeed affectionate, but he couldn't recall if he's seen Sage give anyone a polite kiss on the cheek. He decided that he didn't want to see that, but these actions were a way to speak and express herself to others.

Another thing he couldn't fault her for.

He gave her one last peck on the forehead before he forced himself out of the room.

The walk down the stairs was pure torture. With every step, Remus was gaining distance from Sage. And the space was definitely a good idea, especially when he has seen far too much skin of his mate.

Of course, seeing skin was normal in their world, but much like his theories on whether or not Sage has given a kiss before to now.

It sanctioned a growl to escape his throat.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning? How's Sage?" Jack called out, which caught Eli's attention straight away. The two were indeed protective of their Luna. Though that stance even applied before the Alpha recognized her as his mate.

"She's sleeping, woke up around three...Show—Showed me what happened in the..." Facility. He tried to finish his sentence, but neither his Beta nor Delta would force that of him. Not after what he tried to manage.

"We got the techies on it. Liam saved all of the card IDs and whatever else was in the car. Harlow has sent information as well. The facility is one of the bigger ones. The Council calls it the Underground." Remus froze at the ominous title.

"The council is coming within a week."

"A WEEK?!" His thunderous growl threw a chill through the scattered omegas. Even Kenzie in the infirmary had felt her Alpha's anger.

"Sir, let Sage rest." It was easy to use the mention of his mate, especially as he physically shook off the feeling with a shoulder roll.

"I want her to join the pack before they come. If they arrive beforehand then—"

"You don't think they'd take her away, do you?" Jackson had been taken back by his Alpha's fear, and a grim nod returned the answer to the question.

The rest of the morning had been met with countless tasks, though he was hoping that if he hurried along in finishing all that needed the Alpha's approval, he'd be able to spend some time with his mate.

And on the short walk towards the kitchen for another refill of coffee, he had caught Sage wandering the halls.

She had found the hoodie once again. Thankfully, she had shorts on in addition to the long sweater.

She wanted to play with Casey, and that was really all that was on her mind. So it was a surprise to spot Remus in the hallway, sure. But a welcome.

"Hey, munchkin, where you headed?" Tilting her head did she fail to understand what he meant, so he chuckled.

"Where are you going?"

"Casey." His biggest competitor was going to be this damn pup, wasn't he?

"Damn, hun, you wound me." He joked, but when his mate offered no smile or reaction of anything, it caused him to sigh. So perhaps this was going to be a little more complicated than he first thought.

"The Council will be coming to visit you. They'll want to ask questions about your meeting the Moon Goddess. It'll be simple, I promise you it's—Sage?" He continued to talk, and only when she lost eye contact did he realize something was wrong.

Did she even know who she met?

Or has she always had a connection to the Goddess?

These were questions that the Council would ask, how would she answer?

"Jack is going to walk you back home. Do you want anything from the kitchen?" Speaking of the Delta, he had been walking to retrieve the Alpha for a conference call.

"Hey, Eli's on the phone with—Well, look who's finally up!" Jack grinned ear to ear, and it sparked Sage's attention on the Alpha to waver. But Remus took that as a wrong type of interest, causing a growl to escape his lips before he could rightly think of it.

Jack stilled, his head lowering down in reaction to pure submission. But Sage looked rightly terrified that she curled around his arm and looked up.

What wrong?

Another strike to her broken English did she try to form a sentence, as she didn't understand this type of interaction. But it was strange that Remus had even reacted the way he did, so he kissed his little mate's forehead and turned to Jackson.

"I'll join Eli. Could you bring Sage home?" Being addressed with an order allowed Jack to rise from his position as he came closer.

"Sorry, Sir."

"It's my bad, Jackson. Careful, this one likes to run." The two males groaned after seeing the excitement over the single word, but Sage was learning from the best pup around.

And so she pouted her lips up and looked to either wolf, hoping that it would do just that.

"Sir?"

"Sage, I promise we'll go tonight, alright? Go and see Casey, sure he misses you." A wiggle commenced, and it allowed either male to breathe in a sigh of relief.

Denying her was a difficult act to follow through with.

"Casey." Remus nodded and nicked his head for Jack to take the lead and escort the Luna out. The only issue is that the poor girl was starting to gain attention, especially while walking home with the Delta of the pack.

Alpha, Sage is getting a lot of stares. A new face is easy to spot. What do you want me to do?

Alpha motioned to his Beta for a moment to lead the conversation as he continued to instruct his Delta on the matter.

Liam and Caleb will meet you halfway. Stay with her until you get to the Elwoods. Tonight I'll make the announcement about the pack party. Make sure nothing happens to her, Jackson.

Delta Jackson was not about to fail his Alpha or Luna, but it was difficult when she was walking with such a frolic in her step. Though he managed easily enough to direct others elsewhere when they started to get too close.

Some had met Sage before, one being Ally, but she had received a demanding growl and stopped in her tracks.

"Ally." She whispered, looking up to her guard in the same pout as she used before. "I'm sorry, Luna, but Alpha's instructions were not to stop for anyone." Allison had smiled at Sage and shook her head.

"It's okay, Sage, we'll hang out later with Izzy. I promised to braid your hair remember?" An excited grin appeared instantly.

"We'll go swimming soon again, bye Sage!"

"Bye?" The words felt odd in her mouth, but Jack had sent that directly to his Alpha as she learned another interaction.

I believe the walkover is under ten minutes. Are you crawling?

Sir, I couldn't just drag her home. Ally invited her to go swimming and braid her hair. Girl stuff.

Remus would have to thank Ally for trying to normalize Sage's position, as well as having those seeing her as still being a she-wolf in help. He was indeed relieved to see Jackson returned to the meeting room without any further mention or problem.

Sage spent the day listening to Casey read to her. If anyone was going to help her start reading, it would be the little pup who kept at it and had access to all the beginner books.

"'B—b-i-g bear...R-run af—ter the ru-rubit.'"

"Rabbit, see that's a rabbit." Sage looked at the picture and dragged her two fingers to the illustration above the small little sentences she was getting for.

"'Big bear run after the rabbit'...Big Sage run after the rabbit." She hugged her brother further as she smiled down at the image. She would run after the rabbit. But Casey wanted to continue, and so he flipped to the next page. "'B-i-g bear...l-a-w—'"

"Claw."

"'...Claw s-sal-many.'" Casey pointed to the picture again. Each highlight had been to the sprouting fishes protruding from the water.

"'Salmon,' mama says we can have salmon soon. Do you like fish, Sagey?" Luke had narrowed his brow as he turned the corner. He hadn't been home all that long, but a soft smile found its way onto his face with ease.

It seems like only himself, Casey, and Ally were the ones to talk to Sage without catering to the conversation.

"Fish..." She perked her lips, feeling how it sounded on her tongue as she stared at the image. "Bear eats fish rabbit."

Fish rabbit, that's a good one.

Luke left the two talking about bears and fish as he washed off with a shower before he joined them, and almost instantly had the two smiled up to him.

"What's this about a fish rabbit?"

"Bear eats fish." Sage showed him, and he hummed along. Though his wolf craved to hold his sister, especially after what transpired last night.

"Show me what Casey's been teaching you, Sage." Casey scrambled out of his sister's hold to find her favorite book. And returned to her lap with a loud squeal.

Luke had caught a glimpse of it, one he knew all too well. Goodnight Moon.

He could swear to the Moon Goddess above that there wasn't a wolf on this earth that hasn't heard of the book before.

Or almost all of them had.

He held the book steady for Sage to take in the picture. Her creativity paired with her maturing motor skill. Showing an overall sign of improvement of adapting to the world around her.

As she was gaining the ability to draw what she pictured in her head.

And they were getting visibly accurate.

"'I-n...The grat greeeen r-room...Here was a...'" Her expression grew frustrated as she couldn't identify the word 'telephone,' and so she huffed.

"Tel-e-phone'...We don't call them that anymore, and they don't look like that. Phone, you remember what a phone is, right Sage?" She nodded, her eyes returning to connect to the third line.

"'A...red balloon." Her pronunciation was strangled, a keen reminder that her verbal communication is still an active battle, but he cracked a grin. Casey was a damn good teacher.

Though he hadn't started from scratch, as Sage knew basic numbers and letters. He followed up with Jade's small lesson with sounds and the alphabet. It was easy to continue the progress from there.

Sage had continued throughout the book, but Luke suspected that she started to remember the story more than actually sounding out the words and reading.

Her memory proved to be working more than identifying what was in front of her.

She was enjoying herself tremendously. To the point where Luke was debating on leaving Sage in a room filled with pups. He was sure they would teach her all she needed to know.

"Hey, you pups, lunch is—You traitor." Liam hissed, seeing Luke having Sage and Casey curled into his side was indeed a traitor's act.

"Goodnight moon?" She questioned, and Luke rolled his eyes.

"Sage found her favorite book. How about you read it to him after lunch?" A smile graced her lips as she started to climb out of her brother's hold and put the book back into its original place.

It wasn't long before Casey grabbed her hand and led her through the house. Even though she's lived here for close to a month and some odd days, he still thought she was getting used to everything.

"Hey, little flower, what do you want to drink?" She blinked for a moment at her mother. It was Caleb that said to use the tactic of taking a moment and think before responding. "Tea, please," Leo smirked as he handed his mate a glass for the young she-wolf.

"Saying please and reading a book? I think this calls for brownies tonight."

"Brownies are for the pack party. Do. Not. Touch." Luke's attention darted back to his mother.

"The Alpha called, and everyone got an email...Should I bake something else or—"

"I think Luke is more interested in the fact that the initiation is happening so soon. Not baked good, Camilla." The mother had slapped Leo with the dishrag she was drying her hands with at said comment.

"The council is coming after Sage had a meeting with—Anyway, he thought it best she's initiated before they come so they don't..." Take her.

The mother couldn't manage to say it out loud, and it was lucky that Casey was distracting her yet again as she missed this conversation, or so they thought.

"Council?" She questioned, and Leo pushed off against the counter and came closer.

"They're old Alphas and Lunas of the states. They keep us all in check. They want to meet you, like the pack party. You'll meet the rest of the pack like Alpha Remus talked about." The mention of Remmy caused her to smile, which caused Liam to groan.

"Moaning and groaning, Lucy?" Caleb joked, perhaps the one brother beside Casey who favored the Alpha for Sage. If anyone was going to help Sage, it would be someone bonded and tied to her.

Who loves her unconditionally.

A mate can detect more than a sibling or parent could. It was how Remus was able to identify if she didn't understand a part of the conversation. It's all thanks to the bond and his interpretation of it. Even if they haven't completed the full bond, it still aided in the sense of knowing when to rephrase something to allow Sage to understand it better.

"After dinner, we'll find you something to wear." Camilla smiled, giving her daughter a glass of the requested ice tea. But it caught all the male's eyes, apart from Casey's, attention.

"I won't have our Luna not dress up for her own initiation!" She yelled in defense, and all the males hitched their shoulders.

There was power in being a mother to a whole litter, but nobody heard the yell more than Leo.

"Purple?" Sage took one for the team and claimed her mother down by offering up her favorite color. Ultimately giving her choice in preference of what the dress could look like.

It was new for her to make such a straightforward request.

And after learning about 'Goodnight moon,' maybe she will start saying that instead of sleep sleep.

Lunch consisted of a large bowl of Alfredo pasta and garlic bread, which Sage adored. While her family explained what would happen at her coronation, she seemed to be getting the gist of the process.

Until the mention of blood.

"Hey, it's not like that. The Alpha is sharing his blood with you, Sage. That's how you'll be able to join the pack." Luke thought it best to show her how it would happen, not with a needle but a knife down the center of her hand.

Sage realized that it was entirely different than collecting vials samples from her. And it was good that they explained and showed an example before the actual initiation.

Her reaction would be seen by everyone.

And this was a political and judgmental aspect that Luke hated about packs.

He thought that the human governments were awful, but this?

Sage's rise in popularity was stationed because she protected a pack member against a gang of Rogues.

But even then, it won't protect her forever from the curiosity that others will have because she came from a facility.

From what Leo could gather, Sage would be the youngest Luna in North America, even without knowing her proper age.

It was late afternoon now, and Sage was sitting with Liam and Casey, reading through a new book. Her brothers were patient and stayed with her on the unfamiliar topic until she started to get the hang of the new words.

And after a full day of speaking out loud with new words, it gave her the confidence to start doing it more. Camillia was beyond impressed with her sons. So much so that she decided to bake an extra batch of brownies as a reward.

Elwood brownies were known in the pack as the best.

In the midst of her reading a new tale about a mouse stealing a cookie, the Alpha had taken the liberty of knocking at the Elwood residence.

Luckily it was Caleb who answered the door, and he smirked at the Alpha. "You're in for a surprise." The Elwood laughed. The hint was not enough to calm the visiting male at all.

"What happened?" Caleb turned back and shook his head.

"Nothing happened, purely academics in this household today. Think Sage has been reading since she came home this morning." Remus was once again left unprepared as he followed Caleb through the house and into the playroom.

His mate was definitely creative. Especially when he caught the spots of paint on her face and hands. The she-wolf looked well entertained, though she smiled brightly to her mate, who was still planted at the doorway.

"Reading and painting?" She eagerly nodded. It had actually been the first full day of speaking back and forth and trying to build up the conversation around her constantly. Causing her to want to get involved.

"Reading, no paint."

"I think the colors on your hands tell a different story, Sage." She looked to her hands and grinned deviously.

"Sagey, why don't you show the Alpha you're favorite book?" Liam suggested, all before nicking his head off towards where she had previously left it.

Remus eyed her curiously as she found the book once again and offered it up to him.

"Goodnight moon'?" Nodding once again, he took the book from her. It has been a while since he held a children's book. But seeing the level that Sage is starting on, and how theres hardly two sentences on each page, caused him to frown.

Something that Sage caught.

How is she doing reading?

He questioned out to the males in the room, minus Casey, of course.

She's actually doing better than I first thought. She's been talking a lot today too.

Liam spoke up, suggesting that they go read it outside or something like that. Remus' eyes softened as he looked back down to his mate.

"I...I read book?" She questioned, though Remus took at it as a sign of her wanting to read it to him.

A nod caused her face to brighten even more as she took the book back and followed the Alpha out into the backyard.

It was a fairly warm afternoon, and although he was going to question why she wore a hoodie, he couldn't dismiss the fact that it was the one he had given her last night.

"I really hope this council meeting doesn't take too long munchkin, after that, you can start actual school."

"Party?"

"Yeah, the party is happening really soon. Did Luke or Leo explain it?" She thought back for a moment to her lunch, sifting through what she could explain, and one highlighted out the most.

The blood exchange.

So she rolled up her sleeve and pointed her finger to her palm, dragging down a single finger. "Blood."

"Sharing blood. I think that's why your wolf is so anxious, Sage. It's because she's home but not fully joined." She repeated the word anxious as it felt strange on her lips, and he cracked a grin.

"It means you're feeling worried, but you're not feeling anxious, are you, Munchkin?" She was about to respond, but he picked her up into his arms before sitting down on the cool grass.

Sage weighed little to nothing. Her first week of freedom had shown an entirely different female than the she-wolf in front of him right now.

He watched her battling the likes of a simple second-grader book, which led him to reward her with a shower of kisses on her cheek. And even snuck one onto her neck as it was indeed his decided spot on where to mark her, but she eyed him in warning.

Remus watched in admiration as her nose twitched, followed by a huff.

"Words?" He gently reminded.

"No bite."

"No bite?" She shook her head, but a rightful smile popped into her mind. Camilla indeed shared the basics of the mating process with her daughter. Though she didn't go into detail as to what actual mating means.

Not yet, at least.

But it started with why males and females were considered different.

"My neck. No bite." He was perfectly alright with earning her trust than simply submitting to his whims. Instead, it tested him and his wolf, as well as serve as a perfect Luna.

Her judgment of character is the perfect trait any leader should have. Not to mention tying with the Alpha.

"Council?" She whispered. They had been simply lying in the grass for nearly an hour now. His fingers tracing a pattern into her skin in small swirls.

"They're going to ask you some questions. That night when you found Kelly...Did you meet someone?" She nodded and smiled.

"Selene." It was considered unheard of to say her name out loud without it being in prayer.

But Remus couldn't fault her. Instead, it was beautiful that she knew her name without anyone telling her before. "What did she talk about, munchkin?"

"Selene talk." He nodded for her to continue, though when she opened her mouth to speak, she couldn't rightly explain what was said to her in conversation.

But Remus restrained himself from pushing forward to get the answer out easier. It was considered a sin to dip into the mind of another wolf. Especially when the memories involved the Moon Goddess herself.

"Selene sorry." But that indeed had him still, Selene sorry. "What is she sorry for, Munchkin? Repeat what she said like she said it."

"Sorry in cell. Couldn't see...me." Sage had sat up within her explanation, her brow narrowed and put a strain as she clutched the sides of her temples.

"Hey, it's alright, hun. Come here...Shhh." His arms lapped over her small figure. To distract her, he pushed his attention to the curve of her neck, pressing his lips delicate in a quickened pattern.

In retaliation, her fangs grew with the telling solid black eyes as she was battling her wolf. A very different wolf than what he had met yesterday.

"Mine." Remus having more control over his wolf, managed to hold him back from marking her on the spot at that sort of claim.

Though that didn't stop Sage from pinning him to the ground, her strength issuing a little bit of a challenge.

But his wolf started to see this as more of a sexual play than anything remotely threatening.

"I'm yours, and you are mine. That's how this works, you're my little mate and I'm your Remmy." His soft voice had returned her pupil's coloring, but only in the slightest.

But after trying to relay his words of affection, she attempted her own attack on his neck.

And the Alpha had surely been beaten at his own game, because damnit he hadn't prepared for this!

The only idea that came to mind was to counter this with something she could never deny, something she favored against all else.

You up for a run, Sage?

She instantly stilled. Giving him a good moment of clarity as he sat up. Sage had the ability to turn from a sexy she-wolf to acting overly excited over something so simple as a run.

Having dropped the book off on the porch before setting off towards the beginning of the trail.

Sage no longer needed to be told to change behind a tree. But part of Remus hoped she would start to feel comfortable to change in front of him soon.

But in her mind, she thought it was rude.

Within seconds, she felt a small nip at the flap of her ear, and impatiently stomped her paw to the ground.

My run.

He let an amused breath out of his open mouth as he panted off in her direction.

Your ear. Where's your ear, hun?

His question had caused a small delay in their run as she dragged her paw up to her ear. She wasn't completely helpless, and when he asked for the next given body parts, she had managed well enough.

Being the Alpha allowed him to know the pack land the best, all the nooks and crannies. And Sage being his Luna means she will need to learn the lay of the land as well, especially if they were going to allow her to run on her own...Eventually.

However, her scent was slowly driving him mad.

Sooner or later, he wouldn't be able to take it much longer. Hopefully, that day was down the line because out of everything, he didn't want to lose control.

Today Sage was rather playful, a complete turnaround from the beast they witnessed just last night.

It was an eye-opener to her full strength, but the entirety of yesterday was going to be withheld from the Council.

As agreed by his own pack leaders beside him. Leo and Luke were all for withholding the information.

It was all theories on a genetic mutation that the scientist could've mustered. And after all is said and done with the pack introduction and council meeting, they were going to have a more thorough investigation of Sage's health.

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Date: 11-22-2020

Time: 8:50

Words: 4345

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EDITED:
DATE: 09/28/2021
WORDS: 4313