* * *

The phone call had been nothing but laughter, not just laugher. Remus was sure that Harlow was near tears after he explained the situation.

Mystic had made a big parade of it as well.

Although Remus and Jade had never had their differences, this being their first, she suddenly rallied on her throwing her head back at the thought.

"You're joking." Great. Josh was going to get a word in too. Remus thought as Mystic's Beta had entered in as well. But with the humor off on the other end, he could assume Josh had taken to the information the same as the others.

"And your previous Luna?"

"The files have been dismissed, the council—" Josh only laughter again at the idea of the council's reaction to finally letting go of this ongoing battle.

"...Are probably throwing a god damn party." He teased, and Remus smirked in seeing Jade smacking her Beta upside the head. Her growing stomach was a dominating feature, one of which he surely commented on congratulations before sharing the good news.

"Wait...Are you saying you hadn't met Sage? That—that was your first time meeting her?" Remus had felt immensely disgusted with himself all over again.

"Suppose Harlow was right...You all were, about it all. Sage is...Is a sweetheart." Luna Jade was battling her own emotions, but the little bit of kindness she had spotted and the rush of a growing blush on the Alpha's face had her squeal.

"But does she like you is the question? That she-wolf can be pretty picky." Harlow joked, only to earn himself a smack like his Beta. And he rubbed his hand to the spot and growled at his mate.

"You can sleep on the couch, Alpha," Remus smirked as he looked away from the affection either mate had been giving one another to take a look at the time.

He would have to get ready soon.

Camilla had been the best help and just overall being on his side and supporting the fact that he's Sage's mate. But maybe she knew that having a male in Sage's life would give her just the right amount of support she needed to grow further.

And that is exactly what will happen from this day on. Remus was going to balance his time and make sure his little mate was catered to her every whim.

He already had interviewed a few pack members who could potentially tutor Sage. It was down to the final three. The next step would be to see who Sage connects with the most.

Remus just had one request, only females apply to the position.

For one reason or another, it was one of the biggest protective setbacks. Even if she lived in a house full of her brothers, it still didn't leave his thoughts.

His wolf was struggling with that concept as much as he was, though Remus could counter his jealousy with the fact that she had bonded with them as brothers.

His wolf? Not so much.

"How are her brothers handling this?" He returned his gaze off to his laptop and sighed into his hands. "Better than the first day. Of course, it didn't help that Kelly had challenged her for the position." Jade held her gasp captive behind her hand as her eyes bugged out.

"What?!" Remus hummed, reliving the day in its entirety. Harlow continued to shake his head as he listened to the rest of the story.

"Your Luna tied the Alpha. That isn't something we hear every day," Josh mumbled, and Remus shrugged. "The way Luke and Liam explained things is that she doesn't know what a tie means. It's down to being kill or be killed seems to be her approach to things threatening her. But when she was sparring with her brothers, she felt guilt."

"Of course she would. Who did she spare with?"

"Liam and Cameron, I believe. Caleb a few days later. Luke claims that she's starting to understand that sparring is a game, or when it's a wolf, they don't mean no actual harm." Harlow chuckled as he brought up the Rogue encounter. It was customary to report how many Rogue sightings a park gets on a forum.

A secure forum.

"They were using silver pelts to hide, no prisoners this time. But the next time they pack up like that, I'll be sure to keep one alive."

"Or get Sage to keep one alive." Jade joked, and now it was Josh's turn to demand the story.

"I'll email you the rest of the data tonight. Sage and the Elwoods are coming over for dinner."

"Oh, that's adorable. Maybe after the pup is born, you two can come to Mystic?" Remus bit his lip to hide the smirk. It was clear that Mystic Grimm's pack was a terrifying bunch to outsiders.

But with Remus's relation with Harlow, or with Sage, they turned into a normal mated couple to have dinner invitations.

"We'll see, but I can't see Sage traveling anytime soon? We should wait for those plans." The call soon ended, and now it was time for Remus to prepare for this night.

Part of him was excited.

On the other hand, it was stressful.

Usually, when wolves find their mates, their parents or family aren't as involved. But it made sense to give Sage the support of her adopted brother and parents to segway their relationship and show their approval to the male.

He wore one of his fancier things from his closet, a purple dress shirt. It was an easy choice, especially after he found out that its Sage's favorite color.

He couldn't resist it.

That and he recalled his mother saying how strong he looked while wearing shirts like these.

Tight fitted and classy.

As he stood in front of the mirror in his room, he thought about how his mother would have adored Sage. He knew that without a doubt.

And while Remus hated his father to the ends of the earth, he supposed he too would've enjoyed this spunky little she-wolf.

The Elwoods arrived on time, though he doubted that Sage knew what was happening at the current moment. Nevertheless, she came in and offered her cheek affectionately to her mate before smiling up at him.

"How was your day, munchkin?" He questioned, and she smiled even brighter as she sent images left and right.

"This one decided to have a race halfway across the territory, ate her dust, didn't you, Liam?" Cameron joked, and it brought the two to growl at one another.

Since Sage hardly ever understood what they were saying, only taking the tone of voices and identifying that they were taunting each other.

Her attention was soon focused on the interior of the Packhouse.

While it reminded her of Mystic Grimm, it wasn't entirely the same.

Dinner was still being prepared, allowing the family to discuss a few important matters. However, Sage still felt mildly uncomfortable that Luke wasn't here.

Jack said he had patrol, but that didn't stop her from worrying.

She still felt anxious, and she hadn't a clue as to why.

What was her wolf telling her?

In the midst of her not paying attention, Remus had sat beside her on the couch, and it instantly had her skin fire up in response. It was times like this that she wished she could understand what it meant to have a mate, but alas, her questions were stuck in her head.

It's when we touch, hun. Everything's alright. Watch?

Those around the couple knew that they were talking, and Remus had gone in and interlocked their hands together. Conforming to the likes of her soft little hand, the one that he couldn't forget that socked him in the jaw just a couple of days ago.

"So what about this tutor?"

"I have a few lined up for her already. Now it's just a matter of who Sage gets along with more. There's one closer in age or an elder, whatever she wants." Whatever she wants, that had been the title of her life at the moment.

"How does that sound Sage? You'll be learning how to read and write." The girl smiled at the soft voice, but Remus was worried that she was slightly out of it for a few reasons.

It was wrong of him to pry, but he wanted to know what she was feeling and he sighed. "She's confused." He whispered, and it followed the entire group to team up to explain what would happen next.

But no matter what they had said, it still came off as confusing.

Only until Casey came into the picture and into her lap.

"Sagey, you can come to school with me, and we can draw and read and write...It's fun! Miss Mackie lets us use paints!" It wasn't in the entire direction those wanted it to go, but finally, there was bit of understanding.

Though now it prompted as to what she did and didn't understand.

As they were moving to the dining room, Remus caught the small smile that Sage was giving him. Questioning it brought her to point to the shirt.

"Well, I heard you like purple, sweetheart. Come, Gigi makes the best chicken and potatoes in the pack." Now that she understood, and it was confirmed with a wiggle as he pulled her close to his chest and walked towards the dining room together.

Course, the Alpha would be seated at the head of the table, and it confused her as she would usually sit with Liam or Luke.

But he steered her to the seat that would face his right, while the Beta Eli was position on his left.

Luckily Jackson was sitting beside her, as the Delta, his duty was more steered towards the Luna than the Beta. And beside him was an empty seat, the very one saved for Luke when he arrived.

Alpha Remus wasted no time preparing his mate's plate, and it caused Leo to smirk at the sight.

He was delighted to have a daughter, but a strong part of him felt protective over this newfound responsibility when a child found their mate.

And Sage's situation added an extra layer of difficulty.

The conversation flowed smooth enough, and the family already knew how to involve Sage into conversations. But in addition to it, Remus was able to tell what she was feeling and broadcast it out.

Is everything alright?

Alright.

The word meant little to her, but she was okay. Mainly tired and confused, but nothing was really new. So Remus wrote it off as her missing Luke.

That or the lack of a mating mark.

Personally, he wanted to think of his involvement of the anxiety rolling off her in waves.

He'd confront her later. As of right now, he just enjoyed the view.

It was near time for dessert, and Camilla had caught Sage's eyes and it was clear that she needed something, and it prompted the mother to silently ask.

Bathroom?

The mother smiled and nodded as she rose up. "I'm just showing Sage where the restroom is." Remus waved his hand and offered to escort his mate himself. Besides, it was evidently his home for the time being.

Or his place of residence until he moves back into his actual house.

"You want me to wait for you, hun?" He questioned, and she shook her head. But the titled expression was a reminder of her to speak verbally.

"No, thank you." He leaned in gently and gave her a kiss on her crown before returning back to the dining room.

Sage couldn't ignore the scent from before popping up again, but nothing fueled her senses other than rage and aggravation. What was it?!

Whilst in the bathroom, Sage continued to contemplate where the scent was coming from. However, when she neared the dining room she started to overhear a familiar name. Kelly.

Then it clicked. It was Kelly's scent.

Her wolf started to go into a defensive position.

Why was her scent on Remus?

She started to back away from the dining room and returned back to the bathroom. However, in relation to having an identity to the scent, she found a trail.

Was she here?

Was she hiding?

Was she still hurt?

It wasn't that Sage thought of herself as being strong. She just knew that what happened the other day had been some sort of test, and she won.

She wasn't ignorant of the amount of strength she placed on this she-wolf, but at the current moment, she followed the trail of Kelly's scent throughout the Packhouse.

Her ability to get so distracted on a single thought had led to multiple scenarios, one of which meant almost running into a tree which Liam still teases her about.

Finally, the scent seemed to be locked behind a door, was this Kelly's room?

Realistically this was a bad idea, but the lack of morals and boundaries simply went over this She-wolf's head, and she continued to open the unlocked door and follow the steps downstairs.

And once she reached the bottom floor, she couldn't believe her eyes.

There were dozens of cages. Some filled with Wolves and some empty, but one thing was for sure, Sage had turned from neutral to absolutely livid in a matter of seconds.

______

Date: 11-22-2020

Time: 8:48

Words: 2180

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EDITED:
DATE: 09/24/2021
WORDS: 2185