Chapter Nineteen (Rewritten)

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The heavy ache in her chest was the first thing that Sage could detect, truly, she craved the feeling of accepting exhaustion. Instead, she was left with the bitter aftermath of their pointless journey, no matter if it benefited Half Crescent, the better scenario would have been hearing a response from Crescent Moon.

Yet when she shifted to the opposite side of the pillow to see her pebbles resting just as they were the morning prior. She was reminded of two things, the first being just how the lack of being able to reach anyone was effecting her. And that was the main reason for the ache.

And the second being that the ache caused her to be reminded by Luke's all too gentle yet firm piece of advice, as his pebble greeted her just as plainly— "Hun, sometimes you gotta tough through it even if you want to sleep."

And she managed well, if she remembered it as he said it so casually.
It was one of the many pieces of Elwood's training and support she kept close to herself, especially in a time like this.

One thing was sure as her memories slowly returned to the forefront of her mind. She was rather thankful that she had the witches scouting alongside the trip into town. Holly and Lilith had done perfectly. Perhaps the combination of telekinesis and Healer as her backup had been the best idea she conjured since claiming the bear cave as their new home.

Well, she hoped that Andy accepted it as being that. Saving him was better for the pack, given that he had one thing right—The pack mattered, and returning without engaging certainly would be for the better.

No part of Sage wanted to deal with Armond's Rogues, and it only frightened her further even to suggest that they were found after so long.
Half Crescent had been a secure place of refuge, and she would be damned if she ruined it for everyone here.

Elena, is everyone okay?

Alpha! My goddess, what the hell happened?! Are you alright?!

Confusion laced Sage's mind, why wouldn't Elena know what was happening?
She was her Beta female after—Elena was no longer a ranked female.

It disrupted every ounce Sage wanted to conform to, and so she waved Elena off in an attempt to figure out what was going on in terms of the Rogues.

However, Elena's voice continued to flow freely, not abiding by Sage's attempt at breaking the connection.

Holly and Lilith are terrified that something happened to you, are you alright? Should I send Lilith over?

To have the Healer come and take a look was pointless, and instead, it had been a final and more suitable term of dismissal. Even if Sage did feel the sharp sting of betrayal on Elena's end, it would be for the better.

All of this would be for the better.

However, upon exiting her room, she caught sight of not only Andy's room open and empty. But the light from his office called her attention, as did the voice muffled behind them.

"Sir, what you did was reckless and inappropriate at best, to let our newly acclaimed Luna run while you handled a dozen rogues?!" Grey's voice shouted, and Sage closed her eyes, knowing that Severin was there—All she needed to do was expand her mind freely and tap into it.

It's a blessing that one of you was using their fucking head. If Sage hadn't brought back up—Witches, at that—Then we would be having a different story, Alpha.

Perhaps the entire situation was faulty at best, but Sage couldn't have responded in any way, regardless. Andy had done her a service, and she repaid him for it, perhaps not in the same way, but something similar in the moment.

Not wanting things to fall apart so quickly, Sage had knocked on the door before poking her head in to gauge the situation. Perhaps it would have been better to stay in bed and wait until morning, but then she would have let everything pass without her notice. And she needed to know.
She made a promise to Andy to be his Luna.

It would be wrong not to try.

"Luna—" Grey said in greeting, but she continued forward with her arms crossed as she stood in the center between the mix-match seating arrangement of the Alpha's office. "What happened?" She questioned, demanding an answer between the two males.

"We're trying to figure that out," Grey offered, his arms unwinding from his chest, ". When you came back to Half Cres, we dispatched a few scouts and warriors to assess the situation." This nearly caused Sage to take a step back.
This was not the male she was used to sharing a laugh with or how he engaged with the pups.

She was instantly reminded that he was this pack's Delta for a reason.
Andy trusts him—Trusts them both, much like he trusts her.

A trust that she wasn't all too sure she still deserved, so she continued her line of questioning. "Find the Rogues?"
"We did, but—"

They smelled as fowl as we thought. Thankfully, our Healer and yours managed to care for the injured. What we don't understand is why the Alpha was angry about your retrenchment.

Sage's lips parted to Severin's words as she turned down to look at Andy, who was already looking up at her and scoffing. "There was no need to panic or—"
"Panic? We haven't had a Fevered encounter for weeks!" Grey spat, but it wasn't his tone that caught her attention, no, it was the word Fevered.
It made the most sense, changing the name to properly describe what had attacked them. Sage had been so used to how the American packs used the term Rogues so loosely.

Well, that was obvious as to why, the American packs were ruthless and inconsiderate...But she supposed they were getting better, or at least, she hoped so. 

But upon the Delta's words, she sighed into the next available seat, and the rest joined her.

"We are safe. Fevered doesn't follow." Sage offered, trying to act as the in-between, and that station helped immensely, given where she was sitting—In between the Alpha and the Beta and Delta duo.

It doesn't matter, we have a shipment to pick up in five days. We tried to convince the Alpha to wait for your trip, and I get you needed to try to reach out to your family, but we risked exposure.

Sage hadn't realized that the trip was just days away, so it was no wonder Andy had been adamant about staying and finishing what needed to be done.

Perhaps it was his way of saying that accepting the title and promise meant he, too, needed to keep his side of the bargain.

But this was a chance for Sage to offer her aid. "I can help." She admitted, and it gained her curious glance at all three of the males before her.

"What do you mean, Luna?"
"It's how I get Andy back quickly. I can move the supplies through the woods. No more wolves needed. It's quick, can escape Fevered." She bit her lip, wondering if it was worth it, given that she had fallen unconscious and just woke up.

Not to mention that she wasn't sure if Andy was honest about her heritage.

This could have been a complete mistake, but truly, what more could be offered on this occasion? And better yet, it took the attention away from the Alpha.

"Sage, I don't want you getting hurt again. I have your safety to think about." Andy reminded, but it earned him a frown as it was her turn to cross her arms over her chest.
"I don't need you to do that." She growled, peeved that the male was resembling Remus at this very moment.

And she wasn't all too sure how she felt about it. "No, but it's happening whether you like it or not. How many people are you meant to bring with you for this Whisping thing?"

"I take three pups with me, so two or three. But I take you now, and I think it was because it was stressful that I fell out. And I'm okay now." Andy began to bob his head, catching sight of Severin looking off towards Sage in curiosity.

What do you two think?

Andy Linked out to his Beta and Delta, specifically, to get a proper and private feel as to what they thought. And the slight nod came to life.

I think Luna wants to prove herself. She's been trying to help everywhere around the pack, from younger years with homework to in the kitchen, helping she-wolves, and training. Let her try, and if it doesn't work, then we know.

After the Alpha had contemplated Severin's words, it was then that Andy had nodded his head to their newly acclaimed Luna, and while he had expected her to embrace this new task, she had already managed to narrow her eyes towards the rest of the males in the room.

They weren't that discreet, after all.

"Sage, it's—"
"You do not trust me, do you?" She hissed, but the tone of regret made Andy sigh. Of course, she would see it like that, especially when the room had been silent for a few beats.
"Fine. Do it yourself. Never mind." She grumbled, attempting to get out of the room. Not wanting to be denied another opportunity to help, but after hearing Severin's not-so-private words, she realized how desperate she was to make her place known.

But it was all temporary.
There was no reason to go above and beyond when it really and truly didn't matter.

However, Sage managed to retreat to her room, knowing that a quick washdown would do her well, given all that had happened together.

But upon looking, she hadn't realized she had been gripping Luke's pebble in her hand this entire time.
Goddess, she must have looked bizarre for bringing it with her.

However, upon feeling her body, she realized that her belt was not secure around her waist. Instead, it was placed on the opposite end of the room near the rest of her wardrobe.

Near her bear pelt, but after looking through it, she realized she was missing a pebble.

She had brought Liam and Luke with her on their trip, thinking that entering a human town resembled the escape she had endured with her brothers all that time ago.

Their silent presence had helped, but not when she had lost Liam!

In a fit of disappointment and pure rage, she settled beside her backpack and looked through it, knowing it wouldn't be in there.

Not when she specifically placed it in her belt.
No, Liam was missing, and it hurt more than she ever thought it would.

"Sage? Can you open the door for me?" The voice on the opposite end of the door had been a pointless call-out. There was no way to escape unless Sage wanted to try and go out by the window.
But after what she endured already, she didn't see the point. 

Instead, she caught the knock he so pitifully gave.

"Fuck off." It was at that moment that he knew he had fucked up. If she wanted to get treated with delicate baby hands, then she would stop trying to find her place in the pack. As if she hadn't had that struggle before.

"You know I'm not against breaking down this door. And what happened to the 'no swearing' policy?" Sage snorted, shaking her head as she pulled herself up and into the chair beside the stationed table. Starting to fiddle with her brother's figure and decided right then and there that she needed to make Liam a new one.

"Door's open, Andy." She calmly said, and Andy had tested the knob and laughed at himself for nearly taking a more direct attempt.

Sage hardly looked up from her position, looking over Luke, her small body hardly taking up the chair, but as he neared, she allowed him the chance to speak...Even if that chance was issued with an annoyed glare.

Thus, Andy had kneeled down and caught sight of the pebble in her hand—Luke Elwood, given the inscription behind it.

"I don't want to talk."
"Yeah, but I think we have to...About what happened back there." She shook her head, trying to defuse the tension in her skull as she began to dig around for an empty slab. Wondering if she could recreate the memory she recalled for the previous one.

"What are you doing?"
"I lost my brother's pebble...When we Whisp." She whispered, and Andy's eyes had risen, knowing exactly what she was talking about. "What? Goddess, I'm so sorry, Sage. Maybe...Maybe we can look for it...When we go back?"

Go back?
Didn't he say he didn't want her going?

"What?"
"I don't want you going so far away from the pack grounds. It was already dangerous when we went. That hybrid status of yours goes for big money. Bounty hunters might not be the biggest issue for America with the established pack shields, but we don't have that backing here." Sage twisted her body, stopping her obsessive digging for a blank pebble as she thought about Andy's concerns.

"But we can make them. We need five witches." Andy was once again caught being unfamiliar with the Witch's culture and abilities. He'd only met a handful, and he hadn't dared interact with the ones stationed in his pack—not without Sage present.
But he knew all were either power-hungry or sentenced on Death row, considering how powerful they were in the eyes of the Underground.

"A-alright, we'll get on that soon. How about we have this conversation in the morning? Alright? You were asleep for hours." She denied the offer, feeling more peeved that today hadn't gone how she hoped.

Perhaps if she could offer something meaningful, it would commandeer this feeling of hopelessness that was threatening to consume her.

Sage needed to do something, besides, it would push to her promise to become a stand-in Luna for the time being. Or permanent, if it meant that Remus is— "Hey, look...Today was a lot. I haven't played around with magic too much, but I know whatever bibbidi-bobbidi bullshit you performed is draining. So rest, I'll have someone bring you something to eat if you're interested. But nothing is happening today." Nothing in the sense of progress would happen today, or tomorrow.

But it was built upon in the grand scheme of things, so she nodded and agreed. Though no part of her was truly ready for bed, she accepted the tea that an Omega had brought up without any complaint. And enjoyed the calmness that the blend offered, all while sketching the base of her brother's face.

Hating—Absolutely hating that she lost him.
But she would right this wrong and take care of the shipment. 

______

Date: 04/24/24

Time: 9:12 PM (Late, I know! I'm sorry!)

Words: 2466

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