* * *

Sage growled in cation for the those around her, but none were too far from their weapon of choice.

"Oms?" [What?] She questioned, pulling up the language barrier for the others to get wind.

"Duodecim viros." [Twelve men.] Isla informed, her eyes remaining neutral as the bit of surprise in having witchcraft against these male wolves was enough to keep the stakes high.

While those beside her rose to their feet, Sage remained sitting. Hoping to learn before allowing her wolf to take over.

"Where's your Alpha? I'm sure he's worried why his females are so far from their territory." The male teased, earning himself a growl from the large wolf beside him. He had still been in fur, but shifted before standing at attention—Silently scanning the area in the nude before taking hold of the ushered shorts being offered.

"You're trespassing, leave!" Elena shouted, and the oomf of power caused the other women to nod along. Though the male certainly did not like that as his eyes trailed back to the speaking male.

"Trespassing? What the hell are you doing on our land?! This is still our pack—it's our Alpha's!" Sage chuckled as she joined the crowd and stepped through her guards of she-wolves.

The males eyed her small figure with lust and curiosity, but she huffed in retaliation.

"You leave a bear here?" She questioned, and their eyes turned surprised to see that said bear had been slayed and killed. "Y-you killed it?... Huh, well shit, Toby. We have to kill you the old fashion way, then." The male said with a tug of chain, and it didn't take a genius to know that the metal was silver, and that it led up to the collar and handcuffs.
"P-please! I deserve an honorable death! I deserve—"

"You deserve nothing!" The male spat back to the quivering prisoner, and that caused Sage's head to tilt. "Where's your Alpha, female?"

"I am the Alpha. This is my land. I kill the bear...Careful." She tested, her eyes lingering on the wolves still in fur coming out from the bushes behind the talking male.

"You're the Alpha?" Maeve had growled at the taunt, especially when it caused the rest of the males to laugh—Even the large muted one's body chuckled alongside his packmates.

"Come one kid, you can't be more than—"
"Want to find out, male?" She said, her eyes teasing with a prospect that invited challenge. So the male hummed along before tugging on Toby's chains.

"Nah. He'll take my place instead. He deserves it...Raped one of our she-wolves." It was certainly throwing a lamb into a lion's den the way he was placed to them on a silver platter, and thus Sage smirked.

"Nice gift, name?" Sage beckoned, and the male turned to his friend for a moment. An obvious sign of linking with one another before turning back.

"Delta Grey, ma'am...This is Beta Severin, don't mind him. His tongue was cut out ages ago. You're doing us a favor if you kill him...What's your name?" Sage closed her eyes and walked forward to them, the height difference clearly visible as she smiled up to them.

"Alpha Sage. My females, Beta Elena, Delta Maeve, and Gamma Isla." It certainly caught their attention as to having all the higher ranks in one position, but then again...Having two higher-ups escort a single male to a punishment?

It caused Sage to eye off to her females.

"He was a new Rogue we picked up a few weeks ago, not trustworthy, Alpha..." Sage hummed and turned back towards her clan.

"You help Rogues?"
"We're Rogues ourselves. Hundred-twenty strong...Or hundred-nineteen. You're small, ma'am, but I'm open to seeing a surprise." She smiled to Delta Grey and turned to the male in question.

Maeve had come over towards Sage and removed the bear pelt, allowing her much better movement to prepare herself in this challenge. "W-wait! What are the rules?!" Sage let her feet spread apart as she held an odd pose, an odd pose for the newcomers, that is.

Her clan knew that it was teaching from Arctic Crest that was attempting to learn, but now it was a formal starting pose. "No rules. There are no rules for bears like there are no rules for rapists." She begged, and the laughter of Delta Grey had been in place of a ring as Sage no longer hesitated or held herself back.

Course, the female laughter urged the male opponent to try and become more aggressive. However, when the call out for a shift paused the two—Sage's necklace protected her clothes, earning her half a confused audience. Though it hadn't taken long before Sage's jaws unhinged on Toby's throat, leaving him limp.

She dropped him to the ground and stared at the unfamiliar pack, shifting once more and standing tall before her kill. "Are you hungry?" Sage offered, and that certainly caused Jose to peek her head up.

"T-there's plenty of leftovers..." She offered, and having smelled their feast earlier—Those around them all took a gaze to the Beta in question, though his inability to speak left Sage waiting for Grey to respond.

"How do we know you won't poison us?" Sage chuckled and nicked her head for her females to prepare the rest of the feast. "Because I want to meet your Alpha. I need to talk to him." She dwelled, and that certainly caused Severin to smirk.

"I don't say anything funny, Beta Severin, do you like poison in your food?" It wasn't that she spoke with an accent, but the newcomers a the latter considering she spoke with one prior.

The dozen males had joined the females and ate around the fire. They were soaking up the female's attention, and Sage knew that one lucky wolf had teased a male enough to follow her out in the woods.

Leaving Sage to keep an ear out, though she needed to keep her attention high with Severin and Grey just by her side.

"Yaxel is a good male. He treats she-wolves well." Sage turned to Grey and huffed. "Ethel isn't a she-wolf. She's a witch." She dwelled, taking a sip of her tea and breathing in the pure confusion she felt alongside the two higher-tier wolves.

"What? You have witches here?"
"Yes. We escape human facility, witches and wolves...But those are pups." Sage said with a motion to her head, and in the instant, either Clementine and Poppy had rushed over to tackle Sage and sit in her lap.

"Chase is so funny, Alpha! He threw Poppy in the air and caught her!" Clementine rushed out, their cheers earning them a kiss to the temple before she turned towards Severin.

"Can I meet your Alpha...We need help getting home." It was then clear as to why the she-wolf was asking for help. The theory clicked as the Beta soon noticed the faint mate marks on the supposed Alpha's neck.

Yet it was the first time he nodded within the conversation.

"We can only take so many at a time, uh...Alpha won't be happy if we don't come with a warning." Sage understood, the numbers she had were far greater than what was expected. "Sixteen wolves, twelve witches, and two pups. I take ten with me when we go." Severin had no issue with that, not when Alpha Sage had proven her with a quick and beautiful takedown.

Severin had watched the female Alpha for quite some time, listing his words of warning to Grey—Though the young male, of course, wouldn't listen. It was clear that his smooth-talking would surpass this she-wolf, and he almost laughed when the Beta had almost taken his head off for touching Sage.

The relationships here were strange, what Severin could see was that everyone had their own independent task. The witches and wolves had little to no issue amongst themselves or with the newcomers. If anything, a lot of them had opened their arms for male company, though Grey was silly in thinking he could get the same. From an Alpha no less, and when his failed attempts finally caught up with him. His attempt at someone in his own rank had seemingly dismantled his ego.

Elena didn't even look up from her sowing task, leaving the male to return to his seat beside Severin and earning an amused look from the Alpha.

He huffed, but that just made her smile more.

"Are you looking for mate?" The term held much more weight than it would've in a pack, the look of disbelief and humor sparked through. And even one male in the back had laughed in spite of it being the Alpha having spoken.

"Mate? We don't have mates." Sage leaned back, allowing her silence to cause them to question it. "Moon Goddess has mate for everyone...My charge was Rogue, I help him and he finds his mate. She's a witch." Severin's eyes narrowed, and Sage caught his brooding thinking face that made her smile.

"Maybe you need help finding mates." She offered, and that surely picked up everyone's interest. Even Chase, who had stopped his movement in feeding the fire, and it caused her to shrug her shoulders.

"And your mate? Sure they wouldn't be too happy having you hang around with a she-wolf while—"
"You don't know what you're talking about." Maeve bit back to Grey's bitter comment, and Sage sighed.

"I miss my mate and my pups. Not only one who wants to go home." Severin hadn't realized that the Alpha was—is a mother, and that surely put her in a newfound light. Or at least in his eyes when he caught her attention, a sad smile appeared.

"Pack far away?" She questioned, and Grey shook his head, though he was still embarrassed to speak with her from the previous two conversations.
"Nah, about a day's trip if we leave in the morning...Ten, right?" Sage hummed, scanning her eyes around her females in wonder of who to take with.

Who are you thinking of bringing?

Elena's voice managed into Sage's mind, but neither made it obvious to males. As they followed along in the conversation well enough, but in thinking of it rationally. She had a difficult choice to make.

I want to take pups with me, some witches too. I don't know yet. I think Cassandra, but her familiar needs a ride.

I was thinking her and maybe some of the birds? A hundred twenty is a lot to fight if we have to Alpha. Even with witches.

Do we have more limestone necklaces? We bring gifts.

It was then that Elena changed her task and looked for aid from both a few witches and wolves to supply the rest of the limestone into jewelry for the newfound pack.

Sure the witches had felt a little strange with the newcomers, but the sight of a male offered the same protection as Sage's presence. Even now, she knew that her females slept better—Some even having been satisfied.

"Facility take your tongue?" Sage whispered in the darkness, her bluntness coming in full swing as he growled in record of it. "Facility take my mate bond away. It's okay...I burn it down and sink it." She replied, and the Alpha could've sworn she caught a smile from the stoic male.

I never had a ma to teach me when to shut my mouth.

"Me too. I only find my mama and papa when I go to real pack and find answers...Severin? That your name? You're a nice male." She begged the question, and that surely caused him to tilt his head.

You didn't even know me, little Alpha.

"Careful. I hunt big bear and I can hunt you too, Beta Severin. Maybe I see you in facility before, but my wolf knows when wolf is nice or mean." She bit back, and that certainly left no room for nicknames on her account. But it was nice to know that she allowed him into her head just a small bit to allow a link. Other than that, he hadn't gotten anywhere close to reading her private thoughts.

He usually was the master of it.

"Sleep. I want to meet Alpha tomorrow." She said, shifting the pup in her arms and settling against her seat. She'd attempted to make a bean bag with layers of fur, and while it didn't have the same effect. She certainly thought it better than sleeping on the floor—And most of the males thought the same, even if they slept in fur.

The next morning hadn't been much different. The males aided the females in serving breakfast—Enjoy the entertainment of some them dancing around the fire. Ethel having Yaxel's attention downright, and Sage knew well enough that she couldn't split up that paring. Not when the male looked at her with those sweet doe eyes.

Severin had silently expressed to Sage that they should get going soon, and thus she had prepared herself and the given ten. Though Maeve had a word of damnation in realizing that she'd be left behind.

"I want to come!" She shouted for the fifth time, but it was only now she had raised her voice. And Sage certainly could not afford being spoken to like that, not in front of guests. She gripped Maeve by the lock of her hair and pulled her close.

"You stay here because I tell you to stay here, understood?" She questioned and when Maeve decided to be stubborn. Sage's wolf had joined the party. "UNDERSTOOD?!"
"Y-yes, Alpha."
"Good, Elena is in charge...We send bird if rest come." Sage said in the broken English that she had, and she huffed before reinstating it in Latin.

The witches offered their thoughts in saying that it made no difference to them what langue she spoke, only that if it sounded better one versus the other, than it was alright.

The Alpha female had been waiting for Maeve to protest, but none came as she remained silent with showing her neck off to both Sage and the crowd.

She needed to keep the effort of dominance strict, and thus she turned towards Elena—Who had her travel pack at the ready.

"Pups...Have your bunnies?" Sage questioned, and that caused both Grey and Chase to turn to one another—Only to be surprised at what the little backpacks carried within them. They were indeed stuffed bunnies.

"Alright, that's fucking adorable," Chase said as he kneed down to get a closer look. But Sage came straight over and smacked him upside the head.
"No swearing." She hissed, and the male simply pretended to whimper with his head down, making both the pups and Severin amused by the display.

Course Chase was looking for help from his own higher-ranked, and Severin threw up his hands.

Pups shouldn't be hearing that type of language Chase. You know better.

With a final once over on Sage's behalf to the male, she came over and offered the made necklace to Severin. "Limestone, you can keep clothes on when you shift...I don't want to rip bearskin." She explained, and so the tall male bent his head down for Sage to put it on him, and she smiled at the trust found in the silent man.

The male reminded her of Luke close to instantly, and speaking of Luke—She had all her portraits in her travel bag. With it secured around her back, she was the first to shift. Showcasing that the necklace did indeed work, however, in seeing the Alpha carry the two pups onto her back with ease. It certainly showed both pack traits to being supportive of the lowest tiers.

Severin caught himself admiring her, it wasn't every day that the male found himself struck by a newcomer. Especially not since he's sworn off women in general.

The run had been quickened on account of a storm coming, even though Sage had claimed that it would miss them by a few miles.

The males did not listen, cutting the breaks in between their journey short. But it did leave her much more aware of how dense these damn woods were.

She'd need to ask how many miles from one place to another. She'd need a map and possibly a calendar—A phone!

If she could just call the pack house like she had last time, perhaps Crescent Moon could send someone. That Remus could come and—

Growled had lingered in her midst, and it certainly caused the pups on her back to whimper in sign of such an aggressive voice. But Sage simply let out a firm one in return, sure the greeting had started out rough, as the unfamiliar scents having spooked the patrol or whomever the grey-furred beasts were just up the cliff.

They won't bring any harm to you or your pack members, Alpha Sage. They're going to escort us to the pack house.

Severin explained, sharing his input to not only his own pack, but the wolves in the traveling party as well. Once Sage had given the nod of confirmation, she followed in pursuit up the hill. Either of the pups showing their excitement, as the group started running up the hill on all fours—Eager to see what Chase had explained to them as their home.

And sweet goddess Sage had not expected to see it that well...Maintained? The way Blake and the rest of her reformed made it sound like, was that they lived under poor conditions. Here, it was nearly similar to her own pack.

Her pace slowed down as she neared the entrance. It was surely smart to keep the area surrounded by outlook towers. But Sage smirked at seeing an all too familiar Robin land up on one of the highest peaks.

Of course, Elena would send all the birds their way, however, what the Alpha female was not prepared to see was Ethel still being cozy with Yaxel. So much so she landed on his neck and enjoyed the rest of the travels with a ride.

The commotion of their arrival led to the pack's curiosity. Of course it had.
Sage was familiar with the term 'newbie' as she's been one multiple times before, but something was surely making her wolf feel nervous...Unsettled even.

Severin and the other males had been the first to shift back, while Sage remained an arm's length away from the pups and eyed Chase in question.

"Alpha's coming to meet us here." He answered the unasked question, but Sage surely appreciated it never the less. Though the fresh whiff of his scent had surely played a role in the anxiety spike that caused her to shift paws, it wasn't until she caught sight of the male she understood.

He smelled powerful.
He smelled good.

"Alpha." Chase greeted, and that certainly caught the male's eye for a moment. Until he caught sight of Sage and her scent. "All females, you said?" He questioned, and that comment was instantly met with Sage shifting back to skin. Her clothes were intact, meaning that the Alpha was first greeted with her bear skin first rather than her face.

Yet she yanked it back and nodded to the male in question.

A knowing smile curled up on his face, though that's when she went to study it more properly—The same burns that Blake suffered were rougher on his...Taking up more of his face and side than her Charge had.

"So you killed our prized bear?" He questioned, and she blinked having not seen the teasing in his joke.
"He keeps me warm...Nice to meet you Alpha, I'm Alpha Sage." She greeted, and that was sure enough of a reason for the male to offer out a hand.

Remus had attempted to teach her what a handshake was, and she couldn't recall what she was meant to do. And instead she huffed at it. "I'm not good...At being human." She explained, and that caused another all too knowing glance between them.

"Alpha Andy, and that's alright, I'm sure your females are hungry. You fed my men and I'm happy to pay that back. We'll talk in my office?" She nodded and turned to the rest of her party, all of them shifting once they had the clear go-ahead from their leader.

It was then Alpha Andy had caught that not everyone in the group was a she-wolf, female, yes, but the presence of what he could assume to be a Coyote and Leopard had returned to being beautifully dressed women.

An entire group of them.

Course, it earned the Alpha a few courtesy smiles here and there, but they weren't catching his attention for more than a moment or two. Not when the Alpha female was standing just a few steps away with a novelty prize sitting over her shoulders.

"I like...The pack house." She said, gesturing up towards the large building, and sure enough, it caused Andy to grin. "Would you feel more comfortable if you had a translator? Severin says you speak a different langue." It caused the she-wolf to grow confused for a moment as she shook her head.
"I learn Latin from witches. My English is bad. I'm sorry." She apologized, shifting her gaze back towards the scene before her.

The four continued throughout the cabin-like building, and up a flight of stairs. Noting that it smelled relatively good—Which meant that the kitchen was on a steady pace toward producing dinner. And Sage could certainly find the joy in that.

She eyed both the Beta and Delta in their actions as they went ahead and stood behind the Alpha's chair, and she smiled lightly to herself—All Alpha were certainly alike, Rogue or not.

"Severin says you need help returning to your pack?" He questioned, clearly interested in the story behind this all-female group. "Yes, we escape from facility...West from bear cave." The mention of the facility looked to be a trigger word for sure, as Andy instantly stood up from his chair and went off toward the map.

"How far from the bear cave?" He questioned, his eyes seemingly scanning the map, but as the silent figure of Sage had risen up to join him beside the board, she stumbled.

"C-Canada..." She croaked, with Severin's quick movements, he had caught the female before she fell flat on her ass. And the barking order to Grey to get her some water.

"Hey...Hey, breathe with me, that's it...You're okay." She shook her head.
"I'm in Canada..."
"Yeah, I'm guessing you're not from around here...What is your original pack?" Her lost and confused eyes looked at him with a sort of plea.

"Born in facility, mama and papa are from Mystic Grimm." She claimed, her eyes scanning the map to see a marker just for the pack in question.
"And your mate? Where are they from?" He dug just a bit deeper, and a smile caused her to reach out toward the map. The indicated star for Crescent Moon was there for the taking.

"Crescent Moon?" Andy dwelled, causing her to nod. But she turned to him now. "What pack are you?"
"We call ourselves Half Crescent, and you?"
"Black Crescent. I miss my pack."
"As any wolf would. I'm guessing you're looking for a way to contact them? I'm sorry, but we really don't have much to offer here to help. The closest real pack is about a week journey, and we don't associate with humans here." The options lay in wait, though the males thought it funny to see the young Alpha all worked up—The growl caught in her throat caused them to shiver.

"SOS phone?" Andy wanted to help more than just a meal, but he shook his head and sighed. "Sorry, Sage, but the best I can do is take in your females, and you can join us. We're closer to the American border. But to cross, you'll need to cut along here...That'll take awhile." It earned him a huff and a stressful run through her hair.

"What's your last name?" It was rude not to answer, but a strong part of her knew that if she was truthful, then it could end up the same as Moon Valley. "Sage Elwood." She responded, and it caused him to chuckle—Did he know her family?

"You're welcome to join us and sort through it, but it's a tough trip. About three or four weeks worth of plowing through miles. It's doable, but maybe not with pups and witches." The news surely upset her, but of course, it didn't turn as visible on her face as when she found out her location.

"This facility, my Beta tells me you destroyed it." She nodded, her eyes hardly leaving the map until she took the offered glass of water. "Dangerous facility. They take mate bonds away." The explanation hit the three males to the core, to have a mate bond and have it taken away?

It was like taking away one's soul.

"You're okay? You and the others—"
"Yes. They try to make us mate with humans, don't work. Humans not smart." She said with a silly smile to pair with it, and it earned a laugh from Chase.

"Yeah, I think I have to agree with that—Hey! Really, she-wolves? They want real males."
"Yes, I want my mate and my pups back. We work together?" She questioned, and now that response surely rode on the Alpha's decision alone.

He turned to either of his men, and thus Sage, decided to give them privacy as she turned back towards the map. It was then she wished she had more work with maps. It didn't look too far from one point to the other. But the journey from the bear cave to here was long and exhausting.

It would take multiple weeks, as Andy said, to get even close to Crescent Moon.

"Alpha Sage, you and your females are welcome to stay here...But it's important that you follow our rules during your stay."
"What kind of rules?" The list wasn't that long, it had been honestly straightforward.

It made sense as to why Toby had been put up for death row, but what made Alpha Andy so...Familiar?

"Females safe?"
"We protect our females, and younger years. I saw you have two pups?" Sage nodded, knowing full well that she needed to think what was best for everyone.

That includes witches and wolves alike.

"I join you...I'm not Alpha anymore." She beckoned, and that caused him to nod.
"I'm an honest man, Alpha Sage, but I've spent a long time building up my pack. I don't intend to lose it to a group of escapists. I hope you can understand that." There had been a light chuckle in the room, and it caused her to frown further.

"Mate says I'm not good at jokes or see teases. Sorry." She explained, and it surely sounded robotic to them. But out of either Rogue in the room, Andy came over with a friendly arm to the shoulder. "You think I got this from sitting around and looking pretty? You speak just fine."

"Thank you. And your face looks pretty." She said with a teasing grin, and Chase snorted off and behind Severin.

"Sage Elwood, care to join me for a drink...? We'll have dinner with your packmates in a bit. I think we have some things to discuss." Sage looked at the glass of water, thinking that's what he meant, so she nodded.

As the Beta and Delta left, she waved bye before being motioned onto the decorated couch. It was funny how all the Alpha's offices looked so similar to one another. Comparing this to Issac and her brother was one thing, but even her own mate had it the same, if not exactly.

"Scotch or whiskey?" She tilted her head, and that instantly caused him to offer up the rim of the bottle—Earning him a rather distasteful gag at the scent.

"No thank you, I drink water." Sage ushered, shaking her head as she eyed the damn thing. "It's human-made if that helps."
"No, I drink wine and get drunk. Healer says not to drink." He wasn't going to argue with the logic of a professional pack healer, and thus he poured his own.

Though his curiosity burned to know who her mate is as she held up her glass and issued cheers. "To a new friendship." He decreed, and this caused Sage to perk her lips.

"I forgot the word..." She grumbled to herself and huffed in annoyance at not placing her phrase correctly. But Andy remained patient as he waited for the word, and just as he was about to say something, Sage had sprung up with a smile.

"Freedom." That surely deserved a clink of glass, and it was there that Andy had learned quite a bit about the Luna of Crescent Moon. Just not her official title.
Using the Elwood last name gave her a different persona.

Alpha Sage of Black Crescent had made an ally. She just needed an ally prepared to travel across the country.

______

Date: 09/22/2022

Time: 10:02

Words: 4941

Author's Note:

And here we have it, welcome to Half Crescent Pack!

What do we think about these new wolves? And is Sage right to join and trust them?

Canada is pretty far away from Crescent Moon, so hitching ride isn't possible at the moment. But we still have plenty of story to cover before then anyway!

Quick life update,

I will be starting my first day of work tomorrow, so please bare with me if I forget to post. If I don't post on that Monday/Friday, be prepared for the following day!

As always, I hope you have a fantastic week and let me know what your predictions are for the rest of the story!