* * *

AT THE DINER, FIVE MINUTES AFTER

"Beep-Beep." Rue said, and while the young pup was too preoccupied to understand the urgency. She was confused as to why her mom said it, and she was also curious as to why her mom hadn't returned. So the pup twisted over to where her mom had been, and a sharp cough escaped the pup, earning her the attention of her grandfather and brother.

She didn't need to be burped, but she enjoyed the height difference and attention she was getting from Roro, even if she had trouble saying the name.

"Mamama..." Hayes chuckled and nodded. "Yes, sweetheart, your mama is in the—Is she still in the bathroom?" He questioned and Blake nodded. "She was trying to contact Darius, I think it's too loud in here." A simple code to say that the scent of humans was too loud, and of course, they laughed in agreement.

Humans always had a sort of foul odor attached to them.

"Beep-Beep." Rue repeated, her current interest now directed towards her stuffie. However, Liam's head darted off to what the pup had said, so much, so his fork clattered to the plate.
"W-what did Rue say?" He choked, and Hayes turned in confused to either the enforcer to his granddaughter.

"Sure she's trying to say Bellamy, or maybe it was Blake?... What are you saying, sweetheart?" The male had switched his tone flawlessly when he spoke with either wolf.

After a few babbles it hadn't come out, but that didn't stop her brother from repeating it. And Liam had felt his wolf at the surface, his eyes instantly going black. "Babe what—"
"Sage."

While Ally had been struck by confusion, Blake and Hayes had almost fallen out of their seat as they continued towards the bathroom and threw open the women's restroom door. The leftover scent of Sage surged their noses, as did blood and silver.

But the added mix of bounty hunters caused Hayes' fangs to elongate.

Sage is missing, I want the bill paid, and everyone in the R.V.. Enzo, meet Blake and I out in the back of the restaurant. DO IT NOW!

The order had been set in stone, Aurora paid the bill, and they hardly bothered to pack their unfinished meal.

Everyone hadn't dared take the risk of not be aware of their surroundings and checking behind their backs, but the vampire delivered very well as he was able to follow the trail—All bets had turned off, and Enzo wouldn't hesitate to taste the bounty hunters.

Not when his thirst for blood rivaled that of Hayes and Blake.

They shifted and rushed through the thin tree line, heavily aware that it was against the moral code to shift so close to a human establishment. But there was hardly anyone to give a ticket or tattle to the council.

And it made the trail much easier to follow.

Blake did his best to listen for Hayes' orders while deciphering it through the rest of the pack, who were waiting in the R.V. They hardly had one evening of the piece before—

"The trail ends here," Enzo said, his accent almost unrecognizable as his predatory traits made it difficult to talk through. Causing his brother-in-law to huff before sniffing the ground, surely there had to be something more?

"They must've been tailing us since the campgrounds—FUCK!" Hayes said, having come through a shift and stopped to where a car had been readily parked, or that's what was the obvious recreation.

Call Harlow, we need to get security cameras—Anything from that dinner. Call now!

Hayes didn't care who made the call, just as long as it would get done. And those in the R.V scrambled to get to a phone while also calming down a destressed Rue—Either Jackson and Aurora had been the ones on call, but even with their techies, it would take time to get everything sorted.

Enzo turned to look at either nude male as they looked around the woods, he held up his phone and claimed he'd scout the area and make a few calls while doing so.

Both father and Charge looked at one another with immediate dread. There was no telling who could've kidnapped her, which side.
The Underground or those in Coldridge, they hardly understood if they were working together as is!

"We have to call—"
"We can't! We'll find her!" Hayes bellowed, making the birds hidden within the trees around them depart after his roar. Blake could only crane his neck in submission, he had become the group's Alpha since they boarded the plane, and now...Now they needed to find the Luna.

"She said we wouldn't make it to Mystic Grimm..." Hayes whispered, his eyes bloodshot and tired as though she'd been gone longer than the supposed ten minutes. But Blake's attention turned to him in confusion, why hadn't he heard that?

"We had a right to know—"
"We can make—"
"Sir! Listen to yourself. This is your daughter! This is the Luna of Crescent Moon, she is never wrong. And now she's missing because once again, a male family member refuses to listen to her?!"
"Remember who you're talking to Warren!"
"Last time I checked, you aren't my Alpha! You're retired, we let our guard down for ten minutes, and this happens. I—If they have her, I won't be able to forgive myself! I left her unprotected! I promised Remus!"
"We all promised Remus, and we'll get her back. Get the witches to scry for her, fuck, anything!" Hayes had turned desperate as he looked around, waiting for an answer or a sign.

He still felt her, she wasn't dead—Though he wondered with the type of technology the humans or whoever was making it, had developed something even worse.

In returning to R.V, the two males were greeted with glum faces and a shrilling cry. One that Hayes attempted to soothe Rue through but ultimately failed.

However, they couldn't make a move without Enzo, nor could they leave the area where Sage was last seen. So they waited diligently as both Raven and Rebekah hovered over the map, the pendulum had started out with wide circles before slowly tailing a moving vehicle.

"They're still moving, call Enzo. Say they're on the highway heading North." Jackson had done a double-take, confused as to who they were dealing with.

"Are you sure it was bounty hunters, it feels like they're heading to Blue Moon." He claimed, pointing off to what was directly north of them. Liam kept his head angled off towards the moving pendulum.
If they could just manage to keep track of her, then it'd be okay, they'd—

Utter silence had managed through the cabin, and even Rebekah had turned her gaze up. They knew exactly who was calling, Sage had spent a good time picking out the ringtone she wanted to hear for when it was her mate calling. And the way it buzzed in Hayes' hand, made everyone uneasy.

A steady breath dictated his next action, and Hayes cleared his throat. "Hey Munchkin, how was dinner?" The father had felt instantly sick, having to report it.

But this was his duty as Alpha to inform him of what was at stake and the risks.

"Remus...I'm sorry." He said, his usually stoic expression having cracked and crumbled as he shifted his gaze away from the rest of the wolves surrounding him. "Hayes? Wh—"

"They took her, Remus. They took Sage."

It didn't take long for the news to hit Remus, nor could anyone settle themselves in hearing the yelling and damnations of a man who lost their mate. Remus felt his beast take over, and no amount of consulting from Luke or Eli could manage the pain he felt.

In knowing that Sage was on her way to a hell unlike no other.

* * *

TWENTY-EIGHT HOURS AFTER

Remus stormed the grounds of Mystic Grimm and went straight for the male that promised beyond the presence of a doubt, that his mate would be safe.

But damn it all, the wait for an update was just as excruciating.

He knew full well what was at play, here. He flinched at every phone call. A silent prayer that it was one of the Coldridge packs ready to make a bargain with him to settle this once and for all.

The pups needed Sage—He needed Sage.

And the last thread of sense had fallen short as he tackled the former Alpha, the same one that aided him all that time ago. But it was clear that he was already roughed up, and Remus' confused eyes darted off to Blake.

He too held similar injuries.

"My daughter's Charge and Harlow already made it a point...Go ahead, Remus. I dare you. It won't change anything. It won't bring her home."
"This is not her home! Her home is with me!" Remus dictated, and sure enough, it led to an argument.

It was strange enough for Remus to pull back, but seeing that it was Jade caused his anger to lessen. Especially when he caught the first sight of Aurora holding Rue.

"Liam heard Rue say 'beep-beep'. Apparently, that was—"

"That was one of the few things Sage used to say," Remus claimed, finishing her sentence.

The urging arms of his pup caused Remus to frown, he didn't want to pull away from them. But it hurt just as badly to be near them, especially when they smelled like their mother's sweetness.

How long would the scent last?
Could the pups feel their mom?

Rue curled into the likeness of his neck and whimpered to herself, surely their daughter could feel something. Anything.

"Remus Moon, I will not have you terrorizing or pointing fingers on my land. Is that understood?!" Jade shouted, and Remus could only bite his tongue and nod.
"Understood. What are the current leads?" The expectations of trusting both Mystic Grimm and Moon Ridge had left him without anything to go off of.

Jade was simply happy that Remus was holding onto the pup, as she'd witnessed the difference between her own mate taking bad news to good news.

"Let's go talk about it upstairs." Jade segwayed, and the crowd followed them up to the Alpha's office. It occurred to Remus in a damning blaze that the last time he was here...He wasn't a father, he was simply a freshly mated Alpha cruising on a holiday high.

Yet now he just felt empty.

Any moment he was prepared to walk around the corner and be tackled by Sage, but no—The witches had contacted the fair few covens in their arsenal and used the faithful 'last heir of the Halliwell line' to secure their aid.

But it was no use, whatever they had done in between Wyoming and Montana. It earned Blue Moon to be the first to be targeted and blamed, right alongside Moon Valley.

Though troops and the majority of Sage's reformed were at the frontline of wiping them off the face of the earth. It still didn't help the question of where she was. Traveling north didn't necessarily mean Blue Moon.

Though it was a start, and it was the best they could do with the little information they had.

______

Date: 01/24/24

Time: 1:05 PM

Words: 1983

Author's Note:

We're slowly on our way to being able to have two updates a week, I apologize for the delay--So much is happening in life that I'm trying my best to keep on top of it.

On a better note, I just booked a trip/vacation home to Germany!
Two weeks and I get to see my Oma and Opa for the first time in nearly seven years!

Maybe this is the time when I try to reactivate the Nerdyxwitch IG account😂

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If you have a second, I have commissioned a book cover for the first book in the series, I would love your feedback on it!

https://forms.gle/jEB14kJoueNcyz5MA

I will also embed it into the comments so you can copy and paste it, I truly appreciate any feedback you give. Thank you!

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Anywhooo, I hope you all have a fantastic week and I'll see you next week!