* * *

To say Andy was pissed was an understatement. Especially when he slammed the pack's front door in following Sage—Hera. 

One of the two.

He was so livid that his eyes burned holes in the back of her head, it hurt both her and her wolf on being hated so much.

"What the hell am I going to do now?! A war?!" Andy roared, and perhaps it was because she had taken over as Alpha for Crescent Moon before, with Luke and the rest of her team at her side.
But for this pack to learn that a war was coming their way was a damn revelation.

It would destroy their sense of peace entirely.

"LEAVE!" Sage bellowed, and most of everyone scattered to clear the room.

Though Severin had just walked in, his eyes were cautious as always. Yet tiredness reigned in heavily. He didn't want a war any more than the next wolf.

"What happened?" He calmly intervened, and Andy turned to look at Sage with a tilted head.

"My wolf won't submit to fake Alphas, Noah's a joke." Sage huffed, while Andy sighed his hands down the likes of his faces as he seethed. "I've built that friendship up for almost nine years! Nine! And you destroyed it in less than five days—"

"He's mean! Maybe you don't see that anymore. He says that this isn't a real pack, that moon goddess doesn't want this pack to have pups. He only has Delta blood in him. He'll lose." Sage growled,  leaving Grey to walk in a tad bit too late, especially considering how his Alpha and Luna looked at one another.

"What do you even know about wars, controlling an army?!... We don't have that kind of power!" Andy spat, all through gritted teeth. Yet Sage was not about to withdraw, not when it only rallied her further.
"I was in the middle of it! Crescent Moon goes to war, and I saw it! I live in it!"

It might not have been the reaction Andy was prepared for, but his body language eased up as he shook his head—"Not up close, hun. You'll never get that close, not as close as me..." Anger flared on her face as she grabbed the likes of his t-shirt into her fists.

"Remus was in coma for weeks! I was helping!... Fuck you!" She spat, her eyes burning at the thought of saying his name. She avoided it for so long that it felt rough on her tongue.

But in mentioning his name, something broke in Andy as well. His face had fallen, and it was too late as Sage stormed out of the now deserted pack house.

"Uh...Sir?" Grey mumbled.
"Quiet." That might've silenced the Delta, but Severin was not that open to being shunned like that.

Why'd you upset her like that? For goddess sake, Sage hardly ever swears—She said right, too.

"I know what she said, Severin. I said be quiet." Andy grumbled, his hands running down his face as he tried to focus on the looming danger that was no doubt headed there way.
"Why would Alpha Noah want Sage to submit anyway? That's what I want to know—And she's right, sir. The whole 'public mating thing' that was...Well, it was kinda true, but what's so good about packs in the first place?" Grey questioned, but now it was Andy's turn to feel remorse.

Nothing he did was to protect Sage, sure siding with her at the moment was—But was he truly siding with her stance now if he was already regretting the start of a war?

For as long as he's lived, Andy knew that avoiding war might mean showing his belly side up occasionally. But here, it wasn't an option.

"Double up patrol. It'll take Noah a few days to return to Swift Tail. Doubt they'll manage an attack before then." Andy ordered.
"And the witches? Sure they can add some layer of defense too." Grey's suggestion caused the Alpha to look back over to Severin, which ultimately meant speaking with Elena.

Andy had gone to look for Sage, but the female wasn't in their room or the training grounds, or with the witches. Panic erupted into his heart and soul as he couldn't believe that she had vanished into thin air.

She knew the pack grounds well enough to find the hiding spots, but everyone he checked, she seemed to evade him. 

It wasn't until he tracked her scent through the edge of the woods that Sage's eyes wavered in the trees as she felt seperated from the rest of her surroundings.

He could feel her presence, of course, given their blood pact and her title within the pack. This would bring him to her location. And better yet, he sat right down on his rump and stared her down.

I think we need to talk, Sage.

"No, cool off, then talk to me. You're still angry." She decided, causing Andy to shift and appear in the nude as walked forward towards the base of her tree.

"Of course I'm angry, I've spent my life living in the shadow of my pack's war. The last thing I wanted was to lead one, to lose pack members. And for what? I made nice with the Alpha just fine."

"But he doesn't respect like Alpha should, my Alpha makes friends with the rest of Summit. He's respected." Sage rarely spoke about her Alpha, but she was thankful not to use his name in that context.

It hurt a little less.

"Your Alpha has a lot to live up for, how much do you really know, Sage?"
"I know enough. Stop talking to me like a pup. I know about Randal Moon. I know what he did. I know about Mystic Grimm. Leave it alone, Andy. You don't talk about your family, and I don't talk about mine." It was true. Neither knew much more than common grounds between the two.

It was the definition of a Rogue, more or less, and Andy accepted everyone if they pulled their own weight and helped the community. That was all he asked, along with the basics of his Alpha title.

"You're right. I'm sorry, it's just...I can't lose what I worked so hard for...I built all of this."
"Noah waiting to do this. Makes him look powerful to other packs, Andy."
"You read his mind, didn't you?"
"No, Cassandra can sometimes. Very easy in the morning when he is half awake, I tell her too. See, I'm smart. I work with you, not against you."
"I'm sorry...I'm sorry if I don't see that right away." Andy apologized, the fault in his eyes lingered, but instinct told him to help her from the tree. And that's exactly what he did.

His arms held her by the waist and floated her down to the floor. Their gaze held for a moment longer before turning away, huffing in contempt for what she did.

Andy might have accepted things for what they were, but it didn't take away from the rallied anger he was trying to simmer down.

"I help train Rogues before. Just make sure we have an escape plan, too."
"What was your escape plan, hun?"
"Go to Mystic Grimm in plane with pups and everyone, bad idea. Papa says the plane was hijacked?"
"It was taken over? How?"
"Moon Valley wolves driving the plane, so we take over and crash in water...Remember? I was trying to get to Mystic Grimm?" He nodded slowly, and as he listened to her explanation, it started to make much more sense.

He wished for more honesty, but to obtain it, he, too, needed to be honest. Yet that would bring up an unopened wound that's been sealed for a long time. There was no reason to speak about it. He could live with the half-stories he was receiving now and again.

But the artificial understanding was starting to grow heavy in his chest, so much so that he layered Sage onto it—All in the hopes that it'd make the feeling disappear.

And it had.

"I'm sorry, I swear at you."
"Gave me a shock, hun, but that's what I needed to hear to see what you're saying. No need to say sorry." She huffed again, sinking against the tree and sighing as she needed to think this through. Things were going to get busy in their little pack, and quickly.

"Maybe it's good that you're here. I could use an Elwood on my side..." He whispered lightly, leaving Sage to wonder what that could truly mean in the case of everything that happened.

Course, she shared her two senses, suggesting traps and other methods of destruction that would leave any attacks to offer an alarm to alert the rest of Half Crescent, but it was difficult to get everyone on board.

From what Sage could tell, just over a dozen wolves had decided to leave. Andy had given them a handful of supplies and wished them well, offering anyone and everyone the same. But once again, the loyalty had crowded the town's center, and he was certainly surprised to see the witches attempting their best to provide stability as well.

Whether it was in the fighting sense or supplies, better yet, they continued to show loyalty to Sage.

The only time she had seen a real battle was when the council had come to retrieve Nathan from her basement, granted it was later seen as an attempt to undermine Crescent Moon. So that was a wonderful addition to an already stressed pack dealing with a fresh set of Alpha pups—Twins on top of it all.

It was the chances of breaks that she genuinely felt homesick. The energy was much more lively, but the cords were all wrong. Luke was not here to give her a helping hand or Jackson to give her a boost of energy with a joke or two.

She wouldn't mind a text from Eli about a puppy video either, even if they weren't funny.

She wanted it all, but the idea of leaving Andy defenseless and without aid was against her own morals. Even if she wouldn't know what the term meant if someone were to say it.

It earned her respect in Severin and Grey's eyes, and the Delta was hardly ever far away from her—On orders of Alpha Andy, if he wasn't around to be protecting her.

The idea that some of their she-wolves might be carrying pups was another reason for harboring a safe haven in the forest. Course, the Rondavu point was going to be the bear cave if it truly got to that point.

Supplies were hidden inside the cave, but neither Andy nor Sage wanted to think about it.

Not when the anxiety was starting to reek across the entire territory, and the possibility of everyone being on edge was genuinely creating a breaking point.

Andy regretted what he said the first day, claiming that Sage didn't know what she was doing. She worked well under pressure, and while he didn't allow her to use up all her energy if there was a surprise attack, he watched and kept tabs on her throughout the days.

She thought it was important for the younger years to be able to defend themselves just in case there was nobody around to do it themselves. However, the perfect action that was offered was the lake.

The reminder was given by Maeve herself.

Clearly, Mae had a shift in attitude, though Andy was not entirely convinced—Sage had claimed in not so many words that she was starting to act as she did before.

Before meaning as back in the Facility.

Granted, he almost snapped when he was told the story of what happened on the first day of their breaking out of the underground base.

To leave someone out in the rain, stripped of any clothes while also enjoying the warmth of a fire that they managed?
He would've skinned Maeve alive and set her as an example.

But he wasn't that wolf anymore, not influenced and used by those around him.

Sage might be forgiving, but she wasn't going to forget so easily what Maeve had done—Or what Andy had said, for that matter. Not from the argument they just had, but the previous one, where he mentioned that he hoped her mate is dead. 

That he wishes for Remus to be dead. That wasn't something that Sage was going to just let go so easily.

* * *

For Andy, it was hard to accept the changes in his small pack, to see the usually figured crates of supplies be used as anything from harboring picked fruits and vegetables to other necessities.

Luckily, the wolves that had left managed to call another friend, but Sage drilled him on how good those in Oak Woods were. Alpha Julian and Luna Alana were farther away, but if worse comes to worse, they could seek refuge there.

"Pups can go to Oak Wood?" Sage asked Andy.
"I thought you wanted them close to you? Besides, it's too late. Noah is probably already on his way." The face she made was one of silent understanding, but it was hard not to. Not when her intuition was bubbling to explode at her surface, yet right now she was suffering to another extent, and while she was saddened a tad bit.

Kenzie explained to her a while ago that periods were their chaos. Not to mention that she was one of the only wolves to have this condition.

Yet with this, she had to consider a difference, given that she was the first documented hybrid with such a powerful position to protect her. It truly meant that things would be public and not easy.

On the downside, with Noah having been dorming in Sage's room, it meant a not-so-subtle piece of revenge for his banishment.

The mattress had been cut open right beside the sheets, and the smell—Sage was not at all amused by the pup like behavior, but Elena called Noah a jealous male.

So perhaps that's what this is—Jealousy.

Whatever the case, Sage had been left to stay with Andy—Given that most of the pack members were now sheltered within the pack house.

Protected and together.

"SAGE?!" The panicked yell had caught her out of her last-building thoughts just before she fell unconscious for the night, and before she could sort out what was happening. Andy was talking like a madman, his attention down to the growing metallic scent that caused her to frown.

"What—" He shouted, digging for the source and seeing her blood-smeared thighs. "Goddess! Please have mercy on—"

"Andy! It's okay!" She retaliated, trying to get his hands away from her shorts. But it was too late. Her body shivered in disgust at seeing that his hands caught the blood that coated the blanket and her clothes.

"What?!" His reaction was genuine, and it didn't aid the fact that the entire pack house had heard the commotion. But she came over to grip him by the wrists to get him to see reason. "It's normal I bleed. I'm a witch, too. Witches bleed."
"B-but it's—It's—" She began offering the demonstration on how to breathe if only it hadn't been interrupted by an impromptu visit from both Severin and Grey, who were beyond stressed to hear Andy beg the Goddess as he had.

"What in goddess name happened here?!" Severin shouted, having grown completely out of his lisp, causing her to sigh. This was more than embarrassing. It was too much to handle after being awoken so abruptly.

"Nothing. Go back to sleep. It's okay." She ordered, but either man stood loyal that perhaps the Luna was downplaying what truly happened. But Andy was quick to want a reason, so when the door closed—He didn't waste any time before hurrying her into the bathroom, running the shower, and making sure that she had the chance to clean herself up.

While yes, this is what she wanted, but him being in the bathroom just a few feet away did not make things easy—leaving her to keep her shirt on and remove her soiled shorts and panties.

Clearly, Andy and his wolf needed to make sure she wasn't in pain, but his overbearingness didn't make things any easier to deal with. To keep herself from feeling suffocated, she continued to focus on her breathing, all an attempt to work through what had happened in the last few minutes.

By the time she finished washing up, Andy had offered her a towel and held it out for her to take. From there, she could remove the soaked shirt and properly dry herself off.

Yet the look on Andy's face most certainly suggested that he was thinking the worst. He always did. But the trauma he was dealing with shaped him to act quicker than see reason. Of course, trusting his gut wasn't the same when caring for a female.

Even one that wasn't truly his to claim.

In a moment of weakness, he couldn't stop himself from helping. To keep himself busy, he grabbed another towel to help her dry off. His movements were quick and aggravated, and that wasn't something that Sage could truly bear.

The obsessive nature that Andy was showing hadn't given Sage any true comfort, and it was then that he caught Sage crying—Trying so hard to keep it contained.

"Sage...?"
"C-can't—Can't brea—the." She gasped, her heart heavy, which caused him to engulf her with a hug. He recalled his mother would use this tactic, up until she died, to inhale with her hand at the back of his neck, following the exhale for her hand to travel down his spine.

It was this up-and-down motion that would always work for him, and it blew his mind when Sage had returned with a much more friendly smile.

He allowed himself to ask a question. "What did you mean by 'witches' bleed'?"
"I'm supposed to bleed every month like a witch, or human. That's what humans and witches do." Confusion still laced every bit of Andy's breath, but he was too exhausted to think about it and instead settled by cleaning up the bed. Or trying to anyway. Sage had beat him to it by stripping the sheets and getting everything set up anew.

"Every month?"
"I don't get it when I was pregnant, and not in facility because I'm too tiny. My healer at home says I need to track it." He could certainly do that for her, but before he had the moment to do so. Sage popped out her little trusty notebook and started writing it down.

"If I knew you would like journalling, hun, I would've given you that a long time ago." He offered, trying to stop himself from being flustered at this sudden change. Yet Sage made an adoring face and nicked her head for him to join her. "Rue likes to watch me draw. It's very cute."
"I'm sorry that this trip is getting delayed again. Fuck—After this, if we don't get too snowed in. We'll go to Oak Wood." Sage blinked in confusion, where exactly was that?

"Meet nicer Alpha and Luna?" Andy nodded with a sigh as he tugged the hair on his head. "It's a backup plan. It's off farther towards the bear cave, probably closer to the military base Black Crescent came from. It's in the mountains...They're neutral. They don't care about anything."
"Not caring sounds worrying." That was undoubtedly true, but he rephrased it to sound better.

These were the proper packs to align themselves with, they weren't strong—but nobody was going to mess with an untouchable pack that was located up high and away.

"I don't know Andy, I wish we can call."
"I know. It's funny how Swift Tail was supposed to help us out with that. Get us all hooked up on the grid."
"Noah controls you with what you don't have. Wonder what he is hiding..." While Sage sat in wonder, Andy gulped.

It was more than what Noah was hiding that scared him the most. It was what he himself was hiding that threatened to get out that truly put him on edge.

______

Date: n06/06/24

Time: 4:27

Words: 3427

Author's Note:

Hello!

Here's the second chapter of the week a little early, just because I work tomorrow, and I doubt anyone wants an update after midnight!

Things are brewing in Half Crescent, and this version of Sage is a little more mindful of what kind of 'person' Andy is.

It's helping that I'm working on the rewrite for the first book in the series, as the character development between Sage from then to now. It's a long and endearing journey, ones that's taking a little longer than I thought.

No matter, we're well on our way to plowing through all of these rewrites!

Now then, I'll see you next week!