* * *

Some time had passed since Sage had submitted to the exhaustion coursing through her body, as the denial had left her helplessly hot and achy.

As if she had a fever.

What awoken her had been a small vial against her lips as her head was tilted up. "I'm sorry, Luna, it's best if you're relaxed as you go through this..." Elena whispered, running a hand through her hair as Sage accepted the gentle gulps of whatever concoction that the witches had offered.

Surprisingly enough, it tasted very good. A mix of berries and something bitter, but not enough to have her gagging with each gulp.

"Pack...Okay?" Sage managed to ask, and Elena had smiled, yet her eyes turned towards another figure in the room. And as Sage's eyes locked onto the figure, she too grinned weakly towards Lilith.

A perfect contender to come and add her, considering she would be immune to the scent of a Heat. "Everything is perfect, Luna. We've masked your scent with strong candles. The Alpha has acted as a perfect guard. All you need to do is rest, eat, and keep hydrated. We are still in the first day."

That had caused Sage to groan back into the pillow, but at least things had shifted into something where it wasn't extreme pain and longing.

It instead, had turned into a sort of pulsing dull need, one that could be ignored if she truly wished. But the scent of the candle and the taste of the berry tonic had allowed her to focus on the others.

"How many days...do I have?" It was an innocently cruel question, wanting to know what she was in for had turned into an inconclusive answer, given that it could vary so widely.

Her previous Heats lasted nearly a week. A week.

Perhaps she could find solitude then, meditate or something besides withering in her sorrows.

It was unfair for Sage to demand that the two females keep her company, but in allowing them to leave, Elena returned shortly after with a bundle of goodies she'd managed to collect.

Apparently, others had heard word of the blessing and said their well wishes, a basket full of snacks, a plethora of soap, and oils to help her through the next few days.

Even now, she picked through the lovely lavender-scented soap in her robe, and she sighed once more. Lilith had to help remove the blockade so Elena could leave, but an open window would still allow the birds to come and go when needed.

With the door blocked and a free night, Sage decided to take a cold bath. Although appealing at first, it soon became uncomfortable. Clearly, the tonics were working better than she accepted if she could feel the temperature rather than the simple bliss it was supposed to offer.

Perhaps she could enjoy the book she borrowed from a she-wolf last week, it had been a decent start to feel like her old self. Even if the book wasn't that great, it still would help her pass the time.

The only issue is that Sage was never one to take a casual day off. There always had to be a reason, even if that reason was because Kenzie had sent her on early maternity leave.

A threat the Healer would continuously give if Sage couldn't get through her Yoga sessions.

In the present, however, it was constant trips between heading to the bathroom, as she was drinking too much water and needed to relieve herself. In addition to sinking back into the bathtub, trying to enjoy the soothing water and everything it possesses.

Yet every time she refilled it,  Sage hoped she wasn't using too much water for the sake of the pack, but when asking Lilith during her next drop-off, it hadn't mattered.

Andy had already agreed that if it kept her at ease, it's worth it.

Yet that night, the torture truly began. Something transpired in Sage's mind as she woke up, startled, with her hands in between her thighs, stroking herself to what she dreamed of.

And that dream had given her a vision of Remus so easily. He had come right beside her, pulling her close and whispering a greeting in her ear.

Wanting to say goodnight but also hinting at pushing for more. It had been a failed attempt to close her eyes and try to return to her dream, but pushing back on an old memory could work, couldn't it?

"Hey, you smell good...New shampoo?" Oh, how Remus loved it when she used the plethora of scents in the shower. But this one was always his favorite.

"Not new, Remmy." She responded, shifting her waist as if a phantom weight had settled behind her. Moving in sync with what she envisioned Remus doing. "Well, I still love it. You think you taste as sweet too?"

A snort had followed, but she still smiled ever so brightly over her shoulder.
As if he was really there.

"Pups are asleep, maybe we could—" Perhaps it would end with a tussle, fighting for control with multiple shifts of power, but it usually ended with Sage with her back to the bed—Unless Remus felt extra feisty, he would place her on top, giving her the courage to take control.

And every time, Sage knew just what to do. Yet now it was clear that his wolf demanded a taste, to settle his feelings outright and perhaps even take the stress he endured for the day. So when he looked down, she could catch how much her Heat's scent attracted him.

In a fit of teasing pleasure, Remus' lips had taken to gently kissing her perky breasts, ones that hadn't settled since this horrific nightmare started—But it was finally turning into a dream once Remus' tongue swirled around her nipple. It was euphoric to feel this again, and nothing could possibly pull her away from this.

And when the moment finally came, for Remus' cock to press against her entrance, she choked on a moan, wanting him to continue so much that she nearly pouted to him.

He hadn't waited another moment to enter, and once he had, filling her to the brim, she rocked forward to meet him. Yet Sage's desperation and remembrance of her first hour through her Heat nearly caused her to gape, yet she attempted to urge him to continue, wiggling her hips in demand, though it seemed like Remus was taking the time to rally his self-control.

Bliss, after the torture Sage endured, was a complete understatement. And perhaps it was time between them both, but Sage couldn't get enough of her mate. She whispered his name repeatedly, all while her eyes rolled back at the number of strides Remus was taking to keep a steady pace.

In seeing how sensitive her breasts had become, Remus bent down for his lips to press against the base, her head turning further into the pillow, and a small giggle now escaped her—A reminder that it was one of her weak spots.

Much like he had, just below his ear. Such an odd spot, but then again, Sage was always ticklish. Especially now, when her skin was burning at the touch.

Their combined moans and grunts had filtered and

A flash of scenes caught Sage in a trans and made it difficult to entirely focus. There were times when Remus was beside her, and not. But one thing was for certain, the ache seemed to be dulled and the pleasure had still come in waves.

"R-Remus?" She called out, but tried to keep her voice as a whisper. Honestly, it had taken a moment for her to recall that she was here, in Half Crescent.

Not Crescent Moon.
Not at her home..

And by the lack of his scent anywhere, he was never here beside her—And a tear slid down her cheek before she could even come to accept that it had only been a figment of her imagination.

And any pleasure she had received was from her own doing, given that her hand was still coated in her pleasure between her thighs.

Embarrassment had struck a new cord, remembering kindly to her previous attempt at doing this herself. And Remus came home and instantly knew what she had done.

Yet here, in the epitome of being alone, she hauled herself to her unsteady feet and gifted herself the reward of a shower. Hoping that it would take away the heat congregating in her cheeks.

As if anyone was around her to witness such a display of emotions. Or how Sage had been so blinded by a dream of her mate, it truly didn't make any sense how a simple memory could have given her that reaction.

While running the faucet, Sage counted her breaths and eased her heartbeats. It was as if she could hear them violently beating in her ear, so drowning out the noise had done her well to try to concentrate. But truly, her excitement was met at the bottom of the tub as she started to lather herself in what was left of her bar of soap.

Had she truly used it up so quickly?

In trying to think about what's happened in the past few...Days? 

Had it been days?

After life in captivity, Sage had done her best to return to how she lived her life before she had been captured again.
Even in the Underground, scratching the concrete with a small spoon had been a very small attempt at trying to keep track of how long time had passed. Otherwise, it was just a simple cycle of repeating every day with nothing to show for.

Thankfully she was in the tub already, her breathing would have hitched at the thought of how long she'd been confined to her room. This Heat hadn't been as brutal as it could have been, but the Haze might be the harder of the two symptoms, as Sage couldn't focus on just one thought at a time.

After a fairly long soak, Sage had taken a moment to take in her appearance—Her body still looked slightly off-tilt, as if she was hunching over, waiting for the pain to strike again. So, with a quick run-through of her usual warm-up stretches, she felt another release of her muscles fighting against the stretches.

Being 'bedridden' had truly taken her away from her usual schedule.
One she hardly deviated, even in Crescent Moon. Yet when she appeared back into the main room, she saw Elena changing the sheets for a new set.
But Sage frowned, not liking that she could easily just do this herself.

"L-Luna...I'm sorry, I knocked, but it's—" Sage closed her eyes, trying to silently claim that things were right. Given that the door was slightly ajar, Sage realized that the block had been moved from the outside as well.

Had she truly missed Elena's attempt to reach for her?

"How are you feeling...? Do you want me to call for Lilith?" Sage shook her head, pulling the robe tighter over herself as she still felt out of place in terms of accepting what had happened to her body. "How long?"
"How long was your Heat? Three days...Three and a half—But you've been sleeping for an extra day. Are you hungry? I brought a tray from downstairs." At the mention of food, her stomach made its own warrants of protest, and Sage could not stop herself from heading over to sit by the window.

Favoring the light breeze over her damp skin in addition to the small amount of light that was able to seep through the trees. Thankfully, Elena had brought up a large portion of eggs and potatoes, and Sage started to dig into the feast laid before her.

"The Kitchen cooked up big for everyone this morning...Alpha made sure they were plate on standby in case you needed a meal." Sage could only mumble her appreciation before she pulled herself from the plate, seeing Elena stand idly by, and Sage knew that she wanted to speak. "Something wrong?"

"I'm just...Glad you're feeling better."

"I don't smell like Heat anymore?" Sage asked, trying to sniff closer to her skin than her robe. But Elena shook her head. "There's a linger in the air, but no, it's over." She claimed, pairing her words with a supportive one. "I'm sure that's a relief, but you still need to rest. Even with the Witches tonics, it was still painful."

At the mention of the tonics, Sage's stomach had turned sour as she denied herself the next bite she had prepared. Instead, she tried to drown her nausea with a few gulps of water. "The Alpha guarded your door for days. The only way to relieve him was when I would take over."

"Andy stayed outside?"
"The first day, before we could hide your scent, it attracted a few smarter males who found out where it was coming from. This whole floor had to be put on lockdown." Elena claimed, and Sage was left in awe at how her Heat had managed to disrupt daily life so much concerned her, as did the growl in her stomach that ignored her next gag.

How could she be feeling this way all at once?

"Take your time. Nothing is scheduled for today anyway." That made Sage at least feel a little better in terms of having another lazy day.

Yet another painful aspect of all of this had settled into her mind.
Hadn't this been her fear since the beginning of the trip to Mystic Grimm?

Sage expressed her fear to Remus about having another Heat, and he had promised, without hesitation, that he would hop on a Plane to meet with her.

And here she was, having faced it all alone.

While this was not his fault, not being able to keep his promise—it would have been so much easier to stay.

To stay home in Crescent Moon and fight alongside the pack.

"You know...My mate and I were never successful during our Heats. We received four, and every time I thought 'this time, I'll be gifted a pup,' and I never was. You'll have more Heats to enjoy with your mate, alright?" Clearly, Elena knew where Sage's thoughts were headed, but without the Luna's knowledge, she found that her hand had been holding her stomach.

Her wolf hating the fact that she had an empty womb.

Even if she hadn't wanted another pup just yet, it still pained her all the same.

"This is simply something that all She-wolves will go through their entire life. Besides, the twins need you when you get back. They need you. Think about them first." Directing her attention had drawn her back towards her pillows, but Elena had moved the stones carefully to her nightstand.

It hadn't been long after that Sage had finished her meal and leaned back into her chair, yet when Elena replaced it with an offering of tea, it allowed Sage to smile.

Though Elena did not urge her to lay back down and take the necessary steps to rest as she left the room all for a moment to return with another set of items. In addition, she took the offered supplements from the witches within her water.
She knew couldn't ignore them, not when they tasted bitter, but she managed to get things down.

Enough to feel at ease to lay back down and accept the idea of rest.

______

Date: 05/16/24

Time: 2:01 PM

Words: 2643

Author's Note:

So Sage has survived her Heat on her own!
Or, not so alone, if you count imaginary Remus.
It hurt to write him in this scene, but a broken promise is a broken promise.

There's a saying (From my favorite video game, and if you know it, I'll send you a virtual cookie):

Don't make a girl a promise, if you know you can't keep it.

Anywhoooo,

We're about a halfway through this rewrite, and there are a few more extra chapters/scenes to enjoy yet!

Hope you're all having an amazing week, and maybe I'll see you for an extra update soon 👀