* * *

The room, as Sage had been told, was the very room where she had conducted a few meetings with the other leading females of her pack. This reminded her of what Aurora had said in passing, that Julia and Eli arrived just this morning. Planning to enjoy the last of their days before their second pup arrives—Yet Sage frowned at the room once more.

A pitcher with sliced lemons lingered in the water, she already had a taste and it was too tart for her. But she didn't want to ask anyone for water, real water.

This idea had come a few days ago, both Remus and her father approached her with kind smiles and said they wanted her to meet a friend. And even now she had the right to feel suspicious.

Right now all she wanted was her pups and a hot cup of tea, not to speak with a strange female. One that she's never—

"Calista, thank you for coming so quickly." Her dad's voice had brought a fair level of comfort. But not enough to get her out of this room.

"Cal, this is my daughter Sage. Sage, this is a good friend of mine Calista. We spoke on the phone a few days ago, she's here to have a chat." Sage blinked towards the female, and yes while she did smell familiar and like a shifter, she tilted her head in confusion as to what that scent reminded her of.

Especially the eyes, those seemed just as interesting. So very brown, almost like a soft honey.

"Luna Sage, it's an honor to meet you. I'm Calista, I worked briefly with the council and wanted to share my findings. I went to university with humans and thought bringing in their teachings to our world would be useful. Would you like some more water?" Sage had ignored the offered hand, but Cal didn't seem to mind as much as she focused her next task on pouring out water anyhow.

"I thought we could talk about—"

"I don't want to talk." She said through gritted teeth, holding herself up with her arms wrapped around her stomach. "Alpha Remus tells me you like to read, that you're planning on rejoining the high school program to get your diploma. I think that's a beautiful show of determination, wouldn't you agree, Alpha Hayes?" Sage looked at her father in the same bit of confusion as she had been in the last few days.

"I don't know when I go back to school...Pups need me." She explained, and was steered back to the couch with her father beside her and Cal in a separate armchair.

"Should I stay for—"

"For the beginning, yes...I think it'll be easier for Sage. Sage, I studied psychology during my time with humans. I'm not welcomed so much in the supernatural world considering what I am." Hayes peered over towards his daughter, wondering what she could possibly be trying to process in that head of hers.

"Not a wolf, not a witch..." It was the moment of truth for sure. And Calista looked briefly towards Hayes then back towards the Luna she was inquired to help. "I'm a she-bear...There aren't many of my kind left in the world, and I've yet to find a male that's worth my attention or time. But I've come to find that most males, no matter their species, are hot-headed. No offense, Alpha Hayes." He of course laughed along, but Sage's eyes grew wide as her lips parted.

Little surprised her these days, not after all that's happened.

But talking with a bear—A she-bear named Calista, well, what was she supposed to think?

"A bear? You're a bear?" Calista smiled and nodded her head once again, and something beautiful sparked in her eyes. One of understanding and kindness, and with no record of revenge for Sage's hunting habits.
Sage started to settle.

"Yes. You know in the wild, sometimes wolves and bears seek to help one another. A pack of hunting wolves will allow a bear a bite. I'm hoping that'll work with us here and now. Crescent Moon is a beautiful pack."

"Want to stay in Crescent Moon?" Sage questioned and the woman nodded. "I would like to, yes. I've been chased by a few of those beasts. Not nicest to come across, are they?"

"No. They bite." Hayes held his breath, knowing that Sage wasn't one to speak that much—But still, he thought she would be a bit more open to it all.

"Luna Sage, I've been told about you and your story—But I like to think that there might be a bit of a miscommunication when speaking with your father, mate, and brother...Can I ask you a few questions?"

"What kind of questions?"

"Just a few, and you don't have to answer them all if you don't want to." The given option had caused Sage to stir at the possibility so she nodded and awaited the first.

"I'm going to ask about your memories, not the ones from the soul swap. I want you to close your eyes and think of the happiest day of your life...You too, Alpha Hayes." Sage had taken a quick look at her father and saw that he was following the instructions.

And she popped hers closed to follow suit.

"When you're thinking of this memory, I want you to embrace how you felt and describe it to me...Hayes, why don't you start?" A short chuckle escaped the male to Sage's right.

"Oh goddess, visited this moment a hundred times before—But when my beautiful mate...A nervous wreck and walking back and forth in my office—Didn't know it at the time but this was going to be ingrained in my head forever. The small little test in her hand, even when she wasn't feeling her best she'd always put a smile on her face. And she did now, not to scare me..." Hayes had reached out to feel for his daughter's hand, issuing a small grip as she returned.

"We didn't want a pup yet, we wanted to make bigger changes in Mystic Grimm before we started our litter—But I don't think I can ever replace the feeling of hearing about the news of another pup. And it's a damn tie when it happened a second and a third. Yet the last time was without Willow, and not about a pregnancy but a full-grown she-wolf about to have pups of her own." The adoring words coming from her father had caused her to lean into his shoulder, her eyes still closed as she remembered the very moment she realized that Hayes wasn't just a friendly Alpha, but her father.

"As many times I ask, it's always the same moments—But I think last time you mentioned holding your grand pups in your arm being a second."
"It's hard to keep track of everything going on." Sage could feel the she-bear's smile, even with her eyes remaining closed.

"Since your dad named a few, you can do the same, Sage...What are your happiest memories?" She had thought she had an answer, but when silence had taken over the room—It caused her to lose focus.

"I don't know..."

"That's okay, sometimes we end up categorizing happy moments with excitement and thrills. How did you feel when you found out you were expecting pups?" Sage had inhaled a breath.

"Scared...Scared because I don't know about pups." There had been a small jittering in her hand that her father's thumb tried to soothe.

"But Remmy was very happy—A-and then Snyder tried to—"

"Sage—Happy. We're thinking happy thoughts right now." Hayes interrupted, but the sound of scribbling notes caught Sage's attention.

"How about we change the prompt, what do you like to do every day?... It doesn't feel like you've fulfilled your goals without doing it." It had taken a few passing moments, but Sage had conjured up the right line of thought.

"I like to watch sunrise and sunset...And seeing the moon. With some tea."

"How often do you find yourself doing this?" The conversation was smooth sailing after that. And Sage hardly recalled that they called in a stranger to come and talk to her.

Not until there was a small hint to what happened during her time away—Missing.
That's what they called it.

Sage hardly said a word and continued to shake her head. But Calista remained smiling and positive throughout, which only ticked Sage further. Having been asked the same question in different varieties, or being given another topic before turning back caused her to lose sight of her own thoughts.

"I don't want to talk! I can't talk! Don't want to think about any more questions!" Sage had jumped to her feet as she shouted, losing her last shred of sanity. Without any cause of her own, she stormed out of the room.

Only to witness a few adoring faces of her family members.

Both Andrew and Remus had looked up at her from their seats, the same expression of worry and guilt flashed towards her—They had set her up!

Either of them had fallen in right behind her, and she quickly waved her hand. "Go away!" She shouted, but they failed to listen.

Nobody ever listens!

"Can't do that, pumpkin. Calista talked to all of us. Helped a lot, it's not good to keep things contained." She huffed, cursing down the pack house steps and taking the strides towards the woods.

"Sage, we want to get to the bottom of this. We need to find Willow, we need to—"
"I know! I know. We find mom and kill bad vampire man. But I can't—Can't talk—I see Armon—" Sage's hands had stopped herself but the way her body had begun to shake and shiver without any natural cold breathing down on her.

Thankfully her sob had stopped her from saying his full name, meaning no Draguri would be summoned to their location.

But as she fell to her knees and began to surcome to the shakes, her beast escaped her form—Her soul following after.

Sage tore her way through the designated path, a therapeutic way of expressing her rage and defeat. There was nothing leading her way except instinct. And with the voices shouting in her head and around her, she needed to get away from the pack's main town and houses.

It didn't take long to do so, but even then she felt closed off by the two males destined to watch and care for her. The confusion of what she faced during the soul swap and how she left things with Andrew are still left in debate.

There was no right answer to take, her father eased her into the idea. Someone will always be angry with what she chooses, and she experienced it firsthand with the war between Coldridge and Summit.

With the burn in her feet starting to become apparent, she steered her direction towards the closest lake. Thankfully that it wasn't frozen over, but it was beautifully chilled regardless.

She swallowed the gulps whole and rested her bum on the ground while looking out to the view in front of her—Though it was quick for her thoughts to return back to what she and Calista spoke about.

Sage knew that they needed to progress, but she didn't realize that her mind was blocked so strongly for the witches to be unable to enter in. It pains her that she couldn't help more while asking being the one with the holdup any sort of additional progress. But when she closed her eyes, she tried to picture what she could before.

She wanted to trust Calista and the rest of her friends and family. But goddess, how could she ever explain what happened? Raven had given the best guess that proved to be correct with how Sage reacted to her male's touch.

Sage calmed her breathing and an instant recall of the witches that walked and served her in Willow's body—And suddenly the spark picked up, this wasn't just about her mother. There were dozens of others that she met within the swap.

However, a simple roar had settled her building thought and she instantly crouched to hide her figure. Yet the beast had commanded the area in question had sauntered over regardless, and Sage born witness to Calista's beauty.

Sage popped her head entirely above the decline, and Calista's eyes landed instantly on the Luna—Before huffing in a greeting. Since Sage hadn't allowed her into her head, Cal would need to build trust in this form as well.

Her winter coat wasn't filled in, which caused Sage to tilt her head. Did she say where she was from?

Curiosity had taken over the young Luna as she walked forward in cation, meeting a bear up close that was still breathing and friendly was strange.

Even stranger to see the female sitting on her bum with her massive paws in the air. So Sage mirrored it just a few paces away from here, and waved with her paw—Which Cal had followed in pursuit again.

It was such a human action that she assumed that Sage needed confirmation on such a thing.

Beautiful coat. Not warm enough.

She whispered into her mind, and the beast chuckled—and Sage couldn't help rumble at the idea of a laughing bear.

I didn't think you would have your father's coat, I've heard it's usually seen in the Male side of Mystic Grim wolves.

Sage didn't know that portion of her inheritance, she had only known that it was similar to her brother and father—While Haylee had gotten her mother's coat.

Do you like deer?

Calista licked her lips and faced toward the direction that both smelled of a small herd. So with a quickened huff of Sage's snoot, the two soon fell into sync toward their prey.

The she-bear had followed with ease, and even when Sage had tested her speed, it was nearly a fair match—Though Cal did not doubt that she would lose a race if the time came to it.

Yet she caught sight of the very deer in their sight of smell, but seeing them had unlocked a keen hunger that Calista had pushed back for months now.

First one.

Sage whispered into her head. As a guest in the pack, Sage leaned back as she turned back to the she-bear. Wondering how she wanted to go about this, as a guest.

Bear hunt differently than wolves.

It's been a while since I've shifted, I'll butcher it.

It earned the female a rumble and Sage took the small trek away—Wondering if she could herd the one in question toward its demise in the bushes. However, Calista wasn't so used to her large figure and thus stomped here and there.
Causing the better part of the family of deers to get the memo.

Sage had taken charge and used the rest of her reserved energy to secure the meal, though the buck's horn had jabbed into the side of her head and erupted into a world of pain.

One that sent Remus into a panic at the far end of the pack.

SAGE?!

I'm okay! Hunting.

Remus's words were in a rush, and most of the questions overlapped one another as Sage had managed to end the buck's life. Following by a quickened howl to alert Cal that she could come over.

Shit, did you get nicked?

Nicked?... I get hit by horn, yes.

All too soon did Calista's beast come forth and licked the better part of Sage's head. It took the Luna by surprise as she let out a playful yelp, though the gaze she had given the she-bear would've been understood by a wolf, it took a moment for Sage to recall that this was no wolf.

This was a she-bear who had their own customs and such.

So she pawed towards her in hopes that she would stop, and the chortle returned as Cal started to laugh at her client once again. Yet with the kill in place, the two had felt a rush of excitement to have fresh meat at their disposal. So Sage had hurried forward and offered up the liver.

The sheer excitement was easily caught, and the bear dove into the small snack. Course it fascinated Sage to see how a bear operated in the eyes of a friend rather than her next target.

So instead she had managed to rip open the kill, so there was plenty of room for the two to snack on at the same time. Though Sage didn't factor in just how large a bear was up close and personal, yet the radiating heat was a fair trade.

With nothing left but the Hyde and carcass, Sage had found herself a rather comfortable spot under the sun. Or would have, had Cal not stood in her way.

I never would have guessed that wolves take a nap after a meal too.

Sage had given her a wolfie grin but remained silent, though Cal stepped closely and curled up in a similar form to the Luna. There wasn't much snow on the ground currently, but either female could feel the incoming storm approaching.

Do you hunt often?

Yes. I like to hunt.

What do you like about it?

The wolf had stretched out her legs and looked towards the bear, her eyes exhausted with all the questions and the unlocked door of emotions she's thrown her way.

Last time I'll talk about it, promise.

I like feeling like wolf. There is no hunting in facility or fresh meat. And I like chasing.

Hm, sometimes the chase is the best part. This is the best deer I've had in a while.

Why don't you hunt?

Hard for a bear to hunt, I have to put on an ear chip so humans don't try and hunt me. But I usually get shot at anyway.

A low growl escaped Sage as she heard this news. Clearly, humans were too impulsive to even think of going near again. And her mind went to the hunter she encountered all that time ago.

She remembered that Blake shared that hunters could be after her kind and the normal one that breeds in the human world.

You can hunt here. We have lots of land.

Thank you, Sage. That's very kind. With everything going on in our world it was either stay here in Crescent Moon or head to Canada to be with family.

Canada is not safe.

Calista had figured just the same, but that was just from hearsay—If the word had gotten out, she was sure that everyone would follow in pursuit of a safe haven.

Though now she had gotten the okay from both the Alpha and Luna of the pack to remain here.

I thought Alpha Remus and your dad would explain a bit more about me coming here. I'm sorry, Sage.

That's okay. I'm sorry I run away, not easy to talk.

It's why I'm here, I make things easy to talk about.

And from there, progress was set to start with the coming sessions. Allowing Sage to feel confident to speak only to Calista, and for the psychologist to give out bits and pieces from her client.

______

Date: 04/03/23

Time: 8:18

Words: 3370

Author's Note:

I swear, Mondays always catch me by surprise. Especially this week. I've been packed with work and personal projects that I feel like I've just picked my head up.

Though I'm hoping for an easy week🤞

But anywho, Sage and Calista have met and grown comfortable with one another.

"When you hunt with someone, you trust them." -Probably Leo Elwood when his kids were young😂

So with that, this will give Sage a supportive outlet that she couldn't find with her family. Though, I can hardly blame her. Armond has been a nightmare for her since the moment he found out Willow was pregnant with her.

Things will progress and there is a lot to cover in this story!
About 27% of the way through✨

In other news,
In case you missed my announcement, I have recently posted the prologue for a new story I plan to upload every week!

Alrighty, alright--I probably caught you off guard with how early this chapter is, so before I forget to actually hit post...
I hope you all have an amazing week and I'll see you Friday with a new phase😙