* * *

The report made by the healers in the infirmary had listed their injuries as being fresh and that they were tortured and done so repetitively. The female's name, which Sage had inquired to be called Georgie, had her feet burned and healed, only to be burned once again.

But the witches supplied the knowledge of solutions that wolves were unfamiliar with, but were thankful nevertheless. Especially when Torin had come forward and confirmed that these concoctions weren't as strange as McKenzie was making it out to be.

It was soon proven after seeing the color return to their faces and the sunken look starting to fill out.

"Well, Luna. Their blood levels are rising, their heart rates are improving—Goddess have mercy on them, I don't think they would have survived the next few days. Georgie, she would have suffered from shock the next 'treatment' if you hadn't stumbled upon the chimney." McKenzie said to her in the hallway, and Sage just smiled.

"They need anything?" Sage asked, and the Healer was honest that they needed to replenish everything that had been lost, but was cleared for being questioned if they were mentally prepared for such a thing.

And Sage knew instantly that she wanted to start with John. Coming in with a bargaining chip of soup and tea, she smiled at the rest of them, and they returned it. Sage leaned forward to rub cheeks with Georgie, and the female hummed. "How are your feet?"

"Better, much better, Luna. Thank you." Georgie said, speaking just as softly as before.

Sage proceeded to greet everyone like this as she had taken a much-needed break to grab her own dinner. But they were due for another meal, making sure not to overdo it all at once.

"My mate is coming to ask questions," Sage offered, "I know you're very tired. But we need to know soon, we can find family." The thankful gaze had sparked among all of them, but not to what Sage would have thought—Then again, she wasn't sure how she felt about the idea of family when leaving her own imprisonment. It confused her and worried her, the second time around.

Considering that the bad vampire man was nearing his vengeance after losing her.

"My—My children, a-are they alive?" The she-wolf questioned, and that sparked Sage to come closer.

"I can bring them. What is your name? Full name?" The woman who looked so tiny as though the bed swallowed her whole, Sage had sat down on the side and smiled in encouragement.

"Georgie—Georgie Dixon, my pups—" Sage's eyes spiked as she whispered the three names that sparked Georgie to cry further into Sage's hold. "Everyone is okay, your Mate is okay..." Relief washed over them, and names flowed in so easily after that.

She wasn't familiar with all the families in the pack, but she could certainly send a nurse to notify them soon once they had eaten and rested.

Hey, I just got done with the meeting with Summit. How're they doing?

Good. The female name is Georgie Dixon, Mikey's mom!

Remus smiled at the thought of the reunion, since Sage is very attached to both Michael and Michelle. Even Max was thankful for returning to the pack he was born in.

You think they're ready to talk about what happened?

I don't know, we need to help them—And talking helps, that's what Cal says all the time.

With that, Remus had slowed down to the very door his mate was working behind, goddess, he couldn't believe just how far Sage has come in adapting to her role as Luna.

The knock had silenced the conversation on the other side, which Remus frowned at. This was considered the downside of his title. Others were far too afraid to speak with him, however, as he peeked into the door and allowed himself in, he never expected grown men to cower in fear.

Sage's panic at the situation made her look around desperately, confused as to what was making their hearts spike up so quickly. It didn't take her long to see that Remus' presence unnerved them to no end.

"It's okay...It's okay, my mate is—" She could hardly finish her sentence as Georgie was reduced to sobs again. All that work in reassuring them and giving them comfort had been wasted away.

"I guess...I guess I look like my father more than I thought I did..." Remus said, his expression unrecognizable as he nodded off towards Sage, and decided that the questions could be conducted differently.

"Remmy, wait!" Sage's voice had broken through their scatterbrained mind, and John, at the far end, had wiped the tears away to catch a glimpse of the male he thought was here to end him once and for all.

And just when he was blessed to feel the sun kiss his skin once again.

"You were much skinnier the last time I saw you..." John croaked, his eyes squinting to get a better look—Only for Remus to turn back around. He recognized the voice but couldn't place it amongst everything that was happening.

With Georgie settling down at the reminder of her pups coming soon and Mason relaxing at the thought of Sage in between both himself and Hank—There would be room for a warning, and it wasn't too hard to figure out that they planned to run the first chance they got.

"I am Remus Moon...I am the current Alpha of Crescent Moon, and this is my Mate—Sage Moon. I want to apologize for my father's actions and make things right. Our Head Healer will contact your families, and as soon as I figure out what happened, we can set you up in separate rooms to meet with them." His voice was much more soothing than they thought it would be, but John had only given the man a smile and a nod.

With the basics of 'who, what, when, where, and why?' down and answered, Sage had a few questions to circle in her mind. But the mother of the group was ready to get up from her bed and crawl on her hands and knees home if she was asked another question.

As it turns out, the three males were apart of a small organization to take down Randal—one that Remus wished he heard of when he was plotting his father's assassination with Hayes. However, they were exposed by one of the members they thought they could trust. Kevin Synder.

The same male who outed Andrew in his attempt to blow up the Silver Sanctum.

As the story was told, Sage lingered on John's face—It looked so familiar that she couldn't place it even after the others had been placed into private rooms to reconnect with their families.

Remus stepped out momentarily to speak with the healers, which left Sage with John on his own. "How did Randal die?" He questioned, and Sage turned her head back over to see Remus speaking with Eli—Even with her hearing, the low voices they were hushing to one another didn't pick up.

"Remus worked with Alpha Hayes to kill him," Sage answered honestly, "Do you have a family I can call for you?" The male had only smiled, making her tilt her head as she embraced his hand once more.

"My Mate is dead...Long dead, but my son—he must be alive, he must be—" His lungs had started to go sporadic once again, and Sage leveled the oxygen mask over his mouth and nose, all while humming a small song.

"I use song when my pups don't want to listen and go to sleep...I am sorry about your mate. You have a son? What is his name?" John had moved his lips underneath the mask, but again, Sage didn't quite hear it.

"Ja—Jackson, Jackson...W-woods."

Sage stumbled back, her tears coming without warning as she squeezed the male's hand.

"Jack?... You're Jack's dad?" She whispered, and he nodded—though now he felt exhausted after speaking so much in such a short time.

"I bring him here...Him and his mate!" She said, laying a kiss on his now clean forehead. After rushing out the door, she was caught by Remus, and she nearly tripped over in excitement.

"You're almost worse than the pups. What happened?" Sage huffed at Remus' tease, especially since it cracked Eli up as well.

"John Woods," Sage choked, "that's Jackson's dad."

The folder in the Beta's hand had slipped while Remus stilled, his jaw unhinged.

"Call Jackson and Rory!" It sounded obvious, of course, but was it the right approach? Both Eli and Remus knew how Jackson dealt with his parent's death, and it wasn't anything like what he was like today.

The excitement coursing through Sage's petite figure wasn't shared so easily in either Alpha or Beta, not when they turned their gaze to one another.

She didn't sense them linking one another, but even then, they were on the wavelength. "Oh, we have to tell him care-fully. You're right...I link Rory and tell her to come to the Infirmary." With that, Sage turned her head to focus on the private link with her Delta female.

She explained the situation as best she could, but in retrospect, Aurora was the best person for the job because she was stoic and serious when she needed to be.

Granted, it didn't take long for them to arrive, though they were less eager to hear the news of their resurrected mother than the Dixon family.

Jackson was still smiling up a storm at Aurora's small teasing, but mentally, the she-wolf was thinking of ways to comfort her mate after the reveal.

Yet the male stopped and frowned to see Remus and Eli rushing to get the scattered papers back in hand. "Something wrong? Luna called us down...Said it was urgent." That was an understatement of the century, and Sage nicked her mate and glared.

"Y-yeah...We'll take it into the meeting room, not for prying eyes...Rory, can you stay with Sage?" The she-wolf didn't allow her weary thoughts to overtake her expression and nodded, where Sage led her off and away.

"Goddess, Sage—he's not going—He's going to break down," Aurora said, completely breathless, "He only talked about his parents twice. He said it was too difficult for him to talk about." Sage understood that more than anyone, for that matter. Calista was a blessing, and Sage was thankful for the time she spent fixing her concerns and worries by speaking out loud with someone about them.

That, and Sage found a new respect for bears.

"John is sleeping, but my blood is helping them heal quickly...I don't know when Kenzie said he can leave."

"He'll stay with us. We'll take care of him." Aurora decided instantly, and Sage didn't doubt that portion of it. It was more of a worry that Jackson would wait to put the pieces together before succumbing to his emotions.

And just before Aurora could give another warning, a thunderous roar shook the building—And Sage knew there would be a power struggle within the meeting room. Causing both females to rush forward, only to find Eli doing his best to hold Jack back.

"Jacky! Jacky, babe...It's alright," Aurora whispered, trying to sooth her Mate, "Sage called as soon as she found out. Your father is fine—"

"FINE?! I couldn't smell him when he rose out of a grave, an actual grave! Fuc—" Sage stood in front of her male while Aurora took Jack's face into her hands, trying to regain his regular gaze.

A mate's ability to calm their other half was vital in such situations.

But everything was starting to pick up the pace, and Remus wasn't too thrilled to explore an abandoned cellar where they had uncovered the prisoners.

It wasn't Aurora's words that caused him to settle down. It was Sage's slight surge of an Alpha tone mixed with the sense of something forthcoming.

"He is alive. He wants to see you and Rory..." Sage said, carefully, "I know it is not easy, not easy at all. But he wants to see you, and he's so happy that you're here." What was once anger and confusion was now mixed with happiness.

Everything he felt was of course valid, his father was thought to be dead since before the war ended—And the account of a few fallen victims being held captive was just another issue on the long list of solutions they need to find.

"Come, Delta John wants to see you."

___

Date: 06/03/25

Time: 12:26 PM

Words: 2030