* * *

"Say that again, a lil slower..."
"You're meeting mate soon." Which left him to fall down from his crouched position on the floor.

"Sage?... Are you okay? I thought you were on the porch with the Lunas?" She turned up to see Eli before turning her smile back to her Charge.

"S-she was dizzy, I needed to tell her...Something." Blake was in a daze, since the day he was born and grew up by the kind and generosity of other odd souls like him in the wild, he and the rest like him all believed in the notion that they had no mate.

That they were destined to find their own person in the world.

"Blake? Man, you alright?" Sage didn't realize how much that word could affect a male—Any wolf for that matter. So her eyes flickered to her Beta with a pout.

"I tell him he finds mate soon and now he won't talk to me." She said, taking Blake's reaction badly than for what it actually is.

"Uh...Sage? You know when Luna Mary and Alpha Issac decided to wait and see if Julia's mate is in our pack before telling her?" He waited for his Luna to nod, and then kneeled down beside Blake with a steady and comforting hand rested on his shoulder.

"That's a big word for us, Sage. Next time how about you don't say it directly to the wolf it's meant for?"
"But I wanted to help." Blake laughed, but it wasn't a scoff, no. Instead, he wiped his eyes with his wrist and found it in himself to speak.

"You did. More than you could even know, Luna." The former Rogue said as he began to rise up to his feet, planting a polite kiss to his Luna's forehead before taking the quick strives out of the packhouse.

Completely forgetting that he wanted to tell the Luna something.

"I don't want to make him mad or sad..."
"I know sweetheart, but males feel protective over their mates. Right? Like Alpha is with you? He's going to feel like that, even though he doesn't know who it is." She nodded and then bit her lip.

"I don't think they're from pack."
"Blake's met most she-wolves in the pack, and we've had a lot of parties. So unless she's turning of age, then she's probably from another pack." She nodded along, but she was trying to defuse who it would be, who would have any means of coming to the pack?

Blake was already in three packs prior to arriving here, but that didn't stop her pout.

"Just want to help..."
"You heard him Luna, you've helped him with a lot more than you realize. Let me get you back to the other Lunas." She agreed, though there was a quick bathroom detour before she really returned.

Eli was familiar with either Luna, and made a polite hello before returning to his duties in helping his mate plan a pup shower. And while it was all well and nice to have it for their own pack's celebration, Julia proposed that maybe it would be a nice warming gift if the Luna's join in as well.

It left the Beta to interrupt the Alpha meeting—Through mind link, as it was rather rude and inappropriate to barge in uninvited. But Remus loved the idea, he said without any hesitation to try and push it for this Friday.

The two Alpha couples were going to stay for two more days, what was one more? Especially if it meant celebrating the new generation of Crescent Moon.

Either Luna was informed by their mates as they sat outside with Sage, basking in the warm summer sun. The two shared a grin as the she-wolf was having a surprise party for her and the pup.

The first day hadn't been a challenge, it was the second day—When Sage was feeling the curse of morning sickness that the Luna's spent the day at the house and enjoyed the comfort of the Moon residence.

They had little to discuss anyhow, this was not a council-enforced Luna meeting. If anything, they discussed topics such as birth rate to pup ratio. As well as Rogue attacks on their own accord.

Otherwise they ate, relaxed and talked about their own personal life. Which was new for Fiona, as she hadn't met Sage before this trip. Through stories of course. It was hard not to hear about the sudden mate of Remus Moon changing multiple traditions.

"I can't believe you sent her home!"
"I had to, pups get stressed." Sage defended, and Mary laughed even louder. "No I get that part, I wish I was there! She was always a nasty bitch—"
"Mary!" Fiona interrupted, having been warned by both Remus and Issac that Sage did not favor swearing or cursing.

And sure enough, Sage was pouting.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, I keep forgetting." Her nose scrunched up in silent protest, and then she smiled.
"Do you want to see pup's room?" She offered, and the females jumped at the opportunity to see it. And since they were both older and Luna for much longer, they knew what younger pups needed as they'd order the supply for future mothers of their pack.

Sage was writing down each and every tip to add to the room, but otherwise, it was already well-stocked. Though the girls had fun in trying to time themselves in practicing to put a diaper on the baby, so when the males had returned to the Alpha's house—It seemed like the two other she-wolves were wanting a pup themselves a little bit more after this.

Especially as the Lunas had left to go and aid Julia with final details on the baby shower—So the two were cuddled up on the couch in their den, watching a movie. While Sage was on route to follow asleep, Remus growled just as his lips made contact with her neck.

"Can't fall asleep on me munchkin, we're having dinner remember...I think that purple dress birdie made would be nice for tonight." She hummed, trying to soothe the soreness in her breast, which only turned into Remus offering for a back rub.

Her stress had been relinquished within a few minutes, so much so that her breasts expelled a bit of milk. And she groaned. "Remmy, can you get me a napkin?" He had smelled an extra bit of sweetness in the air, but it was clear from her t-shirt what happened.

"...Kenzie did say that could happen." He said before kissing her cheek, Remus made quick work of getting some paper towels and letting her clean herself up.

Though his wolf did urge him to help more, he couldn't do everything for her.

So he decided to distract himself by telling her he was going to get the shower running so she could get washed up. As well as get the outfit Julia and Elenor have planned for tonight.

Almost set Alpha, maybe like a half-hour?

Perfect, just no jumping out.

No promises.

Jack! I swear to—

Okay, okay! Jeeze.

While Remus was a part of the celebration planning, it was heavily female-oriented to put together something dedicated specifically to pups. 

Sage didn't realize that the majority of the pack was awaiting the arrival of her and the Alpha, as their fight on wearing shoes managed for longer than he initially thought it would. So when Remus aided his mate back into the car—Sage ripped off her sandals and smirked the other way. He wouldn't notice until later tonight, or so she was hoping.

It wasn't that hard to see what she was up to. And he grabbed the pair of shoes just as she was about to close the door. "Stubborn."
"Too tight." She whined, and he sighed as he brought his arm around her and lead her straight up to the pack steps—Only to be readily cheered at, though this time it wasn't a shout and it wasn't that heavily unexpected.

She heard a small rumor, but when she took a look at one of the many signs up on the wall her mouth dropped in understanding. "Pup party?"
"Kinda of, it's for you being pregnant, munchkin. The pack's excited, they wanted to throw you a party." Sage remained quiet on the matter and she threw on her best smile.

Her friends, family and dozens of pack members all greeted her and placed a hand on her stomach. A similar response to when they first announced it at her birthday.

But this was filled with games, and Remus made it his mission to give her the chance to play all of them. Pin the tail on the wolf, a non-alcoholic version of beer pong. But her favorite was the timed diaper changing station.

And goddess was she a pro, the couple had forty-five seconds to wrap the plastic babies and Sage managed to wrap twenty-two while Remus just about secured fifteen.

What really caught Sage's attention, was the chalkboard. Where pack members could put tallies what they thought the pup's gender was.

It wasn't strange that they thought or hoped the pup is a boy, but she smiled in seeing all the tallies on the pink side.

"Luna Sage...?" She turned to look to her side and smiled, Mikey was standing beside her, fairly nervous as he was shaking a bit. So she did something in remembrance of the pup ceremony.

She pushed away the hair in his face, the silent encouragement he needed for him to speak.
"I...I just wanted to say thank you, staying with me when I shifted for the first time. I was really scared and didn't want to be alone but—Thank you." He stumbled over his words, nervous and scared of what he wanted to say.

"I hear from Luke that you start sparing early?" His eyes sparked up with glee, especially since he hadn't mentioned that portion. And because he had just started last week with the age group above him.

"Yeah! Maybe you can come watch me train, I'll be big and strong so I can go on the bear hunt like you did." She nodded in confirmation. "Bear hunt a lot of training."
"I know Luna, I'm still a pup. But I'm going to be a hunter, just like my papa!" Goddess did it warm Remus' heart in hearing Mikey talking to Sage.

He recalled that she asked Luke about him constantly, it was instinctual for her to want to know about Mikey.

"Want to play a game? I need partner." Remus didn't know if Sage understood what it meant to be asked from the Luna to do something, let alone offer something like this. So he watched the little pups eyes go in awe towards his Luna.

And off the two went, going around in a circle to play the games that interested them.  Yet the Alpha's daze was interrupted by an elbow to his side from Blake. Earning him a harsh growl.

"Hey! I did tried to get your attention."
"Yeah? Sorry, I was trying to listen to what Sage and the pup were talking about."
"Better be careful, I heard he has a crush on the Luna—Kidding kidding. He's like thirteen." Remus' wolf still didn't like the idea that a male liked his female, even if he is a pup.

"So uh, did Sage tell you what she found out?" Remus turned to look at the male and simply shook his head. "Something I should be concerned about?"
"Nah she—she said I'm finding my mate soon."
"Ah, I think Eli mentioned that. Sorry, it's been a busy few days, and? Did you find them?" Blake's hand started to itch the back of his neck in pure embarrassment.

"Could I ask if there's any visiting pack in the near future?" Remus chuckled at the lack of patience in this pup, sometimes it was hard to remember that Blake is younger than Sage.

Even if he was the size of Luke.

"Classified, but to ease your heart, Arctic Crest might be coming after the pup comes."
"That sounds like later, she said soon."
"Yeah, Sage's definition of soon varies all the time. Don't worry about it, she was right about Julia. She wouldn't lie." Blake remained silent, but Remus understood his fears and worries no doubt.

"If you're open to some advice?" Remus offered, and Blake looked up with a sheer face of desperation. "Please."
"My father told me I was never going to find a mate, and if I did she'd reject me before I could even finish breathing in her scent. I thought I was never going to find Sage, and I have nearly a decade on you. I was starting to wonder if she was alive at all..."
"Then we're one and the same, Rogue rarely find their mates."
"You ever wonder why Sage and you are Charge and Mentor? I think you are supposed to find your mate, Blake, I do. And I think you and my mate were always meant to help the Rogues...Funny how it all works out." He said with a grin easing onto his face as he took a sip from the red solo cup in hand.

"Maybe she'll find you...Never know, don't doubt her intuition." Remus winked, patting him on the back before deciding he needed another beer.

Course with his little rise in the title of General, more or less began to stick among the pack. It came with a flock of followers that seemed to be pinning for his attention, sure he'd humor one or two—Not more than a quick make out in between guarding the Luna and otherwise strict duty in keeping the Rogues in order.

But he felt like he had a pretty good set up in terms of making a life for himself, he'd be going to events like this with his mate, get to come home to his mate.

So when a she-wolf was flirting with him across the bar he offered a smile and went the opposite direction. "You need to get laid."
"Fuck off." He said, glaring at Jackson who adored putting his nose into everything.

"I'm just saying that all that male hormones are starting to get to your head ever since Sage told you her prediction."
"Yeah, and what better way to fuck a random she-wolf and have to deal with that later?" Jack shrugged, but then huffed himself.

"D-did you ask Sage...Or did she just tell you?"
"She had a nausea spell or something, maybe you have more luck if you ask. But 'soon' isn't really soon enough." Jack laughed and nicked his head.

"Yeah well, you're top dog too. Hard to date anyone when you're constantly working and most are looking at the title."
"Title? You mean General? That's not really—" Blake was silenced when Jack's eyes turned to look at the Luna.

Whose attention was strictly on the pup she befriended.

"You're the Luna's Charge, you have direct access to the Luna and Alpha. Not to mention we're best pals, that's a position without the title. But I still like General...And so does Lily." Blake rolled his eyes, Lily was one of the few in the fan group that idolized Jack, him, and previously Eli and Luke.

"So for now...Enjoy the bachelor life. I know I am." It was a lie, either male knew it and Jack found himself trying to smooth talk his way to talk to a she-wolf off by herself.

Blake knew the female, Jackson had introduced him to Talia a little while ago, they were high school sweethearts or something in that range. But the General found it in himself to be happy for the Alpha couple, he was surely going to enjoy a lil pup running around the house.

And the added bonus of them being able to shift—Oh, he was excited for sure. So he walked directly up to the pup bet and gave his honest belief on the gender before joining in beside Eli to celebrate properly.

Sage was in love with the games, and it turned rather competitive when the Alpha couples were cheered on by the entire pack to play against one another.

While SilverTail took the crown, it was all in due fun—Especially when Remus explained the rest of the night to Sage. How he and the males were going off to hunt and bring back the kill to cook up, and her wolf fawned over the gesture.

With the males off and away, the she-wolves started to prep the rest of the cooking grounds. Sage asked if there was anything she could do to help, undoubtedly sweet, but she was starting to get fed up with getting pampered.

"Not allowed to work when it's your party," Mary said as she locked her head on her friend's shoulder. "I thought it's pup's party?"
"It's both, for mama and pup." Sage hummed in agreement, but then smiled as the males howled for the she-wolves to be prepared for their arrival. Though she wondered how long it would actually be for them to drag enough back to feed the pack.

Yet half an hour later, the males returned and began to work on skinning the dozen of deers while the females laid out countless side dishes.

"Who's idea for party?" Sage questioned, and Mary shrugged her shoulders. "I think Jules planned the most, she's your Beta Female after all. And Gods do I miss her."

"I give you vision back and I get Jules." A very unharmonious laugh had come from the Luna of Grey Hallow that she earned the attention of nearby wolves, but she hadn't a care in the world.

She rarely did.

"I don't think I'm funny."
"You're hilarious, and you know what? Our mates are looking delicious after a hunt, come with me?" She agreed and Mary was basically skipping off towards Issac and tackled him when he least expected it, latching onto his back and he almost tumbled forward.

Sage was a giggling mess as she watched either male skinning the deer that they took down, which she could tell due to Remus' signature bite at the neck.

So she peeked her head behind what he was doing and studied his movements on what he was doing. "I think the pup will like this, and Gigi made bean casserole." Humming beside him did he start going through the steps verbally, and it was hard to work under her eyes—He felt nervous.

And Sage had an Elwood eye when it came to skinning and hunting as they were the ones to teach her, she knew the next steps but she enjoyed hearing him speak about it.

"Lots of deers."
"The pack has a lot to celebrate, it's been a while since there's been a Luna for everyone here and an Alpha pup." He reminded, especially as his hand cupped against the center of her stomach.

"Pack thinks pup's a boy."
"I keep telling you, Roe's in there."
"No, Rue." He smirked and took the moment to kiss her before he finished up the deer for the butcher to be able to cut up.

This party had started fairly early in the day and thus it was just before dinner that the pack's yard started smelling like cooked deer. And of course, the big table had been forced to try and fit everyone, yet it was adorable to see all the pups getting their own little area to hang out with their type of games.

But Sage started to grow very tired, and Remus had caught it long before she settled with the pups at the bonfire. He had told her at the beginning they'd leave when she told him, unfortunately, she either didn't understand that or she was forcing herself to stay up and leave.

Most of the pack was used to partying hard until the early hours of the morning, while Sage only ever stayed up until eleven—And they were long past that now.

"Better take her to bed Alpha, she's going to fall asleep sitting up by the looks of it," Eli said, his arms firmly around Jules as the three of them were all sharing the same gaze towards the Luna. Children by her feet as she needed to sit in a chair as sitting on the ground wasn't an option.

But Remus caught that the closest pup to Sage was indeed Mikey, causing him to sigh. "Do you think there's an age requirement on the whole charge and mentor relationship?" He asked with the honest intent of figuring it out, but Eli shrugged.

"I can look into it—"
"Or you can leave it be. Mikey's grateful that she sat with him when he shifted, it's harmless—And you know as well as I do a pregnant Luna she is more in tune with the pups anyway. I'm so mad I didn't catch it before!" Eli started rubbing her shoulder, trying to soothe the anger away. But she shrugged his attempt as she glared back up at him.

"You couldn't drop a hint?"
"I was ordered by my Alpha not to talk about it, I couldn't if I tried." Remus had to hold back his grin, it wasn't that he didn't want to tell anyone else about the Luna's Pregnancy, he physically couldn't. And it was a good thing they hadn't spoken about it too soon, because Kelly and Snyder would've acted much sooner.

When the pup was barely able to defend itself.

"Not talk about it, write it down next time—"
"Julia, I understand that you wanted to know, but both myself and Sage needed time for ourselves before announcing it to both you and to the public. Please don't give Eli a hard time for following orders." Remus interjected, and she pulled a very Sage-like action as she pouted.

"Does that meant you're announcing it to the council soon?" She questioned, and Remus shook his head. "Not when there's probably others like Snyder who are out to get Sage or the pack." Eli nodded to his Alpha's sense on the matter. "I agree, and with Moon Vally scrambling for power, they—"
"One night, you can't even enjoy yourself for one night, Mr.Beta, can you?" Remus frowned, had that been a test?

If so, had his Beta lost?

"Angel—"
"Save it, I'll go hang out with the pups. At least they don't talk about work." Julia had wiggled out of her mate's hold and found her way over to where Sage was with the pups, course she had to refuse the Luna's offer to have her seat. A very sweet gesture considering Sage's ankles were beyond swollen.

Especially when a toddler came running at full speed to show her hand-drawn pictures the lil gal drew of the upper tiers. Sage wasted no time in picking up the pup to sit on her lap.

Eli looked shyly off to his Alpha before flickering his gaze elsewhere. "That sounds like a private matter, if you want to keep it that way I won't judge."
"I'm not cut out for that romantic crap as I thought I was. It's not that I don't love it when she does it —I do it's just—Fuck, the last time I had to consider a she-wolf was in high school, but this is my mate. We're bonded, you'd think it'd get easier." Remus looked at his Beta silently, and the male's shoulders fell as he was really preaching to the wrong choir.

"Do I really have to order you to enjoy some time off?"
"No, I just don't know what she wants me to do. She doesn't talk about what she wants and it's starting to piss me off."
"Huh, I wonder how that's like. A mate who doesn't talk—Eli, are you neglecting your mate?" The Beta frowned, followed by a rather defensive growl that sparked up from his wolf.

"I'm not talking about eating or having a roof over her head, I'm talking about in the bedroom neglectful." Eli's jaw dropped, he started to do a mental count to when the last time he and Julia had been able to spend some alone time together.

Intimate alone time.

"Fuck..."
"Hmm. Hey, I did the same thing. And maybe that's just a she-wolf thing but I don't think our females are rightly going to come and say it. Well, when Jules is pregnant that might change." Remus had recalled rather fondly after that what Sage's hormones had done to her in wanting to mate more often.

But he wasn't going to complain.

"So with that being said, I'm ordering you to take the next few days off—Nope, no arguing. When Sage has the pup I'm out of my Alpha title." Eli let out a sigh but then found his pace quickening as he went straight off towards his mate and settled himself up and behind his mate, pulling her in straight to his lap—All cuddled up by the fire.

Which left Remus to come do the same for Sage, but he simply leaned forward and kissed the back of her head. "Think it's time to start packing it in, Munchkin."
"Okay to go to bed?"
"Yeah, there's no rules when it's your party." With that, Sage rose to her feet and started to say her goodbyes and thus...The two were back home, where Sage hardly had the energy left to get under the covers properly.

But the smile etched on her face said it all, his little mate enjoyed herself and the activities.

It was a job well done indeed.

______

Date: 08-31-2021

Time: 11:09

Words: 4430

Author's Note:

I'm sorry this is late, and I'll do my best to edit and post for tomorrow but I'm struggling.
My childhood dog passed away at the age of 14 on Monday, and I'm still trying to manage the pain.

I didn't realize it until now, but I modeled a lot of Sage's character after my Black lab mix. All Sage's actions, all her playfulness--I wrote from the times I played and took care of my pup.

I don't know when I'll do this, but I plan to dedicate the first story of Lacking Humanity series in honor of her, as she a huge inspiration for more than just what I listed. And maybe one day I'll share all of it, but as of right now please be patient with me.

Thank you.