* * *

 Remus hadn't gotten much sleep as his wolf woke up every half an hour or so to lick Sage's wounds, all to keep it soaked with his saliva. The only issue is that it was easier to be in fur, thus caused him to shift under the cover—Having Sage already in the nude made it very easier, and what he found out quite recently was that she adored his fur touching her bare skin.

And his wolf liked it just as much.

The only issue is that it made for a rather damning scene when Haylee knocked on the door that morning and neither Sage nor Remus responded. Both in a deep slumber trying to heal the cuts and scrapes Sage received yesterday.

However, the fresh scent on someone entering the bedroom left Remus' wolf to admit a growl without bothering to identify who it is. Leaving Haylee to giggle.

"Ah, so that's what you two are into?" She questioned, and the voice caused Sage to turn and hug Remus' wolf, trying to soothe out the anger. Only to pop her eyes open just a tad to see Haylee standing just a bit inside the threshold.

"What?" She asked, having clearly exhausted herself with the challenge and the constant back and forth conversations she was following and involving herself with.

"Nothing, Haylee was just leaving," Remus said, most of his body covered by the likes of the bed cover, while he moved to get ready for the day—Thus making Sage assume it was alright for her to do so as well.

And Haylee giggled at her friend's lack of attention in being nude. But attempted to keep the peace by politely looking the other way and closing the door. "Sage...Cover up." In pure embarrassment, she cast her hand over her eyes, not her best moment. But Haylee caught that she hadn't taken her mate's words correctly and thus she followed what her friend had done instead.

"Breakfast's almost ready and Hardin's been asking for Auntie Sage." A squeal escaped Sage and so she hurried off towards her duffle bag while Haylee left them to get ready in private.

"Remmy? Is my comfy bra in the bathroom?" She called out, and he yelled out that it was she sighed in relief that she hadn't ripped it yesterday in the challenge. The slight chill in the air was starting to get her attention, waking her up to be much more aware of her surroundings.

After dressing herself in a pair of thick leggings, fuzzy socks, and a stollen sweater from her mate—Though he packed extra just for her to be able to wear.

And besides, in another pack he wanted her smelling like him at all times, and since she hadn't bothered with a shower since before the movie last night, she still smelled heavily like him.

Making his wolf rumbled in approval.

"Wolf happy?" Sage nudged, especially after hearing him through the bond. "Yes he is munchkin, because you smell like me." She blinked up in confusion and then sniffed her sweater, smiling in understanding.

When entering the room, most of the faces held smiles—Or in the Alpha's case, smirks. Meaning that Haylee told the table what happened and thus, it was out in the open. However what caught little Hardin's attention was Sage's entrance, causing him to throw his hands up in want.

But Sage felt Jade's frustration in getting the pup to eat, and while he was demanding her attention. He earned a huff. "No. Eat then play." The pup had surely understood that as he attempted to pout his lips and cry, but Jade gave Sage a thankful smile.

Seems her son wasn't the only male that was listening to Sage.

"H...How did you—Goddess, she is a pup whisperer." Harlow laughed, clearly in awe at how Sage managed to tell his son that he needed to eat and did just that.

When Sage found herself seated, her plate had been loaded up within mere seconds as Remus encouraged her to eat. But she ate rather slowly as she kept getting small glances from the pup and returned a few faces as the rest started talking about sports or other common interests that Sage couldn't make any comments about.

When his plate was finally done, Jade had set him up nearby with his toys. But the little fellow did want to be close to his Auntie Sage and proceeded to crawl just beside her chair before tugging at her sweater.

"Hi." She greeted down, and his arms went back up. She had said that they could play when he finished eating and so to compromise Sage picked him up and placed him in her lap. Giving her the opportunity to eat.

"Goddess, at this rate Sage is going to have a whole litter of pups." Jade teased, and Remus could only smile in regards to that statement.
"You say that like it's a bad thing." He smirked back, causing Drake and Harlow to laugh in record of what brought pups into the equation in the first place.

For families like the Elwoods, it had been a blessing to receive so many, and that would evidently fall forward to Camilla and Leo's children as well.

It wasn't always the Master of Arms family that had a large numbers, but with Crescent Moon's locked borders for transfers.
It made the need for numbers to be greater than other packs.

While jokes had been flying left and right about the idea of pups and other sorts of pack things, Sage had given Hardin a few bites of her plate. Otherwise he'd snatch a slice of bacon and shove the entire thing in his mouth, but Jade watched as Sage simply took it away and broke it into smaller bites.

She was surely attentive, and if the moon goddess was watching right now, hen Jade was sure that Sage's heat would fall anywhere in the coming weeks.

One that she threw a bet with Harlow on.

Remus tried to get Sage to eat more, and went so far as to take Hardin away—Leaving both his mate and the pup a pouting mess.
"Well, I can see who the hard-ass is going to be in that couple." Drake teased, and Remus grumbled. Stilling for a moment as he realized that comment stung more than he thought it would.

Remus would not be his father, it wasn't as though he could tell Sage how awful his father had been. Not when her childhood was out of a sadistic nightmare for their whole kind, but it was why Crescent Moon was such a strong pack.

But a strong pack didn't mean a thriving one.

Remus' chair scratched abruptly and he exited the room with nothing more than a scowl on his face. And when Sage had attempted to try and figure out what was wrong, she dropped her fork on her plate as she continued to draw in what her mate was thinking.

He didn't have to verbally tell her because she was seeing all of it in first-person.

Harlow had taken over the now empty chair and gained her attention by tilting her head towards him. But it was clear when her eyes were twitching this way and that, that it meant she was watching a memory.

"Sage. Pull away. Now." Out of the respect Sage had for Harlow, she listened...But a sob escaped, and the only thing Harlow could offer was a hug of comfort.

Sage was welcomed into the Elwood family almost a year ago once the summer came, but that didn't mean she knew the history of the pack that adopted her in and crowned her Luna.

"Remmy sad."
"Yes. Because of a rude comment, he'll be alright." Harlow growled in the direction of Drake, but the male was already feeling the guilt of his actions. So much time has passed since Randal was killed.

"Hayes kill Remmy's dad?"
"It was for the better Sage, Crescent Moon wasn't what it was under his leadership. Remus fixed the pack." She sniffled into the male's chest as she nodded, complete and utter fear had found its way into her eyes.

"For the better." She repeated, pulling away and turning back to her tea and trying to find the stomach to finish her meal. But it was a few nibbles on the toast until Hardin returned with a toy in hand, the one the two play together with just yesterday.

But Sage couldn't offer a smile to the pup, causing Jade to try and brighten the she-wolf up.

Harlow had asked his Uncle to question either Luke or Liam as to what they could possibly do to get Sage in a better mood, though that led to an explanation.

It was something that everyone skipped out in teaching her in the fact that it was better to wait for a later date, which was a bit of a risk considering Sage's attendance to the Luna meeting without knowing the full story.

Instead Sage waited by the window in hopes that Remus would return soon, as it was making her wolf anxious in not being close to comfort. And she knew that leaving would ultimately upset his wolf, so what was she meant to do?

"Why don't we go on a run, yeah? Just the three of us, the males can clean up." Drake was the first to say that he got the dishes and started to get on it as punishment for causing another tick in the ongoing set of issues that the new mated couple were facing.

"I stay here." Haylee hummed to Sage's declaration but shook her head. "You don't have to hun, Remus should also have told you the truth. Now come on, maybe we find a deer and bring one back for Hardin." Surely hunting would let her get some of the anxiety out, and so she agreed before exiting the house and following the two she-wolves who were familiar with the land.

Since Sage was new, they decided to take an easy run, showing her the land more than anything. And her wolf seemed to readily enjoy being outdoors, that the harsh cold winds whipping her fur back and forth brought a wave of relaxation.
One that neither of her tour guides could understand in the moment, but Sage had never felt nature wind. The concept was beyond foreign to her, fresh air in itself was unheard of.

And in thinking that way, she turned to Jade.

Blake okay?

Yep, the guards told us he's behaving...Do you want to check on him later?

Sage agreed in the form a sneeze, which only caused Haylee to privately link her in-law in what was at stake. One of which was already being in the process.
Blake being her charge would mean he'd follow her and her every word, and that would be difficult if she was in another pack a few states away.

Something that Remus hadn't thought of, and wouldn't with the approach of Hayes to his decided hiding spot.

"Your little mate is running with my daughters, curious you haven't told her anything."
"What's there to tell?" Hayes rose a brow which caused Remus to scoff and growl in response.

"You're right, but she already knows I killed your father. For the reasons I'm sure you skipped over, but wouldn't it be better to tell her?" Remus growled, knowing that he would eventually have to explain it.

Yet the fear of Sage being scared halted any and all progress he might've made in that regard. But it wasn't him she was scared of, it was the situation.

It was feeling his emotions and hearing his thoughts.

"Both of you shouldn't have grown up the way you did, maybe that's what the Moon Goddess was thinking when deciding where Sage would go...It all works out, and from what my son told me, is that Sage has already found her first charge."
"I'm not familiar with that either, I can't help Sage be Luna because my pack hasn't had one for so long."
"And Jade grew up as a Beta, but she's managed just as well with no Luna in her place to lead her." Remus turned to look at Hayes, almost forgetting that he had lost his mother around the same time Hayes had lost his own mate.

Which was probably the start of the war between Crescent Moon and Mystic Grimm..

"And from what I've heard what happened at breakfast is that you need to work better at keeping your mind on a tighter lock." Remus chuckled all before it turned into a groan.

"I haven't control over that, Sage can enter whenever she wants—It's hers that is on lockdown."
"My Willow was the same, I never knew how she could manage—My father was always wary of it, and perhaps it's weak to others. But our mate is meant to understand and nurture us, and we're meant to protect and provide for our she-wolves. I realize you haven't gotten much of that type of lesson from your father." A dark chuckle escaped Remus as he shook his head to confirm the suspicion.

"The second you killed him I outlawed the term bitch for our she-wolves."
"You did the right thing. Your packs trusts you to make the right choices and I know you never meant to hurt Sage." By now, Remus knew that everything that happened with him and his mate was public knowledge to the high tier packs, in addition to those Mystic high ranked pack member would surely add to their allegiance.

"Jade just linked me, Sage asked to check on Blake...They're on route now." This called Remus to huff, he didn't even know how to respond to that. "How long has he been labeled a Rogue?"

"All his life, we're not the first pack to take him in. Conner dismissed his case from their pack for some stupid shit." Course it would be the pack to reign havoc on his own mate as well, and so he nodded...Surely Sage wasn't thinking of taking on a charge now?

To be honest, Sage hadn't a clue what she was thinking. Her thoughts weren't her own and she was reigning in on full instinct as she had gone hunting with her fellow Luna's before heading to Blake's cabin.

He offered a smile and a thumbs up in record of being on best behavior and it earned him a thrilled bark.

"Well aren't you sweet, yeah. I'm fine." Jade had almost tripped in seeing how the two were communicating. It wasn't that wolf cues were that difficult to understand, but it was like learning a new language.
But Jade supposed it wasn't too difficult when that was all Sage had used to learn how to express herself.

"A pup cold? Nah, I wasn't born there hun...But I'm not surprised." Jade had had enough, one of the many guards had given her a change of clothes as she blocked her friend and narrowed her eyes.

"Explain."
"I'm sorry Luna Jade, but I was just answering her questions." He spoke, and sure enough that was the most anyone had heard him say to someone that wasn't Sage.

And thus Sage barked into the air once again. "She's a feisty little thing."
"Watch your tone, she's a Luna."
"She doesn't seem to have a problem with it. Luna." It earned him a growl, how Sage earned Luna in his eyes when she had been housing him in her pack for weeks and hadn't earned a mention of a backstory.

Behave!
Sage growled, and it caused Blake to show his neck once more. With confirmation that he was alright, Sage didn't think of anything more she would want to do.
Which prompted her to nip at Haylee's tail and earn a small tussle out in a clearing.

My goddess! You both are such puppies!
Jade called out, and it called Sage to yowl in an attempt to get her to join. Pouncing either her front paws to the ground to persuade her and yet...It was the cock of Sage's head that guilted the mother Luna to go forth and play.

*

When Remus returned to the males, Drake and earned himself a clean ringer to his jaw before things had turned back to normal. Though he was on edge at the idea of Sage befriending another male, his wolf didn't know how to feel about it but he was surely suspicious.

However, what the she-wolves were doing was anything but suspicious as they were all playing with each other or with a shifted Hardin in the small clearing.

And the second Sage had caught her mate's scent, she lowered her head in a sense of worry. Huffing out towards him in accordance to being cautious.

The other males had already moved forward, but Sage still had her head hanging low to be ready for an upset mate. Yet he knew one action that would allow her to know everything was alright, he simply let his tongue out in a playful manner and her head shot up before she pranced over with own out.

Not angry?

I wasn't angry munchkin, just upset.

Upset with Drake?

Upset with what he said, not directly at him...What have you been doing all day hun?

She explained in so many half-sentences that she went hunting and running her the rest of the Luna's. And Hardin had just joined them in the last hour or so, and the entergetic pup had found himself venturing across the field to join the lone couple.

Sage's head turned back and hurried off to the lone pup, it wasn't safe for him to be alone at this age. He was still so tiny. And that caused Remus to bring the lil pup into his mouth and bring him back to the group.

Apparently, it had been a rule that Hardin does not stray too far away from his mom and dad, which caused him to have to sit in a sort of time out.
Which was a whole explanation on Sage's behalf, but she understood for the most part.

The pup didn't exactly listen no playtime, and so she found herself in time out as well with the lil fellow as he watched those around have fun or socialize.

What Jade couldn't understand was why Sage found herself next to the pup in punishment, and while Remus reassured her that Sage knew she herself wasn't in trouble herself it still didn't seem right for her to join in.

These were the tells that Remus was used to while it wasn't something that could be explained over the phone. However for Hardin, it meant he wasn't alone. Especially since he enjoyed her company as the two watched the other wolves interact.

Jade and Harlow had been so busy as of late that their skin sides dominated most of Hardin's childhood up to this point. So this was a refreshing change, something that all the leaders could agree.

Until Remus shared that sometimes he had to coax Sage to return back to skin.

I like to have fur when I go outside. And I like run.

She argued, which caused Hardin to nip thinking it was playtime. Yet there was still a few minutes on the time-out clock and Sage simply dragged her hand up and over the small pup to detain him, even going so far as to plop her head down and stop his obsessive wiggling.

Only for her to do it in return.

But all day?

Harlow question, still having trouble believing in it. And Sage closed her eyes and let her tongue roll out.

Easy being wolf than being in skin.

Her logic was fair and to the point, and after the timer was up Sage snapped playfully down to the pup in according to get him to squirm and wiggle again.

Earning her a few yaps.

I can't tell if your son is flirting with my mate or not.

What can I say, he'll be a heartbreaker.

Harlow teased, and it earned him a rather close snap of his own mates' jaws.

No he most certainly won't be. And if I remember correctly you didn't have a romantic bone in your body!

Whatever was happening off in the distance caused Sage to tilt her head in confusion, the conversation had started in the group's mind link but then turned private.

Her confusion didn't allow Hardin to get in the middle of it while Haylee was laughing on her back and howling at her brother being put in his place.

Remmy, what's flirting?

Ah, that's when I say something sweet to you and you say something sweet back to me.

Like what?

Er—That you look pretty today.

I look pretty?

Goddess Sage you're beautiful, maybe I have to say it more often.

So you no flirt with me.

Of course I do, we kiss and say sweet things.

I say sweet things?

Of course, like when you say my wolves' fur is soft.

It was a natural progression of flirting, but Sage had taken it as an explanation. Which earned him a small lick on his chin as he sat beside either Sage or Hardin.

And in greeting the pup did the same.

Pup likes you.

And you're natural with the pup. Like Harlow said, if the moon goddess is watching perhaps we'll have our own soon.

Pup like Hardin?

Yes, but ours.

Her wolf rumbled in approval, and it was followed by a solid lick to her neck as Remus' wolf could hardly contain himself at the thought of a family.

______

Date: 05-31-2021

Time: 8:54

Words:  3644