* * *

The party went well into the night, and the Alpha couple was thriving. Ignorant to the brewing plan beneath them, they spent the rest of the night socializing with those around them.

Course Luke and the rest of the Elwoods came over and became a little emotional. Especially Leo, her adopted father, who was starting to feel the strain of being the father of a mated daughter.

Her brothers, on the other hand, were massively protective of her and the pup. They all offered their time, and while Elenor was a little saddened that she herself wasn't expecting a pup, she didn't have the stress and expectations Sage does.
In end, she found herself happy and relieved.

The day wasn't over for Sage, Remus was prepared to pamper her to the high heavens and carried her over the threshold as she started walking slower than usual.

"How about I run you a bath? Then we can watch a movie in bed."
"No mating?"
"Well I was trying to make a surprise, but you look like you need a hot bath hun." She nodded in agreement, not that she did all that much—But her body felt exhausted from standing and socializing the entire night away that she moaned in the tub.

Remus was tempted on joining her after hearing her purr like that, she must really need the soak. He braced himself as he knew she wasn't going to stay in the bath all that long, and he was right. After his shower, he positioned himself on the bed in normal shorts and a shirt as he held another stuffed bear in his arms—One he had to hide away for the last few days.

Being in a robe she squealed, coming closer to tackle both him and the bear.

"New bear?" She said, rising back onto her knees as she felt the simple bliss of today.
"Hmm, Birdie and some other friends sent you birthday presents." An adorable little gasp escaped her, and she smiled at her mate.

"Open later, I want you."
"You have me. All you want." Goddess, was he not prepared for her to pounce. Though he couldn't be all that surprised, she has been giving him a starved expression since the near end of the party. Craving his embrace, his warmth, and his sheer dominance caused her to rip of his shirt.

Leaving the new bear tumbled off the bed and to the floor, completely forgotten.

And in all but a second did she notice her next surprise.
Right there on his chest was the fresh markings of another tattoo. A Crescent Moon with the pattern of a Sage flowers shaded in it, they joked previously that he should get a tattoo in 'her spot' and he did just that.

"You get another tattoo?"
"Happy birthday Sage." And he leaned forward to lock their lips together, it was a long drag as Sage wanted to savor the moment, as did her mate.

But their patience was short-lived once Remus' noticed her eyes turned black, and his pooled in the same possessed way as before. Though they didn't shift, this was a skin celebration and there was no need to mate in fur.

Even if Sage was always opened to doing so.

They didn't make it under the covers, they could've if they wanted to—None of this was rushed as they found themselves living in the moment.

Leaving the moment anything but short, Sage's back arched as she found her release, and Remus sunk his canines back into her neck once more.
Earning him a guttural moan and a blushing mate.

Sage was left in a pleasing state that she could hardly think, a smile growing on her face every once in a while as she pressed her cheek right on his chest, gazing at the new ink.

Another shiver of content rang through, and Remus smirked behind her ear and hummed. Sage matched his tune with her own cord, and soon she rose her head.

Finally, she had a proper look at the tattoo, and while she traced it a few times and admiring the work and the thought. "Sage..." She whispered still a bit out of breath, tapping the flower in the center of the tattoo before tracing the top tip of the Crescent Moon to the bottom. "Moon... My name in a tattoo."

"Right in your spot, you've claimed it. Especially when we're tied right here munchkin."
"I'm comfortable, and happy..." The way she spoke caused Remus to turn back down towards her in a bit of expectation, her voice had trailed off and she was certainly thinking of something.

"Remmy...? My mom and dad are Alpha, but I'm not born in fur...What does that mean?"
"That your wolf wasn't unlocked yet, that it was dormant—Hidden, it was hidden. She came alive when you needed her to."
"At Luna ceremony?"
"Hmm, still a shock to mean that you said no hun, my wolf was so proud—And angry—But mostly proud." Her heated cheeks soon connected back down against his chest as she listened intently.

"Only Alpha she-wolf shift for pup birth?"
"Jade's from a Beta family, I don't think she has any Alpha...My mom was a third-generation Alpha pup, maybe less? I don't know, but if the male in the mated couple is an Alpha...Then the she-wolf will need to shift for the birth." It was clear she was interested, and he was happy to answer her questions left and right.

Even if he didn't know the answer.

"And if she-wolf is low wolf?"
"You mean Kelly?" Her nose pinched up and a hearty growl escaped her. Earning her two hands to run through her hair and steady her expression directly to meet his.

"I don't think the moon goddess would've given me a chance, out of punishment for not waiting for you...It would've been hard to make a pup, even with a heat. And then there's a strong chance the pup or Kelly wouldn't have survived."
"A-and if you mated...With Kelly when I come? Would I feel you as a mate? Or I get another mate?" It was his turn to growl, but he realized that it was almost a reality and he had no reason to be mad or angry, not when he did the same just a moment ago when he mentioned Kelly.

"I would've felt you, Sage, and I would've had to make a choice between you and Kelly. You would've had to challenge her instead of the way around, and Kelly would've been in a lot of pain losing her mark." A whine escaped her and her wolf, especially when she touched her own mark—Almost like she was making sure it was still there.

She felt a small bit of wetness come from it and she pulled her hand forward to look at the bit of blood that was still there from the previous bite. Remus took it upon himself to lick the mark clean, and it earned him a fatal mew as all he wanted to do was please her further.

But they were still tied. And Sage was beyond exhausted now, so they fell asleep tied to one another—Only for Remus to wake up a little bit later to separate.

Already feeling the soreness through the bond, he kissed her mark in hopes it masks the feeling until he settled her back comfortably in his hold.

Morning came much quicker than Sage anticipated, and she was very set on having a bath. Which led her to make a cup of tea, turning on the coffee machine, and returning back upstairs to make herself a bath.

She was still feeling the bliss of last night coursing through her veins, her wolf was on the same level of pleasure. Especially since Remus was still asleep in their bed hugging her pillow.

"Sage...?" Or he was the last time she checked.
"Bathtub." She called out, and he peeked his head in to smirk. "Tea and a bath?"
"Double warm, I put the coffee machine on." He groaned a quick thanks before making his way downstairs and claimed to get breakfast ready.

Remus knew she'd want to take her time this morning in the tub, and he was right. Especially when he checked his emails before making the breakfast and she wasn't close to being done.

She was just getting out of the tub when Remus actually finished making a feast, and since she felt good and ravished at the idea of eating, she was planning to head downstairs.

But she caught herself in the mirror again, though it wasn't her face that shocked her.
Or her breasts, which was a shock the first few days when they started to grow heavy.

It was her stomach, her protruding stomach that started to swell forward. Her hand confirmed around it and it sparked with a warmth she never thought she'd feel before.

Hope.
She felt hopeful in this pup.

Grabbing her change of clothes, she tried to hurry out, but in hearing her mate come upstairs to coax her into coming to breakfast, excitement rushed through her as she yelled his name.
All before she could properly think it through.

"Remus!"

She should've realized that calling his name out like that would result in him almost tearing off the bathroom door down with elonged teeth and claws at the ready.

Better yet her own eyes challenged his as she tried to soothe his overprotective wolf.

"I'm sorry...I promise, I'm okay."
"You can't scare me like that munchkin, my wolf was ready to kill someone." She huffed in confirmation, though her wolf sort of like the protective nature she witnessed.

It meant that she and the pup would be safe through the pregnancy.

"Is there something wrong?" She almost forgot what she called him for, so she pulled up her shirt and pointed to the mirror.

Now it was Remus' turn to feel breathless at what was before him, his pup was becoming recognizable. He bent down on his knees and nuzzled his nose against the now swelling part of her stomach and kissed it twice as he couldn't get enough of the scent at this close in range.

"You smell amazing."
"Like a munchkin?"
"Sweeter than a munchkin, they're growing...I wonder if the pack will be able to smell it now." Her grin didn't fall short, and when Blake came by that morning she couldn't wait to show off her swelling tum.

Remus was heavily defensive on the fact that she shouldn't be showing every person left and right, and while she tried to hold back her tears for a moment or two. It caused Blake to elbow the Alpha in a warning.

Her emotional side was getting the better of her again, and it was slightly possessive of Remus to tell her that, so he pulled her close—More so on his lap than anything and told her that she could but only when he was with her.

It didn't earn him a wiggle or a smile, but it stopped the tears from coming.

Sage and her wolf were a mess of emotion before the hormonal imbalance, so now she was a walking time bomb. Or that's how Blake described it anyway, so when Remus came home and said he put out that they needed a nanny, it caused Sage to tilt her head while she looked ready to attack.

"What's a nanny?" Remus realized at that moment that he should've warned Sage, but he was so excited and told them while they were in a meeting. Which left the question as to why Julia was out sorting through future nanny's.

"A nanny is a babysitter, so when we have to go out and can't take the pup with us...The nanny will come over and watch them until we come back."
"But I thought I take care of pup?" She whimpered, her hands coming to guard the pup and Remus sighed.

"Yeah, but when you're in school trying to learn and do homework you can't do both at the same time. And I can't have the pup with me in a meeting." She looked conflicted, she simply thought that she'd be the one taking care of the pup 24/7, not that Remus thought that was a bad idea, but he knew Sage was not going to be a stay-at-home mom.

Not with the title of Luna and as well as the job of managing a whole faction of reformed Rogues, but he felt like she would understand that she couldn't possibly be at home all the time.

"How about this, hun. If you go on a run with Jack, the pup can't keep up on a run, and you wouldn't enjoy yourself or get a proper run in. Same with training, are you going to stop training to stay at home?" Her wolf made a rather annoying gruff sound.

"The pack takes care of the pups, it's like they're going to school too." She understood that portion, so he reminded her that the pup will need her for a month or so before a nanny could even step in. And that's after the three weeks when the pup is born.

"I don't have a name for pup yet, I'm not good with names."
"Do you want to think of a girls name and I'll think of boys names?" Would it be easier on her to split it, and whatever gender the pup is they'll pick from the pile of names?

"I don't know, how do you pick names?"
"Uh, I guess we can look at a book. Do you have a favorite character you like that starts with an 'R'?" It left her in a small bit of thought, dwelling on the idea of what to name a pup.

Remus thought it adorable that she turned so focused and dedicated. "We have a few weeks hun, don't stress about it."
"But I want to figure out name, can't keep calling them pup." Kissing the side of her temple he mentioned that she could look online—A fatal mistake as she went to the computer and went through hundreds.

He was glad that she was taking the time to search and plan out for this pup already, especially since it gave him a moment to check his emails and reports without feeling like he was neglecting her, again.

When it was nearing ten he went to go and check on Sage, sure enough, she fell asleep on the computer, again.

"Sagey Sagey Sagey, what am I going to do with you sweetheart?" It earned him a moan as he lifted her up and into their bedroom. He took his time in dressing her for bed, and even though the bond he could feel how exhausted she suddenly became.

She wasn't used to it before, and it was clear that it was going to be difficult for her to adapt to the changes her body was going through—But that didn't mean he thought she couldn't do it.

Instead, he found himself getting distracted by her swelling stomach and he could've sworn it grew from this morning when he was first shown.

Remus had managed to fall asleep right beside her stomach and hold her the entire night. But when she woke up the next morning she thought it was adoringly sweet that she would run her hand through his hair in a message of thanks.

And it certainly passed well with his wolf.

There were more than thirty she-wolves who wanted to take the role of nanny for the Alpha couple. And when Sage was told they had an 'easy day' today, she had a much different idea of what that might entail.

She was currently seated beside Remus as he asked questions from a list—whether it be different scenarios that they needed to cover, that the Alpha pups were their responsibility when Remus and Sage were not home and out working.

Sage didn't say much, but she did put a small dot on Remus' sheet when she liked a nanny. And it was clear that his mate was in tune with the younger crowd, who have recommendations from both other families and their trainers.

She wanted her pups safe and Remus couldn't find anything wrong with that. And she was rather good at spotting the difference in types, of course, the she-wolves who they interviewed were nervous.

"Hanging in there alright?"
"Yeah, I'm okay. Just tired." He sensed the fatigue starting to win and so he kissed her temple and said that there were only a few remaining.

And goddess Sage was blessed with a poker face as in walked Mrs.Synder or more known as Snyder now considering her rank had been stripped and was still on the fence about being returned.

Remus had gone over the basic questions, but when Sage touched his thigh he stopped. "If there's rogue attack, we're too far away, what are you going to do?" She had heard the question being repeated over the course of the two hours they sat in their seats, she managed to form it in a proper sentence.

"I'm sure you'll send some pack warriors our way, can't be too careful—That's a future Alpha we're talking about." Sage let out a polite smile, and Remus was almost horrified to hear what was going on inside his mate's head.

It wasn't the only question that she asked herself, and when Snyder finally left the room, there was a slight intermission to talk about the possibility of said nanny—Sage didn't waste a single moment before she took the pen and scratched the name in its entirety.

"Sage, you can't just disqualify her because you don't like her."
"I don't just not like her, I don't trust her. She can't fight, she can't hunt and I don't want my pup like that. I want our pup to learn. Snyder's mean and starts fights with me and I don't want that at home." She surely shut the Alpha up with that explanation as he finished crossing out the name further for her.

"Alright, so can you rephrase that in a nicer way?"
"Mrs.Snyder can't fight to protect pup and pup is already vul-ner-a-bal...? Vul-ner-able." He nodded, and it seemed like most of her marks focused on that before considering them.

"You're right—About all of it hun, just wanted to know what you thought about it before making the conclusion."
"I'm right?"
"A pup needs to be protected and nurtured, Synder doesn't do anything for the pack or for her grand pups." Sage's eyes widened in near shock that her feeling had more than just a backing.

"You put her to work in the kitchens and made her Omega." She said cautiously and he sighed.
"Who told you that?"
"You, I get email when I'm in Grey Hallow." He groaned, and he couldn't manage to get out of this session of crossed arms as he peeked through his fingers that were over his eyes.

"You don't tell me things."
"There are some things I can't tell you, that's what it means to be an Alpha. And there are some things I tell you and not Eli or Jack." She made a face and leaned back into the couch and fluttered her eyes towards him.

"Do you like any of the nannies?" He questioned, he truly wanted to know her stance on this. He might be the father, but he already knew that she was going to be overprotective.

He knew that the moment she said she wanted to give the pup everything they didn't have.

Remus had the suspicion that Snyder had double means, but her track record with the Luna and her recommendations weren't all that suitable for an Alpha pup.

While Sage did like a few, she was waiting for one she-wolf, one that Remus should've thought of before—His own nanny from when he was younger.

"Amy...I didn't know that—"
"Oh, come here child, you never have the time of day anymore." Sage watched in awe as her mate's exterior crumbled beneath him as he rubbed his cheek politely to the she-wolf.

But her own wolf didn't mind one bit, which caught her off guard.

Remus was full of smiles as he aided the woman to the chair in front of them before pulling Sage close. "Sage, this was my Nanny when I was a pup...Amy, this is—"
"Please Remus, I know my Luna very well. Especially after angering Tina, goddess, I loved it." Remus turned down to see if that won Sage over. And while a smirk rose on her face, he could still feel the reservations.

"You take care of Remus when he was a pup?"
"Hmm, and he was certainly a troublemaker." A playful smile blossomed on her face as she nodded—Wanting to be told a story, but Remus held it off.

"I'm not in my prime as I was Alpha, but I've been keeping up with my sons just fine." That piqued Sage's interest, but then she recalled how demanding of an Alpha Randall was in his reign.

He would've had someone qualified to watch his pup, and it was clear he chose well in terms of keeping up with Remmy. And he seemed to like her, which left Sage to smile brightly at the lady sitting across from them.

When Amy left, Sage turned over to the checklist and gave her a smiley face and Remus chuckled. "I didn't know she would still be interested in nannying, I thought she was done with the job altogether after I grew up."
"I like her."
"I can tell, especially with this smiley face." He said tapping it on the paper, so while the Alpha couple sat through the final few interviews, it was decided without much thought that Amy would be the chosen Nanny.

And Sage felt strongly about the decision, while Remus just felt relieved that he didn't have to force his mate to settle.

When returning home, she groaned as there were more boxes from the pack. "Remmy—"

"I already set out the message, this'll be it. Hopefully." While Sage attempted to take hold of the box on the floor, Remus didn't allow her to. And all it took was one hand on her stomach and she backed away to let him.

"Controlling male..." She growled and walked into the house to hold the door open for him. "Yes I am, female." He teased back, a wolfie grin as his comment earned him a glare.

And while Remus assumed that this was from the pack, he realized his purchases from a week ago were now trickling in. "Er, I bought these."
"What?"
"When you were in Grey Hallow, I couldn't help myself...Look there's paw prints on this." She loved it all, there wasn't pick that didn't match another.

Whether the designs were features the moon, stars, wolves or dogs—Sage favored it all. And it took a while, but the room was starting to come together as Blake had kept his promise...Though it was a few weeks too early.

"You know, that crib is looking nicer every time I look at it." He chimed in, knowing well enough that Sage didn't like the idea of putting the pup in a cage.

"Sagey, what did we say about hiding away?" It caused her to pout more and wipe her eyes away. "Sage—"
"No."
"Sage, it's only to sleep in. That's it, it's for the pup's safety. See? So they don't fall out of bed. We're upstairs, I don't want them trying to come downstairs when we're not around. They could hurt themselves." It wasn't the idea of how the crib looked, it was her horrors of dealing with a crib when she was a pup.

She was left in it. Her life was hardly anything more than that.

"Pup can't sleep with us?"
"I'm sure they'll manage a few nights, but this is their room." In looking at the rest of the room she realized what Remus was trying to get at. It was like her room, it was just for her.

So while they were sorting through the endless gifts of pup things, Sage came across a book. But it wasn't a pup book like she found above it, this one was leather and wrapped in a thin leather string.

"Remmy?" She said, holding up the book in question and he turned over his shoulder for a moment before seeing her hands on a book. "What's that hun?"
"I dunno." It peeked either of their interests, especially when she unraveled the string and opened it up to the front page.

"Emery Moon...02-01-93?" Remus scrambled instantly to his feet as he fell to his mate's side, she hadn't even felt the book be pulled from her grasp as he now held it.

Sage watched as Remus trailed over the words written in the title page, and before long a sad smile hovered his surprised expression. "That's my mom Sage, Emery Moon."
"Oh! She has a diary too?" Had he been paying attention he would've learned that his own mate kept a diary, but he was hypnotized by his mother's handwriting and introduction that he couldn't help but feel transported.

"She wrote about her being pregnant with me..." He whispered, especially after realizing what it was.
"Really?" Sage said, resting her chin on his shoulder to get a better look at the contents. Though Remus brought the pages to his nose, while it did smell strongly of mildew and dust, there was a small bit of his mom's scent that lingered and probably always would.

"This'll be good to read, she talks about what she did for the day and how she managed through it."
"Helps me?"
"Yeah, it might. Let me read through it first hun I—I didn't know she did this." She nodded in agreement, kissing his cheek before flipping to one of the last pages that interested her.

And it was a paw print that Emery took when Remus was a lil pup, which of course made Sage squeal.

"That's your paw! I want to do that for our pup too!" Sage's creative outlet was almost set in motion after that as she scrambled to write her own ideas in a notebook—One that Remus did not recognize at all.

"What's that?"
"What?"
"That book, I don't remember you having that."
"Birdie gave it to me, it's a diary...I have another book for pup diary I can use. Look, there's a wolf and moon!" Remus had to admit, it did fit his mate's esthetic. But when opened it up, there was nothing written on the pages.

"Uh...Did you start?"
"Yeah, but birdie made it so only I can see it." The hair on his back started to stand up, he didn't like the fact that he couldn't see what she was writing. But he suddenly felt guilty, that her comment from before of being an over-controlling male was starting to break free again.

"I'll read this one, when we first smell the pup." She started, and Remus held her tightly as she started reading through the entry, it was a long one. It was why she chose it in the first place, but she was glowing with pride while sharing this with him.

The more he thought about it, he realized that Sage was getting her thoughts down and recorded. She was well into the book as well, or as far as he could tell at least.

So he just held her close and allowed his hands to hover over her growing womb, his patience for the pup was dwindling. He couldn't wait until the pup was safe and sound with them. But they still had a long while to go before then.

______

Date: 08-11-2021

Time: 8:42

Words: 4668