* * *

Remus Moon had planned this night out with Sage for weeks, to enjoy their time out on the beach and act like careless pups who didn't have the whole weight of a war or pack on their shoulders.

Instead, the night was left with the smell of charcoal and fire, with markings all across his yard as to where these 'demon dogs' had come from. Luckily the witch sisters were over and were attempting to explain it as Remus held his mate securely in his arms.

After seeing her almost drown and get attacked by mermaids, there was hardly any will for him to lose touch with his female. He needed to be near her.

The pups had long been put to bed, and it was a blessing that they hadn't woken up by the chaos that happened outside. With that being said, however, having the home filled with Luke and Elenor, along with Eli and Jules—It made him feel better in the sense that his pups would've been protected had anything more happened.

It was Blake who recognized the smell first, claiming that is what Darius smelled like when he first arrived but more...Sinister.

Although she was still asleep, snoring softly throughout the room. The shiver had not ceased, in relaying all that's happened both to the sisters and to their coven leader...The excitement of Sage finding her element had been a mission all this time.

"I would take this as a good sign, Alpha. Had it been anyone else the mermaids would've slaughtered them at the bottom of the lake. They don't take prisoners and they surely don't wait around to speak. We can find answers from them if they were aligned with your father. They don't shift the title of leader as frequently as we do. Queen Assyria could have the answers we need that sir Darius was pointing at us to. When Sage is awake, I think it's best to ask him questions as well." With Aurelia's suggestions, Remus agreed but didn't have a tired bone in his body. Instead, he remain awake and watched his mate's chest rise and fall, he certainly hadn't thought this date would end in so much panic—It shook everyone up that Liam was downstairs sleeping on the couch.

"Why do you like danger so much...? I swear, and now you're snoozing when I have to tell your dad. It's my ass on the line, sweetheart." He teased and a light smile graced her as she nuzzled tighter.

"Sweet mate..." She mumbled, hardly coherent enough to truly grasp what he had said. Though it did earn her a few kisses, and it did make it feel better that her bite was still a beautiful red color after their night together.

He hadn't realized that the tension was because of his wolf being horny for his female. For so long Remus categorized this feeling with being overworked—But no, it was the demand he had to find his mate, mount her and hear her beautiful howls both in skin and in fur.

When morning finally came, Remus' eyes popped open, and was given such a blurry gaze filled with sleep. But one thing's for certain, Sage was not beside him and hasn't been for awhile, meaning exhaustion had taken over last night.

SAGE?!

It had come so fast in her mind that she lost concentration in her meditation and gasped as his voice had boomed in her head. He scrambled off into the bathroom to see her just as disturbed if not more. "Remmy! Say good morning then yell at me, that was mean!" She shouted, and he huffed at her snarky reply but kneed down directly into a little puddle of water.

"We're going to talk with mermaids again, should've waited for this bath hun." Sage let out a small smile before raising her hand.
"Look, I make water move. I can't do it long, but it's like Raven's fire. Darius says that's why Ember circle can't help, they're fire. I need water." Remus nodded, partially in understanding and partially in fear that his questions would be directed to someone else.

"What does Darius think about the mermaids."
"Ca-tion.. Cation? Yeah, that word. He said 'be cation—Cautious.' But he says to listen to them too. Darius says they can help me be Dowser." He let out a quick breath, disturbed that Sage would be venturing regularly to meet mermaids and their teachings.

What he wasn't prepared for was the slam of the door downstairs and the following wail of his pups. "WHO IN THE HELL SLAMMED MY FRONT DOOR?!" Remus bellowed, only to be met with the same type of Alpha anger that he displayed.

"I'll slam anything I want, Moon, I couldn't even trust you a week with my pup?! Mermaids?! For goddess sake, what's next?!" Sage had come down in her long robe and squealed in seeing her father, a very different reaction than what Remus had while greeting Hayes.

"Sweetheart...My hair is already turning grey, can you please be careful. Please?" She gave a sour look and pouted.
"But this a good thing! I know my element and I can learn, and we go talk to Mermaids!" She met him with the same type of energy he stormed in with, and the excitement only continued when she went to retrieve a bowl of water and showed her father.

Eventually, the smile started to creep up on the male's face as he couldn't deny the genuine happiness on her face—Especially when she wasn't that hurt, to begin with. Instead, he joined the family for breakfast and talked over what would be discussed with the underwater creatures.

There were countless questions that needed to be addressed, such as 'how long have you been here?'
Things of that nature.
Especially since it was building up on all the things Randal had left Remus with to figure out on his own.

And he couldn't imagine what would've happened if he brought the twins with them to the private beach. It made his heart beat violently as he and his little mate continued to walk to their destination.

"I don't remember leaving the beach..." She mumbled and Remus laughed away the birds, bringing her closer under him.
"After choking on air, you took a nice nap sweetheart, it's alright...Eli is going to be with us this time, and I think Leo had silver harpoons made." Sage bit her lip, unsure on whether she should ask about what a 'harpoon' is, but she caught the sight of both her brothers and Eli waiting by the sand.

They're watching, Alpha. Wouldn't happen to know if Mermaids ever sleep?

Sage looked up to Eli and nodded. "Mermaids are noc-ter-nal. They like night time better than light time, but not in cold or warm. That's different." The Beta hadn't expected an answer, nor were any of the wolves expecting that there would be a beautiful laugh, one that wavered the males and caused Sage to smile.

While the books Sage had read always depicted mermaids to be ugly, there was nothing ugly about the figure walking out of the water—And with two feet, as Sage quickly narrowed her eyes down to.

"Nymphs are watching too..." She whispered and Liam shook his head at the idea of anything else living within the pack without their knowledge. The cabin factory up in the mountain was starting to scare the pack about what else is unknown throughout their normal lives, and it was already a set worry when they were digging up random holes throughout the pack to reveal hidden trinkets.

Most were silver rope.

"Yes...You certainly don't smell like just a Mystic. I see it now." The woman spoke, causing the males to shift uneasily. Which made Sage huff, they were all mated males and they were still under the slight power of her voice.

"Good Morning Assyria," Sage spoke, seeing as her male was still a bit under the influence of her voice. And in a moment of jealousy and protection of her females, she clapped loudly in front of Remus' face to snap his attention away.

"My apologies, it's been years since I've found myself on land. You certainly know about the supernatural species, not common for a wolf."
"I learn before I find out I am a hybrid. No siren songs please." She demands with a pleasant please to follow behind it, and Assyria nods in reflection.

"This is my mate and Alpha, Remus. My Beta Male, Eli. And my brothers, Luke is Master of Arms and this Liam, Enforcer." Assyria blinked a hello but it was undoubtedly clear that Sage was the main focus on the mermaid's attention.

"How long have you been in these waters?" Remus interjected, leaning off his own mate's greeting and jumping straight into business. "Centuries, my kingdom has been aligned with the Moon family for generations...I've heard whispers about you, Remus, but I never was sought out. Such a waste of time." The Queen said with a brief sigh before darting her attention back to Sage. "I am sorry for mistreating your Dowser and Luna, it was never my intent."

"How do you know I'm a Dowser?" The smile the Queen had given caused the brothers to flinch.

They were surely predators build to survive underwater.

"Dowsers are extremely powerful, Luna Sage. I have not met one with such force—Nor a beginner." It hadn't meant to come out as an insult but that's surely how her wolf took it as.

"Trying to find my el-ement." The underwater beast nods and tilts her head. "We can certainly help with that, I assume that the rest of Crescent Moon's contract with us will be rewritten?" Remus growled as he caught Eli's glance for a moment.

"My father never told me about a contract with your kingdom, I'll need a copy."
"Of course." The woman had been very cooperative, leaving three males to swim to the sand bay—Leaving the brothers to retrieve it closer to shore.

"Treasure?" Sage whispers at the wooden chest, and Assyria shook her head. "No Luna, your father's contract entrusted me with a secret—Just as we protect this lake from humans. We simply wish to live in peace, the bounty hunters have wiped the majority of Lagoon kingdoms. Disrupting mating rituals that take place on land. That is how my kingdom has been able to rebuild."

"What type of secret did my father want to leave with you?" Remus said with a narrowed brow and the Queen issued her hand to the box.

Remus kneed down and ripped off the rusted lock, however, when he lifted the lid he scrambled back at the damnable smell.
All while Sage leaned closer to it.

"Randal killed a she-wolf?... Why?" There were plenty of things that went through Remus' mind, and one of them had been how Sage managed to categorize a smell as a female or species. But the words didn't come, but he was thankful that Assyria took the shock and disgust without complaint.

"The previous Alpha had us protect this chest, the offering of a she-wolf was given. Hence the hell hounds from last night." While it didn't hit the males, the sirens sprang into Sage's mind.

Or perhaps it was Darius attempting to give her a hint.

"Remmy this is demon contract, Randal sacrifice she-wolf...Beepbeep." The phrase might've confused her mate and beta, but her brothers certainly understood. It was one of the only words she knew prior to their arrival, and she used it in an emergency. So while every fiber of Luke's body told him to stay away from the chest, he came right beside Sage's side to look inside as well.

Being respective of the bones, Remus had taken the leftover blanket from last night and Sage placed the remains in the correct order. However, the chest was void of anything useful except a few pieces of jewelry and a worn-out binder.

Sage turned to look at the mermaid and held up a rather beautiful amulet, it was a silent question and the woman responded. "That is what the she-wolf had been wearing when she was brought to us. What you are looking for is within the contract, though the hybrid is right. It smells like fire and death." While Sage was reading through the contract with her brother and Beta, Remus had been still staring at the female in pure confusion.

His wolf was jumping around, barking up plenty of answers that hardly compensated for what the amulet in Sage's hands meant. "I want Synder house looked at and all Synders arrested." She deemed, and that was enough to give Remus whiplash.

"Sage, we talked about needing evidence on—"
"Tina made deal with Randal and demon to make Kelly Luna, stop defending the Snyders!" The anger had been met with both a growl and a shift in the waves where Assyria stood.

"Come Luna, take a dip in the water and cool off...My kingdom's pups wish to meet you." At the mention of children, she scrambled and hurried in—The itch finally settled as she dove right on in. Even if Remus was yelling at her to stop.

"Sir...It sounds like Randal used Tina's connections to demons and opened to making his own deal—Kelly was promised to be Luna after the support her family had done to your father." Eli explained, before listing off the falling packs that were subjected to fall with the help of demon magic. Better yet, a map of Mystic Grimm shared just how much Crescent Moon know about their rival.

The laughter had caused the males on the shore to see just what the pups were up to. Especially when half-sized mermaids had started to jump up into the air and drive back into the water.

"Dowsers are in tune with the water and the wildlife in them, it's why the pups are showing themselves. The agreement is being upheld."
"I just need to keep you a secret from my pack?" The nod made Remus' stomach flip, he wanted to roll with a much more honest fist than his father's iron one.

Secrets are what drowned Crescent Moon into hatred and fear of their Alpha. And that is where Remus shook his head. "I cannot lie about what is in these waters, however, no pack member has been allowed in them. It's too close to the outer territory." Assyria had turned to look out further into the water's levels to see that a cluster of her people's pups had managed to gain the Luna's attention.

Better yet, they were swimming to shore. "Remmy look at the babies!" Sage cheered, and Liam couldn't help but chuckle in seeing a young boy trying to flop his way onto the land to sit at the shore.

"You're tempting my mate with pups, aren't you?" The cutting grin of the Queen caused Remus to huff, course a mother Luna would surely start to see the world with different eyes. And yet the way she cradled one in particular...Remus knew instantly that Sage would come swimming to see her individually.

"That is my daughter Nixie and her cousins. I urge you to reconsider Alpha. We can help transition Sage to control and learn about her abilities, much better than the witches on your land." That last comment had him narrow his eyes, but it was too obvious that there were witches coming and going. The magic could still be smelled even days later.

"Wolves are afraid of mermaids, they won't come near water. We say you help us—We try to find this box that Randal left...Our wolves won't hurt you." Perhaps it was the fact that it was two female leaders discussing the topic, but the quick whisper in his mind from Eli to let Sage handle it caused him to remain silent.

If Assyria was more comfortable with Sage handling the matters he was all for it, but the second there was any layer of disrespect he won't hesitate to—Looking down to his feet he caught sight of another male pup, his scaled blue tail was shining the sunlight and glistening to the point of blinding him. It had been the first time he really saw land dwellers, and with the watchful eye of Assyria taking into account each of his moments. Remus managed a similar sit-down when the pup crawled into his lap.

"H-hey there bud..." The Alpha said with cation as he placed a hand on his back to steady him better. "I don't want a war with your people or kingdom, Assyria. A new alliance is in order, but one where we're transparent with the rest of the pack. We've grown since my father's ruling." The Queen allowed the words to translate in her mind and she slowly nodded.

"Very well, but our customs rarely allow contact with land-men. But the future is bright, in more ways than one." It was clear to the males that the likelihood of this agreement was solely based on Sage's appearance and abilities.

"I accept this, Alpha Remus. You and Luna Sage are welcomed in these depths whenever you like. Especially when it's vital for Sage to learn and practice—We are gifted with a similar ability that she has been blessed with, but it will not replace the rest of the lifework of a witch." Remus nodded, and turned down to his mate who held three pups and two at her sides. She was attentive to what the group was discussing while being mindful of the squirming pups.

"I can come and see pups again?"
"I'm sure they'll enjoy that young Luna, perhaps you can pick up our language." She nodded eagerly, leaning further into the pups as an older one started to braid her hair with lingering shells to intertwine in the braids.

"Witches, Vampires, Bounty Hunters, Demons and now Mermaids?... Sage, what are you up to?" Liam chuckled and she wiggled with a bright grin on her face. "Up to change."

With that in mind, Remus had taken the liberty of trying to find out who the she-wolf was who was sacrificed. As well as the further details of what else was in the trunk.

______

Date: 04/08/2022

Time: 9:46

Words: 3294

Author's Note:

Friendly reminder--There are seven chapters left!

Goddess, the Snyders were up to more than just a little bit of foul play, hm?
Hopefully things will get sorted out soon, otherwise, they might still be working under Randal's old orders.
Even if he is gone👀

How do we feel about Queen Assyria? Good or bad?
I mean, she does have little baby mermaids and is offering to teach Sage about her abilities. Maybe it'll be worth it? I guess we'll find out soon!

Any guesses as to who was used as a sacrifice to the Demon's contract?
-Remember the sacrifice is female.

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On a side note, I have a few deleted scenes from the first book that I am tempted to release--Just a bit of Sage and brother bonding from before she met Remus and how she functioned on pack grounds and some from after the meet up.

Would anyone be interested?

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Progress on the next story is...progressing, funny enough I twisted my ankle a few days ago so I will be using this time to get a few more chapters edited. Still don't have an exact date as to when I will start posting the next story, but hopefully not too long of a wait!

Monday, we'll finish this phase and Wednesday may or may not be the last chapter of The Luna of Crescent Moon (For now)

Have a great weekend everyone!