* * * 

Sage had been left to stare in both shock and pure hopelessness, of course—of course, it was her luck to mate with Remus' best friend. The one who was pronounced dead long before Sage had a whiff of freedom.

Remus had struggled with his cane as he managed on the unsettled ground to bring his friend into a hug, and while Andy didn't want to relay in the torment of what he and Sage had done together. He'd allow himself this moment of peace before being threatened by the majority of males in the vicinity.

Torin growled at any attempt that anyone made in terms of talking, but Grey couldn't hold it any longer as they finally made it into the Alpha's home. "Sage doesn't even need us anymore, she had her own Beta and Delta this whole time!" He said with a pout on his lips, and Sage came over and quickly shook her head.

"That's not true!"
"Can only have one set of them in a pack, Luna," Severin explain and she huffed in annoyance before turning to the rest of the room. Jackson was currently helping Remus with the chair, holding up one-half of Sage's outfit in hand as he analyzed it.

"You know, when Mikey said that there was a crazy bear lady talking gibberish in the woods leading a pack of fifty or so wolves to our territory...We thought he was smoking some weird ass—" 

"That's enough Jackson, let Sage tell us where she was these last few months." She swallowed thickly and sighed as Julia didn't waste a moment before getting to the truth.

"I don't know how I was taken from dinner, I just know I wake up in a facility like the Underground. That's where I meet most of my females outside, they're from facility. Both witches and wolves, the pups too. I stayed there for a month and then break out, we escape and make camp at Black Crescent...I didn't know where we were and we stayed there to heal. That's when Severin comes and offers us to meet Andy in Half Crescent." It was a mouthful, but Sage didn't want to go out of order and leave room for questioning, though Severin's rough bit of laughter had stalled her from continuing.

"You did more to impress us, Bear-Slayer." He claimed and Luke followed up with a laugh.

"It's a beautiful coat, hun. Wish I was there to see it get taken down." The room was filled with agreement, but Remus couldn't decide who to keep his attention to.

His mate or best friend.

Or why Andrew had been so shy in the hug, usually he was the one to give the hugs—Not pull away from them.

"It was a sight, believe me—Oh I'm sorry, I'm Elena. I'm Severin's mate." She engaged the room with a smile and a wave. "You're from the facility too?" Julia questioned and it earned her a nod.

"Yes, I owe Sage my life. Most of us do." The gesture had been made to the progress that both witches and wolves made in terms of housing, and while Remus wasn't the biggest fan of it, there wasn't any current room to house them as of yet.

"So...Where the hell is Black Crescent?"

"Canada." This certainly earned the attention of everyone in the room as they straightened their backs. "Canada?! What the fuck?" Luke growled, saying what everyone was internally thinking.

"That's why it takes us so long to come, we needed a plan in Half Crescent and Alpha Andy said he'd help bring us here. But we ran into some trouble." She spoke, and Luke couldn't help but shake his head with a smile.

"We're very thankful for what you and your pack have done." He was the first to speak, but Andy sighed. "Well, from what I heard about Sage—Or Hera, as she wanted to be called when we met with Swift Tail and Oak Wood, is that you were her mate. Not Remus." He repeated once again, and Sage struggled to swallow—Even going so far as to shift to opposite feet.

"Yeah, she was an Elwood before a Moon," Liam explained, and that had everyone turn to Sage as she perked her lips. "You didn't tell me you were Andrew from Crescent Moon."

"Well, I would've if you said you were Remus' mate, not Luke's!" Sage curled her fists as she took a step closer, but it was instantly decided as Torin took the lead.

"The both of you weren't honest, that's the price you pay for it." Sage frowned once again, but the confusing sound of a pleased sigh escaped Luke as he smiled as though he won a sparring with his dad.

"You don't know how good it is to see you again. Goddess, we looked everywhere for you—Or I guess not enough in Canada." Aurora had been the first to say that it was impossible for them to know, and better yet, Elena agreed that the Underground base itself was fortified.

"And this facility?" Eli questioned, his speech still a bit muffled as Sage's healing only enacted the process to hurry. "Oh, Sage managed to sink it to the—"

"Alpha Sage sunk the building with her magic! It was so cool, then we whisp away to the other females before we sleep in front of a fire and in a cave!" A voice said at the door, interrupting Elena, and leaving all eyes to land on Clementine and Poppy.

"Oh, for goddess sake. Chase! You had one job to watch the pups and—"

"I have to use the restroom, Beta Sev," The little pup pouted, and instantly the females in the room gestured for either of them to use the one downstairs.

When they returned, Sage had caught sight of Remus staring at her—As though she were one of the Draugr that plagued America. However, when her eyes had turned to look at his cane, he shook his head. "It's been rough since we lost you, Munchkin. I couldn't continue as Alpha. Not since the war ended."

"Remind me when you get back to better health that I'm beating your ass for even thinking about putting Crescent Moon into another war." Andrew deemed, and Jackson scoffed. "Yeah no, Alpha was in a coma for that. If you wanna beat anyone's ass, it's Sage's." The challenging look she'd given him said it all.

"You weren't here, they shot at Remus and my dad!"
"But the whole country? I thought that with the council that—"
"Council's dead Andrew, we'll catch you up on it later. What we need to know is what happened at the facility." Eli deemed and Sage turned her gaze.

"They take mate bonds away. Elena said it rots away, I thought I was dying but the facility wants females to mate with their humans." She explained, and that instantly turned the tide for the room to grasp at.

However, in the midst of it all, she frowned. "Where's Blake?" She questioned, and Grey began to rub his hands together in excitement. "I'm ready to meet the man too, we heard a lot of stories about him." He bragged, and the rest of the room, once again, managed to look at Sage.

"Funny how you mention your charge but not your mate."
"Shut up, Andrew." That certainly caused Liam to laugh to his shoulder.
"Sassy Sage has entered the chat."

"I almost missed you too, Liam." That certainly caused Luke to throw his head back in laughter, though it caused Elenor to push her mate down into the closest seat. His injury had bled through the bandage.

"You promised to be careful."
"I can't help it if Sage's near-perfect English blinded him like that. Come on Ellie, it was hilarious." Sage hummed but then narrowed her eyes back to the injury.

"What happened...?" She questioned, and that sparked another round of tension to admit throughout the room.

"After we thought you uh...You died, all the injuries you healed came back." Sage stumbled in the center of room, and Remus attempted to will himself up from his seat to try and help her steady herself—It was taken care of by Andy who wrapped a protective hand around her.

"They all come back?" Luke nodded as he took off his sweater and showed the bear injuries from almost two years ago. The gasp that followed instantly turned her to Remus. "The gunshot?" It was confirmed by another nod by her fated mate.

"His...Your dad's, Luna Mary's eyes...Everything came back to what it was. And it won't heal, it's almost like it's permanent. The witches said it was an immortal wound. That it was the price to pay for healing so quickly before." Jackson explained, and while Sage want to bite her palm—Andy stopped her.

"Let the witches brew a potion hun, you can't afford to lose any blood right now."

"I need to help them, it's old and won't go away." She argued, and Andy shook his head once more in denial of it.

Luke narrowed his eyes at the pair and found himself frowning, there was something that wasn't being told directly but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"And Blake?" She questioned, and Aurora closed her eyes. "He renounced his membership to the pack a week after we thought you died." Sage's mouth parted in the instance she couldn't believe that he would just leave!

The look in her eye screamed pure motivation, and she did not hesitate to snatch the phone off the counter and dialed Blake's number.

After holding it to her ear, she patiently waited for the former Rogue now turned coven member to pick it up.

"Hey Alpha, how's it going with—"
"You left the pack?! I come home and you're just gone?!" She shrieked into the speaker, and Jackson turned to look at Grey.

"Oh, I missed this."
"I'll swap some stories with Sage, starting with the fight with Toby, remind me." The Rogue issued, and either Delta had fist bumped while Blake was left to process who the hell was calling him.

"Sage?" He questioned, unsure if he could even believe it himself. "Yes?"
"You slick bitch, how the hell did you pop up out of nowhere?" He questioned, and it earned him a bright smile—One he wouldn't be able to see just yet. "I'll tell you when you come home, I have a job for you." She issued, and that was all he needed to stake his claim in coming over.

With the call ending she sighed in relief. "What? We have lots of Rogues, most females are witches. They need to get home soon too." She said, explaining part of her plan to the room, and who better to help than Blake Warren?

With Blake on the way, a fraction of the burden on her shoulders had started to lift, knowing that her Charge would know how to go about this. Yet when she turned back over to Remus, she had already met his gaze—But the male had already risen to his feet and taken the steps towards her.

In a not so friendly either.

"What the hell is—" Neither Jackson nor Grey hesitated in putting their hands in front of Sage. Which meant Remus was met with a few lingering eyes awaiting his next action.

Torin, being one of the many.

"Remus, look, I don't know if you see that scary Viking man that Sage brought with her. But whatever you want to say can be done—" The hand on Jackson's shoulder had stopped his rant, and she kindly began to untangle the hands that were placed before her in Remus' almost hostile pounce.

"When Underground destroy mate bond, they make fake one with human. I know it's not real but it smelled like you...When we escape and live in Half Crescent, I got my Heat." Torin had eyed the form Alpha of Crescent Moon as the male attempted to process it.

"You—you stole my mate?!"
"Remus, I swear if I knew that she was your mate I wouldn't have—" The two had continued to yell promises and nonsense to one another, but it was Julia's blessed words that stopped either of them.

"Sage, are you pregnant?" The hesitation lingered as she held onto her stomach in fear of what could possibly happen to this theoretical pup. "I don't know, my Heat gave lots of other she-wolves Heats. We're waiting...I don't know." She had repeated the phrase a second time, but it had been in direction of Remus—Followed by a quick apology.

"So why do you have his mark on your neck?" In the instant, Sage's hand went up to meet Andy's imprint.

But Eli hummed in recognition.

"That's why we didn't recognize you, you have Andrew's scent..." That surely amped up Remus as he attempted to gain forward, but not at Sage—But to Andrew.

"Alpha or not, mate or not, I will not hesitate to subdue you, Remus," Torin explained, and that threw in another topic. "Who the hell even are you?" He shouted, and the Viking smirked.

"My name is Torin, I hale from the Lundr pack off in Norway. I was given an assignment along with my family by my Alpha and Jarl. But that can be discussed after the other issues are settled." With that in mind, it caused another issue to remedy in the situation, but Andrew thought he should make it clear.

"It's only a temporary mark...I made a deal with her to be my stand-in Luna until we could travel." He explained, only for Grey to make a comment on wishing they could have come earlier. Which earned him a right-hand smack upside the head from Sage, and Jackson was not far behind when he laughed.

"I only did it because an Alpha was visiting, otherwise I wouldn't have." He explained, and while it hurt Sage and her wolf to hear that confession, it did make Remus a little more open to hearing the full story—Yet Eli was not too thrilled about the reasoning.

"Is that why Swift Tail is falling at the seams?" Andrew couldn't help but smirk at the conclusion of that god-awful pack, and Sage sucked in a breath.

"I killed three Alphas now." She said with a small wiggle and a growing smile. However, the moment had come into Sage's mind—After most of the conversation had been quickly explained. She eyed the room, almost expecting the pups to wake up from their nap long ago.

"Where are the pups?" She questioned, and Andrew didn't skip on noticing how everyone in the room had straightened at the mere mention of the pups.

"Remmy?" He stared at her, both in longing and regret. But he shook his head, attempting to battle out the sting in his eyes before finally submitting to tears.

He had begged for hours over Sage's grave for her forgiveness, but with her alive...He wasn't so sure he would earn it or deserve it.

"Remus lost custody of the twins, Sage," Eli spoke, a hint of remorse playing on his words. Which earned him an instant glare from both Deltas and the opposing Beta, but a flash of anger rallied in Andrew.

"Lost...Custody?" She questioned, and it was clear that she hadn't heard the phrase before. But it didn't matter, not when Andrew had taken a stand forward.

"He lost the pups." Julia translated, but the quickened panic of Sage had been defused by her brothers as they shared the truth, that they were simply away in Mystic Grim with her side of the family.

"How did you lose custody of your own damn kids, Remus?!" Andrew roared, disregarding Torin's warning and following his own temptation. After hearing so many stories of the twins, and making the promise of fathering them himself—He was equally as angry as Sage was, but not laced with as much confusion as her.

"I lost control, it's—"

"Did you learn anything from your father?! Or what NOT to be at the very least? Goddess Rem, what the fuck?!" Sage gasped at the mention of Randal, now it all made sense—Any time that Andy had fished for hints and details about Crescent Moon, he was doing it out of curiosity.

"You—You want to lecture me? Where the hell were you? Never mind Sage resurrecting, where the fuck were you?!" The bellowing voice of a former Alpha didn't have the same effect on the room, but when Andy spoke it surely caused some of them in the room to tilt their heads.

"You mean after I 'died'? I failed, Remus. I wanted to blow that goddamn fucking building off the mountain to bits, and he saw it as retaliation. I was sold. It wasn't long before I was released...And then what? I'm a criminal at home? A war criminal? I couldn't just come back!" Sage's only realized that she was crying when the tears had started trickling down the likes of her neck and then some.

"But you can come back after impregnating my mate? By abusing her situation and forcing her to choose?" After wiping her tears, she managed to wiggle past her valent guards and huffed at the two males.

"Remmy, I could've found a way home. But I don't trust Alpha Noah. Good thing too, because he almost bad as Moon Valley." That caught everyone's curiosity and she closes her eyes. "He poison Half Crescent like he did my Luna ceremony." She admitted and that is when Luke couldn't remain quiet any longer.

"When we're done, we're calling Moon Valley—Fucking liars." Sage shot her head off towards her brother and let out a firm shake of her head.

"We're not done here, you said pups are in Mystic Grimm?" She questioned, and Aurora managed to let out a reaching hand towards them.

"They are...Why don't we all settle down and wait for Blake to come, yeah? I could make you your favorite tea?" Aurora questioned, but the blatant tone of talking to her like pup caused Sage's eyes to dull.

Had they always spoken to her like that?

Severin snorted at the sight. "This how they treat you in pack life, hun? Like you're an invalid?" Grey had laughed alongside him, even when an instant deflection had rallied on the Crescent Moon side.

All but two.

"We do not treat her like an invalid!" Julia shrieked, and Andy rolled his eyes as he caught both of his males making jokes in their shared link. "You want a foot rub and a bath too, baby girl?" The Severin teased, and thus it enraged the former stand in Luna Julia even further.

"Is that how you speak to your Luna and Alpha Female, Rogue?" The term had caused Severin to drop his smirk and pin his gaze off towards Julia, which caused Eli stood up to the plate and defended his female.

"Now that you mention it—Fake Luna, I happen to know my Luna very well, isn't that right hun? Maybe we can get your girlfriend in here too. That should settle everything," The mention of Maeve had earned Sage a sour face.

"Julia...Your cousin Maeve was in the Underground facility." She mentioned, and that certainly wiped any animosity off the table—Or would've, if Grey had managed to keep his mouth shut.

"Oh, that makes sense then. Bitch runs in the family then, her also wanting to be Luna?" The Delta of Half Crescent had been called by his Alpha and stuck his tongue out to the Beta couple.

"Grey, stop it," Sage ordered, and while he had a reply in mind, he stalled upon seeing the firey gaze in her eyes, which he quickly conceded to. "Yes, Luna." The smug smirk had lasted a mere half second on Eli's face until Sage caught it with narrowed eyes.

"They're with my brother?" She questioned, and it was Aurora who had been the first to agree. However, Remus sucked in a breath, knowing that receiving a call with his name would look awful.

"Huh, was wondering when you'd call. The pups are sleeping Rem, they had a full day in the—" Sage had missed the sound of her brother's voice and couldn't help but let him continue speaking about the pup's day.

"Remus? You still there?"

"I want you on a plane. A safe plane. To bring me my pups." She instated, and Jackson began to roll his shoulders as he laughed at the thought of just how Alpha Harlow must look upon receiving that type of call.

______

Date: 02/06/23

Time: 8:42

Words: 3500

Author's Note:

And we're back! Did you miss me? 🤗
Or maybe I should go run and hide😂

We're starting off strong with a whole list of problems, mainly reconnecting everyone back together, and believe me, writing this scene with so many characters involved was tricky! 

I can't remember the last time there were so many in one room!

I cannot wait until we dive deeper into Moon Ridge, are you ready for a bumpy ride?

Things to note, there will be difficult scenes in this story, and I'll put some type of warning at the beginning of the chapter. But we are a little ways away from there!

Also, Lacking Humanity: Crescent Moon is on its way to 100k reads, I'm so excited!

Don't forget to vote and comment!!

Hope you all have a great week, and I will see you Friday for another update!