* * * 

"I've been waiting for this my entire life, those two to fight." Jackson laughed, and that caused Grey to listen in closer. He knew that Sage mentioned brothers before, but the Mystic Grimm brother wasn't ringing any bells.
Not when the silence started to draw out further into the room.

"...Sage?"
"Now. I wait too long to hold my pups." She argued with a world-threatening growl to quicken his response.
"Dad! Fuck, stay on the phone. We'll be on our way soon, just one second." The chants and muffles of the panicked male on the phone caused Andrew to frown, but Remus smiled as bright as could be.

"Alpha Harlow Mystic is her brother." He said with a grin as wide as could be, and that certainly managed to drain the color out of Andrew's face as he began to pick his burial spot.

Jackson's laughter had been a blessing, although what followed hadn't been all that funny. "Hey Rem, how do you think Hayes will feel about a male taking advantage of—"
"Jackson, I learn a lot of Hocus Pocus. Please be quiet." She said, taking her mouth away from the phone and shifting impatiently before turning to her choice mate who could rally a vampire's complexion at the moment.

"And papa won't hurt you, maybe a spar but no killing." She warned, but Luke pulled up a hand to intervene.
"I don't know Sagey, dad might be just as angry, who goes after a mated female anyhow?" Elwood claimed, and the previous thoughts of killing Luke Elwood had all but crossed his mind once more.

"If I knew she was my best friend's mate, don't you think I wouldn't have done it?" He argued, and that turned into another segment as Remus' eyes turned to Sage.

"Why didn't you tell him I was your mate?" He questioned, and Sage frowned. "Darius told me to be careful who I tell my name to. And good thing, because Alpha Noah doesn't like Crescent Moon. Or Oak Wood." It clicked for Andrew as to why she had gone as Luna Hera in Oak Wood now, but then he frowned at the odd name.

"Who's Darius?" Sage licked her lips and closed her eyes, the headache was starting to fester louder and louder—And the only antidote she thought could soothe her was her pups.

"Darius is my demon shadow." While she had said it exactly as it was, Andrew had turned around the room. "You have a fucking demon now and you didn't tell me that?"
"I lost him, I haven't talked to Darius since we leave facility. I think bad vampire man took him away when he bit me."

The room had fallen silent.

"WHAT?!" The interruption caused Sage to jump as she placed the phone from her shoulder back to her ear. "Papa! I missed you, can you come to Crescent Moon?"
"Oh, Bubbles you best believe I'm coming over, not to worry...Haylee is coming too, Harlow just called her. We need to clear the tarmac. I know you want to see the pups, hun. Just wait, we're on our way." She sniffled and nodded, mumbling an okay through her sobs.

"And then when I get my hands on fucking Andrew Clark I swear to the goddess herself that he's—"
"No, you won't. I need to tell you what happened in facility, and if you touch Andrew I won't tell you. I see you soon papa." She said, hanging up the phone before he could even manage to speak again.

"So do we get to know that too or are we just sitting around and—?" Eli's voice had been entirely muffled as the welcoming voice of Blake Warren had sparked throughout the home, and Sage tear-stained face caused him to clutch his chest.

"Oh, come on now, Sagey. Are those tears really for me? Come over here!" He cheered, and the relationship of charge and mentor had been instantly reinstated. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, hun. I should've stayed at the bathrooms...I should've stayed and—"

"It's okay. I'm okay." It was clear that she wasn't okay, the marks on her neck had ranged from a scar of Remus', Andrew's, and a vampire bite all at the given location.

"Goddess, big fan...I'm Grey, we heard a lot of stories about you."
"All good ones I'm hoping...Alpha Eli." Blake said with a slight nod, and Eli held a look of annoyance.
"He's just petty because Sage beat his ass and took the title." Blake turned to the Elwood brother then back towards Eli before letting out a laugh.

"Yeah well, paybacks a bitch. And you're probably going right back in there when she finds out what the hell you two were up to." Sage blinked towards her charge and he shrugged his shoulders. "I'll let your dad manage that one, and look at you—Swords? A new fur coat? I'm almost jealous." It was at that instant that Sage pulled up her travel sack and began digging the remnants of the pack.

"I made pup clothes...But I don't think they fit anymore." She said, her arms having trouble getting all of them at once, but Elena had hurried over to help her Luna to sort them out.

"I'm sure the witches will help make them the right size." She offered, but Elenor couldn't handle the thoughtfulness when she had been handed one too.

"How did you know?" She whispered out in disbelief, and Sage shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't forget you. Any of you...I wish I come home sooner but it was really hard." Sage issued, and Elena nicked her head towards the sack. "Why don't you show them the pebbles?" While it sounded strange, Andy had found himself nodding.

Clearly, everyone had felt left out in terms of being Sage's favorite to the most memorable, so when Sage had begun pulling out the endless supply of flat pebbles, it had looked stranger than normal.

But once laid out properly, they started to make sense when everyone crowded around the now-covered coffee table.

"Huh, you really got my good side," Eli commented, though the gruff to his voice had yet to fade away, making Andy eye him outright. A silent wave of curiosity had sprouted after what Blake said about the Beta couple.

While Andy didn't understand the tension brewing between Sage's Charge and former Beta, he found himself smiling off at Luke. Even if they weren't in the best stance, he remembered the fond memories he shared with the Elwoods.

"Dad wants to come in—Can't hold him back much longer before breaking down the door." Luke offered, all while looking directly toward Andy before his eyes shifted to land back on Remus.

It felt strange to see the male actively engaging in a conversation, considering the past few weeks were nothing but silence and the occasional drop off of food to make sure he ate.

"Yeah, then we can fill him in so Andrew could get the first round of ass beating." Sage turned over and glared at Liam, though the intention was just to scare him, her hands managing to twist at his shirt were starting to do more than just—

"Whoa whoa whoa! I was the one who heard Rue's 'beep-beep!' Why am I the one getting—" Sage's eyes went wide at the thought, and a proud smile erupted on her face.

"Really? Rue said 'beep-beep'?" Sure, Half Crescent didn't know the value of the word, and Remus confirmed what he heard from those who were there. However, the guilty faces of those she'd seen last had all sparked a sense of apology.

"It's okay, I promise. I'm back now." She reminded, but a small part of her wasn't feeling the same with her dad. And speaking of dad, Papa Leo had come straight through the front door and took in the sight of the odd number of wolves in Remus' living room, until finally, he locked eyes with his adoptive daughter.

A quick laugh escaped him, though, like most, it resembled a cry in pain. But he didn't hesitate to hurry over toward her, pinning her into his chest as though she would disappear any second.

"My little flower, goddess have mercy for whatever you did to get here. I'm sure it was a ride." He said, giving her a well-deserved kiss on her temple as she hummed in recognition.

"Yeah, Sage didn't like the cargo plane we took from Oak Wood. Didn't even get up from her seat once." Grey said with a light smile on his face, but the idea of a plane instantly gave everyone PTSD from the previous time their plane was hijacked.

"You were in Oak Wood and didn't think to call?" Sage shook her head at the disappointed voice of her fated mate.
"I wanted to, but Alpha Julian doesn't like Crescent Moon and I was worried."
"Besides that, Sage had to deal with a possessive ex to this one. Hey, I told you Alpha, it was going to bite your ass eventually." With Grey's mention of Lucy in the air, Sage huffed.

"Trouble's my best friend...And so is poison I think. Lucy tried to poison my tea." Remus found himself lingering down to Sage's stomach, whatever trails the Goddess decided to place on the both of them wouldn't be easy.

"Oh, can I tell it?... Sage knew she didn't know how to use the knives as they did in Oak Wood, and so she managed without them the whole time! She ripped the she-wolf's heart out, right from her chest!" The excitement of Grey had given the room a lofty feel, and an appreciated smile lifted on Sage's face as she was thankful for him trying to make everyone comfortable.

"That true, sweetheart?" Leo dwelled and she nodded along. "Alpha Julian was on the phone with Harlow. Harlow said that the packs aren't doing good and they can't take in Rogues?" She questioned and that caused everyone to turn rather somber.

"Yeah, it's been pretty rough after you well...When we thought you died. And Remus stepped down after the war was over and we still couldn't find you. None of Coldridge knew what happened to you, it was pointless." Liam digressed and Sage had been blindsided.

"With everyone hurt, I took Luke's position as Master of Arms. Luke turned into the Delta and Dad's Gamma. We lost a lot of wolves since April." That certainly didn't fit in Sage's image, and her nose twitched.

It didn't make sense.

If Remus wasn't Alpha anymore then how could he lose the pups?

"Alpha Harlow is leaving within the hour once Haylee comes, is the tarmac cleared?" Blake questioned looking at his phone, but Sage hummed as Elena had gone ahead with the idea of an order being placed for the witches to aid them.

"So what else did I miss?" Warren questioned and Remus felt his knuckles turn white around his cane. He couldn't hold back much longer.

"I don't know how you managed to come back to this pack...Expecting me to just accept that you're carrying his pup?!" It wasn't the first outburst the room had heard from Remus, but with the way his chest was pulsating up and down caused the room to shiver.

This wasn't at all good for his health.

"Remmy, I thought I felt you die in the facility. I drew pebbles because I didn't want to forget you...And I started to forget how you sounded. I didn't have pictures like you do, or a grave where I can pray. All I had was pebbles! If Half Crescent was alive and you were gone, Andy said I would have to come back with him."
"That doesn't change the fact that you're carrying his pup!"
"I don't know if I am!"
"That doesn't—" The interruption of Aurora had startled Sage to take a step back, bumping straight into Torin as she felt so disoriented.

"For goddess sakes, I heard you yell and scream for days after you felt Sage die. You begged the Moon Goddess to give her back, to take you in her place. But now she's here! She's standing right in front of her, she did what she had to do—And frankly, she already suffered a Heat without you." It warmed Sage's heart to have Rory on her side, but that didn't still level out the guilt in her chest.

"I know you're not happy with me. But I broke out of Underground, made friends all over to come back home. I didn't forget you, I can't forget you...I just don't—didn't know if I was making it home." She said, her eyes not leaving Remus', but the cruel piece of the puzzle was that the bite hadn't left entirely, it just scared...Right alongside the bite of a vampire.

And he wasn't the only one dreading that story, especially as she tried to hide it.

"When did you leave Oak Wood?" Julia questioned and Sage perked her lips, she was hardly good at dates. And if it wasn't for the Christmas tree in the corner and the attempt at decorating she'd seen around the house, then she would've forgotten about Christmas entirely.

"Just before the first week of December, snow slowed us down...And those red-eye wolves, but I'll let Torin explain that one." Andrew said, offering the floor to the Viking. And he said his thanks in his Norse tongue, which instantly rose Jackson's brow.

"Thank you, Alpha. As I said before, I am Torin, my Alpha has tasked me to investigate the disturbances of the Draugr—Or as he said, the red eyes." That certainly caught the attention of everyone in the room, especially as Eli stepped forward.

"They have a name?" The former stand-in-Alpha questioned, and it earned a hum from the tall Viking. "Of course, their legend stems from the Norse myth. Delta Grey, what did you call them?" Grey stepped forward with a bright smile.

"They're like zombies—or almost. They're stronger than the average wolves. Their bites are toxic, more toxic than a sick Rogue's bite. If you don't get treated for it, you turn into one of them too." Torin patted the Delta on the back and grinned.

"I have come with a cure to the bite, but with the help of Half Crescent I've come to find out why they've been summoned." The singled-out Viking had been a blessing in disguise.

"And...they just picked you up? On their journey here?" Sage nodded. "We were attacked by some Draugr, that's when we got attacked and met Torin...The paste works, see? It's still healing but it's getting better." She offered out her arm, showing the progress in the bite.

Leo had come forth and taken a feel to the bite. It defiantly managed to stay on track in healing, but when Remus came closer—The lingering scars of injections and other horrors of the facility are what drove him to grit his teeth.

Aurora was right, he should be grateful that Sage was back.

"What are they doing? You said they were summoned, right? Who the hell would summon them?" Torin turned off towards Sage and she tapped her neck.
"Bad vampire man, he was at the facility in Canada. He didn't know it was me until we were leaving, I think he finds a way to try and get me back." She said with a slight quiver in her lip, leaving both Andy and Remus to come forth and try and comfort her.

She tried to smile, but the onset of two males was starting to throw her wolf to either side. Not knowing who to go to first, and instantly she gripped onto Papa Leo and breathed in his familiar scent.

Hoping it'd defuse the tension between the two friends.

"Mama Willow was there too." Sage croaked, though anyone in the room understood her. Any animosity that Remus had been feeling had suddenly evaporated.

"Munchkin...?"
"I don't what was wrong with her, but I woke up with my mark hurting and she was there holding me—She was real, everyone in facility knows her. She was with bad vampire man, she help me escape." Leo cupped her cheek and whispered softly to her and brought her into a hug.

"I think that's how I lose Darius, I did what Donald did. I awake the Halliwell, but I don't know where she—Oh, maybe Darius went with Mama Willow!" She said with a bit of excitement on her face, though it didn't match the falling tears.

"I'm sure that's what happened Alpha...I'm sorry ma'am, all the tents are set up." Sage turned to see Isla and she smiled.
"This is Isla, she was my Delta female in Black Crescent," Sage said introducing her to the room, which she simply nodded forth towards the rest of the room but her eyes landed on Blake.

"I'm a taken man, but I'd like a word with the witches...Sagey mentioned that they need to contact their coven?" Isla nodded eagerly and thus, that portion of the pack had been settled.

"I just linked Gigi and the kitchens, they're cooking up a feast for Half Crescent. We'll figure out everything after the Holidays. Guess Mystic Grimm is coming to us after all." Eli spoke and that caught Andy's attention fitfully.

This allowed both the Beta and Delta to take their leave while the rest of the party remained. Or would've if Julia had nudged Eli to start getting a move on with the tarmac.

"How about I get that tea for you..." Remus said, finding himself hobbling over towards the counter but Sage shook her head. "I got it, it's okay. You sit down."
"Sage, you traveled for weeks. Please go sit down." He eyed those off behind him, and while Leo wasn't that pleased with Andrew—Nor were the rest of the Elwoods, they had missed Clark the same as Remus had when they thought he died.

"Look...I won't pretend to be happy about this. But if you are carrying a pup, that makes me the stepfather, right? So let me take care of you."
"But you're hurt. I'm not hurt."
"Those bites on your neck and arm say otherwise." She pouted and just remained by his side to help him.

"I'm happy Rue said 'beep-beep,'"
"I was pretty proud of her too when I finally flew to Mystic Grim...I don't remember much from when our bond broke, that and the bullet wound I just...I'm just..." Sage leaned up on her tippy toes and kissed his cheek.

"It's okay, we'll be okay. I'm sorry I hurt you."
"You didn't cause this munchkin, it's—" She shook her head and brought her hand to his chest.
"I hurt you here."

It had been such a Sage thing to say that he couldn't help but kiss her hand and nicked her forward. "Do the wolves outside want coffee?" Remus questioned, and Andy chuckled.

"Unless you have eight coffee machines at once Rem, it's gonna be a lot of work." Remus then took the inceptive to look outside the window and caught just how many of Half Crescent there was.

"We lost a few members when Swift Tale attacked and then a few left when we landed. We have fifty-four out there, and two pups." Andy dwelled right beside Remus as he looked fondly at those he called his pack members.

"Look at you...An Alpha. I always knew you had the same blood as me." Andrew's eyes soften as he turned to face him fully, but Remus' eyes widened at the sight of his scarred face.

"I know...It's hard to get used to. Alpha really let me have it."
"I found your room up in the mountain. Tried to understand your notes and stuff, but it was mostly a dead end."
"Well good thing I stuck around, 'cause I know more than I wish I do." Remus had almost flinched when the hand had come to pat his shoulder.

"Sage is already being hard on herself, I don't think that's ever going to change...But when she'd talk about herself as Luna here—Fuck, what'd she say—I asked her how she liked the Luna, thinking you finally found someone to deal with your stubborn ass, and all she would say is 'she's okay, she's trying her best,'"
"She was a beautiful Luna..." He whispered out, but he shook off the thought.

"I thought—I thought she was dead. I thought you were dead."
"And we're back, back with a lot more problems than what Crescent Moon might've ever faced. I didn't meet this bad vampire man, but your dad was in contact with him. We need to find out more about him, just as soon as everything settles." Remus shook his head.

"I'm not the Alpha anymore." He spoke clear and simple. "Your mate is, she won it outright. In record of that, you better get ready to retain—"
"I can't. After I lost the pups I—Hayes wasn't easy on me. I don't...I don't have my wolf." Andy's eyes had grown tenfold at the reveal.

"That's why she couldn't feel you..."

______

Date: 2/10/23

Time: 9:03

Words: 3646

Author's Note:

Dundundunn!

Remus is currently wolfless, all because of Alpha Hayes--
😳Sage is going to be pissed!

Besides that, a Mystic family reunion right before the holidays. And we will have a grand old Christmas get-together with absolutely no trouble. 
Hopefully.

Three more chapters in this phase, what more could happen?

Any predictions on where the story might lead? I'd love to hear some guesses!

A lot of you were quick to pick up in the first and second book that Hayes is Sage's dad. It's always fun to come back to a theory later on!

Anyhoo, I hope you all have a fantastic weekend and I will see you for the next chapter on Monday!