* * *
Sage had yet to wake from her slumber, though the witches reassured the wolves that she had used a good portion of her magic to steady the plane—It had been more than difficult considering the speed in which they were coming down in. Making Enzo feel guilty for not having the ability to fly the plane correctly, but nobody faulted him.
The two acted and that is what matters, however, the lack of options was starting to wane thin. Their phones were either damaged by the water or held no service. The sat phone was shattered and the pups were starting to get fussy.
"I'll go and see if I can bring a deer back or something..." Blake offered, but was instantly shut down by Hayes.
"No, we need to get moving soon. We're too close to the plane, if Coldridge was behind this they could be tracking." The fear in which they were being hunted put newer things into perspective.
"No offense sir, but Sage is still—"
"I'll carry her on my back, the pups can manage a little walking and your pup will need a harness. We leave in ten." Hayes had decided before stalking the woods, the Alpha in him was demanding to scout forward since he didn't have the bodies to order out.
This instinct was embedded into him. His family was here and in need, along with the members of Crescent Moon he was given to protect and lead. This was a 'what if' scenario, and by tonight at the latest—Either Remus or Harlow would see what happened.
While it was smart to remain near the plane, it ran the risk of another pack locating them. It was the easier of two evils, especially considering their lack in numbers and two pups—Plus a newborn.
When Hayes returned, those in question had managed well enough to make do with what they had. The bedsheets from the plane's bedroom acted as the perfect carrier for Sage and Raven. It was Rebekah that would be holding Bellamy while she piggyback on her mate.
Jack and Blake attempted to wrangle the twins with some snacks so they wouldn't be on an empty stomach, and Bellamy had been fed to at least sleep through the given hour or two.
Hayes had said that he didn't get a whiff of anything supernatural, neither pack, rogues or otherwise. The spirit the group had left with was short-willed, but they decided to head north—As they were bound to hit something that way.
Sage made no protest in having been wrapped securely to her father, nor in the fact that they had been running at a pup's pace. Granted, the twins lasted much longer than they thought—Only to be upgraded and tied much like their mother to both Aurora and Jack.
It allowed for a much easier way of traveling, and by the time the sun fell over the mountain. Perhaps that would be the location next, to raise their elevation and see out a ways.
Civilization, even if it was humans, would give them the option of contacting their packs.
In the midst of setting up camp, a low fire cooking up meat for the two witches. It allowed for a least some comfort, and so when Hayes returned to the group he caught Rebekah over Sage. Thankful the small groan sparked once again as the Luna felt her father's eyes on her.
Her blinking had been out of sync, but she soon managed to lock onto the grim face of her father. "Next time I say no, listen please...Headaches no fun." She grumbled and started to curl into her side, trying to mend her raging temples.
He kneed down with a bottle of water and she instantly went forward to take the given gulps. "Slow sweetheart, slow." The words managed to translate and she took her time, her lack of resources certainly made a sip of lukewarm water a blessing.
"Okay?" She whispered out of breath, attempting to sit up and look around. Yet it confused her, the smell of her father all over the blanket she had. Her pups looking at her with cation, though they've yet to shift.
"You stopped the plane from crashing hun, we're just taking camp here."
"Not at Moon Valley?" Hayes shook his head, his eyes glanced to the witch and she hurried up and away. Knowing full well that this was his job to explain it to her.
"We're going to try and get to Mystic Grimm if we can. Or White Paw, whichever's easier and closer. We're in the dark, sweetheart, we can't reach anyone." Sages' eyes searched her father's toned face, it had been a demanding smell—her father's. It wreaked of Alpha and surely didn't hesitate to accommodate their surrounding.
"We find humans, we need help." He was about to agree with her only until she started to rise to her feet and stumble off towards the forest surrounding their small opening. "Sage, we have food and everything—"
"Nymphs can help." She deemed, touching a tree's bark and trying to depict where they were settled.
"Sage, you need to be careful. Not all Nymphs are friendly to newcomers in their territory."
"And not saying hello is rude, we find them and ask them questions so we can leave. We leave their forest quicker, everyone's happy...Ronan? Rue?" She called out, and the pups came barreling to follow after their mother into the darkness.
"Awake for two minutes and already starting to cause trouble, good thing we didn't fall asleep to find her gone." Blake deemed as he was lying beside his slumbering pup, his wolf becoming extra protective after having jostled his mate around on his back. Thankful the pups weren't at all difficult, not as much as they had been on the plane.
It had been Rebekah that followed after Sage, at a careful distance as the curiosity of Nymphs suggested that they were playful—yet sometimes spiteful.
Especially when humans took their generosity too far, but it aided that nobody here was of the species. And the diversity in their group would certainly make them curious.
Though that wasn't always a blessing.
"Can you feel them?" Rebekah questioned, woodland and water nymphs would be much more open to Sage than herself. Especially when her nexus smelled of ember and fire.
Sage's was similar to those who dwelled around them, and the small smile suggested that they were near.
"They're asleep...Oh—Hello." Sage whispered, and a younger Nymph had stumbled out from her hiding spot. Her height certainly suggested she was a child, and Sage felt the nature of being a mother as she crept closer with complete and utter cation.
"Hi, my name is Sage...This is my friend Rebekah, what's your name?" The young one had only blinked in awe, having seen a number of travelers but none that could actually see her for who she is.
The smell of the two females had invited her out of the safety of her tree.
"Hi." She whispered, completely drawn by the smell and Sage took that as a sign. It had been one of the first tricks Sage had learned from the mermaids, to summon water when she needed to. Straight out from the air itself, making it at least defendable to fire elements.
The small demonstration of the water-saving in a pattern only to disperse to the exposed roots to the very tree that the girl had appeared from, a moment passed before others had emerged—Confused at the sudden feeling, especially since there was no scent of rain.
"She's not human...None of them—Who goes there?!" The shout was more in tune with panic than anything, just as Rebekah had suspected. She was considered a fire-starter after all.
"Hello, my name is Luna Sage of Crescent Moon...This is my female, Rebekah Warren. Plane crashed in these woods, we are looking for a way to humans." Sage spoke slowly in the event that her words weren't grammatically correct. However, one of the older few had stocked forward, her semi-clothed body had offered out that she was perhaps a leader or elder among the dwellers in this section on the forest.
"You have a dowser among you, correct?"
"I am dowser, I'm the granddaughter to a Halliwell." She reinstated just as Aurelia had explained, alas this hadn't helped the Nymphs understand the hybrid-like she would've thought.
But the memo was clear, the group wanted out and the Nymphs did not want to be disturbed, thus came a long line of instructions. Starting with heading to the mountain as Hayes had suggested prior, then cutting West. The lack of what state they were in was wearing thin on either Delta and Alpha's mind, but when Sage returned back with Rebekah in tow—It was a blessing that there was any plan whatsoever.
Night came and went, and for most, it had been an easy venture. Course the witches slept beside their mate's, and the fire had proven to be a beautiful heat source—While Sage had slept in a pile of her packed furs because they decided it was better to wait and shift after having used up so much energy.
One of Darius' constants was that Sage needed to remain with some power.
The break of dawn had ruined the illusion that they had simply settled outside to sleep understand stars, however, this was not Hayes' first time battling out the whims of a war.
Moon Valley had managed to smuggle three males onto pack grounds and onto a plane no less. Meant that there could be more already present or on the way, the urgency was clear.
Get to the mountain and get to civilization as quickly as they could.
With morale starting to wane thin, Hayes hoped that at least his son and in-law could manage to predict where they were off to in terms of setting towards the human world. Unless they were completely cut off by the GPS altogether, which was much more believable considering it was sitting at the bottom of the lake.
Sage tugged on his fur lightly, trying to get a better grip. Which earned her a huff from her father's beast on being a wiggling pup, but in reality she was getting antsy. And the smell of her father was surely masking the scent that was approaching.
Fall back! Rogues, really sick ones too!
Hayes barked, issuing the good portion on those in front to give those holding pups a chance to break. However, Sage unwove herself from her father's bundle and fell onto the ground.
No Sage, you're still healing!
They smell funny! I don't think they're sick!
It caught the attention of those retreating, however, Sage hardly had to wait until she Whisped herself into the trees and collected the pups in her arms. The technique allowed the group not to worry about the innocent members and instead focus on the battle.
Sage, stay wherever you are, we'll link you when it's—
The link between her father had broken suddenly, and the feeling of isolation had caused the pups in her arm to panic. "Ronan, Rue. I need you to shift." The pups hardly needed to be told twice as she tugged away the earth for a moment to part more room underneath the roots. Placing Bellamy first in a bundle of his blanket allowed her to direct her own children.
"Protect him, okay?... Say mama up here if you see wolves, okay?" Rue let out a small yelp before wrapping her small figure around the baby while her brother stood at attention. The childlike rush prompted him to stand at the foot of the den, allowing Sage to make an overgrow of plant life to enclose the small hollow in the ground.
Hopefully, it was inconspicuous enough to allow larger animals to not grow curious.
Link me munchkins, I be right back.
And off she disappeared, through the wildlife that connected from one branch to the other. It hardly took that long to reappear back to which she darted off to, and that instant—She was glad that she did.
Those in the group had been tied and beaten, had it not been for her hand over her mouth. The gasp would've been audible. However, the only plus side to this, was that she knew that the silver didn't harm Blake the natural way it did the others.
Though it certainly affected the witches much more.
Blake? Can you hear me?
Sage?! Goddess we thought they got you! Where are you?! The pups are they—
They're okay, I hide them. How many?
Almost two dozen hun, they're working for Coldridge.
Sage knew that the number was too high to take on alone, but if she could manage to untie her pack members then perhaps the fight wouldn't be so bad.
They looking for us?
No. They're looking for you hun, they smelled you. Been tracking us since last night I think. Your dad thinks we're closer to Moonlight or Shadow Pack than we think.
Any ideas?
Dunno hun, you've used up a lot of magic already. But they have a lot of silver, you need to be careful. No backup remember.
She did remember, there was no pack or Enforcers to get her out of this. Remus still had no idea where they are, and for all he knew—They could be captured already.
But she smiled once her plan set in motion.
Hide your hands so they can't see.
Was all she instructed, her hands twitching this way and that as she attempted to weave them to snap. Hayes, through his bruised and battered face, had caught sight of what the former Rogue had been moving about for.
It wasn't that hard to understand what was happening, not when the skies were darkening and the sick twisted crack of thunder began.
"What the hell?!" One of the rogues whispered, and it caused the Alpha of the gang to grumble in displeasure. "Kill them and go find the Luna. She went east!" The storm had sectioned off the others, but in pure Sage fashion...
It left three for the killing.
Having dropped from the tree with ease, she whisped forward—Using the forest to her advantage and socking the first one hard in the jaw. Yet didn't stop the movement from jolting to the other side, leaving it to appear that the male had been knocked out by the wind.
"I told you not to eat that rotten deer, now you're—" Sage didn't allow the playful banter to continue, her wolf wanted blood and the nexus in her was starting to buzz further and further.
She had managed enough practice with Whisping for it not to cause any trouble or drain her as quickly as the other magic she willed around. To see her zoom from one place to another, their snapped necks only caused Hayes to truly growl in warning.
"I get the pups..." She whispered quickly, bending down to let out her dad and Jackson—While Blake had used the vine to wiggle his arms out. With three unbound, it allowed her to leave through the trees once more. Apparently the strong scent of magic was wafting throughout the forest and they went in the wrong direction when they first thought.
Uncovering them was easy, as was catching a pouncing Ronan who was about to deliver exactly the task her mother left for them both.
"Good job Ronan, come on out. We're going back." Sage whispered, her eyes keeping a small lookout as the pups had managed further into the makeshift den placed them in. Though that was likely due to the fact that she had approached.
After holding Bellamy tightly to her chest, Ronan had helped his sister into their mom's arms before she locked onto the three pups entirely. Returning she realized that perhaps she should've waited, seeing as how some of the males had returned. But it hardly took a moments to lock the rogue's feet and bind him to the earth.
The vines that had once been joked as a horrible and sadistic had worked well, especially when Hayes came over with one of the silver knives. "Who are you working for?!" He threatened, his feet stepping directly to the male's forearm and cutting directly down—The worst kind of torture as it meant shifting would be near impossible for quite some time.
"I don't know—I dunno! I'm just following orders from him!" The rogue had quickly given up information, showing that pack mentality had not been introduced among these Rogues. Only furthering that they were sent on the will of another means. So Hayes made due with killing him, not usually one to truly rid of the messenger, but all bets were off when it came to his family.
He would certainly not take anything for granted, not when they were so quickly sought after.
"Tighter sweetheart, I want him to choke a little." The octave her father had given the order with made her shiver, and she certainly felt some guilt in providing one of the many punishments she herself had been given when she was younger.
But she did it without hesitation.
Remembering what Remus said, that an enemy doesn't care if they're showing hate. It would only be giving them power to show emotion, and she certainly couldn't be doing that in a time like this.
They were being hunted. There was no room for weakness.
"I'll ask again in case you didn't hear me. Who are you working for?" Hayes said, gripping the male by the hair to make enough room for a quick execution.
"W-what else c-could you do?...I'll die a-anyway." The rogue coughed and Hayes bared his teeth at the potential of it being worse. "Perhaps we could burn you alive, rip you limb by limb. If you speak now, we'll let you go." The pure honesty had been brutal, and the two fear tactics showing at the forefront still offered an option of escape.
"C-conner, Alpha Conner—A-and Alpha Nathan. They told us to come a-after the plane called with an SOS." The geography made sense then, Shadow pack was just to the East to Moon Valley.
"May the goddess have mercy on you," Hayes explained, not needing anything more from the male.
And with a quick swipe of the silver knife to the male's neck caused Sage to flinch back, not because of the blood or the male it was happening to.
But how sinister her father had sounded.
With no reason to keep him held up, Sage's vines had retracted and returned within the earth and out of sight. Looking around she caught just how badly everyone was hurt at her departure, how long did it take to Whisp there and back?
How did it turn so sour so quickly?
Enzo hunched over, the last bit of blood in his stomach coursed up, and it was the look of worry from Rebekah that suggested that he needed blood and soon. The only issue was there were no humans around and the animals nearby wouldn't be enough to satisfy him for long.
"We keep moving, hunt along the way. Whatever we face, we'll get a better view of them at the mountain. We'll stay there to camp for a night." Hayes addressed, the ten minutes given to recuperate allowed Enzo to suck eleven squirrels and the odd rabbit dry of blood. The only blessing he would have is if a meat-eater would come around, a bobcat or a mountain lion. But the chances of that were as slim as a rescue team, especially with the sort of scent the group was letting off.
Once the wounds were licked clean, they went back on the move. Though this time the pups were carried on Sage's back as the others were too injured to do so properly.
The game the wolves played allowed some solidarity, colors, and animals they came across. Especially when Ronan adored seeing Enzo kill them so quickly.
It was a difficult trek, having to follow a lake to its shallowest end so that it wouldn't run the risk of carrying someone off and away. Sure they had a Dowser in their presents, but Sage had used up a strong percentage of her magic since the plane was known to be hijacked, they couldn't push her nexus further.
Blake, however, made a few hearty messages. That for a bunch of packless wolves being dropped off without warning, they were doing fairly well. Better than he would've had he not been captured by the Underground.
Raven knew that the wolves were conversing, the frequency huffs in her direction suggested that her Light was trying to boost everyone's spirits. But it was hard, especially since their babe was off ahead of them with his auntie and uncle.
It was a strange world indeed, Raven never thought that she'd be fated to a wolf and her sister certainly didn't expect a vampire. But the events that were starting to align up were making sense.
The sun was now their biggest threat as they were grazing up the base of the mountain and settling in a former den for a large beast, and Enzo had made a disappointing sound in not being able to battle the beast to have a meal for the night.
"We'll stay here and then head West like the Nymphs said, Blake? Do you want to stay?" The new father nodded as he was unbuckling the twins from Sage's back while Raven was getting a slightly fussy Bellamy passed into her arms.
"Can we build a fire, Hayes? I think the temperature is going to drop low tonight."
"Yes, we have the vantage point up here. We'll try and smoke some meat this time to take on our journey, we can't have two sides looking for us without conflict rising up again. We need to hurry." With that, the group dispersed, but the lucky portion of Sage being able to lay on her side and the pups drink from her was a blessing.
The baby food and any snacks they could've eaten were gone just that afternoon. The only issue is it would mean Sage truly needed to keep up her nutrition levels. Same with Raven, though it was difficult in cooking meat or relying on the teas the witches traveled with.
With the pups content, Sage carried them by the scruff of their neck towards Blake who settled them into a comfortable bundle while Sage returned back to skin—Only to fall out and huff.
The grim face of her charge was met with a hand on her back, but it was the distance of her mate and the unknown starting to cause a Luna of the pack to panic. "What is it, Sagey?" He whispered, handing her a pair of leggings and a sweater.
In not so many words, Blake realized that it was how spoiled they've become that living on the land was strange. She couldn't go back to the house or the packhouse to eat, she couldn't cook because she didn't have a pantry.
"It's not a bad thing you know, not being used to this."
"But those rogues are, they have no home."
"That's not true, remember I had a home—Okay, maybe it was just a big packhouse that we all slept in. It's not like we traveled much and only ventured into town when we needed to. Those weren't really rogues, hun, they were too clean. Even if they smelled awful." Sage hummed once again, not having the means to stay sitting up and so she laid down onto the grass patch of the mountain and looked up to the sky.
"Feels like it was just yesterday I was telling you about my friend and how we'd look at the stars at night to try and fall asleep."
"When Remmy was at Alpha meeting. I remember." A light smile soon erupted on her face, and it was a joyous occasion as the hunting team returned with plenty of food to go around.
With their stomachs full and the risk of danger less extreme than it was before, they were able to rest without the need to truly be cautious about what was behind them.
Hayes found himself wrapped around his daughter once again, just listening to her heart and breath reminded him that she's safe. It also made him feel even better when Rue or Ronan awoke from their milk-induced coma to cuddle with him further.
For them, it was safer to be in their fur, warmer if anything.
Sage, on the other hand, needed to heal and recharge. After eating some grilled meat from the fire right alongside the witches. She had been boxed in by the Delta couple on one side, Liam and Ally on the other—While her dad rounded it out and snuggled the closest. The Luna was beautifully warm and comfortable, though it didn't settle the ache in her stomach and the pain in her head.
It was easier to keep quiet, the darkness and cold truly aided in whatever she was combatting. Luckily she was blessed with dreams, dreams that she was back in Crescent Moon running with her mate with no war to ruin their blessings.
______
Date: 04/22/22
Time: 11:47
Words: 4304
Author's Note:
The truth is out!
Alpha Conner and Alpha Nathan are behind the hijacking AND hiring of those rogue mercenaries!
What more could they be planning?
Better question, how much more can the group take?
T-Minus 3 chapters!
On a much lighter note, I've decided to make an Instagram. It'll be easier to share updates on how the 4th story is progressing and possible hints to plot points, new characters, and when the story will be released.
Want to follow me? My username is the same here-- nerdyxwitch
(If you've found the witchy hedgehog you're at the right place!)
See you on Monday and hope you have a great weekend!