* * *
Arriving at one of the trees with a cache of clothes, Sage leaned up on her hind legs in an attempt to grab some clothes. Remus, however, held no shame in showing his skin with his mate. So he was able to reach a set of clothes for both himself and his little mate.
Only for her to huff in annoyance.
His intention was to get her to wear his clothes, and the she-wolf had no prior knowledge of just how much his scent would affect her.
Remus helped get her wolf head into the shirt to protect her decency, allowing her to shift underneath without the male getting a peek of her skin. The intimate exchange of watching each other shift had been checked off the box.
Her eyes were now such a wild feature. There is so much pain and suffering swirling around with childlike excitement that Remus was starting to feel the rush in his heart.
Leo was right. He should be kissing the ground she's walking on.
And he would be. From here on out
His shirt went well past her thighs and hid her from any glances from the males back at the Elwood house. What he wasn't prepared for, however, is seeing the group standing in the same spots they had left them in.
Concern was written on all of their faces.
When the two finally returned, Sage looked with wide eyes at all those around her, but Luke took one look at her neck and sighed in relief.
"Goddess, I'm not going to force a mark on her." He growled in defense, and Luke glared at his Alpha.
"Yeah, but you have no problem kicking her out last week...You okay, Sage?" Her bright smile just concluded as to how she felt, and Camilla separated the two newly found mates as she suggested that they tell the Alpha everything about Sage while she gets the she-wolf cleaned up.
Just on the second floor, Sage had managed to hear everything from her place in the tub. It caused her to flinch at every yell and swearing-in damnation that Remus brought to the table.
His mate was born in hell and crawled out to a new territory, that was her story.
And on top of all that, those bastards tried to get his mate impregnant with some ill-fitting male's pup.
All this tension and yelling had Sage begin to cry, she was scared, and the pain Remus was not helping her at all. It all stilled when Remus heard his mate's pain and demanded to see her, but after all that happened, it would be best for them to part ways for the night.
The family needed to discuss the fate of their Luna.
And Remus, along with his Beta and Delta, were present for this as well.
"I don't know if Sage can handle being Luna," Luke spoke, taking the lead of this conversation as his sister was resting upstairs. Unknowing to everyone except Camilia that she was still in Remus' T-shirt.
"She took out Kelly no problem." Jack chuckled, and it earned him a snarl from Remus.
"Yeah, she almost took you out too." Liam joked back, and now came time for the Alpha's turn.
"Sage attacked me out in sector five..." Leo laughed, a hard gut filled one as he couldn't manage. The young Alpha pup looked completely taken back for being attacked as well as being the center of a joke.
"Yeah? How'd that go?"
"Has she ever heard of a tie?" Luke shook his head. "The way the facility worked is if we didn't keep fighting, we'd get zapped. She's on the mentality of going until she can't go any further." Remus took a calming breath, but it still didn't aid how the girl was treated.
"You think the pack is going to retaliate?" Liam asked the group, and it turned utterly silent. Most were already hating on the fact that Kelly was going to take the position, but here Sage came out of nowhere and ended up as mates.
This was fate.
"She won't be able to act as much of a Luna, not without help." One little 'date' did not allow Remus to understand Sage like the rest of the room had. They've built up three weeks' worth of relationships, and both Luke and Liam had seen her at her worst.
Months of torture.
"She just about learned her colors. Reading is another god damn—"
"Luke." His mother interrupted him before his own anger rallied the Alpha's. Caleb had the most hope for Sage finding her mate, it meant another person would grow to care for her, and she deserved every bit of happiness.
"Did you catch up with her?" Sure it was a burning question, but it cooled down Luke enough as there was amusement to know the answer.
"She was waiting by the lake, the second time I had to tackle her..." Liam smirked.
It was true. Sage didn't like when her runs were interrupted.
"I don't think she knew what she was fighting for today." Remus' eyes turned to Leo, and it was an agreed-upon idea.
But she had won the rights anyhow. And by law, Kelly was no longer a threat to the position.
"Guess you need to change that council request, huh?" Jack teased, causing Eli to warrant a smack upside the back of his head.
Harlow is gonna lose his mind.
Luke couldn't even deny the humor in Liam's link, Mystic Grimm had their back in two regards. And now the Alpha was going to get a second dose of reality for this.
"She's staying here," Camila demanded, and none of her boys could've suggested that it'd be their mother taking the lead of this. "Mrs.Elwood, I'm not forcing her to—"
"No, but she is going to be running on instinct more than anything. My pup is not getting a mark until she's ready." Whyever her scolding felt like his own mother was damning, but it had Remus growl as he sulked down in agreement.
These were going to be his family members now.
Reluctantly, Remus left the house with the help of Jack and Eli.
It was clear that the Alpha was smitten with his mate, and he continued to ask question after question. And all Luke could think about as he sat at the kitchen table was just how much fate worked out in the end.
Especially when the Alpha was left to lie in bed alone, not his own. His wolf hated the smell of Kelly in his bed, so much so that he moved into the guest bedroom to try and get some actual rest.
While Sage, on the other hand, slept peacefully. Coming downstairs smelling like the Alpha threw her brothers into a fit. Caleb had been the only helping hand as she tried to understand why Luke and Liam were angry with her.
With their morning routine ruined, things were now starting to upset her.
So much so that she returned to her room and didn't bother coming out.
Instead, she listened to a book on her little radio and started to practice her drawing on her bed.
Liking that her room acted as a safe haven.
Luke and his wolf were protective, but what was he going to tell her?
Deny her fated individual?
When Sage found out that Luke went on a run without her, it damn near broke her heart.
So she continued to seclude herself. In the same shirt her mate gave her, as she enjoyed the thin markers to draw in the designs.
"Sage? Alpha is here to see you, little flower." It was odd, Camilla wasn't prepared for this either, just gaining a daughter and having to deal with a teenager status with the addition of a mate?
"Honey, what's the matter? You know you can talk to me about anything." The guilt-ridden eyes sparked instantly as they began to gloss over.
"Luke mad." Sage's senses of emotions were always spot on, and here she was beating herself up over her brother's defense on the situation.
"He's not mad at you. He could never be mad at you." Sage hadn't looked at her mother when she sent her the mindful image of what happened this morning, how Luke refused to look at her. Both Luke and Liam had.
It had only been Caleb that offered to do something, and although it distracted her, she was entirely lost when they ignored her.
"Remus would be really happy to see you. Why don't you go on a run with him?" She hesitated a nod, and it pushed Camilla to grab a few clothes for her daughter to wear.
And when she came downstairs following her mother, she caught the scent of her mate and sent him a nervous glance.
"Hey, munchkin." That nickname alone had brought a smile to her mother's face while it thrilled Sage's wolf entirely.
She drew a small wave and moved a little closer. Her being shy was such an odd trait that she didn't know how to react.
"You wanna go for a run?" He luckily knew how to handle his little mate and offered his hand out.
It was an odd concept, holding hands. Sage didn't understand what he was doing at first, not until his tiny finger pulled the likes of her own into his. Sparks sprouted from their bond instantly as she flinched her shoulders.
Most would rally at this connection, but it made her slightly uncomfortable, even if Remus' kind green eyes were filled with patience and love.
"Run." He smiled at her agreement, and the male turned to look off to Camilla. The mother was attempting to give them space, but her wolf was antsy at this courtship of her pup.
"I'll bring her back before dinner, Ma'am." Her mother didn't make a comment, instead she nodded and turned back to her fake task.
Remus led her to the regular entrance to the woods, but something caught his attention as he leaned in closer to her. His scent was still on her through an obvious wash, and he smiled in victory.
She must've worn his shirt last night to bed.
Goddess, was he going to lose his shit if he kept up this train of thought.
"You just want to run, munchkin?" She blinked for a moment. It wasn't every day that her brothers rightly asked, but he was the Alpha. Nothing was out of bounds.
"Hunt?"
"We can go hunting, anything you want." She wiggled in delight, and his wolf thought it was the cutest damn thing on the planet.
Her skin side was more or less the same as her fur side, though around him, she was shy and a bit more cautious than before. Remus didn't want her to be afraid of him in any regard.
But after what he learned, he wanted her to be pampered in any way she wanted.
The she-wolf soon went off behind a tree and returned out with a bundle of clothes in her mouth, how was it that even that threw him for a loop?
This female didn't have to do anything to get his hormones rallied up. Thankfully her demanding bark called him back into reality.
Sure, his wolf wanted to just sit in silence and stare at his beautiful mate, but Sage wanted to get today going.
Run.
She cheered, and off she went. Much like her bark, she dominated the earth underneath her. The nickname bullet barely did her any justice.
However, there were other things they needed to discuss.
One of which is joining the pack.
Even if his mate didn't take the position of Luna, her education was something her family was focusing on as well.
At the fact that Sage was going to be removed from Crescent Moon, the Elwood family didn't make much more plans in terms of looking for a tutor. Yet now that they're staying, it was important to start thinking about Sage's educational journey.
It was true, a Luna did more than just support her mate. They handled tasks within the pack, such as disputes and financial aspects to name a few.
But Remus couldn't make her do that.
He would either need to find Sage a Beta female to stand in underneath her. Otherwise it will create a workload that he himself, Eli, and Jack have to fill.
Or continue to have to deal with, since Kelly didn't do much of anything a true Luna is meant to do.
Sage had halted in front of where her brothers had gone and enjoyed their afternoon. But her wolf wanted in on the action as well, so she plopped her paws right on in the cold water and pushed herself on in. Though her coat acted as an aid in floating, Remus couldn't help but breathlessly laugh out when he caught her. She looked utterly adorable in a fun-loving way that he joined her, his puppy-like actions causing her to enjoy the time in the water.
Though she wanted to swim in skin, the temptation of shifting now was low. Everyone always said there's no shifting in front of males. That was the rule. And she didn't want to make the Alpha anymore angry than he already was with her.
Part of her wondered if he was actually still angry.
But that thought nearly vanished when he allowed her to rest her head on his stomach.
It could be considered the perfect representation of how Sage couldn't read a situation. Remus' stomach rising and falling told her that he was resting just a bit.
He trusted her.
That was the biggest sign of trust as she whined further into his fur coat, allowing the sparks and tingles to fill her fur more.
Sage?
It was Luke. Having just heard from his mother that she was with the Alpha on a date, but he didn't want to believe it.
Lu?
Hun, where are you?
She sent a mental image as she didn't have an exact name for this field, but the scene made him cringe.
This was the equivalent of a wolf date. And as the oldest brother, he needed, on top of wanted, to lay down the law on what Remus could and couldn't do with her.
And this was one of them.
You keep him away from that neck of your, Sage. You understand?
No bite.
He rumbled in approval and left her mind within the second, leaving his sister the responsibility of protecting herself. She proved her place to her mate, was she naive? Sure.
But she made it up with her instincts.
And right now, her mate smelled really good.
You awake, munchkin?
His voice filled her mind and instantly spread warmth throughout her heart. These feelings were still strange to the she-wolf, but she welcomed them as she patted her paw forward, though her eyes were still closed.
I want you to join the pack.
Of course he did. Now.
After all the heartache, dramatic voting, and phone calls between another Alpha. Here he was, just waking up from a nap in a field with his mate, but she stared at him in confusion.
How?
With a party, the whole pack will come and welcome you in.
It sounded like a plan, but the word 'party' didn't really bring a definition in her mind. But what did was the whole pack, she has met barely a quarter of them, and her wolf longed to be social.
How about it? We can do it Friday.
Sage knew it was Wednesday, but it still didn't compute as to what a party was. So she simply agreed and rumbled closer into his hold.
He was a sort of warmth that didn't come from a blanket or anyone else, and Sage relished in the feeling. Attempting to gain as much as she could in this feeling caused him to shift. Remus was far too jealous of his wolf form that he wanted this same affection.
"Can you shift for me?" Tempted, but his eyes were giving him though it made her contemplate whether or not. "Grass is tall enough. I won't do anything, promise." She thought long and hard about it. He was partially right about the grass being a decent barrier.
But Sage's creamy skin lying inches away from him was causing the scent of arousal to permeate the air around her.
Goddess, was it mouth-watering.
Her eyes grew black without so much as a single touch, so she squeezed her eyes shut and shifted back. Hating the feeling of no control, she darts in the opposite direction.
Hun, I'm sorry. I shifted back.
She stopped her escape as she turned to look, and in a fit of weakness, she started pawing at her snoot in hopes that it would get rid of this alluring feeling.
But it was pointless since it was coming directly from her mate, and the longer they were together, the harder this was going to be. Though running away would be even more of a challenge.
So she barked in aggravation, making him understand the frustration wasn't just one-sided.
He didn't know how informative the she-wolf was on anything surrounding the mating process, but it probably lacked like everything else.
Though that didn't stop his wolf from brushing comments up on her ass and form.
The two continued to spend the rest of the day chasing one another, especially when he ignored the healer's request from Kelly.
It was going to be heartbreaking, yes, but a mate triumphed over it all. And if he had to send Kelly elsewhere, then it'll happen.
But for right now, he was mending the relationship with his mate
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Date: 11-22-2020
Time: 8:47
Words: 2897
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EDITED-
DATE: 09/21/2021
WORDS: 2881