Lacking Humanity | Moon Ridge

Chapter Twelve

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Sage had shot down any and all attempts to get her something for Christmas. All the she-wolf wanted was a nice dinner, and to cuddle with her pups. Of course, that didn't stop her family from chopping down another Evergreen tree for the pups to decorate, or building gingerbread houses to humor the pups.

But Sage was enjoying it all—Almost as much as the ones outside.

The following day after Alpha Issac and Mary's departure, there had been a Summit meeting.

While Alpha Chris didn't seem like the biggest fan of returning to this type of communication, on holiday no less, the surprise of Sage's return had caused an uproar.

Creating an even slate of it being good news and bad.

The war was not entirely her fault, it had been a long time coming. But most packs had been reliant on the council and enjoyed the humanist trait of leadership, however, this gave both Remus and Sage the chance to discuss their proposal with Summit.

It had been met with a more positive response from those who were still a little suspicious of Sage, and were more in tune with what a future could look like.
Following the holidays, of course.

With the council no longer in the picture, there was no need to consult them for teaming up with witches for what they planned. But as for now, Sage was required to relax and enjoy the fact that she made it. Though the guilt she felt didn't feel as normal as it once did, she wanted to stay friends with Andrew.

Even asking if Half Crescent needed anything on her behalf, the look she'd receive from Remus gave her was clearly filled with sadness and a little bit of suspicion.

Remembering Hayes' rules, they moved the office couch into the master bedroom for Andrew. Most mornings one of the pups would use Andrew's bed as a boost to jump into bed with their parents.
Yet, once in a while, he'd get the same attention.

This morning, however, was an important celebration for any pup in any pack. Usually, the pups were silent in their sneaking, but this morning's alarms of shifted pups running up and down the second floor's bedrooms caused a similar groan to follow both fathers.

Remus rubbed his eyes and rose up to take a peek out the door. Only to see Hardin had been in the lead with his three cousins in tow.

"All pups up?" Sage said into the pillow and Remus nodded as he quietly closed the door. There was no way they could possibly pretend that they didn't hear the small trample just outside that very door.

Course, it piqued up even further as the whines turned to yips, causing Sage to panic as she too rolled out of bed to check.

Only to see her father dressed up in a red jumpsuit with a white beard strapped onto his chin. "Oh goddess, Harlow! Get your camera!" Remus shouted, and that certainly caused the father of one to come stumbling out of the room off to the side.

Yet nothing could've prepared him for that, and he wasn't the only one who started to squeal with excitement over the playfulness of someone titled as dominant as Hayden Mystic.

"Santa..." Sage whispered, her eyes widening with the childlike excitement that Hayes had strived for. While he was overrun with the licks of his grand pups, part of him did this for Sage as well.

He would do this when they were Dillon's age and for the years following. This marked a new milestone as this was Sage's first experience right beside the rest of the pups, and he didn't fail that excitement for one minute.

With everyone downstairs, Andy hid away in the kitchen with Drake, Jade, and Remus—Clearly, it was a Mystic family moment, but they were all sipping their coffee and enjoying the show.
Especially Sage's excitement.