Lacking Humanity | Moon Ridge

Chapter Fifty-Eight

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Sage had been placed at the base of a large tree with a bottle of water and a guard that would change every other minute. Goddess, there was so much movement that it wasn't safe for her to interact with the rest of them.

Not yet, at the very least.

Especially when Hayes caught the glint of wanting to help and heal them. The thought of even healing three wolves had taken it out of his daughter for the rest of the day—Both here and now, it wouldn't be the best option.

So they resorted to doing what they could, even if it was very limited.

Blake seemed to have an entire arsenal of herbs and grinds to pat down the different states of surgery—Hayes could hardly stomach looking at his daughter, not when the others were bleeding out on the front lawn.

Free. They were free and were going to remain so, but how was he not meant to see his daughter—His mate—Like this?

No.
And in trying to keep from thinking of it any further, he remained posted at the front, doing a head count and greeting the runners to and fro. Even if they were long overdue for another one, or were until Remus and Andrew Linked them at the edge of the border.

They were on their way to further the search, and looking down at the sloppy doodle of the layout of the building set before him...His eyes easily fluttered to the side—Directly where the building had turned to stone.

Isn't that what Sage had said?
That there was beautiful stonework and—There was the stained glass!

At that near direct relation, Hayes had allowed a proud grin to shine brightly on his face, knowing that the two Alphas inside would do everything in their power to get her back.

"They're coming, sweetheart, they're coming." A presence had snuck up on him, but it didn't take much to figure out who would tempt him from doing anything else than what they were supposed to.

Even Chloe, Carter, and the rest of the Crimson pack were scrounging around their supplies to do what they could. But no, Sage decided to stand at the forefront with her father.

"You should be sitting down."

"We should be sitting down." She replied, and Hayes smirked at how stubborn the little female could be when she wanted to. "We should. But we aren't going to, hm?"

"No. Wait for mom."

"I spotted your little temple off that way...With the stones and the color glass." A small gasp of excitement left Sage's lips as jumped and held onto her father's arm. The smile brightened her face—It was no longer pale or suggested that she threw up this morning's breakfast just an hour ago.

"I pray that she is here, Sage. I don't know how much more I can truly take. Not without—Not without Willow." It was unfair for Hayes to be so caught up with the fact in seeing Willow again, when Sage was the one who had spent so little time with her—With anyone in their family.

Even her pups were at the marker for seeing them the least.

With an eerie silence and calm washing over the two Mystic wolves, Sage pressed her cheek against her father's arm and sighed. "Are you angry?"

"Angry? About what, bubbles?"

"About the pup?" He had tried to act clueless, he truly did. But there was only so much a father could take, and while he hadn't liked when Haylee would date males during her high school years, he also knew it was inevitable.

As was finding a mate.

Here, however, was different. There were ups and downs that fell along with Sage's choices. Had she made the right decision at the time? Perhaps. Yet they are the ones living through it now. But no, the male had started to shake his head and allowed his grin to grow.