Chapter 356: Stronger than My Mother
Sage bit his lip, thinking. He didn’t believe it was a good idea to use his abilities here even if the rest of the powerful alyko did. He was so used to censoring himself, the fear of being caught so great, that he had a permanent resistance to letting that part of himself out. He had only helped Luna August when there were emergencies.
When he opened that gateway for Luna to see the three trees and to meet the tree guardian, it was because she was so close to leaving them all for good, and they needed her desperately. Alpha needed her as his mate, and the whole pack needed her as one of its Goddess-given destined leaders who would balance the Alpha and bring them all a harmony they had not known for so long. She just wasn’t able to see it for herself at the time.
Luna had believed herself and her actions in defending them from that abusive male to be wrong and dangerous, and Sage knew he needed her to see that she was not the only one—that she was more than what she believed in the fears that plagued her mind. That was the same day that Sage had hid them both from Lucas, not knowing Lucas’ intention for pursuing her.
Selah was so terrified when he told her about what he did. She had always been so protective of him, more so like a mother than an older sister. She had in fact raised him, so she was a mother to him—the only mother figure he had ever known. His true mother had failed to stay in his life, abandoning them both to figure out on their own how to make it in a world that was hostile to their kind. Selah seemed to understand this decision that was made to protect them from Zagan and his endless curiosity about the alyko, but Sage longed to know the mother and father he had been denied. And now he was on the island where they both permanently resided. Perhaps he could finally meet them.
"What are you thinking about, little one?" Maggie asked on the other side of the glass, her eyes twinkling but showing a soft concern for the way Sage appeared lost in his thoughts.
How would a pup do here in containment? There were pups here, of course, but they were typically in one of the four larger areas where they were free to move around and interact with others. This one wouldn’t have that ability. The atrium was beautiful to look at, and they had plenty of cheery sunlight, but there was not much to do. They were restricted so much, that they were left with mostly their own imagination and thoughts and memories to entertain themselves.
"Are you from the Hallowell pack?" Sage asked, thinking it would be very unlikely that there were two powerful alyko named Maggie here.
Maggie’s breath caught and she pressed her hands against the wall. "Are you from the Hallowell pack?" she asked, instant tears pricking her eyes as she did.
Sage nodded.
"How are they? How are the twins? Is Graeme Alpha now?" she asked, her questions spilling out quickly, tumbling over themselves. She never imagined she would meet another alyko from the Hallowell pack here under the lotus.
Sage stared at her with his bright green eyes, unsure of how he could possibly communicate all that had happened. He was not that great at communication to begin with, and there was so much that had happened.
"He is Alpha," Sage said slowly, and Maggie’s face burst into a teary smile.
"That is good," she chuckled. "That is good to hear."
"His mate is here," Sage added, guessing that it must be so.
"What? His mate is alyko? A Luna?" Maggie’s smile slowly fell. She didn’t know whether to be happy for him and proud for the alyko or horrified that his mate had been captured by the vampire. That meant that he had lost his mate for good, didn’t it? "Oh no, poor Graeme. He can’t lose someone else that dear to him. No, not him. He has already lost so much," she shook her head, dropping her hands to wring them in front of her.
Sage watched as she turned away from the wall and walked to her bed, sitting down there as if all the joy that was overflowing in her initially had vanished into thin air like the golden butterfly she created.
Her chest ached for him. She had never stopped wondering about those precious Hallowell twins—Greta so curious and capable and Graeme so quiet and brave. They were such a blessing to that pack. Everyone knew they would do great things one day. And the pride that shone in Derek and Genevieve’s eyes whenever they looked upon their children... it was so heartwarming. That family was special.
"Oh Goddess, why? Why would you do this to him? Why do this to that pack that has been through so much?" she spoke into her hands.
There must be a reason, but so much pain heaped onto the same people? It did not feel right or fair. They must still believe her and the rest of the female alyko who were taken to be dead, and surely that must have been traumatizing. For pups like them to have to endure so much...
"She will save us," Sage said quietly, pressing one of his own hands against the glass, seeking to comfort her.
"Who will?" Maggie asked, releasing her head from her hands and looking upon him with hopeful eyes. Whatever this shy young pup had to say, for some reason she felt compelled to believe it.
"Luna August. She will kill him," he said so confidently, Maggie wasn’t sure if it was the naive belief of a pup or the truth spoken from the lips of a prophet.
"What makes you so sure?" she asked, turning to face him once again.
Sage thought about it for a moment. Why was he so sure? He knew it to be true. He felt it in the innermost part of him. Somehow he was connected to the Luna in a way he couldn’t describe, but her fate felt tied to his own, and that fate was to end the containment of the alyko.
"I just know," he shrugged.
"Hmmm," Maggie hummed. "She must be one impressive alyko if she has convinced you of such. Why is she not in the lotus with us?"
"I don’t know," he replied. "But she is more powerful than my mother."
Maggie’s eyebrows pinched together. "Who is your mother, dear?" Pups thought so highly of their parents, didn’t they?
"Nedra," he replied, and Maggie’s mouth dropped open.
