Rescuing His Captive Mate: Saving The Future Luna

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Artem

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"Th..thank you." Star blushed from the praise they were giving her. Mom and aunt Criztie could be a bit much at times, kind of overwhelming really. I wrapped an arm around my mate, offering her my support but also taking some from her as well.

"There is something else that we should tell you." I grinned happily at my little Star at my side and then at my parents.

"Oh? Something else you didn\'t tell us before we got here?" Mom glared at me. "Well go on, Artem, what is it?"

"Star is pregnant, and our cub is due in January."

"JANUARY?!" Aunt Criztie yelled while Mom just looked at me flabbergasted.

"Congratulations, son." Dad was the only one to look happy for me.

"You\'ve known for this long and you didn\'t tell us?" Aunt Criztie smacked out with a hand that struck my arm hard.

"Ouch. I am telling you now, in person. I wanted to see your faces. I wanted us to share in this joy together."

"Uh huh, sure. You were just being a man and not telling us at all. What, are we the last people in the world that you\'re telling? You should be telling your parents first. Her parents and yours. The grandparents are the most important." Aunt Criztie\'s glare was so sharp that I was sure I was bleeding somewhere. There had to be a spot where that look punctured me and was actually causing damage. I was so not going to survive this time with them here and I knew it.

"I\'m sorry Star. I think you\'ll be a widow before you get the chance to be a bride."

"Oh don\'t be so melodramatic, Artemis. We\'re not going to kill you, but your aunt is right. We should have been told sooner. That makes me sad, now I have less time to prepare for the baby\'s arrival." Mom pretended to pout, making me smile.

"I\'m sorry, Mama, I should have called sooner. But, to be fair, we had a lot of stuff going on. We will tell you all about it over lunch later today." I put an arm around my mom\'s shoulder then and led her and my mate out of the room and toward the sitting room that we had everyone waiting in. "Right now, I want you to meet some people."

"Meet who? Who else is there? Artem, what have you been doing up here?" Mom sounded like she was accusing me of doing something wrong.

"Nothing Mama, I\'ve been a good Alpha that is all. I have been taking care of everyone, just like I\'m supposed to."

"I smell something fishy here, Gabby. This boy of yours is hiding something." Aunt Criztie\'s words were sort of harsh but she was grinning at me nonetheless.

"I don\'t know about that, Criztie. What do you think, Gabriela? Is our son hiding something?"

"Come on, even you\'re teasing me now. Dad?"

"We\'re just giving you a hard time, Artemis." Mom smirked at me. "You\'re the one who wanted to be the Alpha. We need to hold you to a higher standard."

"I know. I can\'t be like normal people and all that, but you\'re my parents, you need to trust in me."

"And we do." My dad clapped me on the back. "But we also want you to do what you need to do."

"Oh hush, Aries, you should not have approved of him so quickly. He needed to prove himself more than that. Honestly you two are too soft on the boy."

The three of them laughed as I marched Mom and Star into the room. The welcoming party that Star\'s cousins and all the kids had prepared for my parents was ready and they were all waiting to surprise them.

"WELCOME!" All the kids yelled out at the same time when I brought my family into the room.

"Oh my. So many children." I saw the smile on my mother\'s face. "You are all so adorable."

"Ooh, little ones. I want to pinch all of your little cheeks." No matter how harsh they could be Mom and Aunt Criztie were both very much enamored with kids. They loved kids and the more that were around the better.

"Artem, son, who are all these people." My dad loved kids too, but he was a little more reserved.

"Well, first off we have some of Star\'s family, they\'ve all been mated into our family. Bailey, the elder brother is Chay\'s mate, Reed is Sydney\'s mate, by the way, Criztie mated with my friend Toby and Dakotah mated with Morgan. Ella, that you saw in the hall, is their sister and she mated with Kent. Star\'s great great grandfather Daniel is sitting over there. And this couple here is Vivian and Aaron, they are Star\'s parents. And all of these children are ones that we rescued from abusive families. There were fourteen of them in all and I am adopting thirteen of them."

"Wait, what?"

Mom\'s voice was filled with shock. They had been following along just fine until that point but now they were looking at me like I was crazy.

"You are adopting thirteen children?" Aunt Criztie was just as shocked.

"Yup, so most of these kids are your family now." From there I introduced all of the kids, even Nico even though he wasn\'t being adopted. All of the kids were happy to be meeting more people that weren\'t bad. Mom and Aunt Criztie did exactly what I thought they would and fawned all over the kids.

I noticed something odd though. Dad was staring at Aaron, and it looked like he had been staring at him for a while now. It had been going on for long enough that even I was getting uncomfortable with the intensity of the look.

"Dad, is something wrong?"

"Artem, is that man a Fae?"

"Wow Dad, how did you know?" Chay was shocked to hear his question and answered it with one of her own.

"I have met a few, plus he doesn\'t smell like a wolf. And on top of that he looks as old as Artem but is Star\'s father, he would need to be an immortal for that to happen."

"It is my pleasure to meet you, Sir. I am indeed a Fae and I am indeed Star\'s father. I am so glad to finally have my daughter in my life." Aaron introduced himself then smiled at his daughter as he spoke.

"So, my new daughter in law is a half Fae?"

Dad looked at me with stern eyes when he turned. I was nervous, I didn\'t think that he would object to this situation.

"Yes, she is." I kept my voice steady and firm as I responded to him. I felt Star tense next to me as if she were scared. "Is there a problem with that?"

"Not technically, but what are you going to do if she outlives you?" So was he thinking about me or her?

"We have been given a charm by the Fae Queen that will help with that."

"The Fae Queen?" Mom gasped. "What was she doing here?"

"We went to see her. She is Star\'s aunt. That is something we found out recently, but she is very helpful when it comes to her family."

"Son, I think you need to explain some things; before lunch if you can."

I did just as he asked. I had them sit on a couch and Star and I told the three of them her story. They needed to know what it was that she had been through. Everything that she went through was vital to the outcome of what had happened.

Mom and Aunt Criztie gasped, screamed, and growled angrily at all the right parts. Dad however, just looked like he was angry the entire time.

"Oh, Star." Mom ran to my mate and hugged her, Aunt Criztie hot on her heels.

"You poor girl, you must have suffered so much."

"Artem, why didn\'t you tell me about any of this?" Dad was looking at me angrily. "Why didn\'t you call me for help? I mean, to involve the new King and Queen, and the Fae royalty as well. How could you have done so much without even telling me?" My father, upon closer inspection, was actually hurt and worried. I\'m sorry I wasn\'t there to help you."

My dad came and hugged me, something he rarely did, and then he went to hug my mate as well. I hadn\'t expected this reaction but at least it wasn\'t the worst that it could have been.

"It\'s alright, Dad, we managed." I rubbed his back while he hugged Star.

"We all survived and came out stronger in the end."

"I know you did. You\'re my capable son after all." He pulled away. "And you have an amazing mate." I couldn\'t believe my eyes. My dad was crying. He was looking at Star with eyes that held anger and sorrow. The story of my mate\'s family had broken through his shell and touched the heart of the man underneath.