Rescuing His Captive Mate: Saving The Future Luna

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Star

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  The entire pack was supposed to be going to the meeting spot tonight at ten. It gave us all time to have dinner and be ready. Not to mention it would be dark, or nearly dark, by that time.

I had spent the day with Trinity and the children but I learned later that Nico had been saved. He was back to himself. When I found out I went and introduced myself to him immediately. He was not as small as the other boys but he was definitely smaller than he should have been. He also looked so much like his brother. Black hair, hazel eyes, same sort of squared jaw and sharp nose. The resemblance was stronger between them than me and the pictures of my mother I had seen. I was a little jealous about that but there was no point in dwelling on it.

After we had a meal together with everyone, Nico included, we all got ready for the pack meeting. We were taking the children with us. We were going to prove to the pack that the children were not weak. We were going to show them that they didn't need to do what they did. They were going to see what they were missing out on.

Also, I didn't care how much any of those families begged us to give their children back, they didn't deserve them. If there was a family member that was more like my cousins then we can arrange meetings between them. And maybe one day they could take them home if the children wanted it. But that would definitely not be happening for a very long time.

These children deserved to grow, flourish, and have the chance to be themselves. I would not allow them to be mistreated ever again. As someone who suffered as much as they did growing up I know just what it was like for them. In fact, I had been in that environment longer than any of them, so I knew more than they did about that entire situation. No one in this house could sympathize with them as well as I could.

I understood that I was being entirely too clingy and overprotective of the boys, but after what they had just gone through I don't think anyone could blame me. I had been watching for weeks while they basically wasted away in comas. I was not going to let anyone or anything else hurt them.

Once we were all dressed and ready to spend a few hours in the woods at night we started heading out. The young children might eventually find it difficult to stay awake the entire time, but there were enough of us that we could all carry a child or two on the way back if we absolutely had to.

We marched in a line, no more than three people across, as we made our way to the meeting spot. We were heading there early so that we would arrive before any of the other pack members. We were going to present a united front.

And, if anyone tried to show that they were just going to leave without so much as coming into the clearing then Artem or Reece would command them to get their asses into the meeting. There would be no running away from this meeting tonight. Anyone who didn't show up would be hunted down and made to pay.

Things were definitely changing in the pack. I could tell that and I had never been involved with pack politics before these last few weeks. I was a complete novice. Though, I was learning how to be a proper Luna from Trinity. She was teaching me everything that she knew about supporting a pack.

When we got to the meeting place I was finally able to see what it was like. It was a natural clearing in the woods with a large crescent shaped rock in the center. The rock didn't match any of the ones around it. This large stone was pure white and looked like it was made straight from the moon.

Another difference about this large rock in the middle was that it was flat on the top. It looked like it was some sort of stage or platform. And that was right where we were heading. Artem and I were standing in the middle of the stone with Trinity and Reece beside us. The children were all sitting at the edge with their feet dangling off. The others that we had brought with us, both from our pack and the Luna Queen and Alpha King's pack were positioned around the large platform rock acting as guards.

This time it wasn't just those that were always in our business that were in attendance. On top of Toby, Kent, Morgan, Reed, Bailey, and Chay we also had Ella, Criztie, Dakotah, and Sydney. Grandpa was there too, along with everyone that Trinity and Reece had brought with them. It was definitely an impressive sight to see. There were forty of us waiting there for the rest of the pack to arrive. What will they all think when they see us together like this?

I saw the moment that everyone else started to arrive. There were several small groups that came in pairs and trios. Quite a few people showed up alone. Slowly they all started to trickle in. The thing is, that despite the fact that almost all of the families in this pack lived in large family estates with multiple generations none of them showed up as a whole family.

Now that I actually thought about it, I never really asked Artem what had happened to my family that had been at the house while I had been tortured all of my life. 

I saw a few of them enter the clearing. They were looking at me with fear in their eyes, or perhaps those looks were for Artem who had his arm wrapped around me. I saw that almost every single one of them looked frightened, but not a single one of them looked at me with anger or jealousy. There were also fewer people than I had expected to see.

Throughout my childhood there had been at least sixty family members that came and went. I had learned who many of them were but not all of them. Then there were the family members that I didn't know about at all. They were the family members that didn't agree with the abuse and torture but didn't try to stop it either. 

I wanted to blame them, I really did. But I was really trying hard to move on. I knew deep down that most family members would have suffered the same fate if they would have tried to step in and save me or any of the other children.

The thing is though, you never knew who stayed out of it because they weren't strong enough to stop it all and who just didn't care one way or the other. Without being able to prove any of it then how are you able to trust any of them?

That was the conundrum we were currently facing. That was why we were going to put an ultimatum to the members of this pack. They could either comply or die.

There was no point in them leaving the pack. The Alpha King already said anyone who tries to cling to the ways of the past would be judged to his fullest extent. I had learned from those that had come to stay with us recently that Reece had a temper that was probably worse than Artem's, and that was definitely saying something.

I knew first hand how angry Artem could get. Not at me of course, but at those that do something unforgivable. If Reece's was worse than Artem's then those who still refused to change their ways were in for something terrible and frightening. 

While I thought about these things I heard someone scoff as they came into the clearing. They were the first among the dozens of others that were here to make a sound. The sound was definitely to voice their displeasure about something.

I could tell that the person, who sounded like a man, had stopped in his tracks when he was at the edge of the clearing. That was when the man turned and started to try and walk away. All I saw of him was that he was a slightly older man, probably in his sixties.

"Where do you think you're going?" Artem called out to him.

"I refuse to share a clearing with those abominations." The old man's voice came out strong and angry.

"Get in here, NOW!" Artem made it a command and I saw the man falter a little. That was all though, he still continued to walk away.

"STOP!" Reece's voice bellowed at the man. He did exactly as he was told and stopped moving immediately.