Rescuing His Captive Mate: Saving The Future Luna

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Star

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The day after I had dinner with my father and my aunt, I was having breakfast with Artem in our private room. It had been a busy and overwhelming first day at the Fae compound. To say that it felt like it took over two weeks just to finish that one night wouldn't have been much of an exaggeration at all. Right now, all I wanted to do was rest since it felt like I hadn't spent much time around Artem lately, even though I know that wasn't true.

Things never go according to plan though now, do they? That was why we ended up getting a knock at the door just after we were done eating. I knew that we weren't likely to have a slow time of it though. We were only here for a few days, and there was so much for us to do. I didn't really know what it all entailed just yet, but I did know that I was going to be seeing more of my father at some point.

Speaking of my father, I was surprised to see that it was him who had knocked on the door. When Artem pulled the heavy wooden barrier aside to reveal who our visitor was, my father was standing there, smiling happily. I was about to say something, but he beat me to it.

"Ahh, you must be Artemis. You are my daughter's mate, correct? And the father of my grandchild that will be here before long."

To hear my father, who barely looked older than me, say that he was about to be a grandfather seemed a little strange to me. I guess it was true that Fae really do age differently than wolves and humans. I didn't even know how old my father was. That, I do believe, would be important information for me to know soon.

"Y..yes." Artem looked nervous and a little taken aback when he answered my father's words. "Y..yes. I am S..Star's mate." I watched as Artem visibly collected himself and cleared his throat. "And you are?" I could tell from the angle that I was standing that Artem had raised his eyebrow in disbelief as he looked at my father.

"Hello Dad, what are you doing here?" I smiled and walked to Artem's side, sliding an arm around his waist. That seemed to have calmed my mate down, and my father smiled at me with a bright look in his eyes.

"I wanted to see if you would spend the day with me. You and your mate. I would like to introduce you to my parents, your grandparents. And of course some of your aunts and uncles as well. I think they would love to meet you."

I felt happiness swell within me. I hadn't even thought about meeting them right now. I didn't even know how much family he had for me to meet. But, this was the first time that I had heard that I had grandparents. Someone directly before my parents. I had recently met my grandpa back home, but he was my great great grandfather. He was so far past my immediate family that I didn't even know how to contemplate it actually.

But now, I was finding out that I had real, actual grandparents. This was exciting for me. It made me feel like everything that I had ever missed out on was still here for me; it had just been changed up a little bit.

It was decided then that Artem and I would go with my father to meet his family. Which meant that I was going to meet my family. I mean, I had met some family yesterday when I was with Acacia, since her mother was my father's aunt. That made her mother my great aunt and sister to either my grandmother or grandfather. I had been very excited to meet them, but the news had been kept quiet so it didn't get back to my father so Acacia's parents were the only ones to know about it until I had gotten there. The others were told right before they met me.

I wondered now what my father had told his parents about me. How had he explained to them that he was a father and soon to be grandfather when no one even knew he had thought about having children? This was going to be interesting, that was for sure. However, I wasn't going to let it get to me. I was going to be brave and excited for it all. I had both Artem and my father here to protect me. I know that neither of them were going to let anything bad happen to me.

When we got to a residential part of the castle that looked a lot like Acacia's family house, but with more flowers carved onto the door and the walls around livingspace. I had thought that my father would knock on the door and wait until someone answered it, but then again, this was his home as well. Instead, he just opened the door and walked inside. Apprehensively, Artem and I followed after him.

There was a man and a woman sitting at a very elaborately carved chess set that seemed to be the main feature of the room. It was larger than the one I had seen in the library when the boys were being taught how to play. Infact, this chess set looked like it was a square that was about four feet across at least. As we got closer to the board I couldn't help but just stare at it.

Each of the pieces on the board were similar to what I had seen, but they looked like they had been carved from a pristine white stone and embedded with flowers and vines. They were also much bigger and more highly detailed than I ever thought a chess piece could look. The faces on the king and queen showed detailed markings around the lips and the eyes. The lines on the clothes were intricate. I could even see an outline where the fingernails were supposed to be.

When I tore my eyes away from the board itself, I turned to look at the man and woman. The woman looked a lot like Lotus, my aunt and Acacia's mother. She had soft delicate features and pretty green eyes. She was small and delicate looking as well. The man looked so much like my father that I knew who he must have been. His green hair and the facial features that I saw on my own face were easy to recognize.

"Aaron, this is a surprise. What brings you home today? And who are these visitors you have brought for us?"

"Yes mother, there has been a lot that has happened since yesterday." My father smiled at the woman who had spoken to him. "I would like to introduce all of you to each other."

My father gestured with his hand, indicating that he wanted his parents to stand up, which they did and walked to stand side by side in front of us.

"Please, let's have a seat over here." My father went another step further. "I want us all to sit together and talk."

"Alright, I don't know what this is about, but you have piqued my curiosity." My grandfather looked interested as he guided my grandmother by the hand to an oversized chair for them to sit in together.

Artem and I sat across from them, and my father sat in a chair that was to the side so that he could look at all of us.

"Alright, Aaron, you have our attention, now what is this about?" My grandmother asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Astraia, Artemis," my father was using our full first names which made me nervous because I only used it in tense or serious situations, 'these are my parents. My mother Briallu, who is a Nymph, and my father Mazus, who is a Pixie like me. Mother, Father, this is Astraia Westbrook and her mate Artemis Cooper. Astraia is the daughter of Vivian Westbrook, my mate. Astraia is my daughter and your granddaughter."

"What?" My grandfather, Mazus, looked angry when he saw me.

"No! I do not believe this. Aaron, what on earth has come over you?" Briallu, my grandmother, was scolding her son.

"After what she did to you? After the pain she put you through? Aaron, why would you ever believe any of this?"

"Mother, Father, you don't understand. Vivian and I were misled. We were tricked by a warlock at the time. She was my mate, she loved me, and she bore my child. I have finally been allowed to meet my daughter that I never knew about."

From there, my father went on to explain everything that had happened. He told his parents what had happened all those years ago between him and my mother. And, finally, after many words were exchanged, they began to believe him.

"Astraia?" My grandmother looked at me. "You do look like my boy, don't you." Her head was tilted, and she held a hand out toward me. I took that hand and felt her squeeze my fingers tightly.

"This has been unfortunate." Mazus, my grandfather, hung his head as if he felt immense sorrow. He looked like a flower that was wilting. "I cannot begin to fathom the pain you and my boy have felt." He placed his hand on top of mine, the one that his wife was holding. Together the two of them held my hand tightly.

"There is one more bit of news." My father beamed at them. "I may have missed much of my child's life, but I will be there for the rest. She has a mate and will soon be having a child. Isn't this wonderful? I am now a father and soon to be a grandfather."

There was a lot of love in those words, so much more than I ever thought I would feel from someone in my newly found family.