Rescuing His Captive Mate: Saving The Future Luna

Chapter 137 - Artem - The Pack Meeting Part 2

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Artem

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We had made it to the clearing before anyone else, which had been my intention. We were all in position and waiting for the others. I sensed the emotions that were coming from those around me. The nerves from my beautiful Star. The jittery sense of excitement from the guards that Trinity and Reece had with them. The apprehension from those from my pack. I could even sense the fear coming off of the boys. It made for a crazy mess of scents and feelings that I was experiencing.

Just as people started to come into the clearing there was a man who stopped dead in his tracks.

The man that had stopped at the edge of the clearing and tried to walk away was none other than Kent's grandfather. He was in his early sixties and still looked like a strong man. He had dark hair that was just beginning to turn gray. His bright hazel eyes were so much like Kent's. I could definitely see him being the strong imposing figure that mentally and emotionally abused a poor child like Nico. There was just something mean about the look of him.

The moment he tried to walk away from the clearing and I called out to him he said something that made my blood boil.

"I refuse to share a clearing with those abominations." The old asshole's voice had come out strong and full of anger.

I saw red at those words. I just wanted to knock his fucking head from his shoulders and stop him from moving any further away.

"Get in here, NOW!" I bellowed out the command and saw the dipshit hesitate for just a moment before he started to walk away again.

"STOP!" That was when Reece stepped in on my behalf. He had yelled at the man in a deep, commanding tone of voice. His command, however, was one that Timothy Hall, Kent's grandfather, could not resist.

I had watched as the man froze in his tracks. He didn't take another step forward and he didn't turn to look back at Reece or me. It was literally as if he was unable to move again at all until he was given the permission to do so.

"What happened?"

"Who is that?"

"What did he do?"

"How the hell did he do that?"

There was a series of excited and scared whispers that filled the clearing after Reece had bellowed out the command. When I turned to look at Reece he nodded at me to take over the situation. I needed to put that sort of command and force into the way I spoke to my pack. I needed them to see that I was in fact their Alpha and they needed to obey me.

"Timothy, get over here, now." I heard the ring of authority I had put into my voice. I was tapping into the hidden potential of an Alpha that most people didn't know about.

There was a slow and steady growl but the man turned and marched into the clearing. He pushed his luck a little though by just barely coming into the clearing. He was still standing very close to the trees.

"Right here." I put that same note into my voice and pointed to a spot right in front of me."

There was a look of pure rage and abject horror on the man's face as he was forced to follow the will of someone who had more authority than he did. Still, he moved slowly and steadily while I watched him. He took small steps like he was a young child just learning how to walk. He was dragging this out more than he needed to.

"Faster, Timothy." I ordered him but I didn't put the ring of authority in my voice to make him listen to me.

"Fuck you, Artemis. I remember you when you were in diapers. You can't tell me what to do." The man stopped moving now but he was nearly to the spot I had directed him to. Consequently that put him right in front of Nico as well.

I saw the look of pure hatred spread across the old man's face when he looked right at Nico where he sat on the stone platform that I was standing on. Nico was the oldest of the boys, and he was the only one that was taller than Star. The others were getting there since they had the proper nutrition but Nico had been that way when we rescued him. He wasn't quite as tiny as the others had been and still were.

"Look at them all. Worthless pieces of scum, the whole lot. I had thought you and my grandson had better taste than this, Artemis. But to willingly put these things ahead of the rest of your pack. That's despicable." 

The old man actually spat after he spoke. A great, disgusting glob of spittle, mucus and phlegm landed on the ground not six inches from Nico.

"I can't believe that fucking whore cheated on my son. To ruin my family like this." The rage and anger that was filling him was so far beyond what I was expecting. I had known he was an asshole and the driving force behind the evil in his family but I didn't expect him to be this vile.

"I never cheated on him." Kent's mother spoke up but she didn't sound like she was going to fight him too much.

"Shut up you whore." Timothy growled.

I had known for years that there was a massive problem in Kent's family. I had known that Kent couldn't wait for the day that he got him and his brother to safety. This morning must have been like a dream true for him, to finally have what he always wanted.

"Just shut up." I saw Kent's father echo the sentiment that his own father had spat at his wife.

I could see two massive problems starting at the same time. I saw that the old man was raising his hand in a gesture that looked like he was about to hit Nico where he sat on the stone. Nico was cowering in fear from the old man and the years of torture and abuse that he had been forced to endure.

While the old man readied his hand I saw that Kent's father was doing the same thing. He was raising his hand to strike his wife. His fist balled tightly to match his father's. He was going to beat his wife right here and right now. He was going to show everyone here that he didn't care one bit about his wife or his son.

Kent had been all that Timothy and Jeremy, the father, had cared about. They knew from the beginning that Kent was strong and capable. They were grooming him to do great things when he was older. However, contrary to their plans, Kent loved his brother dearly.

Kent had spent as much time as he could with Nico before he had been locked away. Being seven years older than his baby brother Kent wanted to be the hero, the best friend, the protector, everything to the boy. When Kent was twelve he was heartbroken to see that his brother was locked away.

Repeatedly Kent had been punished for trying to rescue Nico. None of the aunts and uncles would help him. And his mother blamed him for Nico being mistreated. One way or the other both boys had suffered abuse at the hands of their family members. Nico, though, always had it worse.

Now the family had lost both of their sons due to their stupid ways. The boys may not be dead but they would never get to see them as family ever again.

These memories of the past seemed to fly through my mind at supersonic speed. I hadn't missed a single thing that was happening in the clearing before me. I could tell that any second now there were going to be two people hurt if I didn't hurry up and stop it.

I needed to move quickly. I was formulating a plan in my head to get to them both before they could hit either of their targets but I didn't have any clue how to do it.

I didn't have to do it myself though. Reece reached forward and offered a solution.

"You save the boy, I will save the woman." Reece had already figured out how best to handle this precarious situation. I truly owed him one for this.

"Thank you." I nodded to him to show I both understood his plan and appreciated it.

I leapt forward at the exact same time that Reece had. My feet hit the ground after I had already grabbed the old man's arm. I wrenched it away from Nico and twisted it behind his back.

I hadn't seen what Reece had done but I heard Jeremy cry out in pain.