Rescuing His Captive Mate: Saving The Future Luna

Chapter 183 - Artem - Surprise Of A Lifetime

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Artem

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I heard the front door of the shop open when Doc stepped down from the platform.

"Sir, I'm ready for you." The seamstress was looking at Aaron who was no longer even looking our way. "Sir?" She called out to him again.

I was watching the man who was so new to our group. I didn't know him very well, and it was starting to become evident since I had no idea what he was up to.

"Are you alright?" I asked him but he didn't seem to even register what was happening around him, he just had his eyes glued to the curtain that led to the front of the shop.

"Why isn't someone out there? What is going on here?" A soft, pretty voice called out as the woman who just came into the store made her way into the back room. "What are you-?" She stopped talking mid sentence and froze in place when she saw Aaron.

The woman who was frozen in front of us had light brown hair and bright blue eyes. She looked so familiar to me, too familiar. This woman looked like someone that I had seen, but I knew for a fact was dead. Not to mention, she didn't look much older than the Vivian that I had seen in the photographs. How? How could she be here? How could she still be so young? This made no sense to me at all.

"Y..y..you can't be here." She sounded more scared than shocked or anything else. "W..w..why? Why are you here?" I saw tears beginning to form in her eyes as she looked at him.

Was she who I thought she was? Could this even be possible? 

"Vivian." Aaron seemed to think that she was his lost mate but, was she?

"Why are you here, Aaron?" She sobbed.

"I have been looking for you all these years, my love." I watched as Aaron went to step forward toward the woman that seemed to be Vivian.

"No!" She yelled at him. "Don't come any closer to me. I don't want anything to do with you."

"Vivian? Please." Aaron looked like he was about to cry now, his broken heart breaking again.

"Vivvie, is everything OK?" The seamstress that had been waiting on Aaron walked tentatively toward the crying woman. Vivvie, do you know this man?"

"Yes, Gwen, I do know him. He is my ex, and the father of my child."

That proved it. She was Star's mother. She was Vivian. But how?

"I don't mean to be rude, Ma'am." I walked toward Vivian myself, slowly so I didn't scare her. "But, are you Star's mother?" Her eyes went wide and tears started to fall even faster.

"How do you know about my daughter? Don't mention her again." She snapped at me angrily.

"She thinks you're dead. Why did you leave her like that?" I was angry myself, she had no right to be upset with me when she was the one that ran away.

"What are you saying? My daughter died sixteen and a half years ago. Stop talking about her like she's still alive."

"But she is alive." I stepped closer to her again. "Star is alive. Astraia Westbrook, that's her, right? And you're Vivian Westbrook. You moved here from Colorado when Star was little."

"How do you know this? Who are you?" I saw that she was shaking. "You three, get out! Go on your lunch breaks, now. Go."

"Boss?" Gwen looked worried but the other two just left without saying a word.

"I'll be fine, Gwen. Just go."

Now that the three humans were gone, it was just us non humans. I think she wanted them gone for that reason as well as discretion.

"Now speak? How do you know about my daughter? Astraia died sixteen years ago, I saw her body. So explain yourself."

"She's not dead. She's my mate, we're getting married next month. That's why I was here, to be fitted for my tuxedo. The reason Aaron is here is because we recently visited the Fae compound and spoke with the Queen. She helped to clear the air and figure out what had happened."

"No, you're lying. He killed her. He showed me her body. I saw her." She fell to her knees, sobbing. "Aaron abandoned us, and Howard killed my baby. I had nothing left."

"No, my love, I never abandoned you. It was Howard, he intercepted our letters and manipulated them. He wanted to break us up." Aaron fell to his knees next to her and cried with her. "I have been looking for you all this time. I thought you didn't love me, but I was going to try and convince you otherwise. When I got letters from you telling me you never loved me, I didn't leave my family home for years. I was broken. I haven't been with anyone since you, Vivian. I love you, I always have."

This was all so confusing for me. I didn't know what to do or say. When I looked around me though, I saw that there were three people who were just as shocked by these events as I was.

"Aunt Vivian?" Reed looked like his eyes were going to fall out of his head if they went any wider.

"Aunt Viv?" Bailey was just as shocked as he looked at her.

"Viv?" Daniel looked as if he had seen a ghost, his hands were outstretched and there were tears in his eyes.

"Grandpa?" Vivian sobbed when she saw the man.

"Viv, it really is you." He was blubbering when he reached her. "My little Viv."

"Grandpa!" Vivian leapt to her feet and hugged the man fiercely. "I never thought I would see you again.

"My little Viv." Daniel almost seemed like he was a broken record as he rejoiced with her.

I watched silently as they hugged for a few moments. This was a family reunion that I never thought was possible. I wanted to keep quiet as long as I could so they would have some time together, but I had to ask her a few more questions.

"Vivian, I am sorry to interrupt, but why do you think Star is dead?"

"I know she is. Howard showed me her body. He told me if I didn't leave then he would do the same to me. I saw her, I felt her, I smelled her. I know it was my baby Star."

"I don't know what it was he showed you, Vivian, but Star is alive. She is doing well, and she is my mate. Howard imprisoned her until just a few months ago, but I rescued her." I put as much sincerity as I could into my words. I needed her to know that I was telling her the truth.

"But, how is that even possible? I saw her. I hugged her dead body to my chest and sobbed over her. How could he have faked that?" She didn't know what Howard was, she didn't know the whole truth.

"Vivian, I think it is time that you find out a few hard truths."

I sat Vivian down on a stool before I explained everything to her. These were hard things to take in for a normal person, but Vivian was a central part of the story so I could just imagine how much harder it would be on her.

By the time that I was almost done explaining what had happened to Star over the last sixteen years, leaving out a few recent events, Vivan was sobbing into her hands. She had started to sob when she found out why it was that Howard had wanted her little girl. When I told her about Howard being a half Demon and trying to force himself on Star she screamed at me to stop.

"No more, Please! Don't tell me anymore!"

I knew that her heart was broken. She had been lied to, and deceived, by that man several times. He had stolen her love, he had stolen her daughter, he had taken everything from her.

"I left her there with him. I let this happen to her."

"It's not your fault, Vivian, my love." Aaron wrapped his arms around her, and she didn't recoil. "I am just as much at fault. I believed his words and thought you didn't want me when I knew the truth in my heart. I left you and my daughter for all these years. I wasn't there for you or her."

"Neither of you are at fault." I snapped at them. "Howard did this to you all. He is the only one to blame, and thankfully he is dead. I know that he is dead because I killed him myself." There was anger in my voice. That fucking son of a bitch had ruined this family. He had torn them apart piece by piece and destroyed each of them for years. What a real fucking piece of work he was.

"How could I ever show my face to her again?" Vivan sobbed. "She is bound to hate me for leaving her there."

"I thought she would hate me too, my love, but she doesn't. Star is an amazing young woman with a heart full of love. Come back with us. Come to see her. I know she would be happy to see you Vivian. I know she will be overjoyed to learn that her mother was not murdered like she thought."

"I..I..I don't know." Vivian seemed unsure of herself still, her emotions wavering.

"You're going to come back with us, Viv. Star needs to see you. Remember, she is getting married. What better time for you to come back with us."

"Excuse me." Cohen, his curiosity finally getting to him, spoke up. I had nearly forgotten that all the kids were watching us have this discussion. "If she is Mommy's mommy, does that make her my grandma?"

"HUH!?" Vivian's eyes went wide. "Did that man get my Star with child?"

"No!" I held my hands up, stopping that thought right away. "Cohen, and almost all the other kids here, were the abused Omegas of the pack. I am the new pack Alpha, and I am adopting all of these boys. Star and I are both adopting them once we're married."

"All of them?" Vivian's eyes were wide and she smiled at them. "I guess Star just wanted the family that she never had." She laughed for a second and held her hand out to him. "Yes, little boy, I am Star's mommy, and that would make me your grandma."

"Yay, I have a grandma now. My name is Cohen. Can I hug you?" Vivian laughed, and so did a few of the others.

"Yes, you can hug me, Cohen." He leapt at her then and wrapped his little arms around her neck.

"I'm so happy right now. And I know Mommy is going to be happy too."