Rescuing His Captive Mate: Saving The Future Luna

Chapter 96 - Artem - A Change In Star

~~

Artem

~~

I was kneeling on the floor next to Star's bed, just happy to see her eyes open. My heart was racing a mile a minute and felt like it was going to beat right out of my chest. She was awake. She was awake and was going to be OK. I was so happy, so elated.

I had asked her how she was, how she was doing:

"How are you feeling Star? Are you OK? Is there anything that hurts at all? Do you need anything? Anything at all?"

All I wanted to do was help her in some way. I wanted to make her feel better. I wanted her to be comfortable and happy and anything else positive that I could make me right then and there. Following my questions she sat up in the bed, pulling the sheet with her to hide herself, which was probably a good idea at the moment.

She didn't answer me though, not right away. She just held her head like she was dizzy or in pain. She looked distressed and confused. But after a few moments, she did finally answer, well, she spoke at least.

"I'm sorry Artem. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for everything, and I know you must hate me now."

There was pain and anguish in her eyes. Fear written all over her face. I could hear the thickness of her voice as it filled itself with emotions.

'Why?' That's what I asked myself. 'Why does she think that I hate her? Shouldn't she be hating me instead?' I didn't really understand what was happening here.

"Star, you didn't do anything wrong. Why are you sorry?" I felt like my world was imploding again, disappearing into nothingness as all the oxygen was sucked out of my lungs and made me feel like I could die right here and now.

"I ruined everything, that morning after we were together. I ruined it all and made you hate me." She still seemed like she was on the verge of tears.

"No, you didn't ruin anything, I did. I shouldn't have pushed things so far so fast. It was too soon. I know that but I was an idiot. I acted without thinking and I am so sorry, Star." This made her look up at me with shock filled eyes. 

I took a deep breath and prepared to tell her everything that I had learned and the truths that I now knew.

"I wouldn't blame you for hating me now Star. I know about the talisman, I know it made you do things you didn't want to do. I know it made you tell me you loved me when you really didn't. And I wouldn't blame you if you could never love me now or ever because of what I did."

"But I do love you!" She sounded so sure of herself, so sincere as she looked at me then. Her eyes were full of desperation and she seemed to be telling me the truth. "Artem I do love you. The talisman never affected what I felt, only what I did."

"You can't know that though. It could have been the talisman all along."

"NO!" She yelled at me. "The talisman didn't affect me until my birthday, but I loved you before then." Her words were like a shot right to my heart, a shot filled with so much joy that it literally made my heart stop beating. "I know it didn't affect what I felt though. I know that for a fact."

"How can you know that though?" I was still skeptical, still afraid to accept this as truth.

"Because no matter what Uncle Howard made me do, I didn't want to be there with him at all. I hate him, just like I always have. The entire time that I was sitting there with him, unable to move, I was screaming in my head for it all to end. But with you, I never wanted it to stop. I just felt like things were moving too fast. I was nervous and scared, but I didn't want to never have it happen." She hung her head then and looked embarrassed. "I liked it, but I was just scared because I couldn't control myself. And, when the memories hit me that made me feel super embarrassed and sorry. Then I saw you get angry and I thought you were mad at me."

"No, sweetheart, I was mad at myself. I thought you were scared of me for taking advantage of you. I thought you hated me and I had ruined any chance that I ever had with you. I love you so much that I could never fault you. And I know that not being able to control yourself must have been very difficult and scary. I am sorry, baby, I am so sorry that I rushed you into it. If I hadn't none of this would have happened, I would have been right there with you instead of Chay and none of this would have happened at all."

"I love you Artem, I think I have since the first time that I met you. I was just scared and nervous about being here and I didn't know what to think or do. And I want you to know that I am not upset about what we did. I am glad that I gave you my first time. It also helped to delay Unce Howard before you arrived. If I hadn't told him that being with him wouldn't be my first time then he might have actually-." She trailed off then, afraid to finish her sentence.

"He didn't though, did he? He didn't touch you?"

"He, he kissed me. He touched me. He put his mouth on me. But no, he and I didn't do what we did. That was only meant for you, Artem. I never want to do that with anyone else." She clapped her hands to her face then, like she was embarrassed and couldn't believe what she had just said.

"I love you Star, you're the only person that I ever want to be with ever again. I want to spend every day of my life with you. I want to marry you and have a family with you." 

I couldn't believe I was saying all this right now. It was all true of course, but still, I couldn't believe I had just said it all. I was watching Star's face then, waiting for the fear to return, but it never did. Instead she looked at me with happy eyes and a bright expression.

"Do you  mean that Artem? I can stay here with you?"

"Please don't ever leave me." I hugged her then, holding her to me.

I held her in my arms for several minutes not knowing exactly how much time had passed. But still, it seemed too soon when she pulled away from me to look up  with regretful eyes.

"Um, Artem, I think I need to get up." She seemed embarrassed now. 

"Why? Is something wrong?" I worried about her and what might be wrong.

"No, but I feel disgusting and knowing that I was touched by Uncle Howard makes me feel dirty, plus I need to use the, you know."

"Oh." I knew what she was getting at. "Right, I understand."

I held my hand out to her so that I could help her to her feet. She looked embarrassed as she stared at my hand and that was when I remembered that she wasn't wearing anything other than her bra and panties.

"I-I'm sorry." I looked away and rubbed the back of my head, a gesture that clearly showed my embarrassment.

"It's fine, I will just bring the sheet with me." She smiled awkwardly, trying to ease the tension of the moment.

'Stupid, stupid, stupid.' I ridiculed myself internally.

I wanted to help her, as best as I could. So, I pulled the blanket to the side and tugged the sheet until it was free. With a hand on her shoulder and another on her elbow I helped her to stand while still holding the sheet against her. Then, with my head turned to the side I helped to wrap the thin cloth around her more securely.

When I looked back she was fully covered and stood before me like a greek goddess who was wearing a long flowing purple toga. She looked so sweet, so perfect, so sexy. But I had to keep my mind off those kinds of thoughts. I would never again take advantage of her, she would be willing completely or it would never happen again.

"Let me help you walk." I offered when I saw that she looked unsteady on her feet. I wrapped an arm around her shoulders but kept my body from pressing against hers.

"Artem?" She sounded like there was something she wanted to ask me.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"What happened after I lost consciousness, when you were fighting Uncle Howard? I don't even know how long it's been."

"It was just last night. And, well-." I hesitated, not sure she would like hearing this, but then again she might be relieved to know it. "I….I killed him." I finally told her. "Howard and all the minions he had at that house with him are now dead." She jerked in surprise when she heard those words.

"He's dead? He's really gone?" 

"Yes." When I answered, when I said that one word, something seemed to happen.

There was a bright red light, almost like fire and it was circling Star's left arm near her shoulder. She cried out in pain once, but it was quick and ended almost immediately.

"Ah!"

When the light faded, there was a black piece of cloth with strange designs drawn all over it in red. It looked similar to yet still different from the talisman that Nico had been wearing. I could still remember the day that Kent had removed it from his brother.

Once the cloth talisman was no longer buried deep into Star's flesh there was a deep, howling scream.

"AAHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOO!" It took me a minute to realize that it was coming from Star, it just didn't sound like her at all.

"Star, are you alright? What's going on?"

She didn't seem to hear my questions though, she just dropped, slouching over and nearly falling to the floor. I was so scared, so nervous, but I didn't know what to do. I settled her on the floor, worried that something might happen to her and thinking that I should get Doc and have him here for some help.

I was about to turn away from Star, to go get help, when the door to her room burst open and three people filed in: Doc, Kent, and Ella.

"What happened? What's going on?" Doc demanded as he rushed over.

"I don't know, she seemed to be in pain. I was helping her to the bathroom, she seemed a little unsteady but she was fine at first."

"Did anything else happen?" He demanded as he looked at Star's face, forcing one eyelid open so he could see her pupil.

"Her talisman came off."

"It just came off? By itself?" He sounded worried when he heard those words.

"Yes." I was nodding my head along with my answer as I watched Star writhe in pain on the floor.

"Get back. Get away from her." Doc grabbed my arm then and pulled me away.

"No, she needs me." I pleaded, trying to get back to her side.

"She's turning."

"What?"

"She shifting, into her wolf. It's the first time since she was thirteen and her wolf might go a little crazy when it first comes out. So get back." He tugged on my arm again, pulling me away from her.

"Star?" I called her name, uncertainty and worry making my voice go up an octave or two.

The four of us just stood there, watching on as Star screamed over and over again. It shouldn't be hurting her this bad. It shouldn't be this painful. She had shifted before, it's just been a while.

No matter how much I told myself that I couldn't make it not true. This shift was causing her an immense amount of pain and it was tearing my heart out of my chest. I couldn't do anything but watch on as she held her head in her hands and tears streamed down her cheeks.

After a few minutes it looked like her shape was beginning to change, she was shifting. Her legs and arms grew long and bent differently. Her head was growing and her snout was forming. Her fur was also beginning to spread all over her body.

But, the fur wasn't normal. It had a different color than I was expecting to see. Most shifters, when they got their animal, had a similar color to their human self. Their hair and eyes usually matched the fur and eyes of the animal. So why was it that I was seeing green fur spread across Star's body?

As I watched her wolf finish forming, the process nearly finished, I noticed three different shades of green. There was a dark, hunter green around her neck, in some markings on her face, and forming odd patterns across her body. There was then a grass green that made up the bulk of her coloring, the primary color that she seemed to have. And there was a bright, crystal like emerald green that seemed to shimmer at the tips of her fur like she was emitting some strange glowing light.

As different as her wolf looked, she was still stunningly beautiful. Her wolf was smaller and more slender than most wolves, even for a female wolf. She looked like her wolf fur was probably soft and luxuriously smooth. I wanted nothing more than to run my hands across her furry back to feel it for myself.