Rescuing His Captive Mate: Saving The Future Luna

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Star

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I heard the sounds of birds along with the bubbling of water. There was a gentle breeze on my cheek even though I was warm and wrapped in a blanket with Artem\'s arm around my waist. I was confused because it clearly seemed like I was outside, but I was sleeping soundly in Artem\'s embrace.

My eyes fluttered a little, and when I could focus and see around me, I saw that I was indeed outside. I was laying on the ground with the blanket from last night under me. Artem was snuggled close to me like he usually was, and we were wrapped in a blanket for warmth. 

However, what really scared me about this whole situation was that I was naked. I couldn\'t believe that I had slept outside, naked. And I did that after I had sex with Artem, outside. What kind of deviant was I becoming?!

"Oh Goddess!" I buried my face in my hands and just wanted to die of embarrassment right then and there.

"Huh? What? What\'s wrong? Are you OK?" Artem seemed scared and nervous the moment he heard me make that sound of distress.

"I can\'t believe that we did that." I felt like melting into a puddle of goo because of my embarrassment.

"I\'m sorry Star." he sat up, pulling the blanket off of me and exposing my nudity.

"Ahh!" I snatched at the blanket and tried to pull it back around me. "No, don\'t look at me."

"Why not?" He was acting like he didn\'t know why I was so upset. "Star, we\'re wolves, well you\'re also Fae, but we\'re creatures of nature. We are meant to be natural and free. It\'s fine. Besides, you\'re gorgeous, sexy, beautiful, and perfect in every way. Honestly, I would be jealous if someone else were here, but we\'re alone. There is no reason to be so embarrassed. Let me see you, let me see the beauty of the woman I love. Please, let me see the woman that will be my wife."

I had nearly forgotten about that. How could I forget that he had asked me to marry him? I looked down at my hand then and saw the ring that was there. Artem said that this ring was from my father, and that it was supposed to be my mother\'s. That made this ring even more special to me. And it was really very beautiful as well; I could tell that my dad had it made with love for my mom.

"I can\'t believe that we\'re getting married." I smiled at him. "This is exciting."

"It is, and I don\'t want to waste any time. I want to marry you as soon as I can so we can adopt the boys and be a real family before the baby comes."

The excitement in his voice and the smile he was wearing melted my heart. Just how did I get lucky enough to have Artem as my mate? He was the perfect man in my opinion. There was nothing he could do to ever be the bad guy in my eyes.

"That sounds wonderful, Artem. I want that too." I sat up and kissed him then, ignoring my nudity. He even wrapped his arms around me and held me close, and it wasn\'t done in a sexual way, it was just pure love. I loved everything about Artem, and I wanted to spend our lives showing that to each other.

"I love you, Star." He smiled as he pressed our lips together.

"I love you too, Artem, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

For some reason Artem gasped at that. It was like he was worried about something, and I didn\'t really know what it was. Did he not want to be with me his entire life?

"What\'s wrong Artem?" I felt like my heart was breaking for just a moment until he spoke.

"I want us to be together forever, Star. But that might not be possible. I never want to leave you, ever. But, with you being Fae, it\'s possible that you might live a very, very long life. Like your father and your aunt kind of long life. I can\'t live that long under normal circumstances, Star."

My eyes blurred as I thought about it. He was telling me that it was possible that I was going to stay young while he got older and left me. I didn\'t want that to happen.

"I can\'t bear that. I don\'t want that to happen to me. I can\'t live without you, Artem. Please don\'t leave me. Please."

I was crying now. I felt like the tears were pouring down my cheeks like they were coming from a waterfall. I couldn\'t help the way that I felt right now. I literally felt like my heart had just broken into two, and the world had come crashing down around me.

"Shh. Shh. Shh." He shushed me over and over as he held me against his chest, his hands stroking my hair and my back at the same time. "Shh. It\'s OK Star. Shh. Just listen for a moment, OK. Shh."

"Artem, what good would listening do? I don\'t want to lose you." I was crying very hard now, I felt like I was about to have a breakdown or something.

"Shh. Please, hear me out. It\'s not like I\'m leaving right now."

He was right about that. He wasn\'t dying right now, he wasn\'t leaving me right now. I needed to let him talk, and I knew that. After a moment I finally settled down enough for him to pull away from me. With a deep breath, I looked at him and smiled.

"OK, I am ready to listen now." My smile was forced, and I know he could tell.

Artem kissed my forehead then and put his hands on my shoulders.

"There is something we can do, Star. There is a way that we can be together even if you live a much longer life than me."

"How?" I was even more confused now.

"Queen Gloriana gave me something, a gift, for the two of us. She said that if you lived a life that was much longer than mine then it would keep us together."

"What did she give you?" I felt my excitement begin to rise and come back.

I watched as he pulled away and found his clothes. He actually handed me mine in the process, and as I pulled the dress back over my head, I saw that he slid his boxers on. He probably needed the distraction gone.

After he was a little bit covered, he pulled something out of his pocket. It was a small box that looked like it was holding jewelry. I kept my eyes on it as he crawled back to me.

"This is what the Queen said would help us. This will bind our fates. It will let me live as long as you if you are as immortal as she is.

He handed me the box, and I opened it. Inside was a green bracelet that looked so intricately designed that I could tell magic had been involved. I could even feel the box humming in my hands. This bracelet was made out of magic itself.

"What did she say about it?" I asked him, curious.

"She said that this bracelet will tie us together. I will live as long as you do."

"As long as me? Does that mean when I die you will die?" I felt fear then.

"If I live a life that is much longer than my natural life, and you were to pass away, then yes, I would die. That is fine though, if I live that long it means that I should have been dead anyway."

"It\'s not fine. If something happens to me, then you die."

"I will protect you, Star. I won\'t ever let anything happen to you."

"Artem." I smiled at the intensity of his love for me.

"Also, if I were to be gravely injured in a fight, I will need to remove the bracelet so that I don\'t kill you. If I die while wearing the bracelet, you will die as well. If you die while I wear the bracelet, then I die as well."

"I will protect you Artem. I won\'t let someone kill you. We will live for each other."

I felt the conviction inside of me, and I knew that I meant every word that I was saying. I would protect Artem with my life, and he will protect me with his.

"I know you will Star. We will keep each other safe forever. We will protect each other and our children. We will protect everyone that we care about."

"That sounds nice to me." I grinned at him.

With that I kissed him and melted against him. I knew that there was nothing to fear now. I was going to be with Artem for my entire life, however long that might be.