Rescuing His Captive Mate: Saving The Future Luna

~~

Artem

~~

All of us were eager to get to the infirmary to wake the children up. I was confident that Juniper could do it. If Trinity and Reece thought that she could then that was enough for me. I had no reason to doubt them.

There were going to be seven people aside from Juniper in the room. Trinity and Reece would be there, of course, since they were the Alpha King and the Luna Queen. Doc, Griffin, and Lana were going to be there as they were all healers and would be checking the children as they woke up. And of course I would be there with Star.

Juniper was going to try waking everyone at the same time but she said she was not very confident in her ability to do that. If she couldn\'t then she would have to move on to waking each child up one at a time.

I was just glad that we were going to try and wake them up so soon. The King and Queen had just gotten here yesterday and we already had a plan formulated. There was a lot of other stuff that we needed to do though so there was reason for us to take our time.

The eight of us hurried as quickly as we could to the infirmary on the second floor. There had been no changes in any of the kids since we were in here yesterday. I didn\'t expect that they had just magically woken up on their own, but seeing them like this always made me feel helpless.

I was an alpha. I had taken this position by force and taken control of the pack because I wanted to help people. I wanted to help these boys. Now I was finding out just how stupid I had really been.

I wasn\'t ready for this position. I wasn\'t ready to lead. But I wasn\'t going to give up. No, I was never going to give up. I would learn what I needed to know. I would do what needed to be done. And when it was all done and over with I would be a stronger and better man because of it.

"OK, I am going to try all of them at once. I am not at all confident that this will work so do not be disappointed if nothing happens. Can all of you stand near the walls and out of the way?" Juniper sounded a little nervous but she was doing a great job of hiding it with her smile and determined eyes.

Trinity and Reece stood to the side of Juniper, watching her closely. Reece had his arm wrapped around Trinity\'s shoulders and was holding her close. Griffin was on the wall opposite of his Alpha and Luna. He too was holding his mate against his side with a protective and worried air about him. I was standing at the wall closest to the door with my arm around Star in a similar fashion. Across from me was Doc, alone. His mate hadn\'t come with us this time and I could see how lonely he was without her.

Juniper was standing alone in the center of the room now. She spun in a slow circle looking at all the children before she closed her eyes and stood still. She extended her arms to her sides and tilted her head back as if she were praying to a god. I guess in a way she was. She was communicating with the Moon Goddess to give her power.

I saw a small golden light start to radiate out of Juniper as she concentrated. It grew slowly but steadily until it finally reached each one of the boys that were laying in their beds. The light moved slowly up each and every one of them. Spreading across their bodies until it finally covered their heads. They all were not fully encompassed in the light.

It looked like Juniper was sweating slightly from the effort she was putting into this. She looked like she was pushing herself harder than she needed to. The light was growing dimmer now that it was on all the boys but Juniper still seemed to be pouring all she had into it.

After another few seconds I could tell that Juniper was too tired.

"Stop." I yelled as she started to sway.

"Enough Juniper." Reece yelled at the same time as I did.

Our outbursts caused Juniper to lower her head to a normal position and open her eyes. She looked exhausted and like she was about to fall over. Doc, having no one to help hold him in place, rushed forward and grabbed Juniper\'s elbow before she could actually fall to the floor.

Doc guided Juniper to a seat that was next to Dalton\'s bed. While he did that I saw Star running toward the back of the room where there was a small fridge filled with bottles of juice and water. She grabbed a bottle of each and took them to Juniper.

"Here, drink the juice first to replenish energy then drink the water slowly, it will help you to feel better."

"Thank you." Juniper smiled. "I am fine, really. It was just tiring. Let me replenish my energy a little, like you said." She opened the bottle of orange juice and took a big drink from it. "I was able to reach their minds, but I can\'t get to them all at once. The good thing is that they are definitely in there. I could sense that for sure."

"That\'s good. You rest up and we will try again later." Reece was smiling as Trinity rubbed Juniper\'s shoulder.

"I will be good to try again in a minute. I won\'t be trying to wake them all in one go this time so it will be a lot easier this time around."

"Are you sure?" Griffin looked like he was worried about her as well.

"We can wait until tomorrow if we need to." I added so that she didn\'t feel pressured.

"No, I will try again today. I am sure that I will be fine." She shook her shoulders and smiled. "I\'m feeling better already."

Juniper turned in her seat so that she was facing Dalton. She was already sitting next to him so I guess she decided it was best to start with him.

I watched as Juniper put her hands on Dalton\'s tiny little arm. Her two hands covered so much of it that it made me sad to think about how small he and all the others were.

That light started to shine again. It was smaller this time and it moved directly from Juniper into Dalton. It covered his entire body easier than it did last time. And this time, instead of dimming once it covered him it got brighter.

Juniper was still looking OK. She didn\'t look like she was getting weaker and she wasn\'t sweating this time either. I guess just one kid at a time was the best option. She should have started with that, honestly.

That light started to warm up as it got brighter. It wasn\'t hot or anything, just a little warm. It was almost like it was radiating happiness and love. Was that even possible?

"It seems that none of the boys had a connection to their wolves. Even when you\'re young you\'re supposed to be able to sense your wolf. These boys were cut off from that part of themselves. And when the talismans came off it nearly severed that connection. I am repairing that mental connection right now. I have a feeling that the older boys, those old enough to shift, might change when I repair it so we need to be prepared for that."

Juniper\'s words were a welcomed caution. I would do whatever I could to help these boys if only she could bring them back for me. They didn\'t deserve what had happened to them. They didn\'t deserve to be punished because of other men\'s idiocy. They only deserved to be children.

While I stood there, thinking these thoughts, I saw that the light was getting brighter and brighter. It was hard to see anything in the room at all without it burning my eyes.

I raised a hand to block some of the intensity so that I could continue to watch what was happening. I was determined to see the moment when the boy who had come to call me Uncle Artem would finally wake up.

The moment the light reached an intensity that I thought was impossible it started to fade. The bright shining light receded and disappeared altogether. Juniper pulled her hands away from the tiny little boy and smiled.

Seconds later, just a matter of seconds, Dalton opened his eyes. He blinked a few times at the lights that were above him and looked around him in confusion. He saw all the faces he didn\'t know and was scared for just a moment. 

Then he turned his head and saw Doc. As he looked around more he noticed me and Star standing nearby.

"Uncle Artem!" He yelled happily. "Aunty Star!" That\'s when the full force of it hit me, Dalton was awake.