Rescuing His Captive Mate: Saving The Future Luna

Chapter 198 - Star - Adoption

~~

Star

~~

I didn't know what to expect when Artem and I went to adopt the boys. We went without them to file the petitions that we had already filled out. We knew we had wanted to do this, but that didn't mean we had it all figured out yet. At least I didn't

Artem had said something about trying to get the right judge for our case. If that happened, then we would have no problem at all. I hoped that he was right. I also hoped that what he said about us being married making things easier for us regardless.

I just wanted to make the boys ours so that we could move on with our lives, and they would never have to fear their old families again. And somehow, Artem had received written consent and signed forms from all of their families that they relinquished custody of the children, and that they approved of the adoptions.

When we went to the courthouse, Artem asked to see a specific judge, the one that we hoped to have handling our case. We were made to wait for a little bit while things were wrapped up in another meeting, but after a little time, we were called into the judge's private office, much to the surprise of the secretary that had been handling things.

"So you must be Star and Artem." The man behind the desk spoke as soon as the door was shut. "You have good timing, I just got off the phone with Noah Whitton, is he a friend of yours?" He was eyeing Artem with suspicion.

"Well, I haven't met Noah personally, but I know his sister and her husband. The Luna Queen and the Alpha King were here to visit us a couple of months back. We owe a lot to Reece and Trinity."

I saw the old man's dark brown eyes fill with shock. His graying hair even moved back as his eyebrows shot up. No matter what he had expected it definitely wasn't Artem talking about the royal couple with their first names.

"You have some serious connections in this world, Artem. I don't know how you did it, but you've made yourself a very powerful man with those connections."

"I'm not aiming for more power than that I have over my pack. What I am looking for is a happy and healthy family, a loyal and happy pack, and peace for the majority, if not the entirety, of my life."

"Haha." The old man was laughing at what he had heard. "Apparently there is more you want, or you wouldn't have thirteen adoption forms with you right now." He shook his head like he thought that it was unbelievable. "Why do you want to adopt so many children?" The last was a very direct and very baffled question.

"They've been through too much in their young lives already. They need a place where they can find peace with the people around them. They want to be part of our family, and we don't want to see them leave us either. This is what we all want."

The man was eying us firmly now, like he was analyzing the words that Artem had just spoken while I watched on silently.

"And you, young lady, you think you can handle being the mother to so many children? If I remember correctly a couple of them are almost your age."

"One of them is close to my age, yes. Julian is almost sixteen. However awkward it might seem to others, I do view everyone of those boys as mine. I don't care what others think. Yes, it may seem odd that Artem and I are not much older than Julian, but none of us care."

"You think you're mature enough to handle this responsibility?" Now he was sounding a little angry.

"Sir, I didn't have a childhood. I spent it trying to figure out how to get away from my family and free myself from their torturous ways just like these boys we want to adopt. The only difference between us though, is that I was imprisoned at a younger age, and I let it make me stronger rather than weaker."

"Is that so?"

It was like this man was trying to get a rise out of us to see what we would do. Was he testing us somehow? This just didn't make any sense to me at all.

"And you think that between the two of you can handle the responsibility of taking care of thirteen boys? Can you even support them?" This time he was aiming the question at Artem who just smiled at him confidently.

"Considering that I have been supporting the majority of them and more for most of the year already, I really don't see that as a problem. I have the financial leeway to handle that, and we have more than enough family and friends willing to help us take care of them if the need ever arose."

The judge then laced his fingers together and placed his chin on the backs of his hands. For the longest time, he just looked at us with a stern glare. After a while, he sighed and lowered his head.

"Look, it's not like I can deny you anyway. No matter what I say or do, I was officially ordered to do this as a personal favor to the Alpha King. Do you know what would happen to me if I denied your adoption petitions? I would probably be executed. Makes no difference that I am a man of the law, I am also a wolf, and they would not take kindly to me ignoring an order like that."

There was laughter and genuine fear in the judge's eyes as he explained all that he had to say.

"I have to give you a hard time though, and I have to make it all look official. I am going to make this look like you were recommended to me by the protective services folks. I have some friends over there, and I will get them to sign off on everything. If they had been checking up on kids over there, then this wouldn't be an issue right now." Another sigh and anger that things had gotten this far. "I admit that the law stayed out of that little town of yours mostly because it knew what was happening, but wolves live by their own laws. Now though, we have this problem. I am glad you changed things young man, that isn't a problem at all. But I need to make this all look legit when I give you custody of them all."

"I am glad that you are willing to work with us. We hope to get this done soon." Artem nodded to him with a smile.

After we left the office, we were in near constant contact with the person from protective services. They had to supposedly do an official investigation of the house and see the kids themselves. If they didn't do that at least, someone could challenge the adoption apparently.

It took no more than two weeks though. Two weeks of talks, interviews, walkthroughs, and more talks. After that, we were on our way to the courthouse again, this time with all the boys. We were all dressed nicely, wearing something that was very presentable. The boys all matched Artem in their little black suits, light blue shirts and green ties. I was wearing a blue dress with green embroidery that made me match them as well.

Today was the official adoption day. October the twelfth, this was going to be the day that we were going to celebrate every year from now on. This is the day that we officially become a family.

The fifteen of us went into the courtroom together and sat at the tables that had been assembled. It was a closed courtroom this time so most people didn't hear what was being said. All the boys gave a speech about why they wanted us to adopt them, and what family meant to them. The words they spoke made my heart melt.

"To me, family used to be synonymous with fear. If I thought about family then I thought about the people who had hurt me for years. Now though, I know what a real family is like. I know what real love is, and I never want to be without that." Julian was the first to start it all. "I may be close to their ages, but Star and Artem are already my parents. They don't seem young to me. To me, they're the people who have given me love and an education, and they are perfect."

"Star is already my mommy. I love her so much. And Artem is big and strong like a daddy should be. Artem loves us and so does Star. Artem saved me from the bad people and took me some place safe. I was scared at first, but they didn't hurt me like the others did. They gave me food, lots of it, and clothes and my own room. They taught me to read and write and now I can go to school. I don't want anyone else to be my mommy and daddy, I want Star and Artem." Dalton was the last one to speak for the group, and just like the others, he made me want to cry.

"I can see you all love and care for each other very much. I am granting you all the adoptions. As of today, you're all family. Take care of each other."

"Thank you!" Most of the boys screamed out as they hugged us all. It was finally official. We were finally a family.

After the adoption, we took the kids and everyone else back at the house out for dinner. We had called ahead and reserved a meeting room at a really nice restaurant. It was a good thing too because there were a lot of people there, especially since Mom and Dad had gotten back yesterday. We were all finally home, and we could be one big family.