Star

I was feeling somewhat dazed and out of sorts after my encounter with Kent and his brother. Now I knew why they had only counted six rescued boys when they had taken seven from captivity. Kent explained that they didn't count Nico, his brother, as having been saved. I couldn't argue with him. Nico hadn't been saved, he had just been trapped in a different kind of prison. And now I understood the sadness in his eyes when he looked at the other boys who had been saved, and why he took saving everyone so seriously.

I didn't want to go back to my room yet, and it wasn't time for us to eat lunch, so I was trying to figure out what to do. It didn't take me long to settle on going to the library. I figured the boys would be there and it had been fun spending time with them yesterday. Plus I could get a look at some of the books in there. I wanted to start reading the books Artem had bought me as well. Things were actually starting to be fun for me.

When I got to the library I found that the door was already open and there was a lot of noise coming from inside as well. Yesterday, things had been quiet in there while the kids were doing their lessons, but when Kent had gone to see them they had gotten a little more rowdy.

I wondered for a moment if Kent had come down here after leaving me in the hall, but then I smelled Artem's scent and heard his voice from inside the room.

"Who's next?" He was asking with a laugh in his voice.

Slowly, I peeked around the edge of the door to see what was going on in the room. The kids, especially the younger ones, were all circling Artem. Everyone, Artem included, had big grins on their faces.

"Me, me, me." Cohen was jumping up and down. He was an adorable little boy who looked just like his cousins, Benton and Julian. They could have passed for brothers instead. They had dark blonde hair and bright yellow eyes, not like Liam's yellow or Aunt Tina's, but a golden yellow that was soft and beautiful. They were all small and skinny and they were the newest additions aside from me. Dalton was adorable too, him and his brother Flint had been here longer than any of them. Their dark, mocha complexion, warm hazel eyes, and dark brown hair made them seem so sweet and gentle, so did their kind behavior. Leslie was unique as well, he had an olive complexion to his skin, and black eyes that seemed to analyze the world. He was curious and sweet with his slightly longer brown hair that fell into his eyes. All the boys were thinner, shorter, just smaller in general than they should have been. And they all looked even smaller standing next to the very large Artem.

"Ok, ok, come on Cohen." I watched as Artem bent to pick the boy up with his hands under his arms. Artem stood up quickly and raised his arms. In that one motion Artem threw the boy into the air.

"Haha haha, whee!" Cohen was laughing and squealing in delight as the others laughed around him as well. "This is fun." He said as Artem caught him and threw him back into the air. "Yay." He continued to laugh and cry out in excitement as Artem threw him a total of ten times into the air. He went about six feet above Artem's head each time before he dropped and was caught.

I watched on as Artem did this for all the boys, even the older ones. They all seemed to be enjoying themselve, having fun. It surprised me at first how childish the older boys were, but I couldn't blame them. All of the boys had spent their life in captivity like I had, they had not gotten the chance to grow up. I actually envied their ability to enjoy themselves like this, how they could still be kids. I had a feeling that the specific dynamics of my family situation made me mature at a rate that these boys never had to deal with.

Seeing Artem with those boys, the happiness he brought them, it made my heart swell with joy. I didn't really understand the feelings that were filling my heart at the moment, but as I looked on at the sweet scene before me I just felt like smiling. He was being so sweet and kind and I was finally able to see that he was not the mean type of Alpha that I had been expecting.

I honestly couldn't wait until I could see more sides of Artem and more good things happening around here. I had a feeling it would be nice to see everything this place would have to offer me.

I decided not to go into the library. I didn't want to interrupt their fun. But still, I left the second floor with a smile on my face as I made my way back to my room.

I stayed in my room, reading one of the books that Artem had gotten me. I was engrossed in the book later that day when Chay came to get me. I hadn't noticed that it was getting dark out until I looked up from the pages to go answer the door.

"Hey Star, what're you up to?" Chay asked when the door opened.

"Reading." I answered her, holding up the book.

"Whoa, you're talking to me again." She grinned.

"Well, I did it once so why stop now?" I smiled at her.

"I'm just happy. It makes me feel like you trust me now."

"I do, in a way." I grinned at her. "Yes, I'm still nervous about a few things, but I feel better than I used to, especially around you. I trust you."

"That makes me so happy." She leaned forward and hugged me tightly.

"What did you need?" I asked her embarrassedly as she pulled away.

"Oh, well you missed lunch and it's almost time for dinner. I didn't want you to miss that too."

"What?" I said just now realizing how hungry I was when my stomach responded to the words lunch and dinner.

"You must have been caught up in your book." She laughed.

"Yeah, I was. It was really good." I smiled. "But I am hungry now."

"Good, then come on." She grabbed my hand and pulled me from the room.

We went down to dinner together, a grin on both of our faces. This was starting to become a very pleasant routine and I couldn't have been happier with it. The only difference to this from the night before, was Artem's absence. He apparently had an errand to run and had gone out.

Still, the dinner that Artem had made today was just as good as all the other meals. He had made a meal with spicy breaded pork chops that were then covered in a sweet garlic sauce. They were so delicious and I liked them a lot. There was also something called macaroni and cheese and some steamed vegetables. The dinner was amazing just as I had been expecting. Artem was an amazing cook.