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Artem

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Vivian let her staff back in, but didn\'t tell them what all happened. They could see that she was in a better mood though, so that made them a little less suspicious of us. 

The only person who still needed to be measured now was Aaron though, and Vivian took care of that herself. I could see a smile on her face, but she was also still a little unsure about him. I know she didn\'t know whether she should accept his explanation yet or not. Whether she accepted it or not though, she still loved him. He was her mate, and he was Star\'s father.

Wait! Father?

"Oh, shit!" I clapped a hand to my head and growled the words under my breath.

"You shouldn\'t talk like that in front of the kids, you know?" Morgan joked with me. "It\'s not proper."

"Got to hell, you imp." I snapped at him.

"What\'s wrong?" Vivian was the one who was bringing the situation under control first.

"I just remembered, I need a twenty-fourth tuxedo. I can\'t believe that I forgot about my dad. He\'s going to be here in two days." I had buried my face in both of my hands to try and assuage my guilt, embarrassment, stupidity, all of the above.

"Do you know his measurements?" Vivian didn\'t look or sound at all worried about it.

"He\'s almost the exact same size as I am. Or he was the last time that I saw him. I don\'t think that he would have changed that much in less than a year though." I was thinking about Dad\'s build, trying to see if there was anything I could do to fix this.

"Well, we can do two tuxedos with your measurements and then just alter one as needed for your dad. How does that sound?"

"Thank you so much, Vivian. That will be a lot of help."

Once we were done in the shop, Vivian set her seamstresses to work on the twenty-four tuxedos.

"Work on these or any other current orders. I am going to put a sign on the door that says temporarily closed, already placed orders will still be fulfilled."

"Why are we closing? What is going on here?" Gwen, the very attentive employee, looked sad and worried.

"We may be closing, but we still have to work. That sucks." One of the other women made a snide remark.

"You need to watch your attitude." Aaron snapped at her. "You have done that multiple times now. You still have work to do whether or not you\'re open for business. Do you want to get paid or not? If not, then go home and not work, I will find someone else to help Vivian out." The woman looked petrified at the anger Aaron was throwing her way.

Vivian giggled at the response that Aaron gave, then looked at Gwen who was still expecting an answer.

"There have been some new developments in my daughter\'s case. I need to go and check it out for myself. I need to see if what they\'re telling me is true."

"So, you think that your daughter might be alive? That man took her and showed you her dead body. Do you really think that she could still be alive?" Gwen didn\'t look convinced at all.

"I have to check and see." Vivian smiled weakly. "If there is even the faintest glimmer of hope, then I will go and see. And all of these people are telling me that Star is alive. I need to go and check on her." There was more force and power coming to Vivian\'s voice now.

"But this man said that Star wasn\'t even her real name. He said it was a nickname. He said-."

"Her name is Astraia." Vivian smiled at her. "That was my daughter\'s name. I called her Star for short because of what her name means. You know how much I love the meaning of names. This would just be another one of those naming coincidences. If this Star is my daughter then she found the perfect fiancè. This man\'s name is Artemis, and that name means moon. That would mean that my daughter and her future husband would literally be the moon and the stars."

"Vivian, you can\'t think it\'s her just because of that." Gwen must be very stoic when it comes to her boss and finding her daughter, because she keeps trying to stop us.

"Don\'t worry, I will be careful. If it isn\'t her, I will be coming home immediately. But just in case, I want you all to work on these orders and keep the shop closed." This time Vivian put some force behind her words.

"Alright, I will do as you ask. But please let me know as soon as you do, alright."

"I will."

We left after that, the sign placed in the window to warn off new customers that might try to come in. The twenty four of us divided between the vehicles and headed straight to the airport. I had been planning on treating the kids to a special lunch at a restaurant in LA, but now I just wanted to hurry up and get us all home.

Well, since the plans changed I needed to call and let Kieran know that he needed to cook for everyone. He answered on the first ring and spoke softly.

"Yes, Alpha Artem?"

"Kieran, we have discovered something, or rather someone important in the city. We\'re on our way back now and will be there in a few hours. Could you please prepare something small for a late lunch or early dinner."

"Certainly, Sir. Is this a surprise for the Luna or someone else? I will plan the meal to their liking."

"You guessed correctly, it is for the Luna." He was a very efficient member of the staff, and I was glad we had added him recently.

"Very well. I shall have it ready for you in a couple of hours."

The plane ride on the way back home seemed like it took ten times longer than the one on the way to LA. Not to mention that it seemed like every second was moving slower than a snail. Or, as my dad used to say all the time, the minutes were moving slower than frozen molasses.

\'UGH! THIS IS TAKING TOO LONG!\' I growled the words in my head repeatedly while we were heading home. And it wasn\'t just me thinking things were taking too long, the flight was delayed on our return flight by an hour so we really were travelling slower. I made sure that I called and let Kieran know as well, so he could accommodate the cooking schedule.

Finally the plane took off, and we were heading back. During the flight the kids were calmer this time, having flown already this morning and being tired from the whirlwind trip.

I also noticed that Aaron and Vivian were sitting together and talking on the flight. They weren\'t sitting like they were mates, but it was still nice to see that they were talking. It was the first step for them to repair the damage that Howard had caused for all of them.

When the plane finally landed, I was in a hurry to leave. I needed to get the kids to the place that we were going in a hurry. This was a truly important and special day. I was taking my mate\'s mother home to see her. The mother that she thought had been dead for most of her life. 

Honestly, I am beginning to think that illusions were pretty much the only magic that Howard had. I already suspected it before, but now it\'s basically been confirmed. He hadn\'t killed any of the people that he said he had. He wouldn\'t have been so revered by the family if they knew that he was just a useless piece of shit.

Thank the Goddess it didn\'t take us long to get through the airport. Now it was just time to drive back to town. It was slightly slow going considering all the side roads and small back country roads that we were forced to take on the way. Though finally we made it home.

It was time for me to get everyone inside to see what my Star had to say about this.

"OK, I want you to wait in the dining room or sitting room. I am going to go get Star and bring her down. I can\'t wait to see what the look on her face is when she sees you." I was excited, too excited, and I knew it.

"I..I don\'t know if I can do this." Vivian was suddenly nervous. "She\'s going to think that I left her on purpose and that I didn\'t love her. I can\'t bear that kind of rejection."

"She won\'t." Aaron and I said at the same exact time.

"She is going to be so happy to see you." Aaron added. "Please, Vivian, come with me and wait for our little girl. She\'s a wonderful young lady."

"S..she is?" Vivian was crying when she heard that.

"Yes she is. Now come on. You, me, and all the children."