Vaughn #2
They had all reached the living room when Henry, the one Vaughn suspected was a young mage, suddenly cried out in fear and ran to Vaughn.
The air around them trembled and a circle of flame appeared just outside the door.
“It’s okay, Henry,” Vaughn said. He knelt down and lifted the boy into his arms as Meshaq and two of his pack members appeared within the flames. “They’re with us.”
He glanced around and saw that all of the kids were huddled against pack members, trembling and afraid. Sam walked back into the room, and seeing Meshaq walking toward the door, he put himself between the kids and the newcomer.
Vaughn felt a burst of pride at Sam’s lack of fear. He was never letting Sam out of his sight again. He’d find a way to make it work. He had to. He moved Henry to one side and reached out to pull Sam back against his chest.
“It’s okay, Sam. I called him. He’s with us.”
“He’s fucking huge,” Sam said. “I mean. Crap.” He glanced over his shoulder at Henry. “Don’t use that word.”
Henry’s eyes hadn’t moved away from Meshaq so Vaughn didn’t think it would be a problem.
Meshaq glanced around the front of the house, his eyes glowing with the flames of his kind.
He took it all in within a moment, and then stepped up onto the porch.
Sam leaned back against Vaughn, seeking protection even if he didn’t realize his actions.
Meshaq was nearly seven feet tall and had the body of an NFL linebacker. The beta on his left, Solomon, was almost the same size as his alpha, and the woman on his other side, although nowhere near their height, carried herself in a way that screamed danger.
No one spoke as the three of them made their way up the steps and into the house.
Meshaq bowed his head slightly toward Vaughn, and he returned the gesture of respect.
He then looked around the room, taking in all the huddled forms of the cubs.
His eyes lit with inner fire again while they all waited for him to speak.
Ollie was the first to break form. He crept up beside Sam and wrapped his arms around Vaughn and Sam’s legs. He peeked out from between them and looked up at the huge alpha.
“I bet Stinky Foote would be really scared of you,” Ollie whispered.
The awe in his voice was sweet, and Vaughn wasn’t the only one in the room affected by it.
Meshaq knelt down in front of him and smiled. “She better be. What’s your name?”
“Ollie. How come your eyes look like fire?”
“Because I’m a hellhound. That’s what our eyes look like when we shift. What do yours look like?”
Vaughn reached down and rested his hand on Ollie’s head as the boy spoke. “They’re plain ole blue.”
“Blue is one of my favorite colors,” Meshaq said.
Ollie slipped around in front of them and took a hesitant step closer. “Really?”
“Really. There are so many colors of blue. The sky, water in the ocean.”
“I’ve never been to the ocean,” Ollie said. He moved closer to the still kneeling alpha and reached out to touch Meshaq’s long hair. “Mrs. Foote said long hair is gross and dirty. But your hair isn’t gross and dirty.”
Meshaq lifted his hand, and Ollie jumped back trembling against Vaughn and Sam’s front.
“It’s okay, little one. I won’t hurt you.
” He looked up at Vaughn again, and Vaughn could see the simmering anger there.
“There are wards surrounding the property. They probably hadn’t keyed them into the young one yet as they didn’t consider him a threat.
We’ll disable them, and then get out of here. ”
“Thank you,” Vaughn said.
Meshaq walked back outside and his pack members followed him to the border of the yard where they began to move methodically.
Vaughn didn’t have the ability to see magic, but he could certainly feel it now that they were working to remove the wards.
“Everyone have everything together?” Sam asked.
The kids all nodded, but none of them had taken their eyes off the newcomers.
Sam looked up at Vaughn and met his gaze. “So many questions.”
Vaughn nodded. “I’ll answer them all.”
“Good.” Sam moved away from him and took charge of the room once more. “Now, I think we can find some trash bags in the kitchen to load stuff into. Natasha, do you know where we can find some? I want to keep all of your things together until we get to Alpha Jerrick’s house, okay?”
Natasha hooked her hand into Brooks’s and pulled him into the kitchen. None of the kids were willing to go anywhere alone and Vaughn couldn’t blame them.
It only took a few more minutes before everyone was back in the living room. Travis and the rest of the pack pulled into the yard with the pack vehicles just as Meshaq gave the all clear on the wards.
“Alpha Jerrick, would you mind if we accompanied you?”
Vaughn shook his head. “I would be honored.”
“Solomon, in the lead car. I’ll be with Alpha Jerrick and the children. Calli, rear guard. Nothing follows us, understood?”
She nodded and made her way outside.
Vaughn added his own orders to the list. “Brooks, in the lead. Take a couple of the others with you and make sure the way is clear. Any obstructions, notify me immediately. Travis, take the back. Everyone else, keep us close and let me know if you sense anything out of the ordinary. Don’t forget we’re dealing with a magic user. ”
Everyone scattered to do as he ordered. Vaughn turned to the kids who were all huddled together next to Sam. “You guys ready to get out of here?”
They all nodded. Ollie sniffed and rubbed his eyes, and before Vaughn could even react, Sam had the boy scooped up into his arms. The alpha power in Vaughn surged once more and he rested his hand against Ollie’s small back.
“Come on, then. Let’s go.”