Vaughn #2
Vaughn rolled his eyes at her newest nickname and settled in the seat with Ollie on his lap. Ollie looked around with a puzzled frown, and then turned his face into Vaughn’s chest. “It’s okay, Ollie. You’re with me and Sam. Everyone’s fine.”
Ollie peeked out and caught Sam’s gaze. “Hi, Sam,” he whispered.
“Hey, little man. You hungry? Nana is going to make us some breakfast.”
Ollie nodded and leaned over to press his forehead against Sam’s arm. Sam reached up and cradled his head for a moment. Vaughn caught his Nana’s soft sigh and looked over to see her wiping away a tear.
He couldn’t even tease her about her soft heart because his was currently in his throat. He had never seen cubs open up to a human like this before. They were treating him like pack, like family, even after all they’d been through.
“Well, you’re in luck this morning,” Nana said after she composed herself for a moment, “because Sam couldn’t decide between pancakes or eggs so we’re having both!”
Ollie looked over at her with a puzzled frown. “We don’t have cereal for breakfast?”
The smile slipped on her face for a moment, but she recovered quickly and smiled at him again. “You can have cereal if you want some! Let me see what we have.”
She bustled over to the pantry, and Ollie leaned forward to watch her go. Then he looked nervously up at Vaughn. “What’s a pancake?” he whispered once he was convinced she was distracted.
Sam made a frustrated sound beside him.
Vaughn had to swallow his own annoyance and hope that Meshaq would find stinky Foote and make her pay.
“It’s pretty yummy,” Vaughn said. He rubbed his hand gently down Ollie’s back, trying to soothe the nervous pup. “How about this. Nana will get out the cereal, but she’ll also make you a pancake to try if we ask her to. If you don’t like it, you can have the cereal. Deal?”
Ollie nodded and looked again toward the pantry. “I’ll try a pancake,” he called.
Nana came back carrying a box of cereal and wiped away another suspicious tear.
She’d heard every word they’d said, of course, but Ollie wasn’t quite old enough to have figured out how their enhanced senses worked.
The pancake batter was already mixed and sitting on the counter in a towel-covered bowl.
Ollie watched as she poured the mix into the skillet, but he’d grabbed hold of Vaughn’s arm and was squeezing it nervously.
Vaughn leaned down and rubbed his nose along Ollie’s head and breathed in the boy’s scent.
If he ever got his hands on the poor excuse for a human being who’d had these kids in her care, he swore he’d rip her limb from limb.
Sam reached out and touched Ollie’s back as well and their hands brushed together. Vaughn looked over at him, able to regain control once more with Sam’s touch.
“I was talking to Nana before you woke up,” Sam said. “She answered a bunch of questions for me. We did have a couple for you, though.”
“Okay.”
He wanted to reach out and touch Sam, join their hands together, maybe. Or maybe just put his arm around Sam’s shoulder and hold him close. Sam wasn’t ready, though. He moved his hand and glanced away before he spoke again.
“So, Nana said she knows how to feed wolf cubs, but does Ben need a special diet? I looked it up online and actual bears can be either omnivores or carnivores, depending on their breed. It seemed like most of them prefer a diet of fruit and nuts, but it depends on the species and where they are located, so I’m not sure.
And foxes will pretty much eat anything, just like wolves, so Natasha should be okay with the same diet as the other kids.
We just wanted to be sure they all had what they needed.
Neither of us had a clue about Henry, and there wasn’t exactly a website to check for him. ”
Vaughn smiled and reached over to squeeze Sam’s shoulder.
He couldn’t resist the urge. Every little thing kept adding up to prove Sam was the perfect mate for him.
“Thank you, Sam. And you’re right, all of the kids will pretty much eat the same thing, because even though they are shifters, they are human, too.
We’ll need to be a bit more aware of Ben’s diet because he’s a bit underweight for his age.
Lots of snacks and protein drinks are in his future, at least until we get him to where he should be. ”
“I can make that happen,” Nana said. “I’ll make up a batch of my trail mix for snacks, and you can pick up more of that protein stuff you like before you work out.”
“Nana, you aren’t—”
“Be very careful how you finish that sentence, lovebug.”
“Nana—”
“I have been taking care of your house since you took over your father’s practice. I’ve been praying for more children for our pack and the goddess has answered my prayers. I will be helping care for them and don’t you try to take that away from me.”
“But you don’t have to. That’s all I’m trying to say.”
She snorted as she flipped the pancake over. “I know that. You think you can make me do anything I don’t want to do?”
“When you put it that way…” No one had ever been able to make her do anything. She’d been the mate of an alpha after all, and she was more like Sam than Vaughn wanted to admit. He’d always loved someone with backbone, an inner strength that radiated out from them.
“Exactly. Now, Ollie, here’s a pancake for you. Alpha will put a little bit of syrup on it for you so you can see if you like it, okay? Do you like scrambled eggs?”
Ollie nodded. “Ben makes them sometimes. He puts cheese in them!”
“Cheesy eggs it is.”
Vaughn poured some syrup over Ollie’s pancake and cut it up into smaller pieces.
He handed over the fork and waited for him to take the first bite.
Ollie clearly approved. Before Vaughn could even ask, Ollie started shoveling the food into his mouth more quickly than he could chew it.
Vaughn pulled the plate away, and Ollie growled at him.
Vaughn flashed his eyes in return. “Hey, cut that out right now.”
Ollie stopped growling and instead began to pout. He teared up and his lower lip began to wobble.
“You just have to slow down, okay? There’s plenty more where this came from, but if you eat too fast, it’ll make you sick. Understand?”
Ollie nodded so Vaughn guided the plate back in front of him.
“Slowly,” Vaughn said. “Nana’s already making you some cheesy eggs, too. You’re going to have plenty to eat, I promise.”
Ollie looked back at Nana and saw that she had poured some eggs into a different skillet. Vaughn heard movement from the living room, and then Ben stood and ambled over to the kitchen.
“He’s fine,” Sam explained when they both noticed Ben’s concerned look. “He was eating a bit too fast so we had to get him to slow down.”
Ben nodded. “I haven’t had pancakes in a long time,” he said as he stared at Ollie’s nearly empty plate.
“Well, that’s about to change!” Nana flipped another pancake and added it to the small stack she’d already made. “Sam, honey, will you get the blueberries out of the fridge for me? I think Ben might like some with his pancakes.”
“Sure,” Sam said. He got the fruit and carried it back to the counter for her.
Nana grabbed a small handful and sprinkled them over the top of the pancakes before passing the plate to Ben.
“Go on and sit in my spot,” Sam said as Ben stared down at the plate in disbelief.
Ben looked to Vaughn for approval, so he nodded and Ben slipped onto the stool beside him.
Ollie paused in his eating long enough to push his forehead into Ben’s arm before turning his attention back to his plate.
Their actions were very telling. Ben seemed to understand a little bit more of an alpha’s role, but Ollie tended more toward his animal instincts.
He’d trusted Vaughn and Sam, but as a small cub, his instincts would be heightened for safety.
Ben, though, was a curiosity. How did he know how to interact with an alpha when the other kids didn’t seem to?
Vaughn had to look away when Ben slowly picked up one of the blueberries and placed it in his mouth. The poor kid looked like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. For someone to take the food right out of his hand. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to find Sam standing beside him.
He glanced up and met Sam’s gaze and realized Sam had the same thoughts he did, and they were both so angry. It helped, not being alone. Knowing Sam understood and was reading the kids behavior, too.
“Eat up!” Nana said. She put a small portion of eggs on Ollie’s now empty plate and beamed at both boys.
A vehicle pulled into the drive and Vaughn recognized the familiar rumble of Travis’s truck. The other kids began to stir as well. His parents hadn’t been kidding when they said it was going to be an interesting day.
“Oh, good,” Nana said when she heard footsteps on the front porch. “That’ll be Travis and Rachel. I sent them a shopping list earlier. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course not,” Vaughn said.
“Good, because I told Travis to put everything on your credit card. The kids needed clothes, and we’re going to need a lot more groceries around here.”
Vaughn nodded. “Thanks, Nana. I hadn’t even gotten that far in my thoughts yet.”
She glanced down at Ollie, who was finally slowing down as he ate the few remaining bites of his eggs, and then back up at him. “You have more pressing concerns. I’ll handle food and clothes.”
The rest of the kids began to stir as Travis and Rachel came into the house with their arms full of shopping bags. The kids stilled at the intrusion, and Vaughn realized they had all instantly gone on alert.
“Morning, Travis,” Vaughn said. “Thanks for coming by.”
Ben let out a small sigh of relief once he realized Vaughn had approved their visitor. He nodded to the others, letting all of the younger kids know it was okay. Sam squeezed Vaughn’s shoulder gently, once again figuring out without words what was going on in the room.
“Morning, Alpha,” Travis said.
He paused by Nana and pressed a swift kiss to her cheek before placing the shopping bags on the counter on the opposite side of the kitchen.
His wife, Rachel, followed him, both keeping their distance from the anxious cubs.
Vaughn wasn’t sure what to do next. He never had to deal with so many visitors in his home, even though he’d built this house with guest suites upstairs for families of his patients.
The main reason his grandmother had begun helping in his home in the first place was to deal with the visiting packs and their needs.
Vaughn’s attention had always been on his patients in the clinic, and he’d never been good at making sure other people had snacks and towels and soap and whatever else they needed for their comfort.
No one ever expected him to be responsible for those details because he made sure their loved ones were receiving the care and treatment they needed. He could assess a broken bone in minutes but forgot to eat if food wasn’t put in front of him.
All that was about to change, and although Vaughn could admit to being a little nervous, he was looking forward to the challenge, at least for as long as the goddess intended him to care for these cubs.
Ollie leaned back against Vaughn with a happy sigh. “I like pancakes,” he said.
Nana grinned. “I thought you might.”
“Okay, the rest of you head to the table,” Sam said. “Everyone hungry?”
They nodded, and Sam began guiding them over to sit down. Ben looked at Vaughn and winced, the lines of worry appearing yet again on the boy’s face.
Vaughn leaned over and spoke softly. “What’s wrong?”
Ben glanced toward the table then back at Vaughn. “Henry can’t really have milk and cheese. It makes his stomach hurt. He didn’t drink his milk last night but… can I get him some water?”
This kid had carried such a heavy burden for goddess knew how long.
“You can, or I can get it while you and Ollie go sit with the others. Thank you for letting us know. If there’s anything else, you just have to tell me, okay?
You won’t be in trouble and you aren’t bothering me.
I need you to tell me these things because I won’t know otherwise.
I want you all to be safe and healthy and happy here. ”
Ben nodded and lowered his gaze.
“I don’t like green beans,” Ollie said. “I won’t be healthy or happy if I have to eat them. Ben says I have to eat my vegetables but you’re the alpha and you can tell him they don’t make me happy.”
Ben scowled over at the little boy. “Ollie—”
“But Ben! Alpha said!”
“Ollie,” Vaughn began, “Ben is right. Eating vegetables may not make you happy, but they do make you healthy. So you’ll be eating vegetables here.”
Ollie sighed and slid off Vaughn’s lap and onto Ben’s. He leaned against Ben with an unhappy grunt. “I don’t wanna.”
Ben glanced up at Vaughn nervously to see his reaction, so Vaughn smiled at the older boy and shook his head at Ollie’s silliness. Once he was certain Vaughn wasn’t upset, Ben bumped his head to Ollie’s then pushed to his feet. “Come on. Let’s go sit with the others.”
Ollie skipped over to the table and clambered up into one of the empty seats.
He immediately began chattering about his breakfast as Nana began placing more plates of food on the table.
Sam caught his gaze and gestured with his head toward outside.
Vaughn nodded and pushed to his feet. He retrieved the promised water for Henry, made sure everyone was situated with their breakfast, and then followed Sam outside.