Sam
He had a sneaking suspicion he’d managed to get himself unofficially adopted by her.
She’d answered a lot of his basic questions while she mixed up a giant batch of pancake batter, and it had been easier to talk to her than to Vaughn.
His stomach still twisted into nervous knots whenever Vaughn looked at him, but there was something beneath that worry which called to him.
His emotions were a roller coaster where the alpha was concerned.
And the fact that even in his thoughts, he referred to Vaughn as the alpha was another sticking point.
What even was his life? Because apparently over the course of one night, he’d learned werewolves were real, but were actually called shifters.
They were mostly human and didn’t really have any super powers other than enhanced senses and strength.
They weren’t Superman strong, but Nana had scoffed at the suggestion that anyone could be as strong as the man of steel.
Vaughn came out onto the porch and leaned against the railing beside him, their shoulders brushing together slightly. “You okay?”
Sam nodded. “Just a little overwhelmed. Trying to wrap my head around all of this.”
It was the understatement of the century, but he really didn’t know what else to say.
“Thanks for everything you’re doing, Sam.” Vaughn wrapped his hand around the back of Sam’s neck and gave it a gentle squeeze.
It was probably another one of those important shifter gestures that Sam didn’t understand. It comforted him nevertheless, and he packed away one more emotion he needed to think about after he went home. He had more practical things to talk to Vaughn about first.
“I’m just glad I heard Ollie outside my door last night,” Sam said.
“And that I knew who you were. I mean… how did he even know your name, Vaughn? How did he know what direction to go? I didn’t get a chance to ask Nana earlier, and Ollie said his sense of smell was strong, but you live…
what… forty-five minutes away from where they were? How did—”
“Sam, breathe.” Vaughn cut him off and squeezed the back of his neck once more. Sam sucked in a breath as Vaughn continued to stand beside him, a solid, strong presence that Sam seemed to draw strength and comfort from.
Vaughn stroked his thumb over the thick vein in Sam’s neck before continuing.
“I don’t know the answer to those questions.
Hadn’t even thought to ask them, to be honest. We’ll talk to the kids later and find out, okay?
Because you’re right, those are things I need to know. What else is on your mind?”
His voice was thick, deep, and calm, the cadence so soothing it made Sam irrationally annoyed.
He didn’t want this attraction he’d buried for so long to spring to life again because even the damn guy’s voice was hot, even though he feared that ship had already sailed.
He tucked it way instead and continued with the list of questions he’d stockpiled.
“Who the heck was that Meshaq guy and his team of… enforcers or whatever they were? I don’t know, but wow the tension in the air when he appeared out of a ring of flames.
Flames, Vaughn. I mean… I don’t even know what that means, but that was the scariest guy I’d ever seen and he just… but Ollie trusted him so fast.”
“Meshaq is the alpha of the hellhounds. They’re… well, actually, enforcers is a great word for them. If you wondered how all of this was kept secret from humans, Meshaq and the hellhounds are the answer. Our secret is critical to our survival and we are all aware of it.”
Sam breathed deeply for a moment, the implications becoming very clear, especially after what Nana had told him earlier. “Ollie could have been in trouble for telling me.”
“Yes. But he’s not, and neither am I. Meshaq understood the circumstances and has granted an exception.
It’s why we were able to let you stay last night and why Nana answered your questions this morning.
Meshaq understood after only a few minutes in your company that you weren’t going to let the safety of the cubs go, and although he does have ways to…
keep you from knowing, he decided that it wasn’t in the cubs’ best interest to take you away from them, especially having witnessed the way you interact with them and how much they trust you already. ”
Sam had no idea what to say to that. He’d honestly had no idea how much danger he’d been in, simply by being a human who’d learned their secret. “I will keep your secrets, Vaughn. Theirs, too.”
“I had no doubt about it. Neither did Meshaq, although I’m sure he’ll want to speak to you later.”
“So what next?” Sam asked. “What is going to happen to the kids?”
“I don’t know,” Vaughn replied. “The hellhounds are taking care of the investigation. They’re going to try to find Mrs. Foote. If the kids have families to be reunited with, he’ll make sure he finds them. Until then, they’ll stay here with us.”
“Us?” Sam asked.
Vaughn gave his neck another gentle squeeze. “Us, Sam. If you’ll stay. I… well, to be honest, I don’t know a lot about taking care of kids and I think it would help to have you here. If you’re up for it, that is. Am I asking too much?”
The front door opened before Sam could answer, and Ollie peeked his head outside. He chewed his lip nervously then slipped outside to stand between them. He wrapped one arm around Sam’s leg and buried his forehead into Vaughn’s thigh.
“I’m up for it,” Sam answered without stopping to think any further about it.
He’d not considered it, really. Staying.
He’d not thought past this morning. Getting the kids fed and then…
well, the rest of the day had been a question mark, an empty space that was suddenly full.
These kids needed him, and even if he wasn’t quite sure about the rest of the implications, he wouldn’t let them down.
“What’s happening, Ollie? You full? Get enough to eat? ”
Ollie nodded and looked up at him with a wobbling bottom lip. “You were gone.”
“I’m not going anywhere, buddy. Well, that’s not entirely true. I do have to go home and get some clean clothes, but then I’ll be back. You don’t want me wearing stinky clothes, do you?”
Ollie didn’t actually look like he cared. “But you’ll come back?”
“Yep. I promise.”
Ollie still didn’t look convinced. Sam could imagine that the word of grown-ups wasn’t something he trusted, not after the way he’d been living.
Sam knelt down in front of him and rested his forehead against Ollie’s in the same way he’d seen them doing with each other.
“I’ll be back, and when I get to my house, I’ll get my phone and you can call me if you get worried, okay? ”
Ollie nuzzled his face into Sam’s neck and nodded.
Vaughn rested his hand on top of Ollie’s head. “Let’s go check on everybody else, okay?”
Ollie didn’t seem inclined to move, so Sam stood with Ollie wrapped in his arms. He was almost too big to carry, but damned if Sam wasn’t going to give him as much reassurance and comfort as he could.
The rest of the kids were still sitting around the kitchen table, more empty plates in front of them. Travis and his wife were sorting out the bags they’d carried inside earlier. It looked like they’d bought several outfits for each of the kids.
Sam followed Vaughn into the kitchen and watched as he circled the table, giving each of them reassuring pets. The tension in the room eased with his presence. Sam wondered if it was an alpha thing, or a Vaughn thing. The man— the alpha— practically oozed confidence and reassurance.
If this experience had happened with someone else, with an alpha who wasn’t Vaughn, Sam didn’t think he’d have managed to remain as calm as he was.
But even though he had a lot to think about with everything he’d learned, and even more on his mind with how he was going to help take care of these kids, he didn’t worry about things with Vaughn.
He’d stepped up without hesitation and brought six kids into his home.
His entire family— his pack— had rallied around him.
It would have been nice if Sam and his dad had family like theirs. They’d been managing on their own for a long time. He’d have to stop by and check on his dad while he was out today. They normally had lunch together every Sunday and hung out for most of the afternoon.
He’d have to come up with an excuse for why he couldn’t. Since he still had a pile of papers to grade before school tomorrow, Sam hoped the excuse would be enough for his dad and wouldn’t result in a ton of questions.
One thing Sam had learned from Nana was that children in packs were rare.
He hadn’t thought about the implications of that at the time, but seeing how all of the adults kept their eyes on the kids, how Travis’s wife…
Rachel, Sam thought he’d heard her name was, looked at them with such longing in her eyes.
They really were precious to all of them.
Sam made a quick detour and carried Ollie toward her. “Hey. I’m Sam,” he said. He adjusted his hold on Ollie and held out his hand.
“Rachel,” she answered. After only a slight pause, she shook his hand.
“And this is Ollie.”
Rachel breathed in, another of those little giveaways that Sam had noticed. She was scenting Ollie. He peeked out at her and waved quickly but tightened his hold on Sam.
“Hi, Ollie,” Rachel said. “It’s very nice to meet you.”
She couldn’t take her eyes off of him, the soft smile on her face revealing how happy she was. Ollie kept sneaking looks at her, playing shy like a champ, and charming the poor woman to bits. The little guy had mad skills.
“What have you got there, Rachel?”
“Oh!” She smiled nervously and ran her hand over the small stack of folded clothes beside her. “I brought clothes. We had to guess sizes, but I can exchange anything that doesn’t work.”
“Is that a dinosaur I see? Wow. I really like dinosaurs a lot.”