Vaughn #2
Vaughn knew she was right, deep in his gut. It didn’t explain the hows or whys, but if someone were looking for those kids, he would have heard about it. At the very least, Meshaq would have heard about it, especially once he sent out feelers on them asking for information.
“So we move forward like they’re pack,” his dad said quietly. “And we praise the goddess if their families are found.”
“Okay,” Vaughn said. “What kind of paperwork are you handling?”
His dad went through the particulars of birth certificates and adoption records.
Some of it would have to be handled by other clans who specialized in dealing with the human world, but with all of the different clans they’d helped with medical issues over the years, they had plenty of favors to call in.
Meshaq had found enough documentation during his more thorough search of the house to give them the kids’ birthdays and a little bit of their history. It wasn’t much, but at least they had something.
“And Nana, how about you? Furniture, you said?”
“Yep. Picking out new suites for the upstairs bedrooms. Ben’s too tall to be on a regular bed, and I bet none of them are going to want to sleep alone. So I’m looking at twin beds and bunks, plus kid-friendly bedding. Everything up there is nice, but definitely not meant for kids.”
“Sounds good. We can let them pick stuff out, right?”
“That’s the plan. I thought I’d narrow the options, though. I think they’ll be overwhelmed by too many choices.”
“I agree. Thanks, Nana. And what about this homeschooling research?” Vaughn asked next. He turned to his mother and Sam, who flipped around their computers for him.
“I don’t think they’ve had any schooling at all, or at least the younger ones haven’t,” Sam said.
“Ben seems to have some basic reading skills, but I’ll want to see if I can figure out what his reading level is.
That’s for another day. For now, I thought we’d find some fun unit studies to get them engaged and learning without too much pressure.
We’ll want to keep them busy while they acclimate to their new life. ”
“Sounds like a good idea. I can already see that they’re feeling better, but it’ll be a long time before they’re really settled.”
“We’ll give them as much time as they need,” Joanne added.
“And I’m ordering school supplies. Anything Sam thinks we need.
I also called Ellen at the library because Sam and I thought a dinosaur unit study would be a fun first one to tackle.
She’s going to pull a bunch of books for me.
I’ll pick them up tomorrow while I’m out and about.
It’ll give us something to use to do a gentle assessment to get started, and Sam had the fun idea of making a little sand pit out back so they can do an archaeological dig to find dinosaur bones. Doesn’t that sound fun?”
Vaughn chuckled again. “Seriously, how long was I upstairs? You guys could solve the world’s problems if left alone for more than an hour.”
Stuart laughed and wrapped one arm over his wife’s shoulder and the other over his mother’s. “You’ve got quite the team behind you on this, son. And the rest of the pack will be chomping at the bit to get to know the cubs. But for now, we’re going to head home. Call us if you need us, okay?”
“I will.”
The three of them hugged Sam before hugging him goodnight as well. He could hear the cubs quietly talking upstairs as he leaned heavily against Sam and sighed. “How are you?”
Sam dropped his head onto Vaughn’s shoulder. “Trying to figure out how it was just yesterday that I was freaked out about calling you because I found a kid with claws and fangs on my doorstep.”
Vaughn had been trying to figure that out himself. He was a bit scared to ask the question weighing heavily on his mind, but he had to know. “Does it feel right to you, though?”
He held his breath while he waited for Sam’s reply. If Sam had shifter hearing, he’d know Vaughn’s heart was pounding in his chest, his wolf howling with fear and hope and tension and…
“Yeah. It does. How weird is that?”
“Not as weird as you think. How about you go get changed then we’ll take that stack of papers you need to grade upstairs? We can sit on the couch up there and talk while the cubs settle. I think they’ll want us close again.”
“I wouldn’t say no to a shower,” Sam said.
“That can be arranged.”
Sam grabbed the bag of clothes he’d brought back from his house that morning before Vaughn led him into the master bedroom and through to the master bath. He couldn’t resist pulling Sam close and nuzzling his neck once they were inside. “I’m really glad you’re here,” Vaughn whispered.
Sam took a deep breath and wrapped a tentative arm around Vaughn’s back. “Me, too.”
“I’m going to shower upstairs. Meet me up there in a few?”
Sam nodded. Then he nuzzled Vaughn back. His wolf preened inside him, even as Sam blushed and backed away.
Even though it went against everything he wanted in the moment, Vaughn left the room, closing the door softly behind him.
He gathered a change of clothes for himself and carried them upstairs.
The cubs were bunched together in a cute cuddle pile with Ben in the center.
They were all either coloring or flipping through a picture book.
“Everybody doing okay?” Vaughn asked.
They nodded, looking up at him, anticipating something. They looked nervous, anxious again, where they hadn’t been when he’d left them less than half an hour ago.
“You’re doing great,” Vaughn said. “I’m going to take a quick shower, and then I could really use some cuddles if anybody is up for it.”
The tension eased, although now they were looking at him in a hopeful and suspicious way.
“Back in a few.”
The whispers started before he made it across the hall and into the bedroom next door.
He didn’t listen, purposefully tuned them out so they could work together to figure out his intentions.
A quick shower later, where he ended up smelling like some weird form of soapy watermelon— he’d not thought about bringing body wash for himself upstairs and had to use the kid-friendly scented one Nana had left upstairs— he pulled on his pajama pants and a T-shirt and went back into the other room.
Sam walked up behind him and they stood together in the doorway. Sam smelled like him, like the cedarwood and juniper body wash he preferred. Vaughn breathed it in, his wolf prancing once more.
Mate. Mine. Happy.
After a moment, Sam brushed by him, crossing to the kids and squatting down beside them.
He was a natural and didn’t even realize it.
His hand brushed Natasha’s back gently, and he gave Jack’s hair a tousle.
Scenting them, subtly, without understanding what he was doing with each touch.
They were his cubs, their cubs now, and anyone from their community would recognize it as such the more their scents intermingled.
Ollie pushed his way into Sam’s arms and tucked his face into Sam’s neck.
Vaughn’s wolf knew that Sam was his mate; his instincts were pure and strong and had never led him wrong.
Ollie’s were just as strong, instinctively leading him to trust this human, to be vulnerable with someone who would never hurt him.
“Anyone want to read a story before bed?” Vaughn asked.
Henry and Emily both looked at him eagerly.
“Pick one and come on.”
They didn’t need to be asked twice. Sam lifted Ollie and followed Vaughn into the living area between the rooms. They settled on the overstuffed couch.
Jack squeezed in between them while Henry sat on Vaughn’s open side.
Ben tucked himself in close to Sam while Natasha curled up on Vaughn’s lap.
Emily squeezed in beside Ollie on Sam’s lap and handed Vaughn one of the books she’d carried in with her.
Vaughn’s dad had read to him for as long as he could remember.
Still did, on occasion. Stuart Jerrick had a rich voice that he could twist and turn into different accents while also making the funniest sound effects.
Vaughn couldn’t do that, but he’d always imagined carrying on the tradition with his cubs.
His heart filled as he opened the book and turned to the first page.
They were captivated from the first words and the moment he finished, Henry pushed another book into his hands. Vaughn continued reading until the fourth and final book they’d brought had been read. “Okay. Time for bed.”
“Teeth brushed and faces washed,” Sam added. “Come on.”
None of them seemed to know what to do, but they followed Sam and did what he asked.
Vaughn took the moment of distraction to try to figure out exactly how to divide them all up for sleep.
The beds weren’t really big enough for all six of them to sleep together, and they wouldn’t get a lot of rest that way anyway.
The rooms were close enough that if they left the doors open they’d be able to hear each other. He really needed to make it a priority to get new furniture in the rooms for them, and tonight would be a good test to see how it would work.
He paired them up, Ben and Ollie, Henry and Jack, Emily and Natasha, and tucked them into bed as they finished washing up. “I’ll be in that room right there,” Vaughn said as Ollie pouted a little at not getting to stay with him and Sam. “So if you need me, I’ll be really close, okay?”
“He’ll be okay,” Ben said quietly.
“I know. But it’s okay if he comes to get me, Ben. I promise.”
Ben chewed his lip nervously but nodded. Vaughn leaned down and brushed his lips against the oldest boy’s hair then scented him by rubbing his cheek along the still damp from the shower strands.
“Alphas don’t break their promises, Ben.”
“Okay,” Ben whispered.
He and Sam made the rounds, reassuring them all and getting everyone as settled as they could be.
Sam finished first and went back to the couch to sit down.
Vaughn stood in the doorway of Henry and Jack’s room for a moment, watching him and wondering how he was going to begin to explain it all.
He could see the questions forming in Sam’s mind as he stared, but when Sam glanced up at him and their eyes met, he made one more promise he wouldn’t break: he’d convince Sam that this was where he was meant to be.