Sam #2
Vaughn tightened his hold on her and she poked him in the chest to retaliate. “That’s why you have a couple of doctors in the family.”
She glared at him again and finally pulled away. “Yeah, yeah. Now, don’t forget to take the trail mix and protein bars. If the kids are burning a lot of energy, they’re going to be really hungry. And take extra water. I only have the one cooler pack but you can—”
“Nana, I got this.”
She poked him again. “I know.”
“Go check on dinner. Sam has your number if he needs anything while we’re gone.”
Sam chuckled at them both and went to check on Henry and Ben. Ben had eaten all of his oatmeal and was working steadily through a bowl of fruit. Henry had managed part of his oatmeal. “You done?” Sam asked.
Henry nodded.
“Okay, take your bowl to the sink. I want you to keep your drink, though. Try to keep sipping on it.”
“I will.”
Ben frowned after Henry as he walked away before shooting a worried look Sam’s way.
“He’s fine. Alpha’s going to check on him, but he and I are going to stay home today while you guys go out and about. I think he needs to get a little more of his energy back last after last night.”
“He… he usually takes a day to feel better.”
Sam nodded and gave Ben’s shoulder a squeeze. “Don’t worry too much, okay? Nana gave him a drink that has something called electrolytes in it. They help give you back energy when you need it, so that should help.”
Ben looked curious. “How do they do that?”
Sam blinked. “Uh… you know, I don’t actually know. We’ll have to ask Alpha.”
Ben nodded and quickly scooped the last couple pieces of fruit into his mouth. He carried his dishes to the sink then went to find Vaughn, no doubt to ask for an explanation.
It took a while to get everyone dressed and ready to go, but finally Sam and Henry had the house to themselves.
They cuddled up on the couch together and Sam balanced his laptop on his lap so they could look for interesting unit studies for them to work on together.
They were all little sponges, absorbing every bit of information they gave to them.
Ben and Henry had picked up basic reading skills— apparently from an older kid who “went away.” Sam really didn’t want to think about what that meant.
He’d made sure to have Vaughn pass the detail along to Meshaq, though, because the thought of there being other kids out there in similar situations broke Sam’s heart.
They’d just decided on the ocean for the following week’s theme when Henry shivered and cuddled closer.
“Cold?” Sam asked.
“My toes.”
“I’ll go get you some socks.”
Henry beamed up at him like he’d offered him the moon.
Sam planted a kiss on his forehead and left him searching the library’s website for books to add to their list. As he went to Henry’s room, he made a mental note to double check with Nana on the new clothes order they’d placed for the kids earlier in the week.
The few outfits Travis and Rachel had brought over had served them well, but they were normal kids and got everything dirty spectacularly fast. Especially Ollie.
Sam hoped they were doing well on their hike. Ollie had been bouncing around like a maniac before they left. He snagged a pair of socks from Henry’s dresser before going into Ollie’s room to snag the blanket from his house from Ollie’s bed. Henry would probably like to snuggle with it, too.
“Sam!”
Henry’s scream brought Sam running back downstairs. In the minute he’d been gone, wind had begun whipping around downstairs. A strange shimmering void began to form behind Henry, pulling him toward it. Henry screamed again, and Sam ran.
Henry grabbed onto the table, wrapping his arms around the leg, but his body began to lift anyway with the force of the wind.
His legs began to float in the air, pulled toward the void as it grew wider.
It whipped around Sam, trying to keep him away, but it seemed more intent on getting to Henry than anything else.
Just as Henry’s arms began to slip, Sam slid to the ground beside him, landing with a thud and tucking Henry up against his body.
The front door burst open and their hellhound guard appeared. Teague roared and his eyes blazed red even as Sam and Henry began to slide toward the void again.
“Help, Teague!”
Sam had nothing to hold onto, and they were pulled closer and closer to the edge. Teague moved steadily toward them, but Sam could see that every step was a struggle against the force of the wind. The wind grew stronger, and Henry screamed again.
Sam tucked Henry’s face into his neck, trying to protect his fragile skin from the brutal force of it.
Another gust hit, this one the strongest yet, and Sam knew it was done. They slid backward fast, as if someone had grabbed Sam by the neck and pulled.
The darkness closed around them and the room grew quiet.
Except it wasn’t the living room. It wasn’t even their house.
Henry whimpered and Sam ran his hand softly over his back.
“I’m here, Henry.”
Sam made sure not to promise anything, because he wasn’t sure he could keep it, but anyone who was coming for Henry was going to have to go through him first. That, he could guarantee.