Page 22 of The Chosen One Universe: Volume One

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.”

Ollie lifted his head and peered over at the clothes. Rachel caught onto his game and held up the tiny T-shirt. “Isn’t it cool? It’s a T-Rex,” she said. “Do you like dinosaurs, Ollie?”

He nodded.

“Why don’t we try it on and see if it fits?” Sam said.

Rachel opened her mouth, and then closed it again.

“What is it?” Sam asked.