Page 33 of The Chosen One Universe: Volume One

“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.