Page 41 of The Chosen One Universe: Volume One

Ben nodded, but he kept his attention focused on the front of the school.

Vaughn wondered if Ben would ever stop feeling responsible for the well-being of the rest of the cubs. From what Vaughn had been able to put together, it sounded like Ben had practically raised them. It had to be weird for him now to have Ollie clinging to Sam. His instincts would allow Ollie to seek comfort from his alpha. But a human?

Then again, all of the cubs seemed to accept Sam so easily.

As easily as Vaughn himself had.

It brought to mind Sam’s concerns the night before, and the moment when Vaughn’s heart had gotten lodged in his throat. He couldn’t explain why he’d been able to have sex with Sam two years ago and not know then that Sam was his mate. It didn’t make sense. Something had changed, but Vaughn had no idea what it was.

“Alpha?” Jack said. He had a worried tone to his voice that had Vaughn turning his attention to the vehicle where the kids were all looking at Henry oddly.

“What’s the matter?”

Henry shrugged. He was chewing his lip nervously, though. They all had the same nervous habit, as if they’d learned to bite their lips to keep their mouths shut under the circumstances they’d been living in. It made sense but made him angry all over again for everything they’d been through. If something was bothering Henry, though, especially as exposed as they currently were, he needed to be on his guard.

Vaughn glanced at the hellhound, who climbed out of the vehicle and began scanning the area with his enhanced senses. Vaughn rounded the car and opened the back door. He leaned in so he could be closer to Henry and held onto the kid’s hand tightly. “Henry, buddy, if something is happening, I need you to tell me, okay? I won’t be mad at you, I promise.”

Henry nodded and glanced toward the school. “It’s not bad,” he whispered. “I… I think… are they really happy?”

Vaughn looked toward the school where the first of the students were beginning to emerge. He’d been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t even heard the bell ring.

“Yeah. They’re really happy. It’s the last day of school, and they have the whole summer off to play with their friends and have fun. Did you feel how happy they were?”

Henry nodded again. “The bell was really loud, and then I just… I just had to smile.”

Goddess. The kid didn’t even know what summer vacation meant. Hell, they didn’t even have any toys to play with.

Vaughn heard a suspicious sniffle from the front seat and knew his Nana was as impacted by Henry’s words as he was.

“I bet that felt really cool. I think Sam will like to hear about it when he comes out. What do you think?”

“Is Sam really happy, too?” Henry asked.

“Yep. Because he gets the summer off just like his students.”

“Sam… Sam isn’t going to leave us, is he, Alpha?” Henry looked scared at the thought, and Vaughn pulled him into a hug.

“Sam’s not going anywhere, buddy. We still have some grown up stuff to figure out, but come on… you saw him stand up for you, right? You think he’s not going to look after you after that? I mean he faced down a hellhound for you guys.”

Henry grinned against Vaughn’s neck. “Yeah.”

Henry leaned back again and looked toward the school entrance before turning back to Vaughn. “We need to go see Sam’s dad, now, Alpha. He’s not feeling very well today. The trees told me.”

The trees told him.

Vaughn nodded. “Okay. They should be out any minute. We’ll go check on him.”

Five sets of eyes stared at him, trusting him to be able to do the right thing. He had no idea how they weren’t scared of him. He couldn’t imagine not having his parents, Nana, the pack. He’d been surrounded by love and support his entire life and he’d never had to doubt for a moment whether he’d be taken care of, spoiled even. He was the only son of a beloved alpha.

Sam walked out a minute later with Ollie walking beside him holding his hand. The little guy was all smiles again and he babbled up at Sam as he skipped along.

Vaughn couldn’t help smiling at him either. Sam dressed like a teacher in khaki pants and a plaid button up shirt. He had a leather messenger bag flung over his shoulder and a cactus plant in his other hand. He was so fucking gorgeous and the way he and Ollie were grinning at each other…Goddess, Vaughn had it bad.

When Sam made it to Vaughn’s side, he stared at him for a second, before giving Ollie a little push toward the truck. “Okay, buddy. Hop in. Get buckled up.”

“Okay, Sam!”

Ollie bounded into the vehicle, and Sam turned to Vaughn with a smile. “That was interesting.”