Page 39 of The Chosen One Universe: Volume One

Vaughn

The first part of the day passed without a hitch, everything made better because he’d woken up with Sam in his arms. Sam only scowled at him once over the state of his neck, but Vaughn had kissed the spot tenderly and Sam had melted once more.

The kids had all slept through the night, giving Vaughn ample time to taste each bit of Sam, scenting him so completely even the kids had noticed when they’d come down for breakfast. Vaughn’s wolf preened as they all added their scents to his, making Sam well and truly marked as theirs, their pack, his mate.

He hadn’t wanted to let Sam go, but he had to leave early for school since he still needed to finish grading the papers he’d never gotten around to over the weekend.

Sam assured them all he’d be back and had his number written on a piece of paper that they’d put on the fridge. He promised to leave his phone on all day even though Vaughn knew it would be against school policy.

Ollie hadn’t been exactly impressed when he left, but Sam reminded him once more that he’d come back the day before when he went to his house like he’d promised, and he’d come back after school too. Ollie pouted, but agreed. Vaughn helped get everyone breakfast, took them for a long walk, and introduced them to a few of the actual animal patients Vaughn and his father were treating. There were only a couple shifters on site at the moment and none of them were up for having a room full of cubs trample through.

After their walk, they’d had a snack and watched a few cartoons. They’d played a few games, laughing and enjoying each other’s company. Then Ollie started to get tired. He’d climbed onto Vaughn’s lap and grew still. The others began to droop as well.

Vaughn had anticipated that all of the cubs would need additional rest, especially as their bodies adjusted to their new environment and the proper amount of food. He’d worked with Nana to come up with a meal plan for them, being careful not to give them too much food and damage their fragile systems further.

Any mention of Mrs. Foote or the old house stirred up incredible amounts of anxiety. Vaughn hadn’t forced them to answer his questions, but he’d paid careful attention to the clues he could pick up from their casual conversations.

After having a light lunch, Vaughn suggested that they all curl up in the living room with a movie. Everyone but Ollie seemed eager. The little guy began to sniffle before tucking his face into Vaughn’s neck. “I want Sam,” Ollie said.

“He’ll be back soon,” Vaughn said. “Remember? He said after lunch and after we rested.”

“It’s after lunch. I want him.” His little heart began to race and he began to panic.

“It’s okay, Ollie,” Ben whispered. “It’s just a little longer.”

Ben’s reassurance didn’t help. Ollie began to wail. Nana rushed into the room and tried to help as well, but Ollie wasn’t having any of it. Everyone got more and more upset, and finally Nana looked at him for a solution. He could only think of one.

“Okay, everybody up. Let’s go see Sam.”

Vaughn carried a still crying Ollie out to his truck and buckled him into the back seat. Nana grabbed the blanket from Sam’s house, knowing the scent would give Ollie a little comfort, and tucked it around him in the seat. After helping the rest of the cubs get in and buckled, Vaughn climbed into the driver’s seat while Nana sat in the passenger’s seat beside him. Their hellhound shadow squeezed into the back without a word.

“You sure this is a good idea?” Nana asked.

“No,” Vaughn answered. “But I don’t have a better one that doesn’t involve him suffering for another couple hours until Sam gets back. He was supposed to go by his dad’s after school got out so unless you can think of anything…”

“Let’s go.”

The school was only a few minutes away and Vaughn parked his truck out front. Nana stayed with the rest of them while Vaughn unbuckled a still crying Ollie and carried him into the building. He got a few puzzled glances, and probably more than one phone call was being placed to the office, but Vaughn followed his nose down the long hallway to a classroom with a sign beside the door that said “Mr. Baker.”

“Okay, Ollie. We’re here.”

Vaughn knocked on the little window pane and drew Sam’s attention. He hurried to the door and pulled it open with fear in his eyes.

“Vaughn, what’s wrong?”

“Sam!” Ollie flung himself against Sam, and Sam caught him quickly.

Ollie wrapped his arms around Sam’s neck and burst into tears. “What happened?”

“He didn’t understand that after lunch didn’t mean right after lunch.”

“You didn’t come back,” Ollie wailed.

“It’s okay, Ollie. I’m here. It’s okay,” Sam said as he gently rubbed Ollie’s back. “Where are the others?”

“In the truck with Nana.”

“Okay. Go to the office and get a visitor’s badge. They’ve probably already called security. Ollie can stay with me.”