Page 63 of The Chosen One Universe: Volume One

“Morning, Alpha.”

“Did you sleep okay?”

Jack shrugged.

“Want to come over here and sit with me?”

It only took him a second to decide. He crawled over Sam’s lap and squished himself into the space between them.

“Want some apple, Jack?” Ollie held out a piece of the fruit for the other boy who shook his head.

“You worried about Henry?” Vaughn asked quietly.

“Mrs. Foote gets mad when Henry doesn’t feel good.”

“No more stinky Foote,” Ollie bellowed, spitting chunks of apple everywhere.

“Ollie.”

“Sorry, Sam.” He picked up one of the larger pieces and stuck it back in his mouth.

Vaughn was having to hold back a laugh, the jerk. He wasn’t the one coated in secondhand apple. “Sam and I aren’t mad,” Vaughn said. “We’re mostly sad that he wasn’t feeling well, but happy now that he’s feeling better and resting. And when Nana comes she’ll make him her special feel-better-breakfast and then he’ll be all better.”

That promise got both Jack and Ollie’s attention. “Special feel-better-breakfast?”

“Yep. I can’t say anything more. Top secret.” Vaughn mimed zipping his mouth closed. Ollie giggled and climbed off Sam’s lap and onto Vaughn’s. He poked at Vaughn’s lips until Vaughn nipped at his fingers.

“You can tell us, Alpha.”

Sam heard the front door open, and he knew Vaughn must have as well. The boys were both focused on him and didn’t seem aware.

“No way! Nana will get me! I’ll never tell! Feel-better-breakfasts are top secret!”

“Who’s giving away my secrets?” Nana said from the doorway.

Ollie leapt about a foot in the air then scrambled off the bed and ran to her. “Henry has a tummy ache, and Alpha said you’ll make us feel-better-breakfast! But he won’t tell us what it is!”

“That’s because it’s super secret, but it always made your alpha feel better when he didn’t feel well.” She glanced up at Vaughn while holding Ollie close to her side. “He okay?”

“Yeah. Just got into some ice cream and his lactose intolerance let him know just how bad an idea it was.”

“Oh my. Rough night then.”

Vaughn nodded as Sam let out a jaw-cracking yawn. “Late night,” he grumbled and leaned into Vaughn’s side.

Jack cuddled between them, content to be a little more squished as he wrapped an arm around Sam’s.

“Come along, muffin. You can help me make breakfast.”

“Okay!” Ollie skipped happily after her, leaving Sam and Vaughn alone with Jack.

Sam closed his eyes and leaned back against the headboard, tempted to try to doze off for a few more minutes. But of course, the pitter-patter of little feet brought Natasha and Emily into the room. They crawled up into bed with them, Natasha sitting on Vaughn’s lap and Emily on Sam’s.

“We should probably get up,” Vaughn said quietly.

“Five more minutes,” Sam mumbled into Emily’s hair.

It ended up being more like half an hour before Nana came back to get them. Ben and Henry were both still asleep so Vaughn and Sam had Nana’s special oatmeal with the rest of the kids.