Chapter Thirteen

Jack

"Let's get you ready to meet your new friends, Bryant." I finished tying his shoe.

The past twenty-four hours had been so weird. It had been almost dreamlike, starting off with finding out that Aziz had a mate and that he sensed me as his mate too. Now we were bringing in and housing six cubs and their leader? Protector? Their Ryan? And somewhere in that mix there was taking a nap with my mate, feeling his body against mine, sharing his breathing, a sense of peace like I never knew. What a difference a day made.

Contrast to that, this morning was just a morning. It started out the way it usually did, helping my son get ready, brushing my teeth, putting on my clothes—the normal, everyday things.

"Are you ready for breakfast?"

He rubbed his belly. Adorable.

"What do you think we're going to have?"

"Eggies and toast," Bryant answered.

I wasn't sure if we were or not, but those were two of his favorites, so if that wasn't on the menu, I could probably arrange it.

"Sounds good. You and Uncle Pop-Tart had a good time yesterday, huh?"

Bryant smiled brightly and then told me a few things about it. He wasn't at the stage where he could speak in complete sentences fluently, but he was getting there. I had a feeling in six months he was going to be talking my ear off.

We went to the dining room where breakfast was already being served. Just like every day, there were cereals set out for those who wanted them, including granola and yogurt. There was also fresh fruit and a hot meal. Today was Bryant's lucky day because in the serving trays were scrambled eggs and bacon.

I made us each a plate and went to sit at the table where Ryan and the cubs were.

"Are these seats taken?" I asked.

"Just this one." He pointed to the seat next to him. Bryant and I took the other two right next to it.

"This is Bryant, my son. Bryant, this is Ryan."

Bryant waved, and I went around the table introducing him to the other cubs one by one. We got to the youngest, Peter, when Aziz took the seat next to me, his plate full.

"This is a nice surprise." He put his hand on my knee and gave it a little squeeze. We hadn't told anybody yet that we were mates, although Pop-Tart knew from both of us. Poor guy was too easy to talk to. I couldn't imagine the number of secrets he'd been trusted with.

We'd need to let everyone know soon, but this morning was about Ryan and the cubs and helping them feel wanted, welcome, and safe.

"I was telling Ryan about all the activities that we have here and about the school program." Aziz picked up his coffee.

Ryan was the only one who had been to school before. I noticed he didn't say "graduated," which meant he'd probably been in captivity for a long while. The guys were going to come down and talk to Ryan today and get all the information. We didn't want to push too hard too fast, but if we were going to protect them, we needed to know what we were up against. We couldn't be a safe home without knowledge.

"Did you want to do bubbles with us after breakfast?" Ryan directed his attention to Bryant, who nodded emphatically. "Bubbles are the best!"

I had to agree with him; they were pretty fun. One of the omegas had created a bubble table on wheels that we kept in one of the sheds. It had all different things you could use to blow bubbles, from traditional wands to string on poles to kitchen utensils. All the kids, young and old, had a blast with that. Heck, the grown-ups did too.

We finished breakfast and told the kids all about the bubbles and what to expect for the day. We weren't going to push them into school just yet. Depending on the conversation the guys had with Ryan, this might not be the best place for them, and they might be better off at the warehouse while things got straightened out. We'd find out soon enough.

When Ryan got up and told the cubs he was going to take them outside, Bryant asked if he could go too. I was hesitant to let him go without me at first, but then Aziz came over and asked Ryan if they were ready for playtime. Apparently, Pop-Tart had been the one to arrange the activity in the first place.

It wasn't that I didn't trust Ryan; I just didn't want to put any extra burden on him. He already had so much on his young shoulders.

"I missed you," my mate said, intertwining our fingers under the table and giving mine a squeeze.

"I missed you a lot." I leaned my head on his shoulder briefly. "I know it wasn't that long, but…"

"I know." He rubbed his thumb over the back of my hand. "But it felt that way."

"Yeah, it did."

"I have dish duty today." He gave my hand one last squeeze. "Will you be around?"

"Nope." I sat up straight. "I'm going to be by your side."

"I'd like that." He stood up and collected the plates from our table.

I did the same for one of the other tables and slowly but surely, we got the room cleared. We had a system where everyone stacked their dishes, but the people on duty would come around and collect them until our fancy dish conveyor belt was installed. Most days, it felt like added steps to clear before washing, but today, it meant extra time with my mate. Who knew him sensing me could make dishes fun?