Kai’s eyes widened even as a large part of him was relieved. The idea of Alpha Kincaid killing his parents had made him uncomfortable. A knot easing in his stomach, he took a deep breath and caught V’s gentle smile in the mirror.
“Anything else you want to know?”
“Is… Is the manor a home for unwanted kids?” He was almost positive the pack wouldn’t throw him and his siblings out to fend for themselves, and the Kings had always referred to the pack as quite large, so it made sense. It stood to reason they’d need a place to keep any kids that were abandoned or orphaned. He hoped he’d be able to stay if they found out he was over eighteen.
“What?” Vanessa scowled at him through the mirror, and he ducked his head. Fuck, he should have kept his mouth shut. Apparently, one question was the limit of her patience.
“Nothing, I’m sorry.”
Vanessa stopped the car in the middle of the road, even though they were clearly in the middle of nowhere, and threw the gear shift into Park. She turned around and met his eyes. “Hey, you’ve got nothing to be sorry for, okay? You’re allowed to ask anything you want. Always. Even if it’s something annoying or I don’t know, like ‘why is the sky blue?’”
He held her serious gaze even though his insides trembled. His wolf knew she was much stronger than him and wanted to cower away, but he needed to be able to tell if he could trust her and believe what she was saying. She didn’t rush him or seem to get annoyed when he just stared at her for several moments. Taking a long breath, he tried to decipher the scents he was picking up off her but had never been very good at that.
Finally, Kai nodded at her once and cleared his throat. “The manor you’re taking us to, is it for kids like us with no family?”
A frown flickered across her face, but it cleared as fast as it came. Reaching back, she laid a hand on his knee and didn’t comment when he flinched at the movement. “Listen carefully, kid.” She glanced at Sammi. “Both of you. Those pieces of scum you called parents weren’t your family—the pack is your family. We’ll take care of you from now on.”
She paused and looked at him and Sammi expectantly, so they both nodded, muttering, “Okay.”
“Okay.” She started to turn back around, but she stopped and met Kai’s eyes again. “The manor is the main headquarters of the pack and Rick’s home. You’ll stay there for now, until we find you guys your own place.”
A knot loosened in Kai’s gut, and he gave Vanessa a tiny smile. “Oh, okay. Thank you.”
She gave him a sharp nod, then turned back around. Within moments, they were bumping down the road again. Kai brushed a hand down Henry’s back and tried to relax into the comfortable seat. He figured they had to be close to the pack headquarters since they were on a dirt road. With half-lidded eyes, he watched Sammi fiddle with a hole in the hem of Callie’s dress. A thought suddenly occurred to him, and he sat up straight.
“Um, Miss Vanessa? Ma’am?”
She let out a surprisingly husky chuckle and glanced back at him. “Yes, Mr. Kai, sir?”
He blushed. Was she making fun of him? His stepmom had been so particular in how he and Sammi addressed her—though she preferred not to be addressed by them at all—and he’d wanted to be respectful to the other wolf. “Um, I didn’t get a chance to grab anything before we, uh, left.”
His eyes were down, so he didn’t see her reaction to his statement, but a moment later, he heard her say, “Yeah, Bennett, are you still at the Kings’ place?”
His head jerked up. She held a phone to her ear and winked at him in the rearview mirror, like she’d been waiting for him to look at her.
“Great,” she said, focusing back on the road. They were approaching a huge, impressive-looking gate that bisected a massive stone wall. The gate had large cameras mounted at varying heights and angles. “Before you leave, grab the kids’ stuff from the… Just grab their things, okay?”
She pulled the SUV up next to a box stationed on the side of the driveway a dozen or so feet from the gate itself. She lowered the window and punched in a long code.
“I don’t know, like their clothes and shit. For fuck’s sake, Bennett,” she grumbled the last part. Turning her head slightly, she called back to him and Sammi, “Anything particularly special you want him to make sure he grabs?”
“Umm.” He tried to think quickly, worried Vanessa or Bennett would lose their patience if he took too long. “Just the clothes and Henry’s pacifier and diapers.”
“And the books.” Sammi’s voice was so soft, Kai worried Vanessa hadn’t heard her. Before he could repeat the request, Vanessa was talking into the phone again, rattling off their requests. Including the books.
“Oh!” Kai leaned forward, hoping to stop Vanessa before she hung up with Bennett. “There’s an envelope in my pillowcase with some paperwork. Birth certificates and stuff.”
Vanessa nodded as she pulled through the opening gate. “You get that?” Bennett must have confirmed he had because she hung up a moment later. Tall trees on either side of the drive blocked Kai from seeing much, but he suddenly had a large pit in his stomach. “Bennett said they were just wrapping up there, so they should be back soon.”
Kai was going to ask a question, but Vanessa cleared a slight bend, and the manor came into view.
His mouth dropped open, and the pit in his stomach morphed into a ball of ice. The alpha’s home was a three-story mansion with imposing columns and more windows than he could count as the SUV looped around a freaking fountain and stopped in front of the large wooden doors, with what had to be the Kincaid Pack seal on them.
“Holy…” He stopped himself from finishing his sentiment, not wanting to offend Vanessa or swear in front of the pups.
Vanessa chuckled as she shut down the vehicle and hopped out. Before he could open his door, she was doing it for him and grinning at them. “It’s crazy, right? When he first had it built, some of the more… traditional pack members were upset, but everyone loves it now.”
Kai carefully climbed down so as to not disturb Henry and was grateful when Vanessa gave Sammi a hand. “It’s important that people love the alpha’s house?”
“It’s much more than that, my dear!”
Kai jerked around at the jovial voice behind him. A gray-haired woman with an enormous smile, floral dress, and an honest-to-god ruffled apron stood just outside the doors and waved at them. She bustled forward, immediately cooing over Henry and Callie.
Vanessa waited until the woman paused in her exclamations about how adorable the pups were before smoothly stepping in. “Kids, this is the housekeeper, Mrs. Wilkins.”
“Oh please, none of that nonsense.” Mrs. Wilkins waved her hand at Vanessa. “You may call me Beth, dears. We don’t stand for much formality around here.” She winked at Vanessa. “Despite Marcus’s best efforts.”
“Um, okay.” Kai was overwhelmed by Beth Wilkins’s energy and personality but in the best possible way. She reminded him a little of his mom, and he felt an agonizing pang in his chest at the thought. He tried to distract himself. “Ms. Beth, what did you mean it’s more than just the alpha’s house?”