Kith and Kin

Chapter 4

Vengeance set his cell phone on the counter and turned to the small human child. Jamie had wiggled his way onto one of Ven's tall kitchen chairs and happily slurped back orange juice. "They are going to bring you your mother." He told the child, bringing over a plate of cheese and crackers.

"Really? Awesome!" Jamie grinned and reached forward with a grubby hand to grab something to eat. 

Ven frowned, eyeing the boy's dirty hands. "Your hands need to be washed." 

Jamie eyed his dirt darkened hands with a frown. "Okay." He slipped off the chair and wandered into the bathroom Ven had showed him upon their arrival. A moment of silence passed before Jamie's dark head poked back out. "Where's your stool?"

Ven quirked an eyebrow. "Stool?"

"You know... a step stool. It's like a little ladder." Jamie told him.

"I don't have need of one."

"We have two of them. Mom uses one in the kitchen and keeps one in the bathroom so I can reach things."

Ven frowned, getting up to go into the bathroom. "What can't you reach?"

The little boy stood on his tip toes and stretched his hands out, but his fingers just barely brushed the taps. The soap dispenser was even farther back. 

"This cabin was built for a New Species. All the counters are taller to compensate for our height." Ven explained, realizing the problem. 

Jamie gave an odd little wiggle. "Can you lift me up?"

Ven eyed the child's thin frame and cautiously put his big hands under the child's raised arms. He lifted him and almost naturally moved his knee closer so the little boy could rest his bum against it. With a happy smile Ven caught in the mirror, Jamie twisted the taps, squirted soap on his hands and mashed them together, creating a froth of brownish bubbles. After a minute or so of playing with the bubbles, he rinsed off and held his tiny hands up for Ven to see. "Good?"

Ven eyed the pale fingers and relatively clean nails. "It's better." He set the boy down and handed him a towel.

Jamie dried his hands and put the towel back on the counter. "Can we eat now?"

Ven nodded and followed the excited boy back into the kitchen. He scooped him up when Jamie tried to scale the chair like a monkey and set him properly in the seat. Ven pushed the plate of cheese and crackers closer to the child before sitting across from him. He watched the child stuff cheese cubes in his mouth and try to chew.

Vengeance had spent his time since being freed wanting a mate and preparing for the day that might happen. He hadn't really contemplated that having a mate would hopefully lead to having a child. As he watched this tiny human child devour his snack, it was amazing how calm the boy was. He couldn't remember ever being so young and trusting. Mercile had made growing up a nightmare. With drugs forcing his body to grow unnaturally fast and being made to endure testing, he'd never had the chance to be a carefree child. He never had the opportunity to play in a backyard or be excited over his mother making his favorite foods for supper like Jamie was. Whoever this boy's mother was, Jamie was lucky to have her. 

An idea crossed his mind and Ven leaned forward on his elbows. "Jamie?"

"Yeah?" The boy said around a mouthful of cracker crumbs. 

"You talk a lot about your mother but not your father." He left the statement at that, hoping the child would fill him in.

Jaime gave a negligent little shrug. "Mom said he moved to New York for work when I was a baby."

Vengeance frowned. "He moved away from you and your mother?"

Jaime took a drink of juice and nodded as he swallowed. "Mom doesn't say much about him, but my grandma told me my dad was stupid to leave us."

"I see," Ven replied, taking that information in. He sipped a glass of juice while he watched the boy eat and nodded when the child started telling him about some cartoon on television he enjoyed.

The sound of a jeep approaching outside perked his ears and he set his glass down. "We have company."

"Is it my mom?" Jaime asked, looking excited as he squirmed in his seat. "I have so much to tell her!"

Vengeance got up and went to the door. Jaime scrambled off his chair and ran up beside him. Ven looked down and caught the boy gently by the back of the shirt. "Stay behind me."

"Behind you?" The boy asked, looking up at him in confusion.

"I am bigger than you. If whoever approaches means us harm, I need to be in front so I can deal with them." Ven informed him honestly.

Jaime gave a strange little salute and stepped behind him. His little fingers curled into the denim bunched at his knee and he peaked around him as Ven opened the door to greet their visitors.

The jeep had pulled up a short distance away and it's occupants were just getting out. Tiger came around the front just as Timber climbed out of the passenger side. Zest swung down from the back and held up his hands to aid a small female out as well. 

The hand at Ven's knee released and Jaime tried to step around him. Ven stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Is that your mom?"

"Yeah." Jaime replied, his voice a little shaky.

Ven stepped out, taking the little boy with him. "Just the woman. The rest of you stay there." Ven ordered, not wanting the males on his property while he had the child in his home. 

"Ven..." Tiger growled warningly even as the little female dodged around them and ran toward her child. "Jaime!"

Ven watched cautiously as the woman ran up the few steps to his porch and dropped to her knees as the little boy launched himself into her outstretched arms. His heart lurched as he saw the love between them at their joyful reunion.

"Oh, Jaime!" The woman sobbed into her little boy's shoulder as she clutched him to her chest. "I'm so glad you're okay. You had me so worried!"

"Sorry, mom." Jaime murmured, hugging her back. 

The woman pulled back and held her child at arm's length, looking him over. "Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself anywhere?"

Jaime shook his head and pointed up at Ven. "Ven found me and gave me cheese and crackers. He's really nice. Can he come over for supper? He's never had dinosaur nuggets before."

The woman choked out a laugh and wiped her eyes. "Yeah, we can do that, honey." She looked up and Ven felt pinned by her tear filled brown eyes so like her son's. "Thank you so much for taking care of my son."

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Hope you enjoyed that! I think the next part will be from Kiri's POV. In the meantime, if you really like my writing please consider checking out my first original novel, A Demon in My Bed. It's a full length 81K novel and the first of a five book series. Check it out here: https://www.amazon.com/Demon-My-Bed-Sons-Sariel-ebook/dp/B06XBXX25X