His Apprehensive Mate - Brea Alepou Page 0,24

him already knew all of it to be truth, but still Morgan had let his brain muddy up what was right in front of him. Tears slid down his cheeks before he knew it, and Kenny wiped them away and kissed each cheek. They sat there together for a little while as Morgan’s emotions had a field day.

“Now will you tell me why I smelled fear in the kitchen?”

Oh yeah. Morgan thought about it for a second before he made his decision.

“We better go back to the kitchen so everyone can hear.”

Kenny nodded, and they made their way back to the kitchen. It was still full of people, and Dillan and Ava had joined in as well. His niece looked at home at the large kitchen table, eating some of Kash’s quiches. The moment Kenny and Morgan walked in, the conversation dimmed, and Dezi and Kash gave Morgan a warm smile.

Morgan squared his shoulders.

“Why don’t you two come eat before it’s all gone,” Kash offered.

Kenny took a chair, and Morgan promptly sat on his lap as Kash made them each a plate.

“When I first ran away from my old pack, I had gone to the Blaze Pack alpha and asked for asylum and to possibly join their pack.” Morgan took in a deep breath as he remembered when he was seventeen and he’d finally had enough energy to run. It took months of scrounging for food and making sure to stay low so as not to piss any of the higher-ranking wolves off. “He denied me—”

“You were a kid and they denied you?” Cole said with a surprising amount of anger. Morgan glanced around the table, and it seemed everyone was upset by it. It felt oddly good to have others upset on his behalf.

“That’s not it, is it?” Kenny asked, an edge to his voice that brooked no argument.

“You said the first time you ran away,” Dezi remarked.

Morgan sighed. “Yes. As a sign of good faith, the Blaze Pack alpha returned me back to my old pack.”

Growls filled the room. Samantha started crying, and Dillan stood and rocked her in his arms. Dezi held his hand up, and the growls quieted down.

“Thank you for sharing this with us, Morgan,” Dezi said.

Morgan nodded, not sure what to do besides lean back against Kenny.

“This changes things. We won’t be doing business with them if that’s the case,” Kash said with finality.

“But, um…”

“Morgan,” Kash interrupted.

Morgan shut his mouth.

“You are a part of this pride, but not only that, we can’t possibly partner with a pack that disregards a shifter in need.”

Morgan didn’t know what to say to that, so he said nothing. He picked up his quiche and ate, leaving it to the alphas to decide their plan of action. Slowly conversation switched over, and the tension in the room eased. Morgan ate what he could, but his stomach just wouldn’t cooperate.

Ava stood next to them looking as if she wanted to say something. She looked everywhere but at them.

“I…” She shut her mouth, and a red blush tinted her cheeks as she blew out a harsh breath. Whatever she was trying to say seemed hard. Morgan wanted to help, but he wasn’t sure how.

Kenny moved to stand up, and Morgan slid off his lap. He gently pushed Morgan toward his niece, giving him a wink. He ruffled Ava’s hair.

“You’re a good kid,” Kenny said.

She seemed stunned by his words, but the smile that took over her face told Morgan all that he needed to know. Ava still held her family and old pack’s words close to her heart. Just like him. He pulled Ava into a hug. She was stiff for only a second before she sunk into his arms. No words passed between them. There was no need.

They pulled up to a field only thirty minutes out of town. It was unclaimed territory and the perfect place to meet the Blaze Pack and Huning Prowl. Both alphas were to be in attendance, along with their betas and at least one or two enforcers.

“We’re early,” Clyde remarked. He shook his head and gave a pointed look to Kenny. “Who told Kenny what time we were supposed to meet up?”

Dezi avoided Clyde’s eyes because he’d been the one to tell Kenny.

Clyde groaned, and Rhy and Dezi both relaxed against the hood of the car. They were used to Kenny’s need to be early. He had a firm belief that five minutes early was on time, on time was late, and anything after