His Apprehensive Mate - Brea Alepou Page 0,28

you’re thinking about, but you went from happy to sad in a span of a few seconds. Talk to us,” Kash said.

They all sat at the table.

“I hope I didn’t miss out on brownies,” Cole said.

“I thought you went with the guys?” Kash asked.

Cole shook his head, sporting his usual smile. “They asked me to stay back.”

“No, you didn’t miss out on brownies,” Logan said through gritted teeth.

“Did he not get any coffee?”

Morgan relaxed further listening to Cole and Logan tease each other.

“That’s more like it,” Kash whispered to him.

Morgan grinned at Kash. The oven dinged, signaling the brownies were done. Everyone sat at the table in anticipation. The moment Kash opened the oven door, Morgan’s mouth watered as the delicious scent of brownies filled the room.

“Oh, this is going to be good,” Dillan said, licking his lips.

Morgan had to agree. Kash brought over a plate of steamy, freshly cut brownies. No one was willing to wait as they grabbed a brownie the moment the plate touched the table.

“Now sit down and rest,” Logan said, once each mouth was full of piping hot brownie.

Kash sighed but did just that, leaning back in the kitchen chair. Morgan finished his piece and thought about getting another, but as he looked around the table, he realized that everyone there was the closest thing he had to friends. Growing up, Morgan had friends until he was fourteen—that’s when they all started to avoid him. He hadn’t shifted, and his title of a runt hovered over his head. But everyone here knew what he was and didn’t treat him any differently.

“You’ve got a lot on your mind. Want to talk about it?” Kash asked.

Did he? Morgan leaned back in his chair, biting down on his lip as he thought about what he wanted to ask. It wasn’t exactly something he was confident in.

“Um…” He looked around again and ended up looking down at his hands.

“You can ask anything. If I don’t have the answer, I’m sure one of us will.”

Morgan was still unable to look at anyone. His stomach felt as if he was riding a roller coaster, squeezing and dropping as he tried to get the words out. He’d only told Kenny, and even that had been embarrassing.

“I… I…” Morgan sighed. What the hell? He just wanted some advice on how to show Kenny he was ready to have sex and to bond. Maybe just talking to Kenny would work?

“You what?” Logan asked.

Morgan covered his face. “I’m a virgin, and I want to—you know—with Kenny. I want a bond with him.” Morgan felt light-headed after his confession. He couldn’t stomach the idea of seeing pity or disgust on any of their faces.

“Morgan,” Kash said softly.

Morgan flinched and waited for harsh words to come his way, telling him he wasn’t worth anything, that he shouldn’t hope for so much. It was completely illogical, but Morgan’s brain wasn’t letting up. More harsh words filtered in, the voices of his parents, siblings, and then the alpha repeatedly telling him he was worthless. That he held no value.

Kash pulled Morgan’s hands from his face, causing Morgan to flinch back. His blood rushed, blocking out all sound around him. He heard muffled words, but he was too far into his panic to make any sense of them. He glanced up, catching a worried look on Kash’s face. Damn it, why did he have to cause so many problems?

Kash moved his hand to the back of Morgan’s neck, a warm presence that wasn’t exactly unpleasant, but unfamiliar. Morgan could feel power try and wash over him, but it didn’t exactly sink into him. He hadn’t yet pledged himself to Dezi and Kash; he could feel alpha power, but his wolf didn’t recognize it.

A whimper escaped him as he felt as if everything was closing in on him.

“You have to stay calm,” someone shouted.

Cole moved in front of Morgan, his dark blue eyes pleading. He wasn’t smiling. It was Morgan’s fault. He—

Cole’s lips moved, but he wasn’t looking at Morgan. Morgan turned his head, catching sight of Ava, fear in her brown eyes. She looked panicked.

He needed to be better—it wasn’t just him anymore. She mouthed his name, and Morgan closed his eyes. He focused on the power that Kash showered over him. It was probably because of him that Morgan hadn’t been forced to shift. He drew on the power he had no right to but needed desperately.

Morgan’s wolf cowered in the furthest part of his mind. They were weak,