His Apprehensive Mate - Brea Alepou Page 0,83

mouth and intertwining their tongues. Blunt nails bit into his shoulders as he deepened the kiss even further, never getting enough of his mate, only pulling away once his lungs burned for the need for air.

“Do we know what we’re having?” Kenny asked.

Morgan shook his head. “Logan said we should be able to see in the next week or so. As long as my pregnancy progresses like any other wolf shifter.”

“Why wouldn’t it?” Kenny asked.

“Well, he said it’s different for interspecies. Wolf shifters usually carry for about three and a half months where snow leopard shifters are unknown. But Logan said most feline shifters carry around four to five months, and it seems that although we are male, we carry the same length of time as female shifters. It’s all depending on how many babies and how stressful the pregnancy will be.”

“Hmm, well, whether it’s a boy or girl, I’m happy.”

Morgan’s smile reached his eyes, and he kissed Kenny once more. Kenny pulled back, ready to ask more questions, but there was a knock at the door. He caught her scent, and a smile pulled at his lips.

“Come in, Ava.”

Ava walked in, hair done up in uneven pigtails with a few pink bows decorating it. Kenny quirked an eyebrow at her, and she laughed.

“Rhy and Dillan are practicing on me so they know what to do when Samantha’s hair gets longer. This is the result of them both trying to do it at the same time.” She shook her head, the bright blue pigtails swishing in the air. “They tried to do Gabriella’s hair, but she stayed still all of the five seconds it took her to eat the promised cookie.” She gave them both a warm smile, and Kenny lowered Morgan back down to his feet.

“You want to join in?” he asked, opening his arms up for their oldest daughter to join in.

Ava’s smile stretched on her face, and she leapt into their open arms in a fit of giggles.

“So, Ava, how do you feel about being a big sister?” Morgan asked.

She pulled back, a look of shock on her face before she glanced down at Morgan’s flat stomach. There was nothing there yet, but she still stared as if at any second a baby bump would appear.

“I’m going to be a big sister?” Her words were choked up with emotion.

Kenny was once again confused as to how Ava’s parents hadn’t wanted anything to do with her. Even her siblings had forsaken her, but Ava was intelligent, caring, and cheerful. He would love her enough to fill all the voids her birth family left. She may have just become his daughter, but she was his all the same.

He stared at his mate and then his daughter, and Kenny couldn’t wait to meet his son or daughter in the next few months. When he’d met Dezi and Rhy, he’d found a family with them, and they’d built one together to include Cole, Clyde, and Logan; now their family was growing even larger. Kash, Dillan, Samantha, Ava, Morgan, Gabriella, and even Indigo, if Logan got over whatever happened to them in the past. Kenny couldn’t say before that he’d seen any of it happening for him, but now that he had it, he would fight tooth and nail to keep it.

His family.

It finally came. Kenny smiled down at the official document envelope with a courthouse stamp.

“What has you smiling so big? Did you peek at one of my best dad joke books?” Dezi asked. He was carrying Ramsey. Kash had dubbed that Ramsey would wear blue socks and Rainer green until they were old enough for their scents to differentiate. At the moment they smelled the same as Dezi and Kash. But the older they got, the more their scents would change into their own unique ones.

Kenny held the envelope like a prized possession and ignored Dezi’s other question. “It’s the adoption paperwork. It all went through.”

Dezi’s smile mirrored his own as he hugged Kenny.

“Congrats.”

“What are we celebrating?” Kash asked. He had Rainar in his arms. He traded off with Dezi and cooed and cawed at Ramsey.

“The adoption paperwork went through,” Kenny said.

Kash’s face lit up. “That’s fantastic. We should have a special dinner. I’ll go get started.”

Dezi took Ramsey back from Kash, who was already planning a big feast on short notice and heading toward the door.

“Kitten, you need shoes on if you’re going to the store.”

Kenny knew it was hopeless trying to change Kash’s mind, and he knew it