Page 23 of A Kitten for Alpha Kenny

“Oh, I better waddle lively, then.” Because waddling was pretty much all I could muster lately. “I’ll catch ya later.”

I waddled down the hall into the conference room, where Alpha Aspen was waiting with Karma and Grandpa Swale—or today, Beta Swale, since this was business.

“Sorry I’m late. For some reason, I thought the meeting wasn’t until next hour.”

“Oh, you aren’t late,” Karma assured me. “We had another meeting ahead of the one with you, so you’re actually early.”

Good to know.

“I can come back—” There were plenty of tasks on my to-do list for the week, if they needed more time to finish their conversation.

“No, this is perfect timing. Have a seat.” She indicated one that had not only a teapot with a nice teacup in front of it but also a small basket of baked goods. The rest of the people all had coffee mugs. Someone, I assumed her, arranged for the tea specifically for me, which I appreciated. Tea was much kinder to my stomach these days. “Thought you might be hungry.”

I was pretty much all the time. My guestimate was that at least half of my growing belly was a food baby, by this point.

“Why don’t we move on to the next stage?” she said to the alpha, and he nodded in agreement.

“We’re planning to have another fundraiser, one co-sponsored by Animals and Wolfe Enterprises,” Alpha Aspen explained, “and thought you might want to take a more active role in it, seeing how the last one was such a success.”

“To be fair, I didn’t actually do anything at the last one,” I said. “Unless you count finding my mate.”

“It was still a success, and you were there.” Beta Swale pointed to the basket in front of me and then mimed eating.

I took the hint as Alpha Aspen showed me a pitch for another fundraiser—this one for helping a different kind of animal—shifters, specifically single father shifters who needed to make a new start. The goal was to financially support scholarships, daycare, basic necessities—everything to help them get on their feet.

It was an issue close to my heart and I was glad to help.

I was at the point of my pregnancy where everything was starting to be uncomfortable, including sitting for an hour in these chairs. I was relieved when my phone buzzed with a reminder for my doctor’s appointment.

“Please keep me in the loop,” I told them. “I’d love to be part of this project—but it’s ultrasound day, and I can’t wait to see my little one.”

I pushed myself up, holding on to the table for a second to stabilize myself. My center of gravity had definitely changed.

“Babies?” Karma gave me a knowing glance.

I’d suspected multiples, too. I was already so much bigger than I was with Madeline—even near the end. But it was the first time anyone else had suggested it.

“Baby…probably.” I snatched a muffin to go.

“If you think so.” She very evidently did not.

When I got back to the lobby, my mate was already waiting for me. Gods, I loved working in the same complex as my mate.

We drove to the shifter clinic—run by one of our pack members—and waited for our turn, looking around at all the other parents-to-be, the room full of hope and love.

When it was finally our turn, we went back and did the usual routine. They took my weight—which I’d rather not have known—and took my blood pressure. Everything looked great.

And then it was ultrasound time.

The tech strolled into the room. “Hello, Dads. Before we get started, are you wanting to know the sex?”

“I think so,” I told him.

Kenny and I had talked about it. It was going to be a surprise whether we found out today, next week, or next month—so we figured we might as well know now and be prepared.

“Okay. Let’s see what we have here.”

I leaned back. He started coating my belly with gel before moving the wand slowly across it. It took a while before he said anything, clicking and typing as he captured images.

---