Page 5 of A Kitten for Alpha Kenny

“I’ll take the call.” My lunch did not look so good anymore, but I picked up the phone. I’d never met Aspen in person, but we spoke on the phone from time to time. “This is Kenny.”

“Afternoon, alpha. How are things going there?”

“Coming along. Are you planning to attend the event at Animals this week?”

“Animals?” I’d heard of the club but never been. “I’m not sure I can get away.” Although I wanted to. Desperately. I needed a break like nobody’s business.

“It’s for a good cause. Come and spend a couple of hours. There will be a lot of people there you might want to meet.”

“I’ll accept, then. I really could use a night out, too.”

And maybe he could give me some tips on how to do this alpha thing. He’d been the first one to extend a hand of friendship, and his pack seemed a well-functioning group. I never even asked him what the cause was.

“We all need a break from time to time. Meet me at my office midafternoon and we can talk pack matters and then get some dinner before the event. If that works for you.”

“Absolutely.”

Chapter Four

Mulder

“Come on, Madeline, it’s time for breakfast.” I flipped the pancakes. “It’s a good one, too.”

Madeline wasn’t exactly the quickest to get ready in the morning. She was like her father, easing into the day. It was difficult to believe he’d been gone nearly four years already. So much had changed in that time. I’d been so scared when my world crumbled, but our new life was better than I could’ve hoped for. I had a great job with an adorable home, and Madeline was soaring in school.

Sure, it was only preschool, but the teacher said she was definitely ready for kindergarten next year, and that was huge. I’d been so worried that all the upheaval in her life in the beginning would somehow hinder her—but so far, it seemed not to have. Thank gods.

“Daddy!” She came running out with her tutu on over her jeans. “I got fancy for school!” She twirled around.

I wouldn’t exactly call a T-shirt with a bicycle on it and a tutu that had seen better days paired with jeans fancy, but it wasn’t my call. “Super fancy.”

There’d been a time when I used to worry about whether her interesting fashion choices would get her picked on or be in the way when she climbed on the playground or participated in all the fun kids her age enjoyed. But my clever girl figured out that if she put the tutu over jeans, she could have the best of all worlds.

“Do I smell pancakes?” Her eyes lit up.

“You do.”

She sniffed the air. “Banana?”

“Very good.” I’d been working on helping her with her scenting.

I could sense that she was part cat, but I still didn’t know if she had one inside her. And I thought maybe if I focused on some of these skills, it would better prepare her for her first shift—if she had one. If she turned out to be human, that was fine, too. She could be a perfumer with the skills.

Some shifters cared if their young took after them, but not me. Her father was one of the kindest people I ever met, and he was human. It would be an honor for her to take after him.

“We don’t have a lot of time today. Daddy’s got a meeting this morning.”

“You always have meetings. When I grow up, I’m gonna have a job where I can dance all day. No meetings.” She changed her career goals often. One day, she wanted to be a train conductor, the next, a doctor, and now, a dancer. It was good to keep her options open.

“Well, I hope that works out for you. But I don’t mind meetings.”

They were far better than some of the other jobs I’d had during my younger years.

“Now, hurry up and get started. We don’t want to be late.”

I would have to tell her at least three more times because, well, she would get distracted. Normally, it didn’t matter. Her school was pretty flexible about when she arrived, since she went to childcare before class began. But today’s meeting was early, which was unusual for my boss—and that meant rushing her more than normal.

She ate her pancakes and then had to go change her clothes because she was a sticky mess. But we still managed to get there on time.

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