Page 12 of My Pleasure

“Hunter Armstrong! You better not be canoodling that poor child when she’s hungry!”

Hunter felt heat effuse his cheeks.

Kiera covered her mouth to muffle her laughter.

“Ma!” he complained loudly.

“Don’t ‘Ma!’ me, get in here.”

Hunter took his mate’s hand and led her to the kitchen.

The kids sat at the table, their feet swinging while they watched his mother go from cabinet to cabinet.

“Now, I have some jam from Boragina somewhere,” she muttered, pulling out fresh bread.

Hunter quickly moved both of them to also sit down. If his mom was making her version of PBJs, he wanted some too.

His mother turned and saw him also sitting at the table. “I suppose you’re hungry too?”

“Aren’t I always hungry?”

“Yes, you and your brothers are always hungry.”

“Hunter?” he heard a familiar voice call to him.

From the back door, his father stood, spade in hand. “Is this them?”

“Yes, Dad. I have the pleasure of introducing, Kiera Sorrel my mate and her two siblings, Keran and Nicol.”

There was a sheen to his father’s eyes when he knelt down to say hi to the two smaller children. “It’s wonderful to be able to meet you. Hunter has been wanting to get to know you for a while.”

Keran looked embarrassed. “We didn’t know why he kept watching us, so we stayed away.”

His father nodded, then stood. “That’s the smart thing to do. If you’re ever unsure if you’re safe or not, always hide first, then check things out.”

Hunter growled. “If they aren’t safe, I’ll just remove whatever is making them unsafe.”

His father clapped him on the shoulder. “I’ve taught you well.”

Keran smiled softly, almost to himself. “I like having a protector.”

Hunter turned to him. “Technically, I’m your brother now. But, as I will be helping to raise you with your sister, you can call me, ‘Dad’ if you want.”

Nicol stared, her lower lip trembling. “A real dad?”

“Absolutely. You’re already my cubs, no matter what label you want to use,” he said, reaching over to place his hand on her head.

She hopped out of her chair and practically threw herself at him. He easily caught her and lifted her into his lap. “You now have a dad and a grandma and a grandpa.” He paused. “And with your sister’s blessing, if you don’t already have one, I have someone in mind to be your athair. Plus, all my unit brothers will be like uncles to you.”

Keran and Nicol tensed at the word ‘uncle’.

“Not a good term. Hmmmm, what else can we call them?” he mused out loud.

His father sat at the table. “No matter what they call them, those boys will absolutely adore them.”

His mother sighed happily as she cut up the bread. “It’s so good to have kids around again. It’s been years since Amy was little.” She quickly began making a mountainous pile of sandwiches. “Johann,” she said, pointing to the platter.

Immediately, his father stood and carried the sandwiches over.