"You... want us to raise them?" Alisha asked, holding a puppy.

Aiden had brought the puppies back to his unit. He gave one each to Alisha and Karina, two to Amaela, and kept another one to give to Milarel when she returned.

Alisha teased the brown fur baby with her finger, and it immediately began nibbling at it. Meanwhile, the black one was already attached to Karina, perhaps her being a werewolf had some role to play in it.

As for Amaela, she looked stunned, confused, and annoyed, all at the same time. After all, while the other girls got just one pet, he gave two of them to her!

"Yes," Aiden replied, holding the last puppy. "Consider it a test."

"Test for raising... pets?" Karina mumbled, tilting her head.

"Partially correct. Since taking care of little beasts is like taking care of a newborn, I wanted to check how many of you are ready for motherhood."

He continued, "If you cannot even take care of a puppy, then we should wait before thinking about having kids."

His words hit the mark with Alisha first. After all, having kids with Aiden was her biggest dream, and suddenly Aiden threw a curveball at her.

"But I am already raising Lily!" she complained.

"Yes, you’ve raised her since she was five," Aiden pointed out. "That is not the same as raising an infant. You did not have to deal with feeding her milk, changing diapers, or staying up all night to check on her. Hence the need to practice."

Alisha did not have any rebuttal to it. What Aiden said was entirely true. She had experience dealing with kids, but those were grown kids and not infants.

However, Karina wasn’t buying it.

"Why do I need this?" She asked, raising the puppy in the air. "I am a warrior. I go outside the apartment almost every day. I’m not even planning on having kids any time soon, and even if I was, how am I supposed to take care of a puppy when I am fighting out there?"

Aiden nodded along. Karina was his primary fighting force, but unlike before, she wasn’t the only one fighting out there. He now had Milarel and Carmila, and if everything went right, Joan would be under his control as well.

Even without them, the wolves and enforcers were rapidly gaining experience. They could handle most of the known threats out there. In other words, Karina was just trying to get out of the responsibility. Thankfully, Aiden had one way to shut her up.

"You’re not interested in having kids...?" he asked, looking hurt. "Was... I planning their names in vain? Karina, do you dislike the thought of having a kid with me so much!?"

"N-No! That’s not it!" Karina panicked, hugging the furbaby as if it were her own. "I would love to have kids with you. It’s just that... it’s a big commitment! After all, my primary duty is to protect you and everyone else. Where will I find the time to raise a kid—?"

"That’s what you’re worried about? There are a lot of old folks in the building now. They can’t do regular hunting or maintenance work. I’m sure they’ll gladly become nannies for a few caps!"

"Excellent idea!" Alisha immediately agreed. "We can ask John’s mom first. After losing her son, the poor lady needs company, and being around children would help her a lot."

Aiden nodded approvingly. He didn’t care all that much about someone who wasn’t productive.

He just came up with the hiring nannies part just to persuade Karina, but Alisha took it a step further, and looking at Karina’s expression, it seemed to have worked.

"Are you done asking questions?" Aiden asked the girls, only to find another objection, but this time from Amaela.

"Good, you want us all to have blown stomachs, good for you," she said, looking at her puppies. "But would you mind telling me why am I carrying two puppies unlike them? Besides, it is not like vampires can get pregnant anyway!"

The moment she said that, Aiden stepped closer to her. While the others were distracted by the puppies, he subtly reached behind her and pinched her butt cheeks firmly, making Amaela jump in surprise.

"One is for you," he whispered. "And the other one is for your mommy."

Amaela’s face turned slightly red. Mommy could only mean he was talking about Carmila. He didn’t just tell her that because to everyone else, Carmila was her mother and a separate person.

Still, she wanted to argue about getting pregnant, but Aiden beat her to it.

"And about not being able to get pregnant... you never know, miracles happen all the time in this world."

Amaela pouted at first, but then a loving smile slowly spread across her lips. She looked at Aiden with soft eyes, clearly touched by his words.

Alisha noticed the close interaction between Aiden and Amaela. She narrowed her eyes slightly. In her mind, only she, Karina, and Milarel were in Aiden’s harem. She did not know that Amaela and Carmila were also his women.

"If this is a test for motherhood," Alisha asked, "then why did you give puppies to Amaela? She is not—"

"Someday, Amaela will also experience the joy of motherhood. It is important to train her as well, don’t you think? Besides, Karina wanted people to take care of babies, Amaela could help with that."

Karina thought it was because of that he gave two puppies. Alisha thought the same, wondering if Aiden wanted Amaela to get used to dealing with multiple babies so that she could still care for Lily.

"Still, Aiden, giving her two babies is too much. She’s a young girl after all—"

"You’re mistaken, Karina. The two babies aren’t for Amaela. One is for her, and the other is for her mother."

"Now, why does she need a baby? Carmila already has Amaela, doesn’t she?"

Aiden shrugged as if he was expecting the question. Well, he couldn’t just say that Carmila had never bore any children of her own. So he gave them the most ridiculous reason.

"For practice, what else? The more people know how to handle children, the better it would be for everyone."

Alisha looked down at the puppy in her arms, gently stroking its head.

She still looked a bit confused about why Amaela and Carmila were included in the plan, but she did not push the question further. She was more focused on the warm puppy in her hands.

The idea of having a child with Aiden someday made her heart feel strangely full, so much so that she immediately wanted him to put one in her womb.

But it would have to wait. She wanted it to be an intimate moment just between the two of them. No Karina, no Milarel, just her and Aiden.

Our... wedding night. Yes, that would be the right time to act on it, hehe.

Alisha blushed and ran into Lily’s room with the excuse of wanting to show her the puppy.

"Hm, I should shower as well. It’s been a while," Aiden said and walked into the shower, leaving Karina and Amaela in the living room.

"Um... I’ll go tell mom about it," Amaela excused herself as well.

"Guess it’s just the two of us then," Karina mumbled, lifting the baby in the air. "...maybe being a mother wouldn’t be so bad."