19. Arthur

Chapter 19

Arthur

" P lease come in," I said, holding out my hand as I came around my desk. "It's Dr. Hawthorne, correct?"

"Hawthorne is my first name. To the humans I have worked with, it's Dr. Brauer. But I'm all for being more relaxed now that I'm working for the council."

I smiled. The council really was working hard to add more support staff. More enforcers as well, but the fact that they now had added a fourth psychologist to their staff was amazing if you asked me.

"Well, if you prefer Dr. Brauer, I don't have issue with addressing you as such. If you prefer the use of your first name, that works as well."

Dr. Brauer grinned. "Either works. I know the others in the office go by both, first names and at times last names. It truly just depends on the patient and what they are comfortable with, I believe."

I nodded. That made sense. "Well, the patient in question this time is my son. He's all of eight. He will address you however you first introduce yourself, so that choice will be yours."

Dr. Brauer nodded. "Understandable." He sat in the chair I indicated, and I hopped up on my desk in order to try and be more informal. I didn't feel the need to put the desk between us. "I've read a bit about the issue you're having, but I'm not sure if I understand."

I sighed. "It's our son Edric. He's eight, as I've said. He's fine if he's with the other children in the coven. But when classes and after-school activities are over and he has to return to our quarters without anyone else, he becomes…well, petulant because he doesn't have a sibling to play with."

Dr. Brauer's smile was faint, but I could still make it out. "So he's an only child?"

I shook my head. "Actually, no. He has three older siblings, but they are much older. Patrick and I have been mated for centuries and had our first three fairly early on. After our third, things seemed to stop when it came to babies, so we accepted the fact that we would have three. Then, eight years ago, we were surprised when Patrick became pregnant with Edric."

"Understood. So he's sulking because he doesn't have a sibling close in age here."

I nodded. "Yes. Patrick has become pregnant again, but the baby isn't due for another three months. Edric seems excited about the new baby but is still upset when he's not continually entertained when he's in our quarters. It's become even more of an issue since Patrick is pregnant, and this pregnancy seems to be taking all of his energy. He's not had the energy to spend the time with Edric that he used to."

Dr. Brauer nodded slowly. "So what you're saying—and this is just a quick opinion on the very limited information you've given me— is that your son is incredibly spoiled and acting like a brat because he won't entertain himself."

I grinned, and it grew into a full-out smile. "You tell it like it is, don't you?"

Dr. Brauer shrugged. "I see no reason to sugarcoat things. I'm sorry, but yes, your son is acting as a brat because, most likely, he's been catered to his entire life."

"Why do you say that?" Had we done that?

"You said his siblings are centuries older. So that tells me that your son was a much-later-in-life baby. He was most likely a surprise, and you weren't expecting him." I nodded because I'd said as much. "It's possible that subconsciously, you weren't expecting him, therefore, you weren't expecting others to follow. You were acting as if he were your last chance to have a child, and therefore, you spoiled him. You showered him with love and attention, but it has now backfired, and your son has a sense of entitlement. He's spoiled, and unless you break that now, he will become a difficult adult who will have issues with life in general."

I took several deep breaths, wondering if that was the case. It was true, we had given Edric a lot of attention. But he was the only child we had at the moment, and aside from ourselves, we had nobody else to direct that attention to. Our other children were grown and had families of their own. We spent time with our grandchildren and great-grandchildren, but aside from Miles, they didn't live with us.

"Are things clicking into place, or have I stepped on your toes and insulted you?"

I shook my head. "No, you've not insulted me. You're, of course, correct. We've spoiled Edric because he is our only child at the moment." I suddenly thought of something. "Will he become jealous of the baby Patrick is carrying?"

"Most likely, to some extent. You can involve him in the caring of the baby to some level to help him feel as if he's not being overlooked. I also recommend that the two of you also spend time with him without the baby if at all possible. I understand that can be difficult when you have a new one in your family. But this is a coven, and the covens I've been around before have always been very family-oriented."

"This one is no different. Our coven doctor is actually mated to one of our grandsons. But even before that, Constantine was more than just our coven doctor to us."

"That's good to hear. I understand it can be difficult to hear these things from someone you've just met, and I will admit if I'm wrong. But from what I've been told, the issue is Edric and the fact that he's spoiled."

I sighed and nodded. We'd created this issue. "How do we fix it?"

"It won't be fixed overnight. But your son will have to learn to entertain himself. Not everything revolves around him, and he needs to understand that. Especially once the baby comes, he will have to understand that although his parents love him, he is no longer their sole focus."

"Understood. If you have any suggestions for us, I'm open to any and all of them. We take him to Montana at least twice a month so he can see his grandfathers as well as two of his siblings and their families."

Dr. Brauer nodded slowly. "Perhaps those visits need to not necessarily stop but slow considerably. Again, the world doesn't revolve around your son and his entertainment. He will have to come to the realization that he has to be able to spend time doing things on his own." Dr. Brauer looked thoughtful. "Is he the only child in the coven? I understand he has siblings, but they're much older, and Edric hasn't been raised with them."

"No. Cornelius and Matthew actually only have one child, and they only want just the one. Most everyone else has at least two, if not several more than that. Edric spends several hours a day with the other children in the classroom out back. Then, if there are any studies to be completed, he does those with one of us, and then the children in the coven spend some time playing together until it's evening, and we all tend to go to our quarters and have family time."

Dr. Brauer nodded. "During your family time, are you constantly interacting with Edric? Does he not have quiet time at all?"

I thought about it and shook my head. "He used to. We used to have him spend an hour or so alone simply because he seemed to need it in order to be able to go to sleep. We, of course, read to him at bedtime, but before that, he seemed to need time to shut down from the day."

"He no longer does that?" I shook my head. "What changed? Why does he no longer have time alone?"

I tried to think about it but couldn't come up with a specific incident where he was with us the entire afternoon and evening. "I'm not sure. It just seems as if he was suddenly just with us all the time. Then it was nighttime routine: bath, reading, and then bed."

"I will, of course, still meet with Edric and talk to him, see how he's perceiving life at the moment, but I believe that he needs to have an hour of alone time every evening. I'm not suggesting that you lock him away and ignore him completely. But Edric needs to spend an hour of time entertaining himself. He can spend it reading, playing quietly, something else along those lines. Once he becomes accustomed to it, he will most likely realize an hour of alone time isn't all that much, and then an hour will turn into more. We're not wanting him to become a complete introvert, but he needs to have the balance of being with others and being able to be alone."

That made sense. "I'll discuss this with Patrick, and we'll work on getting that implemented as quickly as possible."

"You said the new baby is due in three months?"

I nodded. "Yes. Costas believes Patrick will give birth the first half of April." It was January now, and although it seemed as if Patrick and I had just returned from Montana after his last fertile period, that had been six weeks ago now.

"That is more than enough time to start implementing changes. Edric will be able to have a new routine of spending time alone doing his thing while you and Patrick spend that time focusing on your new baby. Then, once he goes to bed, the two of you can spend time focusing on one another. I understand you have been mated a long time, but couples can tend to slip and shift priorities too much when a new baby arrives."

"Yes. We had that issue, thankfully only briefly, when our first was born."

"The goal is to not repeat that while ensuring to Edric that although you love him just as much as any of your other children, he needs to understand that he has to be able to spend time on his own as well. It will take some patience, but it is possible."

That was such a relief. "Thank you. I understand you've not yet met with Edric, but already, this is such a relief. You are absolutely correct. We're the issue, and we've completely spoiled our son by always being there to ensure he's entertained. With our others, they read to themselves, or they had their other siblings to spend time with. With Edric, it's different, and we've overcompensated because of that."

Dr. Brauer nodded. "It is good that you can see that. Being able to do so is part of the way to fix it. It is incredibly difficult when parents won't accept that they are part of the issue. This one is truly minor compared to others I've helped with. Edric is young, and at his age, it will be so much easier to address the issues and change the trajectory."

"Again, thank you. What do you suggest first?"

Dr. Brauer nodded. "It's my pleasure. And first, I would suggest that I meet with Edric and introduce myself. I'm going to ask him some questions, let him tell me some stories, and we'll see what it is that he views his life as. I'll start to suggest certain things that he can do alone and see if any are of interest to him."

"Sounds like a plan. He's in the atrium with Patrick now. I can take you there if you'd like."

"Perfect. I can meet your One then, and after my session with Edric, I can talk to the two of you together."

That worked for me. I slid from the desk at the same time Dr. Brauer stood from his chair. I wasn't exactly short at six three, but Dr. Brauer was a gargoyle, and like dragons, they were all incredibly tall, and I had to look up at the psychologist. I led him from my office and down the hallway to the main foyer and then to the back of the manor, where the atrium was. It pained me to have it no longer be solely Patrick's sanctuary. He was more than happy to share it though, and I had plans on adding a smaller atrium to our own quarters for him and him alone. He loved his plants, and the atrium had been a perfect place for the children's indoor play area. It was warm and inviting in the winter, and with the solar shade in the summer, it was still sunny but provided some protection from the heat.

I led Dr. Brauer through the manor and to the atrium, where Patrick was with Edric. We found them at one of the tables, building with blocks. Patrick knew I was on the way because I'd had our bond completely open the entire time, so he'd heard everything Dr. Brauer and I had discussed.

"There you are," Patrick said as we approached.

"Here I am," I said. I gently touched Patrick's waist as I leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. I then bent down and kissed the top of Edric's head. "What are you doing?" I asked him.

"Making a dragon. I wanted a gold one like Chin because he's the prettiest. But they had red, so that's what I'm building."

I glanced at Patrick, who shrugged. "Yes, I could make him gold blocks, but he needs to learn to deal with the fact that everything can't always be what we want," Patrick told me through our bond.

I nodded before glancing back at Dr. Brauer. "Edric?" When our son immediately looked up at me, I was thankful. "This is Hawthorne," I said, indicating the gargoyle behind me. "He's going to talk to you for a bit and ask you some questions. Sound good?"

Edric's eyes lit up. Of course our son would love that someone wanted to talk specifically with him.

"Hello, Edric," Dr. Brauer said. "Would you like to go over to the couch over there and talk with me for a bit?"

Edric immediately hopped up and followed Dr. Brauer over to the other side of the atrium, leaving me with Patrick.

"So we created a little monster," Patrick said through our bond as he leaned into my chest.

"We did what we thought was best for all of us. But we understood there was an issue early enough that we can fix it," I responded. "We'll work with Dr. Brauer, and we'll figure out a way to fix things." I glanced at the blocks down on the table.

"Where did the blocks come from?"

"Matthew. He said Ollie loves them and can sit and do them for hours in their quarters. I looked at the website, and they had several dragon sets, but this one was the one Edric seemed most interested in."

We definitely needed to see about getting more if he was interested in them. They would be good for his quiet time that we needed to implement in the evenings.

"Can we fix this?" Patrick asked, his voice just above a whisper.

I placed my hand low on his stomach as I kissed his forehead. "Most certainly. It won't be an overnight thing, but it's definitely fixable." The biggest obstacle was we understood we had an issue, and we were willing to address it. Laughter drew our attention, and I watched as Edric giggled at something Dr. Brauer said. Yeah, we could definitely fix this. Like I had said, it would take time, but Edric was young, and we still had plenty of years yet to mold him into an amazing young man. We were both willing to do the work; we just needed the best tools in order to do it. That was where Dr. Brauer came in. He had the experience we didn't, and he would be able to best tell us how we needed to tackle our situation. I wasn't certain where the council had found him, but I was thankful that they had and that he was willing to help us here at the coven.

"How are you feeling?" I asked Patrick. I knew he was tired. I could feel that through our bond.

"Tired," he said. "A little hungry, and I was actually about to get a snack for the two of us when you came in."

"Would you like me to get you something?"

Patrick shook his head. "Grantham made brownies, and I can't help it. I really want a brownie or two. But if I have one and Edric sees, he'll not continue with Dr. Brauer. It's more important than me getting a snack."

I didn't agree. I leaned in closer. "Go to the kitchen and get you your brownies. Then, when you come back, they'll probably be finished, and we can discuss some things while Edric has his own brownie."

I felt Patrick hesitate for only a moment before he kissed me quickly and then left. I chuckled as I watched my One leave the atrium and head toward the kitchen. I didn't blame him. Even if he wasn't pregnant, it was brownies, and Grantham made some of the absolute best ones. Patrick deserved to get his snack, and I had no issues with watching over our son and the doctor from here.

I didn't wish to interrupt, but I was still close enough if needed. I just hoped that Dr. Brauer had more insight and ideas for us quickly. Patrick's pregnancy was tiring for him, and with Edric demanding so much attention, that didn't help. We needed to figure out more low-key activities. I glanced down at the blocks again, and when I saw the box on the chair beside where Patrick had been sitting, I picked it up and pulled out my phone to go to the website on the back. More blocks would be added to our collection, even if Edric didn't take to them like I hoped he would. They looked as if they were a good thing to have around the coven, and that was important.

I smiled when Edric giggled again. At least he seemed to be getting along with the doctor well enough. In my opinion, that was already a start in the right direction.