Chapter Eleven

Karl

"So, how long will they be in the egg again?" Georgi ran a finger over his little sibling's egg and kissed it. "I can't wait to teach them how to talk with the spiders outside."

"We don't know if he will be able to talk to spiders yet, buddy." I ruffled his hair and walked past him. "But you have another month to wait until he gets out of the shell."

"And exactly how many spiders are we talking about?" Peter stretched, lying down in the nest next to our egg.

"I don't know." Georgi shrugged. "I think like twenty."

"Twenty?" Peter raised his eyebrow. "They sure are liking their new home, huh?"

"Oh yeah. They wanted me to tell you thank you. They hated the last people who stayed here. They kept trying to kill them."

"Well, we aren't going to harm them." Peter kissed Georgi on the nose.

"Are you sure you are all right?" I knelt next to the nest. "I could stay home a couple more days. Wolf won't mind. He has kids and understands."

"Go back to work. Everything is fine. Georgi will have fun at the daycare at the training center; those Survolar and Ramano kids will keep him busy. And I could easily nap all day with this guy." Peter pulled our egg closer and kissed its shell. "I mean it. Go help Wolf and Rayne with that special project and let me rest."

"As long as you're sure." I kissed my mate and rubbed my index finger lovingly along our egg. "Call me if anything happens. Or even if you miss us."

"I will." Peter chuckled. "Georgi, listen to everything Karl says today. Is that okay?"

"Okay, Papa. Love you." Georgi kissed his papa.

"We'll see you around 5 p.m." I closed our bedroom door and led Georgi downstairs. "I was thinking of stopping for breakfast on the way to work. What sounds good?"

"Pancakes!" Georgi bounced in place as I grabbed my wallet and keys from the bowl in the foyer.

"How did I know you'd say that?" I chuckled. Let's go get some pancakes. And I'll even let you get the birthday cake ones with the rainbow sprinkles."

"Yes." Georgi fist-pumped the air before climbing into his car seat. "Thanks, Daddy Karl."

The world stopped momentarily as I digested that my little man called me Daddy. "Anytime, buddy. I love you."

"I love you too." His smile lit up my day. I loved this kid with all my heart, and if he let me, I would make sure to be a good daddy.

***

"Watch out."

A shimmering line of electric blue energy shot past me and landed on the wall to my right, leaving a slight dent in its wake.

"Sorry." Nikolai Survolar hung his head and walked closer. "I didn't mean to release it yet."

"It's okay. No harm done." I looked at the wall. "Well, not to me or any other people, at least. Where's Wolf? I thought he was helping you today."

"He ran out to get us lunch and check on Ollie." Nikolai looked at his phone and shrugged. "He should be back in a few minutes. But I might call it a day and pick up Willow from the nursery."

"Are you doing okay?" I placed my hand on his shoulder and squeezed. "You look exhausted and drained."

"Willow isn't sleeping. Which means I'm not sleeping." Nikolai shook his head. "Then, when I get her down to nap, I am still too worked up to sleep. I keep thinking about all the things that could go wrong. I must check her breathing. I-I can't sleep."

"I understand." I shrugged. "Sort of. Is there anything we can do to help? Have you spoken with the therapists about the anxiety and insomnia?"

"They just say it's grief and try to push pills on me. I don't need pills. I need my wife back and to know my daughter won't leave me, too."

My heart hurt for this man. I didn't know what I would do if Peter passed away. I would probably put dents into walls and blow up plants, too. "Have you thought about taking a break and staying home with Willow for a few months?"

"Maybe I should. I thought getting back into things would help. Moving on with life would be okay because that's what I must do. And, at first, it worked. Sort of. I was numb and acting on autopilot. Get up, feed, change, shower, drop Willow off at the nursery, and come up here to work or continue with my training."

"But that didn't last?"

"No. Suddenly, it was like the floodgates opened, and all the pain that the numbness had been keeping from me bombarded me. I was changing Willow's diaper; she smiled and looked like her mom. That was the trigger. And since the box opened, I can't stop the chaos of emotion in me. Wolf tells me to ground myself and focus, but I can't."

"Then I suggest taking a break. Go home with your baby and just be her dad for a few weeks or months and let yourself feel all those emotions. Once you face them and feel them fully, you can learn to balance again."

"Thanks, man," Nikolai said. "It's just been tough to talk to anyone in the family about it. We all lost her, and I know that. But…"

"But she was your wife. It's different." I nodded, understanding. "When we talk to someone grieving, we try to show that we can relate by comparing it to what we know. But that doesn't help the grieving. And sometimes can bring out anger or frustration."

"I might have broken a few mugs at home while speaking with my brother or parents. I know they are trying. I just don't know what I need right now, except that it's not how they miss her, either."

"Hey, did I miss anything interesting?" Wolf said, stepping off the elevators and walking up to the dent in the wall. "Maybe we need to pause training for a bit."

"Actually." Nikolai smiled at me and patted my back as he walked toward Wolf. "That's exactly what Karl and I were discussing just now."