23. Kai

Chapter 23

Kai

"I can't wait to see who comes out first." Gideon rubbed his hands.

I sat in the middle of the nest. Hot, grumpy, and with swollen feet.

"Maybe we should have bets." Dante flipped over to a blank page in his notebook.

"No."

All three of my mates froze.

"The babies will come in the order they're going to come."

I may have sounded confident, as though I had my shit together, but I was worried the baby and the egg might be engaging in in-utero sibling rivalry. What if they tried to come out at the same time and got stuck?

Dante handed me ice water, and I gulped it, water dribbling onto my oversized paternity shirt. It reached my knees, and I wore nothing else, anticipating the birth and laying of the egg soon.

I so wanted to meet my children. And speaking of kids, Gideon had Albie and was swing him over the nest and back, our little boy's laughter the only bright spot in the day.

Maybe the kids were arguing in my belly and both decided to stay where they were?

My brain was tired, thinking of all the possible scenarios, and while I'd been through a live birth with Albie, I didn't know what to expect despite Marty, the midwife, explaining the process.

Not that it was complicated.

Need to push.

Egg arrives.

"Can someone rub my back?" No matter how much bedding we had on the nest, it was still a bunch of sticks, covered in blankets and quilts.

"What about this?" Dante held up a small, blow-up kiddie pool. "You were worried about the egg cracking, so if we pile this with cushions and you plop the egg in here, our little egg will be enclosed in softness.

"Plop? You think I'm going to do some plopping?" I sniggered, and Seymour guffawed. Gideon and Albie joined in, and Dante cracked up.

"Owww! Giggling hurts. Everyone stop laughing."

The room became silent, even our son stopped cackling. But the pain in my belly continued.

There were more owwies, and while I wouldn't say they were the same as the contractions I'd experienced with our son, the egg was on the move.

"Better get the bedding in that pool because the egg wants out!"

Dante and Seymour tossed quilts and pillows into the pool and placed it on top of the nest. No more sticks digging into my ass in the middle of the night.

Seymour helped me into the pool. This was a great idea of my Mate Number One. Dante supported me from behind while Seymour sat in front, waiting for the egg. Gideon had taken Albie into the nursery and was playing loud music to muffle my groans.

"Oh, the egg." The smooth surface of the shell was so different from squeezing out a head, a pair of shoulders, and a tiny body.

It was happening so fast. I pushed twice and the egg slid out. Seymour wrapped a blanket around it and admired the iridescent shell.

"Wow! I did that. I laid an egg."

Dante and Seymour kissed me and hugged one another. Gideon brought Albie to inspect the egg, making sure our little boy kept his distance because Seymour insisted on the rule, "Don't touch the egg."

But now I could see the egg was in one piece, all my concerns shifted to my live baby. I rubbed my belly, telling our little one it was okay to come out. But there were no contractions, and my backache vanished.

Dante made food, and we all sat in the kiddie pool eating, with the egg in the middle. Laying an egg was hungry business.

Since making the nest, my mates had taken turns sleeping in the nursery with Albie, but now that the egg was here, they wheeled his crib beside the nest so we were all together. While there wasn't enough room for four adults to sleep in the kiddie pool, I curled up with the egg, making sure not to make contact, and my mates slept in the nest itself.

When morning arrived, I was thankful for my mates who fed, clothed, and played with Albie while I dozed. Sleep was constantly interrupted as I checked the egg hadn't cracked and rubbed my belly, willing the contractions to grip me.

But our little one stayed put.

My days consisted of eating, watching the egg, cuddling Albie, and snatching periods of sleep. When our little one was born and the egg hatched, we'd have three kids under two. But there were four adults, not two, and I wasn't a single parent, so we'd muddle through.

"Maybe the egg is waiting to hatch until their sibling arrives," Dante suggested.

"Or it's the other way around and the little one inside Kai is telling the egg, ‘Crack that shell.'"

If they were playing that game, we'd be here forever in a holding pattern.

"What if we did something to get things moving?" Gideon suggested.

"Like what?" Dante asked. "Sing?"

"We're all terrible at singing," Seymour noted as he inspected the egg for any cracks.

We crossed singing off the list.

"Sex?" Gideon looked hopeful.

"Not happening." I was in no mood.

"Spicy food." Dante was already checking our recipes.

"I like that. The hotter the better."

Dante prepared a steamy hot curry, and our eyes streamed and noses dripped as we scooped it up with flatbread and rice.

Before I'd eaten the last mouthful, my belly tightened. "Guys, it's working."

I stepped out of the kiddie pool into the larger nest. We should sell that curry to pregnant omegas who were past their due date.

My labor with Albie was long and drawn out, but this little one was eager to meet their dads, big brother, and whoever was nestled in the egg. The contractions wracked my body, and while I didn't know how much the baby inside the egg could hear, I muffled my cries in a towel.

Labor progressed quickly, and I was ready to push. Despite the small space in the kiddie pool, that was where I had to be. My mates kneeled around it while I was on all fours.

Our daughter arrived in a rush, and her dads admired her and kissed her head while I held her close. She was on my chest when Seymour waved and pointed to the egg. Dante stuffed pillows under my head so I could see the huge crack running around the middle of the egg.

"They were coordinating." I hoped they'd be great friends, and also with our firstborn.

Despite no movement from the egg until now, multiple cracks appeared so it resembled crackling, until each tiny piece collapsed and a little dragon lay in the shattered shell. The beast vanished seconds later and was replaced with another girl.

I wrapped my arms around my new babies, inhaling their unique scents. But I needed my little boy, and Dante put Albie in my arms.

"Baby." He snuggled and patted one sister before doing the same to the second.

"Maybe they are twins." Seymour studied the little girls on my chest. "They're identical."