Page 21 of I Can't Bear It
“Oh. I left my phone over there.” I pointed to the nightstand ten feet away.
“I’ll get it and join you. Is there anything else I can get you?” Karl handed me my phone.
“Maybe some water and the pretzels from the pantry.” My stomach grumbled, reminding me I hadn’t eaten since breakfast.
“Got it. I’ll be right back.”
While Karl collected the snacks, I replied to Rayne’s text asking if Georgi could spend the night. My phone rang, and Rayne’s name popped up on the screen. “Sure. Do you need to pick up anything of his? Clothes? Toothbrush?”
“Nope. We are all good. I keep extras in the bathroom for surprise sleepovers, and he seems to be the same size as Xavier so that he can borrow something from him. I’ll have him call you before bed.” Rayne was a terrific friend, and I was so glad the kids got along.
“Thanks. Let me know if any plans need to change.”
“Will do.” Rayne disconnected the call after verifying that Georgi didn’t have any food allergies.
I put the phone on the floor outside the nest and cuddled with the egg. Something told me all day that this little one might be getting ready for his newborn debut. So far, there have been no cracks.
“Here you go.” Karl handed me a bottle of water and a bag of pretzels. “I also heated some leftover pizza and grabbed some fruit and yogurt.”
“Thanks, babe.” I leaned over and kissed him once he sat down. “I had breakfast, but time seemed to slip by today, and I was spending time with Junior here.”
“Sounds better than my day.” Karl rolled his eyes. “Nikolai had another accident today, which caused the whole floor to be evacuated for about two hours for cleanup. So, I took over some hands-on training for the teen recruits GSC sent for the summer. Those kids are vicious.”
“Aw.” I reached over and rubbed his head. “Did the mean teenager hurt my big, rough alpha?”
“Not that.” Karl swatted my hand away. “It’s just that they didn’t want any breaks, so we kept going. I’m exhausted.”
“Poor baby.” I bit into the slice of pizza and moaned. “Thanks for thinking about bringing all this. I am starving.”
“No problem.” Karl squinted at the egg. “Is that a crack?”
“What?” I turned the egg around to examine it. “Holy shit. Finally. All day, I felt it was time, but I hadn’t seen any signs. I was starting to think my intuition was wrong.”
“Never doubt yourself, baby.” Karl stole a pretzel from my plate. “You are usually right on. Remember when you told me that Georgi would get sick a couple of weeks ago, and I said he wouldn’t? Who was right? Certainly not me. I got thrown up on during the ride home. That was such a mess to cleanup. All over the back of my seat. Not to mention my hair.”
“And now I’m done eating.”
“Oh shit. Sorry, babe.” Karl grimaced. “I forgot you have such a gag reflex.”
“It sucks.” I tried to hold back the nausea building at the image my brain was trying to show me. “And raising little kids. Do you know how often they speak of nasty things? A lot.”
“Look.” Karl pointed to our egg. “It’s rocking. I think I see a few more cracks, too.”
“Do you know how long this part takes?” I’d only had friends who gave live births to newborns, so I wasn’t sure how hatching happened.
“I’m not sure,” Karl said, picking up his phone. “I texted my brother the other day. He said it could be a few minutes from the first crack or several hours. So, I guess we need to wait and see.”
Our little one seemed impatient to meet us, too. “Wow. Look at it rolling around. And those cracks are getting bigger and bigger. Do you think it’s a little bear cub or a dragon baby in there?”
“If we go by the newest generations, we will have a multi-shape shifter on our hands.” Karl smirked. “But going by that claw sticking out right there, I say it looks like a polar bear rather than a dragon now.”
“Oh my goddess.” I stared at the tiny claw trying to tear the shell open. “You’d better take a picture.”
“I did. Don’t worry.” Karl waved his phone around.” I know you want pictures, but I am only taking a couple. I don’t want to miss this.”
“Thanks, babe.” I moved all the food out of the nest for more room. “Your phone just takes better pictures than mine does.”
“We’ll upgrade you soon. That was just a temporary one anyway.”