Page 5 of I Can't Bear It

“Georgi, I told you to stay in the bathroom.” My mate placed a protective hand on his son’s shoulder.

“I know.” Georgi bowed his head. “But I wanted to protect you.”

“Well, you don’t need to protect me. I protect you. But this time, it’s okay because this is my friend—”

“My name is Karl.” I knelt to be level with the small boy. “I came to bring you and your papa to somewhere safe.”

Still hiding behind his father, Georgi took a small peek at me, but I heard his little whisper, “Hi.”

“Are you all set to go?” I stood and gestured toward the bag next to the door.

“We are.” Peter stepped back and handed Georgi a small backpack and stuffed bear. “Let me just gather our belongings, and we can go. We don’t have a lot. I couldn’t take anything from home, but we were gifted with a few things at the zoo. They kept a small room filled with items in case of an emergency, including some clothes in various sizes. One of the security officers handed me a wallet with enough cash to pay for this hotel and a burner phone to contact someone.”

“And the gentleman at the exit gave me this.” Georgi held up a stuffed polar bear.

“Yeah, he did.” Peter ruffled his son’s hair, a big smile on his face.

“Okay.” I lifted the bag next to the door and backed into the fresh air, scanning our surroundings. “Let’s grab what you have and get down to my car. I don’t want to be out in public too long.”

“We’re ready.” Peter motioned for Georgi to follow me and closed the door before I led them to my black sedan.

Chapter Four

Peter

Boom!

I grabbed Georgi and hid us under the nearest table. “Hush, I won’t let Alessandro find us,” I whispered into my son’s ear.

“Sorry!” A shout came down the hall, and I saw Karl and Rayne relax.

“I thought he was getting better.” Karl gripped my arm and gently guided Georgi and me toward some chairs away from the windows and door. “It’s okay, everyone. That was one of the trainees. I know it was scary, but Nikolai probably just blew up a plant or can of peanuts.”

“Are you sure?” I followed Karl but still looked around the room for signs that we should start running.

“I do apologize for that. Please allow me to help settle some of those nerves.” Rayne Ramano-Survolar, one of the training center’s directors, reached out and squeezed my shoulder, offering a hint of calming energy through the brief touch. “My brother-in-law, Nikolai, has been improving his skills as a magic weaver in recent months but has been a bit dysregulated. I hope we can talk to him about taking a longer sabbatical.”

“Oh.” Karl covered his mouth with his hand and closed his eyes. “I heard about the passing of his wife, Stacey. And the baby—”

“Willow survived, luckily.” A tiny smile appeared on Rayne’s face as he spoke of his niece. “But my brother-in-law isoverwhelmed with grief and the responsibility of being a solo parent. We are trying to help him as much as possible, but he will only allow so much.”

“Give him time.” I pulled Georgi closer into my body. “Making sure he knows you are there for him is enough, trust me. There will come a day when he realizes he is drowning and needs the life preserver you offer. Be there when he calls.”

“We will. Thanks.” Rayne nodded. “I want to assure you that you are safe on the training center property. We are both physically and magically protected. We have living accommodations on the premises that you are welcome to use. I can take you down to the one we were preparing for you and ensure it has everything you three will need.”

“That would be great.” Karl stood up and held out a hand for me. “We are very thankful for the assistance. GSC wasn’t sure about the safe houses we had in the area. There was a breach in the system a couple of weeks ago, and they are still working on fixing it and rehoming the people who were actively using it. They will have to start over and eliminate all the old ones now that the information was compromised.”

“It’s no bother.” Rayne led us out of the office and down the hall to the bank of elevators. “We could use your help at the center while you are here. GSC would be okay with that. We already checked.”

“What sort of help?” Karl held the elevator doors open while we all stepped in. “Training in fighting styles or research techniques?”

“Perhaps.” Rayne pressed the button for the first floor. “But I was thinking of having you help my brother Wolf on a new project we will be starting. We were looking into a training program for younger shifters and magic weavers. In the last couple of years, we have noticed that many of our children aredeveloping abilities much younger than their parents’ age group did.”

“Georgi can do things I was able to do as a small child.” I followed Rayne out into the lobby and out the front doors.

“We will have to talk later about Georgi and see if he should join us.” Rayne winked at Georgi, who was still clinging to me shyly. “But that is what we mean. The children born today are capable of things their parents weren’t, and the training center is thinking about how we can help parents and children handle the immense powers with respect and responsibility. Sadly, I have seen GSC call a few homes in the past year because an excited child exploded in the neighbor’s house or made a bully at school disappear, not knowing how they did it or how to reverse the damage they caused. With training for parents and children, we can ensure we see fewer of those incidences.”

“That sounds like a wonderful program.” I looked around us at the training center campus and admired the lush green trees surrounding the border and the vast field where I saw shifters training in some hands-on battle techniques. “This place looks amazing. I am so glad to see that you were able to open it up and start teaching so many of us. Not everyone has a strong family that teaches you how to use your powers. Those of us who were lost have somewhere to go and learn.”

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