Epilogue
EPILOGUE
SEVEN MONTHS LATER
Alexie
“What do you mean the baby is stuck? It’s not like the last pickle from the bottom of the jar!” My voice raises but it’s only because my amazing wife has been in labor for twenty-six hours now. She’s exhausted.
I’m exhausted.
We’re all fucking exhausted.
“The delivery canal is tight and the baby just isn’t able to make it through,” her doctor says calmly. Way too calmly for how bad this all sounds. “The baby’s heartrate has been dropping with contractions and we can’t wait.”
“To?”
“It’s best we do a C-section.”
“Will she be okay?”
“We’ll do everything we can.”
In five minutes, I’m in a white surgical gown and Caia’s calm on the table.
“Do you know what you’re having?” the nurse asks.
I shake my head, unable to form words.
Things have been going so well. We’ve bought a house, something that always seemed like a dream to me because it was just me. I liked living in the apartments with the guys, but when I found out about this bundle, I rushed out to get something that would be ours until we decide if we’re living here permanently. With her family being here, I don’t think we’ll move, but hockey team trades sometimes change geography. And now we have a dog and cat, Boris and Natasha, both with black fur and yellow-green eyes. Caia named them and all I could do was chuckle and shake my head.
And we have love. Lots of love.
So much that I sometimes wonder when the bubble will break. But it seems to only grow and grow.
The medical personnel say some talk in medical jargon, and I kiss my wife’s forehead. Her eyes are barely open, maybe from the drugs, but just as likely from the medications they’ve given her.
“You with me?” I ask her.
“I’m scared.”
Hearing those words sends a lump to the pit of my stomach. How to tell her everything will be okay, when I really don’t know that it will.
“I’m here. We’ll get through this.” I hold her hand in mine and give a soft squeeze
Tears start to well in her eyes and I can’t help but have the same happen. This baby is a dream that will make a memory that we didn’t expect. Reality is best when it’s a surprise. And now, I can’t imagine not taking a little bundle of joy home with us.
“Heartrate is dropping…” one of the nurses says.
“Whose heartrate?” I ask, but no one answers me.
And then I hear the machines going crazy. Beeping, incessantly. The medical staff rush around the room and when I look down, Caia’s eyes are closed and her hand is limp in mine.
“Caia! Caia, honey!” I shake her shoulder.
But there’s nothing.
“Mr. Kozlov we need you to leave the room,” someone pulls on my arm.
“Nyet!” I shake free. “Caia, baby, please come back to me.”
“We need to help your wife and your baby, please, Mr. Kozlov.”
And that’s when I hear a voice, “Winter Wolf, out, now!” I don’t know who it is, but I reluctantly follow the demand.
I stumble from the operating room and into the arms of GM Anderson. He tries to hold me up, but it’s no use. I slide down the wall, my head in my hands.
So it was his voice…
“She’s going to be okay,” he says quietly.
I shake my head, and once again, I can’t form words.
“Alexie, do you know who inspired your name, Winter Wolf?” he asks.
I turn to him, “The team?”
“No, Caia. She was sitting in my office after practice one day and she said, Alexie Kozlov reminds me of you, Dad. I’ve watched videos of you and when you were playing, you were fearless and ferocious. You found a way to get the job done no matter what. But you were also devoted to family and protected your pack. That’s what Alexie does.” He wraps his arm around my shoulders. “I went to Coach Victoria and said, ‘I want him named something with “wolf” in his title. I was the Wolfman and you became Winter Wolf.”
My mouth dries. “She did that?” I pause, “ You did that?”
“She knew she was your mate from the very beginning and honestly, I thought to myself that you two might be a good balance. Her sass and your chill. Her penchant for doing exactly what she shouldn’t and you trying to do exactly what you should. Her wild ways and your kind soul. You are the heart of the Frostwolves team, Alexie. The pack leader. And your pack has your back.”
I lean into him. “I love Caia more than I ever have hockey and this baby may eclipse that.”
He chuckles. “As it should be.”
The door bursts open and a member of their medical team comes out. “You can come in now, Mr. Kozlov.”
I scramble to my feet and head inside. Mr. Anderson giving me the nod that it will all be okay.
Rounding the corner, I see a little bundle in Caia’s arms. “Thank, God!”
“I blacked out from exhaustion. Sorry to scare you,” she says as I kiss her lips.
“No, don’t be sorry. And who is this?”
We’ve talked names. Zella Irina —after my grandmother, if it’s a girl, and Zeev Kirill—after my grandfather, if it’s a boy. Two of the most influential people in my life, besides my wife.
“This would be… Zeev Kirill.”
“A boy,” I whisper as she lifts him from her arms to mine. “Hello, Zeev, I’m your papa and you, my son, are going to be good on skates.”
The room sounds with giggles and nods.
His pink face, tiny fingers, and signs of curls in his blonde hair have me entranced.
“How are you?” I ask Caia.
“Good. Didn’t expect this to happen, but when it comes to our family, I should expect the unexpected.”
“Truth,” I say and she shakes her head.
Caia will always keep me on my feet with her wild and passionate ways.
And I, Winter Wolf, promise to always… always… protect my pack.
Fear the frost! Go Frostwolves!
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