In the car, Kai dug a crumpled paper from his backpack.
"Mommy, look! I drew this!"
I took it. Three crooked stick figures.
"Who's this?"
"That's Mommy!" Kai pointed to the tallest one. "This is me! And this one..." He paused, his voice dropping. "This is Daddy."
My hand tightened.
"The teacher said we had to draw our families today." Kai continued, his voice getting quieter. "But... but I don't know what Daddy looks like..."
He looked up at me, those silver eyes full of confusion.
"Mommy, where is my daddy?"
My heart felt like someone was squeezing it in their fist.
This wasn't the first time Kai had asked this question. But I never knew how to answer.
"Daddy's far, far away." I kept my voice gentle. "He's... on a very important mission. Like the superheroes you love—protecting lots and lots of people."
"When's he coming back?"
"When... when his mission is complete."
"How long will that take?" Kai tilted his head. "I'm already six, and his mission still isn't finished?"
"Some missions... take a very long time." Each lie shattered my heart.
"But I had a dream last night."
"What dream?"
"I dreamed about a man." Kai's face turned serious. "He had silver eyes. Just like mine!"
My hands clenched the steering wheel.
"And then?" I paused for two seconds, controlling my voice. Diana stirred restlessly inside me.
"He was standing by the ocean, looking really sad." Kai's brow furrowed in memory. "He kept staring at the water, like he was waiting for someone. Then he turned around and saw me."
My breath stopped.
Blood bond. The blood bond between an Alpha pup and his birth father. Even though they never met, the bond existed.
"Did he... say anything?"
"No." Kai shook his head. "He tried to talk, but then I woke up. Mommy, who was that man? Why does he have the same eyes as me?"
"It was probably just a dream." I kept my voice light. "Don't think too much about it, okay?"
"Oh." Kai nodded, but doubt lingered in his eyes.
After a moment of silence, he suddenly asked, "Mommy, you said Daddy's a superhero. Does he have silver eyes, too?"
"Maybe." I kept it vague, silently praying for this topic to end.
