Chapter Five

 

 

Mac felt good. Really good. So good that it made no sense at all, considering that Bru had damn near knocked his brains out. He was pretty sure his eyeballs were probably loose and rolling around in his head or he was missing a few teeth, but he’d worry about that later. Yep, right this minute, he was just gonna bask in all the feel-goodness. 

With his eyes still closed, he took in a deep breath. The air felt warm and pleasant on his skin and it smelled sweet. Like sugar and vanilla…and Playdoh. The corners of his mouth kicked up in a small smile. Something about that scent brought back warm memories. Memories of a time when everything was right in the world. Because the scent reminded him of Kensie. But that was impossible, because his sweet little baby sister was long gone. And yet, he could still smell it. And then he heard the humming.

Mac’s eyes flew open. He sat straight up and heard a squeak to his left, and his eyes widened in surprise as he took in his surroundings.

He was lying on a white four-poster twin bed. As big and tall as he was, his feet hung off the edge, and, when he looked down at the comforter and the stuffed animals spread across it, his breath caught in his throat. An assortment of dolls and stuffed animals, some of which he knocked over when he sat up, were strewn all over the bed. As far as he could tell, he was in a child’s room - a little girl’s room, specifically - so there wasn’t much that was surprising in that revelation. But the one thing that stabbed him in his guts was the pink fuzzy pillow at the foot of the bed, with the sparkly, curlicued, lower-case “k” embroidered on it. He knew that pillow. He had that pillow.

In fact, that pillow had been wrapped in a blanket, packed carefully in a box and stored in the back of his hall closet. The hall closet in his own home. There was no way that pillow should even be here. He picked it up and frowned. It couldn’t have been the same pillow, there was no way. If it was, there would be a little something on the back… Mac flipped the pillow over.

And there it was: the lower-case letter “m”.

It was small and had been hand-stitched on by little four-year-old fingers. Fingers that were poked repeatedly with the needle they weren’t supposed to have in the first place, but were determined to sew that tiny and crooked little letter on. Mac was speechless. How could this be?

He looked around and slowly took in the toys all around, the toy chest, the dresser, the rocking chair and, finally, the small table and chairs in the center of the room. Sunlight was streaming in through a window and he noticed the rays glinting off some silverware on the table. He swung his legs off the bed and felt his bootless feet hit the floor. Where were his boots?

“They’re on the floor, silly. Where they are s’posed to be. Mama said no shoes on the bed,” a bubbly, excited, and familiar voice said. Mac’s heart skipped a beat.

A little girl slowly and carefully walked into the room holding a tray covered with two bowls, two boxes of cereal, and a carton of milk. Her steps were measured and deliberate and she gripped the handled tray with fierce determination, as if she were carrying a tray of fine china.

She was dressed in the cutest little pink dress, with matching shiny pink shoes and frilly socks. She had pink ribbons woven through her golden blond ponytails and the rays of sun shining brightly in the room seemed to dance and curl around her head like a halo. Kensie was the prettiest little girl Mac had known as a kid, and, even all these years later, she still was.

Mac swallowed hard. “Yeah, Mama would be really upset if you dropped that tray, too…” The joking words fell out after he struggled to find his voice. None of this made any sense, but he still had that good feeling going, so he figured he’d just roll with it. He hadn’t realized how much he had missed his baby sister until that very moment.

Kensie’s little brow furrowed as she walked the last few steps then confidently set the tray on the table. She pushed it firmly forward, made sure that everything was well and truly disaster-free, then spun around and faced him as she threw her little arms up into the air.

“See, I didn’t drop it. I did it!” She clapped her hands and smiled brightly at him. The glee and triumph of a job well done shone in her eyes. She was so proud of her amazing feat. And he was proud of her, too. Mac couldn’t help but grin back at her.

“C’mere,” he said, as he threw his arms open wide. “Come here and give me a hug, Pretty Princess.” Kensie waited less that a heartbeat before she launched herself into his arms. Mac gripped her tiny body tight as he buried his nose in her hair. He inhaled her sweet and perfect little girl scent, all sugar, vanilla, Playdoh, and sunshine. Mac had never been one to tear up about anything, and he knew he wouldn’t now, but, damn, he had really missed this little girl.

“You’re so big. And you smell funny,” Kensie mumbled into his chest. She squeezed him as tight as her little arms could before she pushed back and stared into his face. “And you have hair on your chin. You look so funny.” She giggled. “But she said you look different now. You want some cereal?” She scrambled off his lap before Mac had a chance to answer and began to arrange the bowls on the table. Of course he wanted some cereal. Obviously, there was no other answer to that.

Mac stood and walked the step and a half it took to get to the table and pulled out a small chair. He sat on it carefully, hoping that his large frame wouldn’t crush it, but it seemed sturdy enough.

In the thirty or so seconds it took him to get settled, Kensie had set a bowl, spoon, and a box of cereal in front of him, arranged stuffed animals in the other seats around the table, and put a tiara on her head. Evidently, the Pretty Princess was hosting a cereal party and he was invited. And there was no place he’d rather be. 

He was just about to reach for his box of cereal when he heard a scrambling sound at the door, then two distinct bumping sounds.

“Oh, please do come in,” Kensie said, as she picked up a pink teapot and poured imaginary tea into a stuffed teddy bear’s teacup. The teddy bear’s name was Charles. Mac knew this because the teddy bear had a hand-labeled name tag stuck to its chest and Mac recognized the writing as his own. One summer, Kensie had begged him to make nametags for all her stuffed animals because she said that her dollies were always so sad because they could never remember each other’s names when she invited them to her parties. And so, he did.

The door bumped open and two of the cutest little wolf pups tumbled over themselves into the room. They scurried over to the table as one jumped up in to Kensie’s lap and licked her cheek and the other bounded over and up into Mac’s lap. He scooted the chair back a bit.

“Hey, you’re a cute little thing,” he said, as he picked up the warm ball of fur and looked at the little pup’s face. It sniffed at him as he held it close to his own face and licked his nose.

“Aw, he’s kind of cute.”

“He is a she. They both are,” Kensie said, as she set the wolf pup that was in her lap in a chair next to her. She pointed to a chair next to Mac. “She can sit there. It’s time to eat and we don’t want our tea to get cold.”

Mac couldn’t help but smile as he placed the little pup in the chair next to him. Both pups sat up on their haunches and watched Kensie as she poured imaginary tea into their cups. Mac poured some cereal in his bowl and did the same for Kensie.

“Why, thank you, kind sir,” she said, as she waited for him to pour the milk. He did and then they both settled in to eat.

They ate in silence for a few minutes, then Kensie began to hum as she chewed. That always made him smile. You could always tell when Kensie liked what she was eating. If she didn’t, you wouldn’t hear a peep out of her. That, and she probably wouldn’t eat it. Mac grabbed the teacups that were in front of the pups, filled them both with cereal, and set them back in front of them. The pups gingerly licked at the cereal, then began to eat. One pup had gorgeous dark, chocolate-brown fur and she ate her cereal one piece at a time. The other pup had honey-brown fur that was white at her paws and looked like little mittens. She crunched her cereal merrily with her nose deep in the cup. Mac chuckled.

“What are their names, princess?” He asked, as he chewed a mouthful of cereal.

“I don’t know,” Kensie said. “Their mama and daddy haven’t told them yet so they don’t know, either.” She took another big bite of cereal and began to hum again. Mac looked at the honey-colored pup, then at the darker one thoughtfully. There was something about the way they looked at him, with their coffee-brown eyes. There was just something about them both that seemed almost familiar, even though he had never laid eyes on either of them before. But he just couldn’t put a finger on it.

“Really? They haven’t told them their names yet? I wonder why that is.”

“Oh, they haven’t met them yet. But they will. They just aren’t ready yet.”

“Who isn’t ready? The pups?” Mac was confused.

“No, silly. Their mama and daddy aren’t ready. So, they stay here with me until they are.” Kensie pushed back her chair and ran over to her toy chest and began to rummage through the contents. Mac looked at the pups again and they stared back at him. The honey-colored one had a tiny piece of cereal stuck to her snout. He reached over and carefully removed the cereal from her fuzzy little face and, she licked his hand. He grinned.

Kensie bounded back over to Mac, hopped into his lap, wrapped a pink, blue, and white feather boa around his neck, and placed a black plastic top hat on his head.

“What’s this?” He asked, clearly enjoying her attention.

“You forgot to get dressed up for the cereal party, so I had to dress you up for story time.” She hopped up, grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the rocking chair. He allowed her to “pull” him up and he ambled over to the chair. The pups tumbled out of their chairs and followed close behind.

“Ok, so,” he said, as he sat down and watched as she and the pups scrambled into his lap. Mac waited patiently while all three of the warm little bodies settled on him. “Who is reading the first book?” Kensie had an amazing imagination and would tell him the funniest stories when she was little. She was just learning how to read when she was… Mac closed his eyes for a moment. Damn.

“No books,” Kensie said quickly, as she squeezed his hand. “I have to tell you the story. She told me to tell you a story.”

Mac’s brow furrowed. “You said something about a “she” telling you something before. Who is that? What’s her name?”

“Her name is Selina and she’s your lardidan angel.” Kensie smiled broadly at him.

“My what now?”

“Your lardican angel.”

“My garbage can angel? My cardigan angel? Will she make me sweaters or make me take out the trash? I am so confused, princess.”

Kensie laughed. “No, silly! She’s your lardigan angel. She watches you while you sleep and makes sure you don’t fall down and skin your knees and watches so nobody puts bad stuff in your food before you eat it.”

Mac raised an eyebrow. “Oh, you mean my guardian angel?”

“Yes, that’s what I said. Guardian angel, yes, yes,” Kensie clapped her hands then settled in his lap. She put her head on his chest and patted his arm with her little hand. The pups had already made themselves comfortable and were starting to fall asleep.

“She said you were sad. Why are you sad, Mah-cheese?” Kensie asked. She moved her hand and placed it under her cheek on his chest. He hadn’t heard her nickname for him in decades. She had loved macaroni and cheese and when she learned that was a part of his name, she thought it was the best thing ever, but she’d never quite picked up the “k” sound of the name, so “Mah” it was. His heart squeezed a little at hearing it again.

Mac sighed. “I’m not sad, princess. I am happy right now. Really happy to be with you.”

“But the angel said you were sad. She said you were scared to have babies. Why are you scared to have babies, Mah-cheese?”

Mac tipped his head back on the rocking chair. His motion knocked the plastic top hat off his head and he briefly watched it as it fell to the floor.

He took in a deep breath. “I’m not scared to have babies, princess. I just…” He paused. He was trying to find the right words to say to his baby sister, words she could understand.

“You’re scared that if you have babies, the bad man will come and take them all away. Like he did with me and Mama.”

Mac said nothing. He shifted in the chair and wrapped his arms around his sister and the fuzzy little pups. The honey-colored pup nuzzled her nose into the crook of his arm.

Kensie’s voice was small and quiet. “She said she wished that all that never happened, but she couldn’t do anything to stop it. She was so sad, Mah-cheese. She said she wished she was there to stop him from hurting me and Mama, but she was too far away.” She shifted a little in his lap. “She said everyone cried in her big house in the sky because the bad man hurt all the girl babies and their mamas. But lots of them came back and went to go be with new mommies and daddies, so it wasn’t so bad.”

Mac’s brow furrowed. What was she talking about? “What? Why was this, princess? Who was sad?”

“Your guardian angel. She said she was too little at the time to help us when the bad man came. She didn’t have her wings yet and she was too far away.”

Something suddenly clicked in Mac’s mind. The voice in his head. Was that her? Had his guardian angel been speaking to him?

“Yes, that’s her. Her name is Selina and she’s pretty and funny and really smart and always has the yummiest bubblegum,” Kensie said.

Mac hadn’t realized that he had asked the question out loud, but it didn’t matter. All of this seemed too crazy to believe, but, then again, it didn’t. For one thing, he was sitting in a rocking chair with two sleeping wolf pups and his baby sister…the same baby sister who was killed many years ago. The feel-goodness he had earlier was still there and he wanted to hold on to it for as long as he could, even if all of this was a dream.

“You said she said lots of them came back,” Mac said, as he slowly began to rock the chair with one foot. “What’s that mean, princess?”

“Selina said all the babies in the whole wide world live in her big house in the sky and sometimes, if they come back when they aren’t s’posed to, they can go back and live with new mommies and daddies. But only if they want to.”

Mac thought about this for a moment. “Did you want to come back, Kensie?”

She shifted on his lap but remained quiet. Mac didn’t say anything else. He felt if she wanted to tell him, she would when she was ready. He rocked them all in silence for a few minutes and watched the rays of light that were streaming through the window.

He rocked and rocked for what seemed like forever, as the light began to fade as it grew later in the day. In the stillness and quiet, he closed his eyes and listened to nothing but the sound of Kensie breathing and the soft little snoring sounds coming from the pups.

“I didn’t want a new family.” Kensie’s voice almost startled him. She had been quiet for so long that he thought she had fallen asleep.

“What do you mean?” Mac asked. He tipped his head down and kissed her on the top of her head. “Why would you need a new family, princess?”

Kensie was quiet again for several minutes before she answered. “Selina said, if I wanted to go back, I had to go to another family. I didn’t want to go to another family, Mah-cheese. I wanted you and Daddy and Mama! I didn’t want to go and live with anyone else. Who would help me take care of my dollies and my teddy bears? Who would write all their names on their nametags? What if I forgot all their names, Mah-cheese?” Mac felt her little shoulders shudder. She had started to cry and it broke his heart.

He wrapped his arms around her and the pups then stood and walked over to the bed. He set the pups at the foot of the bed, then sat down and pulled the feather boa from his neck and tossed it to the floor. He wrapped his arms around her tiny little body as she wrapped her arms and legs around him and buried her face in his neck.

She cried for several long minutes and he felt her tears dampen his shirt. If he had to, he’d sit there and let her cry on him forever. He patted her on the back and made soft shushing sounds. She eventually settled down, then hiccupped and sniffed. Then she wiped her nose on his shirt.

“You feel better now, pretty princess?” He switched from patting to rubbing her little back between her shoulders.

She sniffed, then nodded her head.

“It’s okay that you didn’t come back, princess. I understand that you didn’t want to go and be with another family. That’s okay. That might seem scary, going to live with other people, with strangers,” he said, his voice soothing and soft.

“Selina said I could watch them and see who they were, in the water pool thingy. But I didn’t want to. I wanted to eat cereal with you.” Kensie suddenly sat up, her eyes grew big and wide, as if she had just thought of something. “Oh, my goodness! Guess what?”

Mac blinked at her sudden cheeriness. “What, princess?”

“She showed me your house! I saw all the toys! You saved them all! Did you eat all that cereal? Was it fifty zillion boxes? There were soooo many toys!”

Mac smiled, his heart instantly full. “No, it was fifty bajillion boxes, and I absolutely ate all that cereal, and, of course, I saved them all. Who else would I give them to?”

“You can give them to your babies one day,” she said, her voice matter of fact. She reached up and held his face between her little hands. “She said that it wasn’t your fault. There was nothing you or anybody could do. You’re big and strong now and you can fight the bad man.” Kensie patted his cheek. “Nothing bad will happen to your babies. She said they are safe now and you will keep them safe when they are with you. No one will take them away from you, Mah-cheese. Never ever.”

Mac closed his eyes, tipped his head forward, and touched his forehead gently to hers. He could only hope what his sweet baby sister said was true. And maybe one day he could believe it.

 

*

 

Selina watched the babies with a frown. Convincing them to go back home was more complicated than she thought. But everything was always more complicated than Selina thought it was. Heaven love her, she had pulled off some crazy schemes and fantastic plans in the past and usually she meant well, but this one was…this one was just, whooo.

The problem was that Kit and Kyla really liked it here, as most babies did. That was one of the reasons why some babies stayed for as long as they did before they were born, as well as why they’d stay even longer after they returned, if they did.

Souls who came back to the Mitera as babies were usually ones who had passed away before their life’s journey was over in their chosen realm. So, by Heaven’s law, Kit and Kyla weren’t even supposed to be in the Mitera. But Kit had accidently found a pendant that was lodged between the couch cushions in Mac’s house (presumably left there by accident after a visit between Willow and Mac’s mate, Rogue) and, well, that’s how he and Kyla ended up in the predicament they were in now. But it was all started by Selina. And right this moment, if she didn’t do something fast, it was about to bite her on the butt. Crap.

Years ago, when she was given charge over Kit and Kyla as their guardian angel, she knew there was something really special about them but she wasn’t really sure what it was at the time. But, then again, she always thought her charges were special. She thought Mac was special when she became his guardian, too, many, many years before that, and it utterly devastated her and broke her heart when Kensie and her mother were so viciously taken from him. And it hurt her even more when part of his heart seemed to shrivel up and die with them.

For a long time, Selina worried about Mac. She had wondered for so long if he’d find his One True Mate. Even as his guardian angel, there were certain parts of her charges’ destinies she wasn’t privy to, so once he met his mate, Rogue, Selina jumped for joy and instantly fell in love with her, too. Rogue was Selina’s kind of girl: hot, sexy, fun, and she took no crap from anyone, Mac especially. But he needed that. Mac loved Rogue to the moon and back and she really kept him on his toes. And speaking of, Mac had definitely kept Selina on her toes with some of his crazy antics throughout the years, but, when you’re the guardian angel of a badass, well, that just comes with the territory.

But Kit and Kyla? Well, this was different.

Kit and Kyla had powers that even their parents, Ella and Trevor, didn’t know about yet. Amazing powers like teleportation and inter-dimensional travel. Powers that they would learn to fully understand and use properly when they became young adults and they were partnered with their Citlali guides (their spiritual guides). As babies, even with as incredibly intelligent as they were, they were still babies with an amazing power that they had no idea they even had at first or could use. That is until Selina told them about it in their dreams one day.

And then accidentally told them they could use it. And now, here they were.

Selina sighed. “Kit. Look at me, baby.”

Selina was sitting on the floor next to the viewing pool with Kit in her lap. He was twisting and twirling her long and silky braid in his hands, effectively ignoring her. Kyla was lying on a soft, plush blanket next to them and was keeping herself entertained by chewing on, or rather gumming, one of the wolf pup’s ears. Said pup was next to her on the blanket, seemingly unbothered by the baby’s oral invasion.

Selina tilted her head in Kit’s direction as he tugged her braid. “Kit, sugar pie. You have to go home, honey. I know I told you both that you could visit, and you totally could, but if you don’t go home soon, you and Kyla will be stuck here. And there’s nothing I can do about getting you home after that. Well, short of an angelic intervention and, Heaven knows, we realllly don’t need to get into that. I don’t even have time for all that paperwork.”

Kit tilted his head to the side then looked down at Kyla. She had stopped chewing on the pup’s ear and was listening intently, watching them both with wide eyes.

Ok, Selina thought, maybe now we’re getting somewhere. She pointed to the viewing pool. “Look over there, honey. I want to show you something.” Selina knew what she was about to do wasn’t very nice but she had to pull out the big guns. They were running out of time. Fast.

No home.

Kit’s voice rang out clear in Ruhi, a wolven language, in Selina’s head. They were powerful and very smart babies, but they still had the basic communication cognition of a regular toddler. A very stubborn toddler, at that.

No. No home.

And now, of course, Kyla had something to say. Selina groaned.

“No, no, babies! You have to go! You’ve already been here long enough. If you stay too long, I won’t be able to get you back! Look…” Selina waved a hand over the viewing pool. Kit leaned over to look and Kyla let go of the wolf pup and crawled up to the edge. That water shimmered for a bit, and, when it cleared, it showed a man hugging a woman to his chest.

“Look, who’s that?” Selina said, as she looked at Kit’s face. Kit looked at the man in the water as the man turned his head in their direction.

Papa? Kit frowned. Kyla blinked as she looked closer at the viewing pool.

“Yes, yes! That’s Papa. And Mama, too. And they are both sooo worried about you,” Selina said, with exaggerated sadness. Rhyann and Leigh had been standing off to the side, behind the babies. Rhyann rolled her eyes and shook her head.

Mama sad? Kyla looked at Selina with big eyes that were beginning to water.

“Oh yes, Mama is very sad. Papa is, too. Look!” Selina pointed to the pool again. Trevor had his arms wrapped around Ella’s shoulders and was hugging her tight.

Mama cry? Kit blinked and sniffled. Ok, she’d have to wrap this up. She just needed them to go home, not psychologically damage them.

“Oh, no! I don’t think Mama is crying, not yet. But if you go home now, I’ll bet you they’ll be so happy to see you! No tears, nope!” Selina smiled at Kit brightly as she watched a fat tear roll down his round little cheek. She mentally punched herself. This was wrong on so many levels, but it had to be done.

Kit looked at Kyla. Kyla nodded at him then looked at Selina.

Okay. Yes, home now. Kyla gave her watery smile. Selina could see the overwhelming love the babies had for their parents and it squeezed her heart so bad she couldn’t even breathe for a second, but she quickly recovered.

“Whoo hoo! Great! Okay, here’s Leigh again.” Selina handed the Mitera angel the babies. Leigh frowned at her and settled a baby on each hip. Selina avoided eye contact with her as she waved at the babies. “She’ll take you to where you need to go to get ready to go home, okay? I’ll see you in your dreams, babies!” She kissed each baby on their wet cheeks. Tears had rolled down their faces but they were smiling.

Bye, Lina. She heard their voices as Leigh carried them away.

She waved. “Bye-bye, sugar pies!”

“You are a terrible, terrible person.” Rhyann sat on the bench next to the pool. “Only a completely crazy and terrible person would show babies a view from two weeks ago.” Rhyann waved her hand over the water. “And then manipulate it.” The same image came up, of Trevor holding Ella. But this time, a few seconds later, Ella turned her head and smiled lovingly at her husband, then gave him a sweet kiss.

“I did NOT manipulate it. I simply slowed it down... and cut this part out, but, whatever,” Selina sat and slumped down on the bench. “I had to do something. If they stayed here any longer—”

“They would have been stuck here until they were reincarnated and sent to live with another family. Yes, I know.” Rhyann sighed.

“Even with as powerful as they are,” Selina said. “They wouldn’t have been skilled enough to know how to go back, they’re just too young, and they don’t have the training.”

“Uhm hm,” Rhyann mused. “But you do realize if you had just not told them about it—”

“Yes, yes! Gah! Bleahk! Blame me for everything, why don’t you? But anyway, that’s done. Now we just have to send Wolfiekins Sexyface home and our job is done.” Selina stood up quickly, grabbed Rhyann and shoved her in front of her, pushing her as she went.

“Wait, what? What do you mean, ‘we’? This has always been YOUR mess, Selina.” Rhyann dragged her feet, but kept moving. She flared her wings out and accidently on purpose knocked Selina in the face.

“Ugh, pffbbtt,” Selina sputtered, catching a mouthful of feathers. “Your wings taste terrible. You need to drink more water. Or maybe use a more delicious body wash.”

“Wait, what? I do—” Rhyann began to protest.

“No time for chitchat! I told you there is no me or you, there is only ‘we’ and we have a bit more work to do. Sir Fuzz-A-Lot needs to go so he can get those babies back to Ella and Trevor. Let’s go!!”