Chapter Six

 

 

Mac sat with Kensie on the bed for a long while. He gently stroked her hair as he watched the sleeping pups as his feet. He thought about his baby sister’s words and wondered if he’d make a good dad.

“Oh, Mah-cheese, you’d be the bestest daddy!” Kensie sat up again. She gave him a pat on his chest and then wiggled off his lap. He knew he hadn’t said anything that time but didn’t dwell on it as he watched her as she ran to the toy chest again, this time returning with a deck of cards, which she placed on the little table. “Come play Go Fish with me!”

The pups stirred but otherwise didn’t move when Mac left the bed and sat down at the little table again.
“Hm…do you have a… acorn?” Kensie said, her brows furrowed in concentration.

Mac passed her a three of spades. “Oh, thank you!” she said.

“Do you have a seven?” Mac asked. Kensie passed him a King of Hearts. He smiled and took the card.

They went back and forth like that for a long while. She asked him for a pumpkin. He passed her a four of clubs. He asked her for a two, she passed a Joker. It was nice and he
was enjoying himself.

When he thought their time would never come to an end, she began to yawn. He looked up from his cards and noticed that it had started to grow dark outside. Where had the time gone?

Then he noticed how tired Kensie looked all of a
sudden. “You sleepy, princess?” Mac asked, as he watched Kensie rub her little eyes.

“Yeah,” she said with a yawn. “Selina says you have to go get the babies now.”

Mac blinked then raised an eyebrow. He had almost forgotten the entire reason he was there in the first place, he had been enjoying his time with her so much.

“She said they are ready to go home now. You have to go and she’ll tell you where they are,” Kensie said, with a frown. Mac got the sense that she didn’t want him to leave just yet, either. She stood up and sighed.

As she gathered the cards to put them back in her toy chest, the wolf pups lifted their heads, then jumped down from the bed.

Kensie raced over to Mac and patted him on the knee. “You stay right here, okay?” she asked, then she exited the room quickly with the pups hot on her heels. Mac sat in the chair and waited patiently for them to return, all the while thinking about if he had what it took to be a good father.

He knew he would protect his children with all that was within him, just as he’d protect his mate until his dying breath. He sat up straighter in the little chair. Hell yeah, he’d be a great dad. Kensie seemed to think that he would be and, damn it, that was more than enough for him to believe it.

When Kensie and the pups returned to the room, Mac noticed that the pink ribbons had been removed from her hair and she had changed out of the dress and into a pair of pajamas with feet. The pajamas were yellow with pink and white angel wings printed all over them. Because, of course they were.

He watched as the pups bounded up into the bed and then he turned his focus back to Kensie as she climbed into his lap and wrapped her little arms around his neck and squeezed again.
“Thank you for coming to visit me, Mah-cheese. I missed you sooo much,” she said, her voice muffled into his neck. Mac hugged her tight and closed his eyes, inhaling her sweet little girl scent again.

“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. I missed you more than you’ll ever know, pretty princess,” he said, as he laid a kiss on the top of her head. She raised her head and looked him straight in the eye.

“You’re gonna be THE bestest daddy ever! Your babies already love you,” she said, as she scrambled off his lap and climbed into the bed. Mac gave her a wry grin as he stood to tuck her in.

“Oh, yeah?” he asked. “How do you know that?”

“I am little, but I know things.” Kensie nodded her head, like the wise little person she was.

Mac smiled and shook his head. “Ok, princess. I believe you.”

Kensie flashed him a great big smile. “Yay!  I brushed my teeth. See, look.” She opened her mouth wide. Mac squinted and looked.

“I don’t know, I think I see a few rocks back there, maybe a few puppies…” he said as he pulled the covers up to her chin and poked her in the belly.

Kensie giggled. “No, Mah-cheese! No rocks and puppies in my mouth! No, no, no!” She shook her head and grinned. The pups padded up next to her, turned in synchronized circles, then settled down on the bed.

Mac leaned forward and kissed Kensie on the forehead. Then he reached over and rubbed each pup with his fingers gently on their snouts. The chocolate-colored pup sneezed and the honey-colored one looked up and him and licked his finger. Mac and the pup looked at each other for a long time. He still couldn’t put a finger on what seemed so familiar about the pups, but it was something. He could feel it.

“See, I told you,” Kensie said, as she yawned again and settled her head back into her pillow. “It’s love,” she whispered.

Mac leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. He really wished he could stay a bit longer, but he was starting to feel a pull in his chest. A pull that somehow told him that is was, in fact, time to leave.

“I love you, pretty princess. I’ll miss you,” Mac said, as he planted another kiss on her forehead. Kensie smiled and raised her hand, then patted his cheek.

“I love you, Mah-cheese. To the moon and back,” she said. Kensie gave him an even brighter smile then closed her eyes and turned over to her side. Mac’s heart squeezed a bit more this time, but it was partly due to Kensie’s familiar bedtime goodbye, the words their mother had taught them both many years ago, and part to that urgent “You need to get out of here” tug that was feeling more insistent now.

Mac rubbed Kensie’s back once and then gave her one final pat before he headed to the door. He gave her and the sleeping pups one last look before he stepped into the hallway.

And then he heard someone clear their throat. A decidedly male throat.

Mac’s eyes darted quickly across the hallway towards the sound. Sitting in an overstuffed chair was a man, who didn’t look much older than Mac himself. He looked up at Mac as he sat forward in the chair and set a book down on a small table next to him. Mac immediately bristled and shifted his stance in front of Kensie’s door.

“Who the hell are you?” Mac demanded in a loud whisper, as not to disturb Kensie or the pups. The man raised his hands in supplication.

“Hey, it’s cool. First, she’s a heavy sleeper. Nothing short of an eight-hundred-pound green ogre stomping down the hall would wake her up,” the man chuckled. He ran a hand through his short dark hair. “Second, I’m a friend. I check in on her from time to time to make sure she and the pups are safe.” The man looked at him thoughtfully. “You must be Mac. She talks about you all the time. You’re a bit shorter than I thought. Let Kensie tell it, you’re eight feet tall.”

Mac loosened his stance a bit, but remained in front of the door. He got the sense that the guy was telling the truth, but he wasn’t taking any chances just yet. The man nodded at him.

“I get it. You don’t know me, but that’s okay. Just know that it’s important to me that she and the pups are alright. She takes care of those pups like they are her own babies. They’re family to her.” The man stayed in the chair, with his arms rested on his knees, his hands open and in full view. He gave no hint of harm or malice and a few seconds later, something clicked inside of Mac. The guy was okay. He wasn’t sure why he felt that way all of a sudden, but something deep inside him let him know he was alright. And anyone who protected his family, especially when Mac couldn’t be around, was good with him.

The man stood slowly and rubbed his chin. “She says some really deep stuff sometimes, Kensie does. It’s like she’s got an old soul. I’m sure whatever she told you was meant for you and only you. Whatever it was, don’t take it lightly or for granted. Sometimes those with the purest of hearts are the ones who give us the key to understanding the most profound things we’ll ever know.”

Mac looked at the man for a few seconds, then nodded. He had definitely learned a few things from his time with his baby sister. Things he would absolutely think about later. The man turned and headed down the hall, then paused as he reached a door.

“I’m about to make a ham and cheese sandwich, with extra mayo. You want one?” He looked expectedly at Mac. Mac made a face at the extra mayo part and was about to respond when he felt a sharp, tugging pain in his chest. He had to leave now.

“No, I – I have to—” Mac stammered out. He was beginning to have a hard time breathing. The man nodded then looked at him knowingly.

“Ah yes, it must be time,” he said. He pointed to a door at the other end of the hallway. There was bright white light streaming all around it. “Over there. Go that way. Quickly now, before it’s too late.” And, with that, he turned and walked away.

Mac started for the door with the light streaming around the edges. He clutched at his chest as each step brought him closer to the door. He was having a harder time breathing now and was starting to wheeze, but something told him that if he could just make it there, he’d be okay. As Mac forced his feet to move, his body felt more and more sluggish. He fought with himself not to panic, the door was only a few more steps away…if he could only make it. Mac groped for the handle, feeling more and more lightheaded and woozy. In an almost desperate attempt, as he struggled to breathe, he clutched at the door wildly, found the handle and yanked it open. A bright flash of light temporarily blinded him.

And then everything suddenly went black.