Chapter Seven

 

 

Bru stole a glance at his watch and looked over at his best friend in the passenger seat. Mac had been out for twenty-seven minutes and fifty-three, fifty-four, fifty-five seconds. His guardian angel told him repeatedly that Mac was okay, and that made him feel better for the first thirteen minutes and eleven seconds. But now? Now Bru was officially freaking out again. He gripped the steering wheel so tight he was pretty sure he heard it crack in his grip. The angel had told him to keep driving in the direction he had been going (after the chili dog break, no onions, of course) and he had been driving that way ever since.

Okay, Bru. I’m going to tell you something and I need you to not overreact, alright?

The angel had been quiet for a while. She said she had something to do but that she’d be right back and now she was. Again, Bru felt instantly better, but not by much. He just wished his good buddy would wake up.

“Okay, I promise I won’t overreact.” All depends on what it was, he thought. He was barely keeping it together as it was. And bears, as a rule, always kept things together.

Just so you know, I can hear your thoughts, sweet bear. He heard her soft laugh in his head. You are doing so great, you have been absolutely amazing, protecting your best friend. And, now, guess what?

“What?” Bru said absently. He reached over and checked Mac’s pulse. Hm. Seemed a little faster than it was when he checked it a few minutes ago. That was weird.

Mac is going to wake up in a few moments and –

“He is?? Oh, my goodness, finally!” Bru let out a sigh of relief.

Yes, he’s going to wake up any minute. Now, it may seem a little scary, how he wakes up. Sometimes, when people…uhm come back, they might have a funky reaction. Everyone reacts differently. Mac is just–

Mac suddenly wheezed loudly, then coughed and sputtered a bit. Bru whipped his head in his direction, his eyes wide.

“Is he going to die?!? What’s wrong with him??” Bru quickly tore the truck across two lanes of highway as cars honked and swerved to avoid him. He pulled onto the gravel roadside, ripped off his seatbelt and turned to face his friend. Mac wheezed again. He had grabbed his chest but his eyes were still closed. Bru thought Mac looked like he was turning blue. All the color immediately drained from Bru’s face.

Okay, Bru, again, don’t freak out. What Mac is experiencing seems extreme, and it kind of is, but he’ll be okay in few sec—

Bru heard nothing the angel said. His firefighter training was kicking in. Must save Mac. His best wolf friend was not about to die on his watch. Besides, Rogue would kill him. Bru checked Mac’s airway and positioned him to prepare to give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. He opened his mouth (sanitary measures be damned, there was no time!) and was about to lean in when Mac gave a final wheeze and a ragged cough, then took in huge gulps of air. His eyes flew open and he blinked a few times. Bru, mere inches from his face, looked at him with a bewildered look for a split second before his face broke out in huge grin.

“You’re okay!” Bru exclaimed. He crushed Mac in a big bear hug.

“Yeah, I’m good.” Mac grumbled. “Or, at least, I was good until you crushed my ribs just now. Get off me, man.” His voice was a little hoarse and raspy, but he was otherwise okay.

Bru squeezed him once more then sat back in the driver’s seat. “I thought you were going to die, Mac. I had to do something.”

Mac stretched in his seat and cracked his neck. “Do what? Smother me to death? Yeah, that would’ve been helpful as shit.”

Bru put his seatbelt back on and checked his mirrors then pulled carefully back into traffic. “No, I was gonna give you mouth-to-mouth. You were having trouble breathing and I—”

Mac whipped his head in Bru’s direction. “You were what? Mouth-to-mouth?? What did I tell you about always trying to make out with me, man? And while I was sleeping too? Consent much, buddy? You’re killing me.” Mac sniffed the air. “Are you kidding me? You stopped for lunch, too? Chili dogs?? Seriously?”

Bru shrugged. “She said we had time. Besides, I was starving.”

“I swear, you have the appetite of a twelve-year-old boy.” Mac stared out the window. He watched the green fields, grass, and trees whiz by. “How long was I out?” he asked.

Bru checked his watch. “Thirty-one minutes and twelve seconds.”

Shit. “Really?” Mac closed his eyes briefly. He felt like he had been out for hours.

“Yep. I checked the time and your pulse. Had to make sure you didn’t die. If you did, I’d probably have to leave the country, because I am pretty sure Rogue would have killed me.”

Rogue. Mac’s heart tugged at hearing her name. And then he felt a twinge again as he remembered Kensie’s words. “You’ll make THE bestest daddy, Mah-cheese!”

Whoo, welcome back, Wolfie McCheese. Feeling good?

Mac grinned. “Selina, I presume?

“What?” Bru asked.

“Just talking to my guardian angel.”

“Oh, okay. Tell her I said hi!” Bru checked his mirrors and kept his eyes on the road.

Nope, none of this was weird at all.

You know you don’t have to talk out loud if you don’t want to, I can still hear your thoughts.

So, you were the one who orchestrated all this, Mac thought. Why?

The angel sighed. You were just so sad, Wolfiekins. I know it wasn’t something you’d admit to anyone else, but I knew it. I’ve known you your whole life. You have this super-thick skin, like everything is always fine. And then you met your mate - who is a complete badass, by the way, love, Love LOVE her! – and then I thought you were going to be okay. But then, as soon as she started talking about babies, you got sad again. The angel paused.

Mac said nothing. He just listened.

You’ve spent decades beating yourself up about something that was completely out of your control and it broke my heart. I wish I could have been there to stop it. I tried to send someo—.

The angel abruptly stopped.

What? Mac thought. What was that?

Nothing, the angel said. Suffice it to say that the only one would could really get through to you wasn’t me. It wasn’t even Rogue.

It was Kensie, Mac thought. The angel was right. He smiled.

Well, of course I’m right. I’m always right, the angel said. Then he heard some rustling in his head. Alright, alright, sheesh, Rhyann. Pushy much?

Who’s that? Mac thought.

The angel ignored his question. Okay, Wolftastic Sam, the babies are ready to be found now. The bear knows where to go, just follow him.

Mac frowned. They’re ready to be found? What the hell does that even me—.

Geesh, so many questions, Wolfman! There are just some things that aren’t gonna make any sense right now! The angel huffed out an exasperated breath. And I just can’t explain it to you. All I can say is that those babies are super special and you are very important to them. Almost as important as you will be to your own babies. Never forget that, Mac.

Mac heard some more rustling in his head. Okay, Hairy Potter, I’ve gotta go now. Talk to you soon. Go get those babies!

Mac was so confused, none of this made any sense at all. He looked over at Bru, who was taking a rural exit off the interstate.

“Where are we going?” Mac asked. He could see nothing but trees for miles around. For all intents and purposes, it looked like they were in the middle of no-freaking-where.

“She said to take that exit then follow this road. There is a little…oh, there it is!” Bru pointed to a little stand off the road that was situated in front of a copse of trees. As they came closer, they saw it was a fruit stand. It was one that was unmanned, where you could grab some fruit and leave your money in a box on the side. Bru pulled the truck into the dirt lot next to it and shut off the engine.

Mac looked at him and shrugged. “Okay, now what?”

“She said just wait. We’d know it when we saw it.”

This shit was getting weirder by the minute. “Saw what, B?”

“I dunno. All she said is that we’d know— Oh, look! Look at that!” Bru pointed to a clearing in the trees, one they hadn’t seen from the road. As they both watched, a white light formed into a ball in the center of the clearing. It started small, maybe the size of a melon, then grew into a larger and larger ball and then it started to shimmer.

Mac and Bru got out of the truck and cautiously approached the shining light. From a distance, the light seemed opaque at first, but as they got closer, the light began to ebb outward and was surrounded by what looked like a blanket of foggy mist. And, in the center of that mist, were Kit and Kyla and a woman with a warm and friendly smile. She held both babies and gently coaxed Mac and Bru to step forward.

Here, the word rang out in both Mac and Bru’s heads. She handed Kit to Bru and Kyla to Mac. Where they were, they had no need to eat or sleep, so they’ll probably be cranky and really hungry in a matter of moments. She smiled at them both.

Bru smiled back at her and carried Kit to the truck. Mac shifted Kyla on to his hip and the baby girl smiled at him. He smiled back.

Hold on, Mac, one more thing.

Mac looked up as the angel’s spoke. The angel pointed across the clearing.

She wanted one last look at you before you left…

Standing off in the distance, within the misty fog, Mac saw Kensie in her pajamas with feet. She wore a huge grin and the two little wolf pups tumbled and rolled around her feet. Kensie clapped her hands and waved. Mac’s face broke out into a huge grin.

He waved back at her. “Goodbye, my Pretty Princess,” he said softly. His heart tugged again.

“See, I told you, Mah-cheese! They love you already!” Kensie said, as she pointed to the wolf pups. They had stopped tumbling and sat on their haunches, their little tails wagging in delight.

Mac looked at them, then at Kensie. Wait, he thought. Could they—

Kyla let out a loud and piercing cry. He bounced her a bit, startled away from the view for a moment.

“Hey, Mac,” Bru called to him. Kit was also putting up a big fuss. Cranky in a matter of moments? Check. “Time to go, man. I got some fruit for them to eat on the way. This stand is so cool! They’ve got homemade applesauce and stewed peaches in a little cooler, with spoons and everything.”

“Yeah, sure, B,” Mac shifted and bounced the increasingly fussy Kyla on his hip, then turned back to the clearing. The angel, the light, the mist, Kensie, and the pups…it was all gone. Mac grinned. “I’ll miss you, Pretty Princess,” he said to the air. Then he headed for the truck.

“Okay, little lady,” Mac said, as he settled in the back of the extended cab with the babies. Bru drove and he volunteered to feed the now ravenous and fussy babies on the way back. He didn’t care about all the noise, all that mattered was they were back home and safe. As he made airplane noises while feeding Kit, he heard the dull sound of “The Flight of the Bumblebees” playing from the glovebox.

“What is th— Oh, OH!” Bru exclaimed. He reached and flipped open the glovebox and rummaged around. Random papers fell to the floor as he finally seized his prize. “My phone!”

“Crap,” Mac said. His naughty word filter was firmly back in place. “I guess I need to get another one of those.”

“It’s Trevor! Mac, what do I do?” Bru looked at him in the rearview mirror.

“Just answer the phone. We’ve got the babies now, so we’re good.” Mac fed Kyla a spoonful of stewed peaches, then swiped the excess fruit with the spoon from her lower lip as he had seen Ella do. Kyla grinned. Oh yeah, he could do this daddy thing. He glanced over at Kit. He was full as a tick and was starting to fall asleep. He was pretty sure Kyla would follow suit soon, too.

Bru cleared his throat and shifted in the driver’s seat. He casually draped a hand over the steering wheel then thought better of it when he realized he couldn’t do that, drive, and talk on the phone with his other hand at the same time. He shrugged and gave up, then answered the phone.

“Oh hey, Trevor…whazz up?” He said, super casual. Acting natural, indeed.

Mac chuckled in the backseat as he wiped the babies’ faces with a powder-scented baby wipe. Good thing Rogue made him keep a pack of wipes in the car. They were good for just about everything, even stuff not baby related. Rogue. Man, he loved that woman. He couldn’t wait to get home and talk to her.

“Yeah, Trev, we’re on the way to the house now. We’ll see you in a bit.” Bru sighed, as he disconnected the call. “I don’t think he suspected anything. Whew! Nobody has to die today! Awesome.” Bru slumped a little bit in the driver’s seat. “Whoo doggie, I sure am tired. I need some pie. This is cherry pie ala mode kind of day. Apple pie just won’t do. Apple pie is not enough for all I’ve been through.”

Mac chuckled and shook his head. “Appetite of a pre-teen, I tell you.”

Bru stopped at Mac’s house to change the babies and grab their stuff. Apparently, where they went, they had no desire to eat, sleep, OR poop. And boy, did they ever make up for that last one. Mac was ready to declare his house a biohazard zone until Bru shook his head at him and left, heading to Trevor’s. The babies were safe and sound and on their way home. All was right in the world.

Well, maybe not quite yet.

When Rogue got home later that afternoon, Mac was sitting on the couch watching TV. As she tossed her keys in the bowl on the table behind the couch, he looked up at her. When he stood up and opened his arms, she launched herself into him. When she wrapped her arms and legs around him and hugged him tight, he felt his heart swell and damn near pop out his chest. He buried his nose in her hair and smelled her citrus and sunshine scent with a hint of honey. She must have been outside with Willow and her bees earlier that day.

“I am so sorry, baby,” he said into her hair. He sank back onto the couch with her still wrapped around him.

“Sorry for what?” she asked, turning her face into his neck. The little minx wasn’t going to make this easy at all. Because Rogue.

Mac sighed. “I…when I snapped at you yesterday and said I didn’t want kids, it–,” he paused.

Rogue rested her head on his shoulder. “I thought you said that because you just didn’t want to have them with me,” she said, her voice soft and quiet.

“Oh, baby, no.” Mac hugged her tighter in his arms. “That was never even a thought in my mind.”

He felt her smile against his shoulder. “I don’t know much about kids and I never really wanted them before. But then I met you and after seeing Ella and Heather with their kids…I could see our babies in my mind, you know? I have this dream sometimes. One of them has dark brown hair, almost like chocolate. Another has like this pretty—”

“Honey-blonde hair?” Mac finished for her.

“Yeah. Have you had that dream, too?” Rogue asked. She shifted on his lap and sat up facing him.

“Yeah,” he said. “I think I did.” He reached, slid his hands lower and squeezed her butt. She grinned.

“So… are we ready to have kids, you think?” She wrapped her arms around his neck.

Mac cleared his throat. “Maybe I should tell you why I didn’t want them in the first place…”

Rogue gave him a small smile. “I think I know why, Mac. I just wanted you to be honest with yourself about it. Sometimes I hear you talking in your sleep. Sometimes you talk to Kensie.” Rogue rubbed a spot on his chest over his heart. It soothed the small ache he suddenly felt there.

“Then you know why,” he said.

“Yes. It wasn’t your fault. There was nothing you could do. I know that wherever she is, if there is a Heaven, she is there and she doesn’t blame you at all, Mac. Neither her or your mom.” Rogue tipped her head down and kissed Mac gently on the lips. He pulled her closer and deepened the kiss.

He felt so much love for her in that moment. And it felt like everything Kensie had said in the dream all fell into place. He would be the best damn father on the planet. Damn straight.

“Yeah,” he said. Rogue ran feather-light kisses down the side of his neck, then sucked the skin hard at the base of his throat. Shit, he was already half hard when she walked in the door but, now, he was on flag pole status. She looked at him and grinned wickedly.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I’m ready now,” he said.

“Ready for sex? Always,” Rogue said, as she whipped her shirt up over her head. Mac chuckled, then groaned as he noticed she wasn’t wearing a bra. Damn, he loved it when she did that. He reached up and tweaked one of her nipples.

“Well, yeah, I’m always ready for that. But if you want to try for kids, I’m ready for that, too,” Mac said. As if on cue, a diaper commercial played on the TV screen. “But I’m not changing any diapers. That’s on you. I’m good,” he joked.

Rogue growled at him. “What? Oh, no, you are SO changing diapers, mister. All of the diapers! Especially the really stinky ones.” Rogue hopped up from his lap and took off for their bedroom. Before she disappeared, she striped off her jeans, took off her panties and whipped them in his direction. A fucking minx, that woman was. And he loved it.

As Mac stood to follow Rogue, out of habit he stuck a hand into his pocket for his phone. Shit, he forgot. He’d buy another one tomorrow. He frowned a bit when he felt something weird but familiar there. When he pulled it out, he squinted and raised it to the light. It was a pink feather. A little pink feather, just like one you’d find on a feather boa. Mac raised an eyebrow, then he smiled and set the feather on the coffee table. He nodded his head and stood up tall, shoulders back, and followed his mate to their bedroom.

Hell yeah. He’d be the best damn father there ever was.

 

*

 

“Whew!” Selina said, as she slumped on the bench next to the viewing pool. “I’m exhausted.”

Rhyann rolled her eyes. She waved her hand over the viewing pool and watched the scenes change. The twins were back with Trevor and Ella, safe and snug, bellies full and fast asleep in their beds. Willow and Bru were sharing a slice of cherry pie a la mode, and Mac and Rogue were…Rhyann quickly waved her hand again. Yeah, she didn’t need to see any of that.

“I am so tired. I need a vacation,” Selina said as she loudly snapped her gum.

“Really? You do realize that if you hadn’t told the babies about their powers, none of this would have happened.” Rhyann looked at Selina like she had lost her mind.

“Yeah, but it wasn’t all my fault really, Rhyann. Those babies love Mac and they could tell he was hurting. Somehow, they figured out where Kensie was and then they got it in their little heads that that’s what he needed, to talk to her. I don’t even know how they got ahold of that pendant,” Selina said, as she shifted on the bench and fluttered her wings around her.

“I mean, I know Rogue has a collection of them, but how that particular one ended up between the couch cushions for Kit to find, I’ll never know,” Selina said. “And then there was no way I could have known that it would give them a way to return to the Mitera. I mean, sure, I knew they were powerful, and, as twins, they’re destined to travel together. And, yeah, sure, I told them they could come here whenever they wanted, but I meant when they were older and had their Citlali guide training, not right now!”

“Really, Selina?” Rhyann stared at her. “Really? They are babies. Babies! You really expected them to be all, ‘with much power comes great responsibility’, and everything, with that kind of ability, when they barely even have teeth? You need to lower your expectations, at least until they are potty-trained.” Rhyann shook her head. “You’re killing me, woman.”

Selina ignored her and waved her hand over the viewing pool. “I need to find Rogue’s angel. I have no idea whose pendant that was. But whoever it belongs to must be someone really special.”

“Yeah, that is weird.” Rhyann said. She looked at Selina. She knew whose pendant it was, but she wasn’t telling. In fact, she could never tell Selina who the pendant belonged to. If she did, it would cause utter chaos in both Heaven and on Earth, as well as put her best friend in danger. No, that was a risk that Rhyann just couldn’t take. Not now. Not ever.

“Hey, you good over there?” Selina looked at Rhyann and tilted her head. Rhyann winked at her.

“Yep, I’m great. Now give me some of that delicious gum your keep snapping in my ear and let’s get to planning that ‘well-earned’ vacation,” Rhyann smiled at her.

 

THE END