Being Minnie's Daughter

Chapter 47

Mack's POV

          A loud howl echoes through my open window causing me to wake up suddenly in bed. My chest rises and falls quickly, trying to catch my breath after that scare. I slip out of bed and silently pad across my floor until I can see out my window. That howl was eerily close to my house.

          My eyes quickly adjust to the dark and I look out just in time to see a dark figure run into the backyard. I move closer to the window to figure out what creature just made it through the barrier. I lean over and am about to pick up my wand off my nightstand when the creature lifts its head to look up at the window.

          Amber eyes. Caramel fur.

          "Remus," I whisper finally recognizing the body of a wolf in the light from the approaching dawn. I grab my wand and tuck it into my messy bun I put my hair in before I fell asleep and pull on my favorite cardigan. I sprint down the stairs and quickly pull an old blanket off the living room couch. I approach the back door and quickly turn the door knob.

          There sitting in the grass just five steps away from the steps off the patio is a large werewolf looking at me curiously. I step through the doorway and slowly walk across the patio until my feet are at the top of the steps. The werewolf lays down on the ground but keeps his head up looking at me.

          Taking that as approval to come closer, I quickly move down the steps and drop to my knees a foot in front of the werewolf. He drops his head down on top of his paws and I reach out with my right hand to touch the fur on the top of his head.

          The sky gets even lighter and a small shudder goes through him. I quickly remove my hand and throw the blanket over top of him.

          I close my eyes as he starts the transition back to human. I don't realize that he is back to normal until I hear a voice speak hoarsely.

          "Mack?" Remus says rough and I open my eyes.

          There laying on the ground in front of me is a blanket covered Remus, looking up at me completely confused.

          "Remus!" I exclaim, jumping forward and tackling him into a hug. My arms squeeze him tightly with a huge grin stretching across my face.

          Remus laughs and hugs me back before leaning away from me blushing. I quickly realize I half pushed the blanket off him and move away, looking away embarrassed.

          He laughs again at my discomfort before the confusion comes back. "Mack, I... I don't understand... Where..." He looks around the garden and sees the cottage in the middle of the woods. "Your house?"

          "You tracked me here, as a werewolf," I whisper looking at the ground.

          I hear him adjust the blanket again and move closer to me. I feel his hand touch my cheek and guide my face back to looking at him.

          "Of course I did, I was going crazy not knowing where you were. And here you are, right where my wolf knew you would be." He smiles down at me, happiness glowing in his bright, amber eyes.

          I nod, "I'm not going anywhere now Remus."

          He laughs and pulls me onto his lap into a proper hug this time. "You better not Mackenzie, I'll just have to go find you again."

          I curl into his chest and tuck my head under his chin. We sit there for a while, the sun slowly rising and beginning to reflect on the pond. Remus starts fidgeting and I move my head back to look up at him.

          "What's wrong Remus?"

          "It's not that I don't like holding you because I do," He says quickly. "But I kinda need to put some clothes on."

          I quickly scramble off his lap and turn away to face the house while blushing bright red.

I hear Remus laugh and stand up behind me before coming over and tugging on a piece of my hair. "I missed seeing your hair turn red."

I shake my head and glance back at him. His eyes are tired yet happy and his hair is an absolute mess. The blanket I tossed over him is wrapped around his waist leaving his torso uncovered. I turn back around and lead the way into the house. "You can use the shower upstairs if you want while I go find some clothes for you to wear. I think a pair of James' athletic shorts are in my trunk from when he threw them through the wall weeks ago."

Again Remus chuckles behind me, "So that's where those shorts went. He's been blaming Sirius."

He follows me upstairs and I point out the bathroom before walking into my room. I toss my cardigan onto my vanity chair and open my trunk that is sitting at the foot of my bed. I search around until I find the pair of dark red shorts tucked in the bottom left corner under some of Remus' t-shirts. I grab his U2 shirt that I just washed and the shorts before walking back into the hall.

I stand on the other side of the bathroom door and hear the water running I knock fairly loudly on the door before shouting, "Remus, I found the shorts and one of your t-shirts. Can I come in and place them on the counter?"

"Sure!" I hear him yell back.

I open the door a crack, just enough to slip my arm through and drop the clothes onto the counter. "I'll be in my room."

I walk back into my room and pause right in front of my trunk. I drop to my knees and start shaking. My hands reach up and cover my face and almost instantaneously I start bawling. I rock back and forth on the ground crying until I hear footsteps come up behind me. I try to stop my crying as Remus comes around and kneels down in front of me.

"What's wrong Mackenzie?" He asks all concerned, wiping tears away from my eyes with shaking hands.

A nervous laugh comes out of my mouth. "Nothing is wrong, everything is wonderful actually."

Remus nods and scoops me into his arms and carries me over to my bed. Everyone who thinks Remus is weak is most certainly wrong. He's just as strong as James and Sirius, if not stronger. He just doesn't flaunt it like they do. Remus lays down onto my bed and pulls my wand out of my hair. He places it on the nightstand and pulls my hair out of its bun. My hair flops down into my face and he carefully tucks it behind my ears.

"Wanna tell me the truth about what you are thinking?" he whispers pulling me closer.

I lean away and grab my blanket and yank it over us. "Not really," I say softly, turning to look at his face. "You look exhausted and I know you are from the transformation."

He shakes his head, sprinkling water all over me. "I am fine Mack."

"No you aren't Rem, we can talk later after we both sleep. I didn't sleep good either last night," I command. I tuck my head into his neck and close my eyes. I feel Remus shake his head and cast a spell to close my window blinds. He smooths down the hair on the top of my head over and over until I am about to fall asleep.

"Sleep tight Mack," he whispers, stopping the movement with his hand. "I love you."

But by then, I'm too close to being asleep to say anything back.