Dream Five, Chapter Thirty-One

(Anything in asterisks is meant to be italicized.)

Kat returned to the abbey four days after Kenna's birth, which made me realize I don't know how other women do this. If they aren't single mothers, they should hopefully have a husband or partner to help them, but that partner is also human and gets tired, too. Luckily for me, Barrons doesn't need to sleep. We got into a pattern of me pumping right before bed and him doing the late night feeding so I could sleep. My body was more or less repaired but I was still sore, though the soreness was almost gone. We spent the daytime with her in the bookstore and the nights in the lair because I had enjoyed being near him when I fell asleep. I always feel better when he's near.

Problem was I still woke up when she cried. It's biologically programmed.

I was still awake six nights after she was born when Barrons came back into his bedroom after feeding her.

"She go back down?" I murmured sleepily.

"She always does."

"She always does?" I repeated as I opened one eye. "She never wants to go down when I put her in her crib." I looked him up and down as he sat on the edge of the bed next to me and I sat up. "She didn't throw up on you, either. She's thrown up on me everyday. What the hell? Why does our daughter hate me? I gave her life!"

"She doesn't hate you, Mac," he told me, annoyance and amusement flickering in his eyes.

"Then why doesn't she ever throw up on you?" I said as I punched his shoulder. "That's not fair! I hold her, I bathe her, I change her, I produce her food with my body! Why doesn't she love me?"

"Because she's too young to understand love or who we are or control her bodily functions. Stop overreacting and go back to sleep."

"I don't want to sleep, I want to fight with you about this!"

"You wouldn't still have pajamas on if you really wanted to fight," he said softly. I narrowed my eyes and was about to retort when he pulled out his phone and his eyes narrowed.

"What is it?" I asked as he responded to a text.

"Hopefully nothing," he growled. His phone buzzed in his hand and his frown morphed to a scowl. "I have to take care of something," he said as he slipped it back into his pocket and reached for mine on the nightstand. "I'm turning the sound on just in case."

"Just in case of what?"

"Pray you don't find out." He leaned forward and kissed me, long and deep. "Go back to sleep, Rainbow Girl. I'll be back in the morning."

He set my phone and the baby monitor on the nightstand before he kissed me again and left. As much as I wanted to worry, I was exhausted. If we were really in trouble, he would have told me so I went back to sleep.

The next morning, I got up and showered before sifting an awake Kenna and I up to the bookstore. I wheeled her bassinet into my bathroom and put on makeup before looking through my clothes. Any top I wore was at a serious risk of a vomit stain so I put on a black tank top and grabbed something Barrons hadn't seen me wear in a few years but knew he'd enjoy, along with a pair of heels. My phone rang as I sat in the rocking chair in her nursery and fed her.

Twenty minutes later, she surprisingly hadn't thrown up and I was standing as I simultaneously rocked and bounced her. The gunfire in the bookstore startled her and she started to cry. I gently shushed her as I held her in my arms, my little girl looking absolutely adorable wearing a pink hat Kat had knitted.

"She was just about to fall asleep when you shot off your guns," I said without looking up as Lor, Kasteo, and Fade appeared in the doorway of her nursery. "You're lucky she hadn't fallen asleep already. Otherwise, all three of you would be dead right now. You should never wake a sleeping baby. They scream bloody murder and it takes forever to get them to go back to sleep. There, there, my little princess. It's okay. Mommy's here, Mommy's got you."

None of them spoke.

"Based off of the gunfire and the fact that I did not detect any human or old god presences in my bookstore, I'm assuming you've killed Barrons and you're not here to offer your congratulations and meet my daughter. He and I had a system going. I got to more or less sleep through the night and he'd take care of the late night feedings. If you've killed him, you've now disrupted our system and routine."

I switched to my baby voice.

"That means you're going to be keeping Mommy up late until Daddy gets back, aren't you, baby girl? Yes. Yes, you are. That's going to make Mommy very upset, isn't it? Yes. Yes, it is."

"Mac," Lor said softly.

"I was told the decision was to let the chips fall where they may," I said, smiling down at Kenna and still talking in a baby voice.

"That was then," Lor informed me. "Decision's changed."

"On who's order?" My voice was now soft as I looked him in the eye. "Barrons would have hidden us or sent us away, and Ryodan made a Druid vow to always be my ally."

"Group choice," Fade said.

"And is the group prepared to go to war against me?" I said sweetly. "Now, we could fight this out and I could spring all the traps I've set and call upon my allies or sift to a secret place only the Seelie Queen can access, but Lor knows I prefer to discuss these things like adults. That's why I'm still standing here. Lor, if you come after her grandchild, I can guarantee you will never taste my mother's hoecakes again." His smile held no mirth. "This is Barrons's daughter. This child's uncle sits astride K'Vruck. Dani is the only thing that matters more to him than family and this little bundle of joy shares his blood. Her aunt is an immortal Hunter who will never forgive you for going after her niece. And I'm her mother.

"I've already killed you once, Lor. And I've killed Barrons twice. I'd strongly prefer not to kill any of you today because, believe it or not, I like all of you."

I turned my gaze to the perpetually silent member of the Nine. "Kat speaks very highly of you, Kasteo, and her word goes a long way with me. Did you know she was my midwife? She helped me deliver this baby."

I turned to Fade. "We don't know each other that well, Fade, but Barrons seems to like you and that's good enough for me."

Then I turned to Lor. I'd decided he was the linchpin in this situation. "We've had our disagreements, Lor, but I've come to enjoy your company. You actually know how to smile and laugh, and Dani adores you. Did anyone tell you that one of my daughter's middle names is Josephine? I still think about Jo. Everyday. However, despite my affection for you, I will have no qualms about killing all of the Nine as many times as it takes to get the message across."

"What's the message?" Lor said after the three of them exchanged looks.

I gave them an innocent and sweet smile, and spoke softly as I slowly walked forward. "If the Nine try to do my daughter any harm, if the Nine try to take my daughter from me, if the Nine come anywhere near my daughter without mine or Barrons's permission, I will rain down motherfucking hellfire. Barrons, Ryodan, Dani, a lack of hoecakes, and even K'Vruck will be the least of your problems because I've got an Amulet that fools even you. You won't know what's real and what's not as I turn your minds completely inside out until I break you." I widened my smile a bit before I turned and sat back down in the rocking chair.

"Now, if you stay out there for longer than sixty seconds, you will die and we'll be at war," I told them as I rocked. "But if you come into the nursery, you will be doing so as a friend and an ally who gets to meet mine and Barrons's daughter, whom you will be pledging to protect. The choice is yours." I smiled up at them before returning my attention to Kenna.

The three of them stood there silently for a moment. I know I hadn't scared them; I hadn't been trying to. My goal was to convince them to leave my daughter alone and it seemed to work. All three of them walked into the nursery and approached. That's when I had the Amulet drop the illusion I had constructed.

"Over here," I said from the opposite corner, seated where the rocking chair really was and holding up the Amulet. Jericho Barrons smugly leaned against the wall next to me.

"How many times do I have to warn you fuckers about underestimating Mac?" Barrons said with an arched eyebrow.

"That whole thing wasn't real," Fade said as he crossed his arms.

"Oh, I said every word," I assured him, "you just didn't know where we really were and you only thought you'd killed Barrons. As if either of us would risk our daughter's life and leave her that exposed." I stood and walked up to Lor. "Would you like to hold her?"

Lor looked past me to Barrons, who nodded. He smiled down at me and said, "I'd love to."

"Make sure to keep her head supported," I said as I placed her in his arms.

"She's gorgeous, Mac," he told me as Kasteo and Fade peered over his shoulders. "What's her name?"

"This is MacKenna Alina Josephine O'Connor," I gushed proudly. "Kenna for short."

"Smart, not giving her either of your last names," Fade commented.

"Thank you, Fade," Barrons said with an incline of his head. He hadn't been thrilled with the idea of his daughter not sharing his last name, especially since his wife already didn't either. I was grateful Fade had immediately seen the wisdom in our decision.

Kasteo also held Kenna and Fade declined the offer to hold her (though he did let her hold his finger while Lor held her), which was for the best because she started crying and needed changing. While I changed her diaper, Barrons escorted them out. He'd been eyeing me ever since he'd gotten home. I hummed as I stood and bounced her, rocking her to sleep. She was almost asleep in my arms when I felt him. Turning, I saw him leaning against the doorframe, looking as beautiful as ever.

"I did good, didn't I?" I whispered.

"They were impressed with your underhandedness," he said in a low voice as he looked at me with pride. "Lor thinks you've been spending too much time with Ryodan." My shoulders shook as I silently laughed.

"The first time I told him that possession is nine-tenths of the law, he said I'd been spending too much time with you," I informed him to see his magnificently full lips twitch at the corners.

Barrons looked me up and down hungrily, his gaze lingering on my breasts as per usual.

*Rainbow Girl, that skirt and those heels make you look—*

*Like a wet dream?* I finished for him, giving him a charged look. It was the same skirt I'd worn when he'd taken me to investigate the "vampire" Mallucé not long after he'd moved me into the bookstore. What felt like a lifetime ago, he had told me to never get rid of my rainbow skirt because it looked like a wet dream on me.

He gave me a wolffish smile as he loosened his tie.

*Which bed?* was all he had to say. He knew I wouldn't have worn what I'd put on if it hadn't meant I was ready.

*Yours.*

Barrons approached and slipped a hand on top of one of mine that was supporting Kenna, his arm slipping around my waist. I leaned back into him and sifted us to the entry room of the underground lair like we had just stepped out of the Silver behind us. Unfortunately, the sensation of sifting had caused Kenna to fully awaken and start wailing.

"Oh, shhhhhhh," I said as I moved away from him and started bouncing and rocking her again. "It's okay, sweetheart. I know, sifting isn't fun but it's okay, baby girl. Oh, please stop crying, honey." I looked up at Barrons and smiled sadly. "Getting her down now might take a while."

"Hand her over. I'll get her down," he said as he held out his arms. His voice got soft and gentle when he started talking to her as I gave her to him. "You always go down for your dad, don't you, Kenna?"

"Aw, look at you sweet talking her," I said as we descended to the nursery. "It's so cute."

"'Cute,' Ms. Lane?"

"Relax, it's a sexy kind of cute. Like, really sexy. What is it you do that gets her to go down?" He slanted me a look and I narrowed my eyes at him. "Are you Voicing her?"

"No."

"Then how are you doing it?" I demanded in a whisper. He slanted me another look and didn't answer. "Seriously, Barrons? *That* question you're not going to answer?" We had just made it to the bottom of the last staircase we needed to descend to reach the nursery and his bedroom when he grabbed my arm and swung me backwards against the wall, using his body to pin me there.

My first thought was a lament about how long it'd been since he'd done that.

My second thought was consumed with wanting to know where Kenna was because she wasn't between us. He adjusted and I felt her down by my side. Anyone else would have been distracted by concerns about the baby possibly being dropped but I knew she was safe. I had never seen him drop anything and even if he did drop her, his inhuman speed meant he'd catch her before she hit the ground.

My heart was pounding and my chest was heaving. I couldn't see his face but I could feel his dark gaze on my breasts. His voice in my ear made me go delightfully weak in the knees and I was half-convinced that I would've collapsed had he not been holding me up.

"Maybe I'm just trying to get you worked up before I fuck you, Mac," he hissed. He dropped his head into the hollow of my neck and inhaled. "Oh, it's been far too long, Rainbow Girl." He knew exactly what I was thinking. There is no better battlefield outside of this man's bed.

The old versions of Mac had been paralyzed whenever he did this, often by a desire I was trying to repress. But this Mac had just born him a child. The desire was still paralyzing, but I could embrace it now.

I grabbed his tie as he started to move away and pulled him back, his free hand landing on the wall by my head but I didn't even flinch. He snarled a little and his eyes were turning crimson. I wet my lips as I undid the first few buttons of his shirt.

"Then you'd better put her down," I said softly as I entwined his tie with one hand while my other hand slid down his chest and abs until I found what I wanted. His fangs slid out as crimson sparks turned to swirling crimson streams, biting my lip. "Mmm, there's the beast. You better be ready to bring it, Barrons." Both hands pulled hard on his tie so I could kiss him. Then I gently pushed him away with both hands so I could slip past, but not before I pressed myself up against him and undid his tie as I whispered, "And you'd better hurry." His muted tie slid around his neck and fell to the floor as I walked away, dragging it behind me.

I heard a growl and turned to see reproach in his eyes among the crimson. He strongly prefers I treat his possessions with the utmost respect so I pulled his tie up off the ground and draped it around my neck as I headed for the door to his bedroom.