Mack McBride was Frankie Baker’s closest friend—her confidant, sidekick, and constant companion. He fell in love with Frankie the moment he met her, freshman year in high school.
He just never tried to own her.
Raised in a chaotic household where stability was rare, Mack found refuge at Frankie’s house. Her kind grandmother. Soup on the stove. Cats underfoot. Frankie beside him in the arcade or the bleachers. For years, she was his best friend—close enough to hug, never close enough to kiss.
Frankie’s sudden disappearance after high school graduation left a permanent mark on his heart. Though he respected her decision to vanish, he didn’t understand why she had to cut ties completely with everyone in Wyrdwood. He became a shadow of his former self. He built a life, yes. Worked. Dated even.
He was waiting. Though he’d never admit that was what he was doing. He never stopped loving her. Occasionally, he googled her name, but he found no sign of her. Nevertheless, he never gave up the hope that one day she’d come home.
After high school, Mack took an apprenticeship with Jake Lamb to learn warlock affinities. He trained in the formal magickal systems that are rooted in mathematics, physics, ley lines, and symbolic logic. He is affiliated with the international warlock organization known as the Pythagoreans. He occasionally works at Lost Lambs Haven and maintains quiet ties throughout the magickal community, though he avoids politics whenever possible.
Calm, steady, and deeply observant, Mack is the kind of man who notices what others overlook and waits until action truly matters. His magick is precise rather than flashy, and his instinct is always to protect rather than dominate. Unlike Urbain, he doesn’t crave dominance. He believes power should shield, not subdue.
What sets Mack apart is not inner strength—though he has that in abundance. It’s restraint. He understands the need for consent in magick and in love. He does not manipulate, does not corner, and does not bind. When Frankie returns pregnant and dragging old ghosts with her, he meets her with acceptance and steadiness instead of demands.
Mack’s love is simple in the way that deep things are simple: I choose you. No spell required.
His arc is about patience rewarded, loyalty tested, and the quiet heroism of true love or bust.
