Fighting For A Goddess

If She’s Yours

“I want you both to close your eyes. No peeking, Aidan,” Max instructed.

Aidan giggled.

Max guided them out of his room and a few steps down the hallway. He opened a door and led them inside the room next door to his.

“Alright, open your eyes… Welcome to your new room, Aidan,” Max said softly.

Jade gasped as she looked around. In the center of the room was a king-sized bed that sat low on the ground. The bedding was dark blue with the solar system printed on it. There was a nightstand with a basketball-sized replica of the moon that glowed like a lamp. On one side of the bed was a large gray wood dresser, on the other, there was a matching bookshelf.

Aidan held Jade’s hand as he walked around the room. There was a flat-screen TV on the wall opposite the bed and a large bean bag in front of it. Next to the bookshelf were several bags of new toys and books. Aidan dropped down to his knees and started going through them.

He pulled out a book that was almost as big as him, titled “The Atlas of The Universe.” Aidan looked back at Max, who was leaning against the doorway watching them.

“Is all of this for me?” Aidan asked with wide eyes.

“Yes. It’s all yours,” Max answered.

Aidan stood up and ran to Max, jumping in his arms. Max hugged him back and Jade could have sworn she heard Max sniffle a little.

“Thank you,” Aidan whispered.

“You’re very welcome, Aidan,” Max replied, setting the boy back down. Aidan got on the bed and laid back, moving his legs and arms like he was making a snow angel.

Jade walked over to Max with tears shining in her eyes. “Max, this must've cost you a fortune,” she whispered. “You barely know us,” A few tears spilled down her face. “I’ll never be able to repay you for this,” she finished, wrapping her arms around herself.

Max reached out and gently cupped her beautiful face, brushing the tears away with his thumbs. “I have a fortune to spend, Jade. So, stop crying and let me see that breathtaking smile of yours.”

She took a step forward and buried her face in Max’s chest. He wrapped his arms around her and at that moment, Jade felt so safe. She felt like she belonged right there in Max's arms. It was confusing her. She'd never been a touchy person. Even with Lindy, she wasn't a hugger.

“Thank you, Max” she whispered into his chest.

She pulled away slightly before reaching up on her tiptoes to place a chaste kiss on his cheek. She couldn't help but giggle at the surprised look on Max's face. Just then someone cleared their throat loudly, startling Jade.

Xander stood in the doorway with an unreadable expression. For a moment Jade felt guilty, but then the images of Monica and Xander making out in front of her a few hours ago flashed in her mind. She realized she had no reason to feel guilty.

Max stepped in front of the doorway and blocked Jade’s view of Xander.

“Jade, come look at this!” Aidan called.

Aidan was looking through what was sure to be his new favorite book. She walked over and sat down crossed-legged on the floor, her back to the door. Aidan climbed onto her lap.

Xander grabbed Max by his collar and pulled him into the hallway, before shoving him into the wall.

“Can I help you?” Max asked, unphased by Xander’s outburst.

“I told you to stay away from her!” Xander hissed.

“Why?” Max argued. “Is she your girlfriend? No wait, that’s Monica. Is she your mate? I sure hope not, because you’ve been parading around with another girl in front of her,” Max said as he pushed Xander off of him.

Xander stepped back and crossed his arms in front of his chest but didn’t say anything.

“My wolf believes she’s our mate,” Max stated flatly. “I don’t care if she is or not, I choose her.”

Xander glared at him for a moment before his temper died down.

“My wolf is drawn to her as well… The connection to her is getting stronger the closer she’s getting to 18,” Xander admitted.

Max exhaled and ran his hand through his hair. Xander wouldn’t lie about feeling a connection with her.

There was a simple way to find out who her mate was. They had to wait until midnight on her 18th birthday. Jade would feel it as the mate bond snapped into place. Even as a human, she’d feel drawn to her mate. She’d feel sparks on her skin when her mate touched her. Mates can even feel each other's emotions. Once Jade turned 18 they would know who she was destined to be with.

“I’m not going to leave Jade alone. I can feel that she’s mine,” Max looked away from Xander. “But… If I’m wrong and she’s your mate, I’ll leave her alone. I’d never do anything to make her unhappy. I’d still look after them though.”

Xander furrowed his brows and sighed loudly, “I’ll do the same... if she's yours.”

Max looked back at him and nodded.

Xander was struggling to keep Ares in check. Seeing Max kissing Jade sent Ares into a frenzy. He was still howling in Xander’s mind. Ares had been very quiet since Xander had asked if Jade was his mate. The way Ares acted when it came to Jade made Xander wonder if she was his, but Ares seemed confused.

“When did you do all this?” Xander gestured towards the room.

“While you guys were at the Planetarium,” Max answered. “ That’s all I could think about after seeing the kid’s room this morning.”

“Did you get any answers today?” Xander asked quietly.

“Yes. But, I want to tell Jade… about everything. I learned something about her that she deserves to know,” Max stated firmly.

“I want to tell her about us, and about what’s going on, but I have to wait to get permission from the Elders. The Alpha council is tomorrow. We’ll take them down to see the demon. That way, they won’t just have to take our word for it that demons have once again crossed over onto our plain. We need to be ready, something big is coming. Ares is unsettled,” Xander responded.

“Did Eric find a witch?” Max asked.

“He’s still working on it.”

“Xander! Look at my new room Max got me! He got me all of this stuff in here,” Aidan exclaimed. He grabbed Xander’s hand and led him into the room.