Fighting For A Goddess

Her Father

Chapter 11

Xander’s phone rang inside the pocket of his discarded shorts. They were folded up next to his shirt on the forest floor. After watching Jade walk inside her house, Xander felt crippled by the fear of never seeing her again. Jade was such a sweet kid, always looking after everyone she loved. He'd cared about her since the moment he met her, but tonight was different. When she’d confessed to Monica that she was leaving, Xander wanted to carry her off to bed and claim her so she could never leave him. Xander drove his truck back to the packhouse and walked straight into the forest to shift into Ares. For the first time in a long time, he gave Ares full control. Ares let out a sorrowful howl.

Ares, is Jade our mate?

………………..

Max tried Xander again but he still didn’t pick up. He called Eric. The line rang once before Eric answered.

“Hey, Max, where’d you run off to?”

“Is Jade still at the packhouse?” Max asked, ignoring Eric's question.

“Oh, umm no, Xander took her home awhile ago.”

“Fuck.”

“What’s going on, Max?” Eric asked, concerned.

“I’ll explain later. Right now I need to find Jade. Where does she live?”

“She lives on Lakeview Drive. I don’t know the house number, but it’s really run down, you can’t miss it,” Eric answered quickly.

“Thanks,” Max replied before ending the call. He headed towards Lakeview drive, trying to stay calm. He’d never seen a demon before tonight, only read about them. No one had seen one in over a thousand years. Now they’re back and they’re after Jade. He wanted answers. But first, he needed to get Jade back to the packhouse where he could protect her. He couldn’t even think straight, since the moment the demon spoke her name his heart felt like it was in a chokehold. The packhouse had several protection spells placed on it and a few dozen werewolves. It would be the safest place for Jade until he could kill whoever was after her.

….…………….

“JADE!!!!”

Jade jolted out of bed at the sound of her father’s furious voice screaming her name. She instinctively ran to her bedroom door and locked it before she ran back to her bed and wrapped the blanket around her.

It was almost 2 am, and she’d only been asleep for less than an hour. She gripped her phone tighter as she heard her father’s booming voice just outside her door. The handle jigged a few times before a loud thud from her father’s fist shook the entire door. Jade’s heart was racing in her chest. Her father had never come looking for her in the middle of the night. When their paths crossed during the day, he’d find any opportunity to scream at her or slap her, but this felt different. Jade sat frozen in fear.

“Open this door, Jade,” her father said in a low voice. A chill crept up Jade’s spine. He didn’t sound drunk at all, he wasn’t slurring his words. He’d never been violent or angry with her when he was sober. Even if sober days were rare these days. Jade grabbed the phone off her nightstand and dialed the only person she could think of… Xander.

The line just kept ringing. She hung up and dialed Eric. She’d put his number in her phone before she went to sleep. She could still see the shadow of her father’s shoes under the door, at the moment he was just standing there silently. For some reason, this scared her more than the yelling.

Eric's voice came through the phone.

“Hello....” Eric answered. Jade was struggling to breathe. The air in her room suddenly felt thin.

“Hello?” Eric repeated.

“Eric?” She whimpered.

“Who is this?… Wait… Jade?” He asked.

“Yes,” She whispered. As she spoke, her father’s shadow disappeared. She let out a shaky breath.

“Jade. What’s going on? Are you okay?”

“No, Eric. I’m scared.”

“I’m on my way. Where are you?”

“I…I’m… at my house. In my room. My dad, he’s… he’s…” Jade stammered. Before she could say anything else, a fist banged on her door, shaking it. Jade jumped.

“Jade?” Aidan’s voice sounded from the other side of the door.

“Aidan!” Jade exclaimed as she jumped out of bed and ran to the door. She flung the door open and her phone dropped from her hand. Her father was standing there holding Aidan up by the back of his shirt. Aidan looked so frightened. She pulled Aidan out of his grip and pushed him behind her. Her father gave her an evil smile as he reached out and grabbed her by the hair. Jade screamed, dropping the phone. Her father pulled her further into her room, shutting the door behind him. He dropped Jade to the ground. She scrambled away but before she could stand, he grabbed her legs, knocking her down to the ground.

“Get away from me!” Jade screamed. Aidan was crying in the corner of the room.

“Aidan, get out of here now!” She cried out. Her father wrapped his arms around her throat and lifted her whole body in the air. Jade stared at him with wild, frightened eyes as he tightened his grip and cut off her air supply. Dark spots were clouding her vision. She looked over at Aidan’s little face. He looked terrified. She kicked her legs frantically, trying to get out of her father’s death grip. But, he only held her up higher. She stared into her father’s eyes and saw nothing but hatred. Just as her vision went black, she saw red flash in his eyes. Suddenly, a large fist connected with the side of her father’s face, knocking him to the ground, forcing him to release her.

Jade crumpled to the floor gasping loudly as she sucked as much air into her lungs as she could. When she could see again, she looked over at the man who was on top of her father, repeatedly driving his fists into his face. The man was shirtless and had tattoos going down both arms. She stared at his face for a moment before she recognized him.

Max? she thought. Jade didn’t understand why he was here, but she didn’t care. She crawled across the room to Aidan and wrapped both her arms around him.

“Close your eyes!” She croaked, her throat was damaged from being strangled. She could barely talk. Aidan listened and shut his eyes tight. She covered his ears and rocked him back and forth.

“Jade!” She heard the familiar deep voice of Xander. Just then he appeared at her door, followed closely by Eric. Xander spotted her and Aidan on the ground and rushed over to them. Eric ran to Max and pulled him off her unconscious father.

“What the hell happened?!” Eric asked, holding Max away from Jade’s unconscious, bloodied father.

“The bastard was killing her” Max raged.

“Who is he?” Eric asked, looking around the room bewildered. Max shrugged Eric’s arms off from around his chest.

“He’s her father,” Xander answered. He had one arm around Jade, and the other around Aidan. Jade held Aidan protectively against her, keeping his ears covered. Max walked over and kneeled down next to them. He looked frightening as he stared at her covered in blood and dirt, but she didn't feel the least bit afraid. He reached out and gently lifted her chin, examining her neck. Dark purple bruises were already forming on her tan skin.

“Are you okay?” He asked. His voice was gentle and soothing. Jade nodded her head yes. Max glanced at Xander. He was staring at him with a small scowl on his face.

“He’s still breathing,” Eric announced, as he moved his hand away from her father’s neck. Xander picked up both Jade and Aidan and held them in her arms as he stood up.

“Jade, I’m getting you both out of here,” he said softly. Jade just nodded again, her throat was on fire.

“Let’s go. We need to talk,” Max announced as he walked out of the room, followed by Xander and Eric.