First Rights Chapter Nine
Disclaimer: I do not own the Mortal Instruments Series. Sorry it's been so long. I've been busy, but my school let out for summer vacation yesterday, so I'll have more time now. Thanks for being so patient!
Maia had just began to glance up when she felt a mouth cover hers. Immediately, she was pissed. She had been over here, trying to enjoy herself and have fun with friends like he had told her to, and Jordan had to come over here and assert his dominance over her. She had now officially had enough. Pissed, she raised a fist and began to pound against Jordan's shoulder. Except... was it just her imagination, or was Jordan slightly bulkier than the last time they had been in this situation... well, a few hours ago?
She opened her eyes to find Caelin's face mere inches in front of her face. Surprisingly, Maia's first thought wasn't surprise that Caelin apparently felt something for her. Her first thought was , 'Where is Jordan? This isn't what it looks like.' Her second thought was that Jordan got what he deserved and that she should kiss Caelin again. The fact that he was a good kisser didn't count against him, either. She glanced up through her eyelashes to study Caelin's face. He looked distinctly nervous, but she smiled and raised her face for him, and he smiled back, moving in slightly. However, before either could close the distance between them, a roar echoed through the apartment.
Both Caelin's and Maia's heads whipped over to find Jordan charging toward them.
Maia didn't know what she had expected to happen, but whatever she had expected, it turned out more like a scene in a movie: Jordan began pummeling Caelin and Caelin began pummeling Jordan. The other guests formed a circle around the fighting duo, Maia paced uselessly back and forth, and soon cheering broke out for various favorites. Jordan was the clear favorite, but Caelin had his supporters. Maia looked around wildly for Magnus, hoping the warlock would soon put a stop to the fighting. However, she spotted him seconds later at the front of the crowd, cheering for Caelin, shouting, "Put him in his place!"
"Magnus!" Maia pleaded. He glanced at her and sighed, lifting one of his fingers. Immediately, Jordan shot into the air, suspended by his collar. "Hit him harder!" Magnus yelled, then laughed and said at a normal volume, "I'm just kidding. Time to stop, guys. It was entertaining and all, but if you break my furniture, I would have to hurt you both." Flicking his pointer and middle fingers at the door, both Caelin and Jordan were thrown out, landing roughly in the hallway. Speaking loud enough for them to hear, the warlock then said, "If you are planning to continue fighting, do keep the volume down. I have enough noise complaints against me without the two of you adding to them." The door then slammed shut.
A second of silence made its way throughout the crowded apartment, but the noise soon began and grew to its earlier decibel. Maia stood for a moment, stunned. Magnus leaned down to look at her face. "Cheer up. I did what you wanted me to, and that's rare in itself. Appreciate one of the few times it will ever happen." He ambled off in Alec's direction. Maia shook her head and blinked a few times until another werewolf girl came up and asked her if she wanted to join the huge group of dancing girls on the other side of the room. Maia smiled and accepted. She had always loved to dance, and she could wait a while before getting back to Jordan anyway.
Jordan smirked as he leaned up against the wall outside of Magnus' apartment - a wall that was rumbling along with the base thumping in the room. Caelin had run away as soon as he had been able to stand, leaving Jordan to stand here and wonder when Maia would come back. At first he had been upset when his mate didn't return right away, but he quickly forgave her since he would have done the same thing in her place. Sighing, he slid down the wall until he was sitting on the floor, then looked around in disgust. Obviously, since these places were mostly rented by artists, someone figured they could skip on the cleaning. Jordan's shirt was probably ruined, but it was too late to anything about it now. Idly, he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and checked his messages. Shit, eight new texts. Odds were good that something big was going on, and he was finally going to be involved.
All of the texts were from his adopted mother. Jordan sagged. And all of them were about this girl that she thought would be perfect for her son. Damn, that was a letdown. Jordan tensed up again. These messages were different than others his mother had sent. These got increasingly bitchy, telling him that he had to call her. Once again, she thought she had found the one and only woman on the face of the planet who would be perfect for her son. Fingers flying over the keyboard, Jordan dialed his mother's number. It wasn't too early where she lived on the west coast. He held the phone to his ear as he rubbed at the bridge of his nose.
Lamenting, he asked the air, "Why me? Why do I have to be the only loved orphan on the planet? Why couldn't I get a nice pair of distant, cold parents?" He didn't mean it, obviously. Jordan was thankful every day for the guidance his loving parents had given him, and still provided today. Except for cases such as this, in which his mother interfered overly much. She was an interesting woman. Her real name was Tameryn, which she disliked. In her opinion, the name was too feminine, and she preferred to go by the name Cedar, a nickname given from the color of her fur when she was in wolf form. Cedar was fierce, protective of herself and everything she viewed as hers, yet she was kind and loving to Jordan, and her husband, Denver. All of this was pondered in the moment in which the phone connected and began to ring. Almost immediately, Cedar answered her phone.
"Hello?" Jordan smiled at his mother's tone. She sounded slightly impatient, as if she had more important things to do than talk on the phone. Such as set Jordan up for marriage.
"Hey, mom. It's Jordan." He braced himself for her usual lectures about how long it had been since he called, but they didn't come.
"Jordan!" She gushed. "What did you think about Myndy? Didn't she just sound like the most charming girl? I'm sure you'll love her. Oh! Since you're calling, I was thinking, instead of me sending her out to see you, why don't you come out here? This way, you can meet Myndy, and we can see you at the same time. It's been so long since I've seen you, my little boy. When do you think you'll be able to come out here?"
For the first time in their conversation, Cedar paused for a breath and awaited his response restlessly. "I'm sorry, mom, but I can't." He spoke over her protests. "Mom, I've found someone. I think she's the perfect person for me, and I plan to marry and spend the rest of my life with her."
"Really?" From the catch in Cedar's voice, Jordan would have bet on the prescence of tears in her eyes. Wolves usually mated young and stayed together for the rest of their lives. Jordan had been a constant source of concern for Cedar.
"Really, mom. I love her already." His voice became chagrined as he said, "I'm just trying to convince her that she loves me, too. However, I would love to pay for plane tickets so that you and dad can fly out here and meet her. You'll love Maia, I'm sure of it."
Cedar sounded offended now. "I wouldn't dream of using your money. Expect your father and I in a few days. Are you still living in the same apartment?"
Jordan gave her the address of his and Maia's apartment. "I'll see you in a few days then, okay?"
Voice softening, Cedar kissed into the phone. "I'm counting the hours already, baby boy. I'll see you soon. Don't give up on your woman yet, all right? Sometimes, we only fight because we want to be sure we've got the right man. Just keep working on her. Who could pass you up, hm? Okay, love you sweetheart. Bye." With another kissing sound, Cedar hung up.
Jordan smiled again, and had just put his phone back into his pocket when he heard Magnus' doorknob turn. Maia walked out of the warlock's apartment and looked around for a second before spotting him. She wrinkled her nose. "You know your shirt's going to be ruined, right?"
Even though Jordan had thought this a moment before, he was offended, saying stiffly, "Maia, I'm a man. Men don't worry about things like clothing and shoes."
Maia snorted. "Jordan, give me a break. I've seen your closet." She shook her head and began to walk downstairs. Jordan stayed where he was for a second, then shrugged and followed her, deciding that he was merely going to 'forget' to tell Maia about their guest for a few days.
Maia walked downstairs on autopilot, busy fuming at herself. First, she had cut short her evening with her so-called 'friends'. They had begun to ask questions about Jordan between dancing. They had told Maia to hang onto Jordan with both hands, especially because he was hot. Maia had dealt them a few harsh words and walked out. Secondly, Maia had walked out of the door and had instantly gotten in a better mood because she had seen Jordan, then had exchanged casual conversation with him. Thirdly, he was coming up behind her and she had to stifle the urge to explain Caelin's actions to him. Since when did she answer to anyone, much less Jordan?
A hand grasped hers just as she got to the bottom of the stairs. Turning, Maia scowled, ready to tear Jordan a new one if he had the audacity to yell at her. Instead, his mouth covered hers and he kissed her deeply. Just once, couldn't she decide when to initiate a kiss? Jordan pulled away hesitantly, looking shocked that she hadn't shoved him away. Maia leaned to the side, spat, and wiped her mouth on her sleeve. "What the hell was that for?" Rather than sounding tough and pissed off like she had been trying to, she sounded weary.
Jordan grinned at her. "Well, you can't taste him anymore, can you?" With that, he sauntered away while Maia shook her head at his need to be the only male in her life.
Jogging, she caught up with him. He looked over at her as though he hadn't just left her in the dust. "So, now that I'm banned from party central, where do you want to go?"
Maia shrugged. "We're in New York City. We could do anything." As he waggled his eyebrows at her, she blushed and hit him. "Except that, you perv," she said severely.
Jordan merely shrugged and kept walking. "Since it's late, my usual places might not be open. I'm more of a daytime than a nighttime person, so I wouldn't really know. There's one thing we can do, and I'm sure it's always open." Maia braced herself for more bad jokes, but Jordan was silent as he stepped to the curb and hailed a cab.
A short time later, Maia gaped as she stared around her, spinning to take in the entire view. She would admit she had possessed some major doubts when Jordan suggested they walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, but now, those doubts were gone as though they had never been. Lights from various building glimmered out at them over the water as traffic zoomed by at their backs. Maia could see thin tendrils of fog beginning to creep out onto the surface of the water, dimming the reflection of the cloudy sky. Though this view never bored her, the grand architecture of the bridge itself captured her attention periodically.
Jordan was right behind her the entire time, lending her his warmth when the wind got a little chilly. As a way of thanking him while keeping her pride, Maia lounged back against him slightly as she enjoyed the view (of the bridge, of course). She sighed. Maybe this situation wasn't completely bad, but she'd be damned before she'd ever admit that to Jordan.
