The Dormant Mate

CHAPTER 34 - MATURE CONTENT

                                                       MAX

Once the welcoming was over, we sat down to eat. The food was awesome as always. Can never go wrong with my mother's determination for making a feast. When we all had our fill, it was time for presents. I knew my mother would go overboard. She got her all kinds of new clothes. Not that she needed them. It was mainly because you never know when you will need to shift. Unexpected shifting can shred your clothes. Kind of hard to put rags back together.

She got her a necklace with a wolf on it, new scrubs (just in case), her favorite body spray, and some items which should not, I repeat should not be shown during a party. I groaned while hiding my face behind my hands and Cora just turned a hot pink.

Tess and Topher had gotten her friendship bracelets with their initials on them. They also got her new car seat covers with wolves on them. Her grandmother got her a crystal wolf. When you held up to the light, prisms shined endlessly. It was beyond gorgeous. She got so much stuff, I lost track.

It was time for my gift and my nerves were working overtime. She eyed the bag then smiled at me. She threw the tissue paper onto the floor next to her, she was determined to get into that bag. She found what she was looking for, only it was wrapped. She evil eyed me, and I smiled. She ripped the plain white wrapping off in seconds. When she saw what the gift was, she instantly turned into a fish.

She was speechless. She tried talking, but nothing came out. She kept opening and closing her mouth. I saw the tears swell in her eyes as she held the shadowbox. I grabbed her hand, giving her a loving squeeze. She smiled up at me with so much love, I thought if I died right now, it was all worth it.

"Max, I love it." She cried. "This is... I don't know if they made words to describe how I feel right now." She examined the lightly frosted glass in vines around the edges, she read the note I wrote her, the little hearts dancing around like a snow globe.

"Is this really the pinecone from the tree?"

"Yeah. I had it ever since that day. Something told me I needed to keep it. I didn't know why... There is another gift that goes with this," I told her.

She dug more into the bag to pull out the small pinecone which was a replica of the bigger one. She looked at me with questioning eyes. She examined it like the doctor that she is. She was turning it over and looking at me like I was crazy. She examined it a little longer before she realized she could open the top. The next thing I heard was muffled cries as she covered her mouth. The tears that were sitting in her eyes from a few minutes ago, finally fell.

"I know you don't care for gold, so I head it set in platinum. The angel wings represent your parents, this way they will always be with you. The diamond represents the moon," I explained. This only caused her to cry even more. I hope these are happy tears.

What happened next, blasted me into oblivion. She threw herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck, her tears wetting my shirt. She was gripping me so hard, she started to choke me. "Thank you, Max. It's beautiful."

I rubbed my hands up and down her back to soothe her. My mother was crying, Tess was crying, honestly, pretty much everyone was crying. Including the males who were the strongest members of our pack and family. They had tears streaming down their faces.

"Love, I need to ask you something," I mumbled into her shoulder.

She pulled back, wiping her face. She was looking down at her lap, probably a little embarrassed about her crying. I didn't care. She can cry all she wants if they are happy tears.

I reached for her hand once again, rubbing soothing circles into her palm with my thumb. "I know this isn't ideal, whether place or time, but..." I took the ring out of the pinecone and smiled at her lovingly. "Will you marry me?" Her breath hitched and she stared straight into my soul.