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Chapter 48

"Adam!" I shrieked as he threw a pillow to my face, making me glare at him. "Stop it. That's annoying." His lips broke out into a huge grin as he grabbed another pillow from his side and threw it at me for the fifth time. I yelped then ducked in time for it to miss me, I smirked up at him and stuck my tongue out at him teasingly.

"Ha! You missed-Ah!" I yelped as another one struck my face out of nowhere. I pushed the strand of hair off of my face and glared at him. He looked at me with amusement and broke into laughter. I growled and stood on the bed, holding the pillow he threw at me.

"You think this is fun?" I yelled as I hit him with the pillow. He started to laugh hysterically at my attempt to hurt him. His face turned red due to the severe laughter as I hit him repeatedly with the soft pillow that did no harm. "Huh? Why are you laughing? Is this funny to you?" I hit him once again with the pillow as he tried to stop me.

His laughter calmed down and he tried to catch his breath. He looked at me with wide, lit up eyes as I glared at him and hit him in the head with the pillow one more time. He chuckled and shook his head, snatching the pillow from my grasp, making my eyes widen.

"So did this sleepover turn into a pillow fight?" Adam questioned, raising a brow at me. I frowned and smacked his head, making him yelp. We were in Adam's room at the moment. I decided that I was going to sleep in his room tonight since he's leaving tomorrow. I wanted to be with him for the time being, before he left. I was truly going to miss him. I can't seem to get over the sadness that he was leaving. Adam and I were always together, and tomorrow will be the first time that he'll leave and we won't see each other for a long time. It broke my heart and I couldn't help feeling that I underestimated him at times. You truly don't know someone's values until they leave.

"Ow!" He gasped, rubbing the spot where I hit him. He pouted, making me roll my eyes. That doesn't work for me. "What was that for?"

"For being stupid," I told him. "You're the one that started it."

His pout disappeared and immediately was replaced with a grin. "Ok, true. But I'm not stupid."

I raised a brow at him and sat in front of him. "Oh really? Says the guy who thought that Florida is in Europe."

He chuckled and raised his hand up defensively. "Hey! You know that I'm not good at geography." I nodded my head in agreement as I smiled.

"You're right. But you're not good in anything," I teased him, laughing lightly. He gasped dramatically and placed his hand over his heart. "Ouch, Tiana. Is that how you talk to your best friend that is leaving tomorrow?" My smile immediately dropped, making me groan.

"Please don't remind me," I whispered and sighed out. His teasing pout vanished and was replaced with a similar frown. He scooted next to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulder, making me lean my head on his shoulder. "I'm going to miss you."

He let out a shaky breath and nodded his head. "I'm going to miss you more." I closed my eyes, blocking the tears from escaping. Once I opened them, I looked up at Adam. "Do you ever wonder what life we'd have if we stayed in our old pack and that attack never happened?" I asked. He looked down at me and nodded his head.

"Yes, I do. We'd be with our families right now," he whispered, a sad expression crossing his face. "I wonder where they are."

I bit my lip and nodded my head. "I wonder that too. But I know they're safe. I feel it." He smiled down at me and nodded his head. "I feel it too," Adam whispered.

"If that attack never happened then you wouldn't be leaving tomorrow," I whispered, sadly. He shook his head and gave me a soft smile.

"If that attack never happened then you wouldn't have ever found happiness," Adam argued. I removed my head from his shoulder and looked at him questioningly.

"Happiness?" I whispered. He nodded his head and stared forward, not looking into my eyes.

"You found a mate. Someone that will make you happy," Adam spoke softly. "Someone that will fill those empty holes in your heart." He moved his head over to me and smiled softly, making my eyes water. "You found someone that will make you forget about your past. Tiana, I don't think I ever saw you this happy in the last two years. I think he's healing you."

I bit my lip as a lonely tear ran down my cheeks and off my chin. I let out a shaky breath as I stared at him.

"I didn't see you that happy ever since that day..." Adam whispered. I shook my head and placed my hand on his arm, trying to push those memories away.

"Please, Adam. Don't remind me. Those memories haunt me to this day. I still can't get over the guilt and sadness," I whispered and rubbed my hands over my face. Adam immediately shook his head and grabbed my hand, looking at me with a sad expression.

"Tiana. How many times do I have to tell you that it wasn't your fault for what happened to me? You had nothing to do with it," Adam told me. I bit my lip again and nodded my head.

"I know. But somehow, it was. That bastard-."

"Shh. It's ok. What happened that day had nothing to do with you," Adam repeated. "It was all a misunderstanding and in the end, you were hurt by it." I nodded my head and felt my heartbreak at those memories.

"Let not talk about this. When I remember everything it breaks me." Adam nodded his head and wrapped his arm around my shoulder again.

"Sorry," he whispered. I shook my head at him.

"It's ok. Let's just focus on this sleepover for now," I said, trying to grin. He nodded his head as he looked down at me, a small smile on his lips.

"So, where were we?" He asked as he grabbed a pillow from next to him, making my eyes widen. I scooted away from his, giving him a warning look.

"Don't even dare-." I was caught off with a small yelp as the fluffy pillow hit my face. I growled at him and snatched the pillow away from his grasp, constantly hitting his face with the pillow, making him erupt with laughter. I smiled as I hit him again with the pillow and couldn't help thinking that he was one of the best people I ever met.

And how we weren't getting any sleep tonight if we continued this pillow fight.

I groaned once I felt someone tickle my nose with a feather, making me scrunch my nose. I heard a deep chuckle, making me growl lowly and turn around to the other side. The deep chuckle stopped, making me sigh out and cuddle deeper into the warm pillow.

Soon, I scrunched my nose again as I felt the feather tickle my nose.

"Adam, I swear, do that again and I'll slap you so hard that you'll have my hand imprinted on your cheeks for the rest of the day," I growled lowly, trying to fall back asleep. Adam chuckled again and stopped what he was doing. I sighed out in relief and tried going back to sleep.

"Wake up, Tiana," Adam whispered, poking my cheek. "We have to get ready."

I groaned out in annoyance and opened one eye, looking at a smiling Adam. "Ready?" I questioned. He nodded his head, his smile turning into a sad smile. "Yes, the ceremony will start in an hour." My eyes snapped open and I frowned, remembering what will happen today.

"Oh," I whispered, looking up at him. He nodded his head and I looked around, seeing the mess we made yesterday. Feathers were everywhere, due to the pillow fights we had yesterday.

I know, we were a bunch of girls.

I looked back at Adam and gave him a soft smile. "Let me go get ready, then I'll come back." He nodded his head and I got up, walking towards his bedroom door. I turned around and looked at his appearance, smiling at him. "You get ready too. You look like shit."

He laughed and nodded his head. And with that, I was out the door and walking towards my room. After I entered my room I grabbed some clothes and entered the shower. While I was cleaning my hair, I remembered the conversation I had with Adam yesterday. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply.

"Stop thinking about it, Tiana," I whispered to myself. "It's all in the past."

I shook my head and pushed those memories aside. After a while, I was out of the bathroom and all dressed. I dried my hair and tied it in a bun before grabbing my shoes and wearing them. I walked out of the room and towards Adam's room. As soon as I got closer I couldn't help the feeling that overcame me. My heart dropped as I thought that soon, Adam will leave.

I let out a sad sigh.

We can do nothing about it. Maybe it's for the best. I stopped once I saw Adam leave his room, all dressed up. Once he caught my stare he smiled. He walked up to me and hung his arm around my shoulder.

"You ready?" He asked. I looked up at him sadly and shook my head.

"No. I'm not," I whispered. His smile dropped and immediately, he pulled me into a hug.

"It's ok, Tiana. Close your eyes and open them, and I'll be back here, with you." I smiled up at him, nodding my head. "Come on, let's go." We started walking when Lina came into sight. She smiled at us and gave Adam a sad smile, offering him a hug.

"Even though you're annoying, I'll still miss you," she teased him. He rolled his eyes but smiled.

"Wow, thanks. I think that's the nicest thing you ever said to me," he said, making us laugh. Lina glanced at me and pulled me into a hug. Once we pulled away we started walking again.

"So, how many new members are coming here?" I asked Lina. She shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't really know, but I know they're a lot," she answered, making me nod my head. I didn't know if 'a lot' was a good or bad thing. Maybe, I guess. With more members comes more power, but also at the same time, we were giving them some of our members.

We continued to walk until we were out of the packhouse and walking towards the field where lots of people were standing. I stopped once I saw Mason, Nick, and his third in command walk to the front of the pack. I gulped and glanced over at Adam, to see him staring at me with a sad expression. I let out a shaky breath and looked back towards Mason to see him looking at me.

I was somehow hoping that Mason would change his mind, and let Adam stay. But somewhere in me, I knew Mason wouldn't do that. I knew that he wouldn't give Adam another choice. I looked away from Mason and we started walking towards the group again. Once we were with the group, Mason spoke.

"Thank you all for being here," he started, looking around the large crowd. "Today, we are welcoming our new pack members. And saying goodbye to our members who will leave. Our guest will soon arrive, but for now, I want all the pack warriors who are leaving to come up here."

I looked over at Adam and frowned. He nodded his head and I hugged him. He wrapped his arms around me and tightened them. This was it. He was leaving. I sighed as we pulled away. He looked down at me with a sad frown but it soon turned it into a sad smile.

"I'll miss you, Princess," Adam whispered, making my eyes water.

"I'll miss you too, Idiot." I smiled, a tear slipping out of my eyes. "Don't be gone for long."

He nodded his head and wiped the tear that fell out of my eye. "I won't. I'll come to visit you every once in a while."

I smiled at that and pulled him in for another hug before he walked up to Mason. Once he was next to all the pack warriors, he offered me a small smile.

Telling me everything was going to be ok.

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