cloud

"Do you have everything?"

I turn to Gray and give him an exhausted look. He'd asked the same question for what felt like the hundredth time.

"Gray, I'm sure I'm ready," I tell him with a sigh, but a small smile still made its way onto my face. It was nice to see that he cared.

"I just want to make sure," he tells me, arms crossed over his chest.

"I know," I say. "And I'm grateful for it, but you don't need to keep asking. I'm prepared, I promise."

Gray doesn't immediately reply. His blue eyes stare at me, emotions race past them — too fast for me to identify. His mouth drops ever so slightly into a frown and he sighs before moving toward me and pulling me into an embrace.

"You'll be okay, right?" Gray asks quietly. "Promise me you'll be okay."

"I'll be fine," I tell him, pulling back just barely so I could see his face. He stares at me expectantly, so I quickly add, "I promise."

Gray's grip around me only tightens. I knew many things were racing around his mind that he wanted to say, but he held them back. We stay together for a few minutes before he finally lets go.

"You know I love you, right?" Gray finally asks me. "I know that it isn't something we say to each other often — if at all — but, I need you to know that before you go. I love you, Cloud."

Sincerity shines in his blue eyes and my smile only grows. "I love you too, Gray," I tell him honestly. "You don't need to worry so much, I'll be sure to call you."

"I hope so, or Layne would make Quinn and I take her to you so she could scold you," he jokes.

"Like you wouldn't be right there by her side doing the same," I retort. "She's a lot more like you than I first realized."

As if on cue, the sound of tiny feet running toward us grows louder until Layne comes into view. She quickly races toward me until her arms wrap around my lower body and she buries her head against my side.

"Do you have to go?" Is the first thing Layne says to me. "Can't you come to stay with us?"

Her blue eyes look up at me pleadingly and I crouch down to her level and say, "It won't be that long, Lay. Uncle Rai and I will be back before you know it! You know we still have to come to see your brother."

Layne pouts. "But that's not gonna be until forever from now!"

"It won't be that long," I promise her. "Uncle Rai and I will call you too while we're gone. We'll also bring you back a gift when we come back!"

Layne's eyes lit up. "You promise?"

I smile down at her. "I promise, Layne. I'll be back before you know it."

Layne runs to me, her arms wrapping around my chest and I return the gesture.

"I love you, Uncle Cloud," she tells me.

"I love you too, Layne."

It was crazy to me how we'd come from her not even being able to talk to me to her begging me to stay and telling me that she loved me. It just goes to show how much changed in such a short amount of time. How much I'd changed.

I pull away from Layne and turn my head to where Raiden stands with his own family. I walk over to them just as Maia pulls him into a hug. I wasn't the only one who'd changed. Maia had also. Before she was always so closed off, but she definitely seemed happier now that she was done with Hopper. I didn't really know the details of what happened to him, but I knew that there was no chance in hell that he was coming back which was a good thing and a bad thing.

It was a good thing because it meant that he couldn't do any more harm to the pack or Maia, it was a bad thing because that now meant that the Howling Night was without a head warrior. Since Hopper's involvement with Alpha Demos had been made public, there was a lot of talk about what would happen to the pack now. Some seemed to be worried that this was the beginning of the end of the Howling Night.

It was also becoming more known that Beta Reo had met his mates which made the question of what was going to happen when he became the second alpha of Archer's pack come up. Many believed that it was only a matter of time before he was gone also and they wanted answers — now rather than later — but Tatum wasn't in the state to be dealing with that. I was worried about him. After we left the hospital, he began to put all his focus into his work and locked himself away. He was isolating himself and I feared what consequences that could have on his wolf. Maia, Beta Reo, and I still visited him, but other than that nobody else did. It was because of this that I was so hesitant to leave, but Maia had assured me that she was going to look out for him.

"Are you ready to go?" Raiden asks me. The large smile was clear on his face causing me to return it with one of my own.

"Yeah, I'm ready whenever you are."

"You can't leave without saying bye to me!"

I turn around only to come face-to-face with Mars. I stare at him for a few seconds before shaking my head. As annoying as the man could be, some part of me would miss him. A very, very, very small part.

"Goodbye, Mars," I tell him blankly causing Mars' eyes to narrow.

"You can do better than that. Come on, put your soul into it!" He encourages.

"That's the best you're getting from me," I tell him and Mars sighs.

"Rai, you'll miss me right?" He looks past me and to my mate who has a sad expression on his face.

I move out of the way, allowing Raiden to walk toward his friend and embrace him. "Of course I will, dumbass. How could I not?"

I slowly back away, allowing the two to have their moment. As I do so, I can't help but look around. As a child, I wished for friends. I wished for a family and to be surrounded by people that loved me. That wasn't something that I ever thought I would have, but standing here now, it almost felt surreal.

Sure, I didn't have my wolf and it had been a hectic journey, but here I was. I now had Raiden, Gray, and so much more. There was still a lot about myself I wanted to fix, like taking Gray up on his words and actually looking into therapy. I didn't know if it was going to be something I would like and, to be honest, I was still a bit reluctant about the whole thing, but I wanted to give it a shot.

Meeting Raiden and making up with my brother helped me a lot, but that didn't mean that I didn't have to put in the work to fully get to where I wanted to be. I was happy with my life, but there was still so much more that I needed to break down and understand — that didn't mean I had to do it alone though.

"Cloud, let's go," Raiden calls out to me. His hand wraps against my own and I stare at him before moving closer and leaning in to kiss him.

"I love you, you know that?" I ask him.

Raiden grins at me. "I sure hope so. You're going to be spending a lot of time with me from now on."

"The horror. What will I do with myself?"

Raiden's eyes meet mine before they drop lower. Specifically to the spot where his mark lay proudly.

"I'm sure we can find ways to entertain ourselves."

The innuendo was clear and I rolled my eyes before lightly pushing him away and making my way to the car.

"Still a horny mutt."

"You like this horny mutt," Raiden challenges. "Don't act like you didn't play a role in the creation of that mark."

I open my mouth to retort, but the sound of more bickering causes me to turn my head to where Beta Reo stood with Boston and Archer. They were, unsurprisingly, arguing. At first, it seemed as if they didn't get along at all and while I was sure that was true on some level, the hidden compliments and subtle gestures when they were around each other weren't lost on me. As much as the beta likes to say that he didn't like his mates, I didn't believe it for a second. There were only two real issues. The first was Boston and Archer. Had you told me that the two of them didn't like each other, I would completely believe you. All they did when they came together was argue. The second problem was the pack difference. Though he claims that he won't, it was only a matter of time before the beta ultimately would have to switch packs.

As of right now, they seemed to be making the long-distance work, but I knew that their wolves, especially Archer's, wouldn't be able to handle that for long. There was a good amount of distance between the three packs and with Archer being an alpha, it was highly likely that they'd have to go to his pack. I was sure that if it wasn't already then it would be an upcoming argument for the new throuple.

"Do you think they're ever going to get along?" Raiden asks me as he stares at the trio.

"Honestly? In some ways, I think this is them getting along," I admit. "I think they'll get better with time, but I doubt that they'll ever fully stop arguing. It seems like that's just how they are."

"I just hope that they'll be happy together," he says, more to himself that to me, before shaking his head. "Come on. I have one more stop I wanna make before we go."

My brows furrow, but I follow Raiden as he climbs into the car. Once we're both inside, he begins to drive through the pack lands. I peek over at his face as we do so. He didn't say anything, but I knew that some part of him must feel sad about leaving. I mean this was his home for so long and now he was leaving it.

I knew that he was also happy though. This was something that Raiden was looking forward to for a long time. It was a bittersweet feeling for me as well. While I wouldn't go as far as to call this pack my home, it was the place where I met Raiden and that would always be special to me on some level.

Raiden stops in front of a house that I'd become all too familiar with over the last few weeks and I turn to him in question.

"I'll stay here. You go talk to him," Raiden tells me. "I know that you're worried about him, so go ahead."

I stare at the house before taking a deep breath and doing as instructed. After coming over so much, I had my own key at this point since I knew that he wouldn't open the door if I knocked. I fish around in my pocket until I find it and I open the door before stepping in.

The house is quiet, just as it has been for the past few weeks. I quietly walk around until I find a door at the end of the hall and slowly turn the knob. Sitting in a chair with stacks of paper surrounding him is Tatum. On the outside, you wouldn't even know anything was wrong with him. He still maintained the suave demeanor and stoic attitude that he had before, but if you knew Tatum then you could see the difference.

"Tatum," I call out to him quietly, but he doesn't even glance back at me.

"You haven't left yet?" He asks, eyes still focusing on the paper in front of him.

"I wanted to see you first," I tell him. "I feel like I haven't seen you outside your house in forever."

Tatum didn't respond to me causing me to frown. I walk further into the room and around to the front of his desk. I place my hand lightly on the paper that he'd been staring at.

"Tatum, come on, look at me," I plea. Slowly his eyes rise to mine and anyone else, he would've looked unemotional or mildly annoyed, but I saw the pain in his green eyes. I saw what he was trying to hide behind his invisible mask. "Promise me you'll be okay."

"Cloud—"

"Promise me, Tatum," I repeat. "I can't leave here until you do. I need you to promise me that you won't let this be the end of you — that you won't completely fall apart."

He's silent for a few minutes before he says, "I'm going to be fine, Cloud. I am fine, I promise."

Liar.

I want to sit here and keep trying to get through to him. I want to be able to understand what's going on within his head, but I know that as much as I try, I won't get the outcome I'm hoping for.

I know that there's so much weighing on his mind. Between his mate, the Hopper situation, and now the possibility of Beta Reo—the person he sees as his brother—leaving, there was so much happening behind those green eyes, but I also know that he wasn't going to let me in. After the day his mate died, Tatum seemed to close himself off even more than he had been before. He wasn't just moving further away from me, but the pack as a whole and if it kept going like this, I was worried about what both the pack and he would become.

"I just want what's best for you," I tell him quietly. "I hope you know that you have people surrounding you who care and want to be there for you."

"Except they're all leaving."

His words cause me to stare at him. His jaw is clenched and the bitterness in his voice was crystal clear.

"Tatum—"

"Forget it," He shook his head, regaining his posture and the mask falling back onto his face. "You should get going, Cloud. You and Raiden have a long way to go. I hope your trip goes well and you get there smoothly."

That one sentence makes it seem as if he somehow managed to move further away from me. I'm standing right in front of him, staring at him, I could touch him if I really wanted to, but it feels as if there's so much space between us.

Biting my lip, I back up from him and move to the door.

"I'll be back in a few months to come and see you," I promise him.

Tatum says nothing and I leave the room, walk out the front door of the house, and back to the car where Raiden sits. He stares at me but doesn't ask any questions which I'm grateful for. I take a deep breath and smile over at him.

"You ready for this?" I ask him.

Raiden's eyes light up with excitement and he nods. "Let's get going. It's time for the real adventure to start!"

I don't say anything, but my smile grows wider as we drive. I watch out the window as we pass the sights that had become all too familiar over the last few months. Now it was time to leave them behind.

I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't sad, but my excitement outweighed my sadness. Not too long ago, it felt like I didn't know what I was doing with my life and honestly, I still felt like that in some ways. But I was excited to see where I ended up. Now, I had my mate, friends, and family — and if I'm being honest? That's more than enough for me.