The Alpha's Promise (1st Book of The Alpha Wolves)

Chapter 36 Part 1 - Edited

It was an hour later that I finished my hair: it now fell gently down my back in perfect curls. The door to my room opened and someone knocked before taking a step inside. I whirled around to see Adam standing there with a box in his hands.

“I meant to give you this earlier, but couldn't find the right time to.” He walked to my bed and placed the box on it. I had a feeling that Adam wasn't going to be leaving soon and so I went to sit on the bed. He followed and we both just sat there staring at each other. I smiled and beckoned him to talk.

“Come on, I know that you want to say something so just spit it out Adam!” I nudged him, and that seemed to snap Adam out of his silence.

“Re-” He cleared his throat as if unsure, “Remember when I told you I loved you... and you said you wanted to be friends?”

I sucked in a breath of air, not too confident in where this conversation was going. “What of it Adam? I thought I had made it clear that-”

“I know Mari! And I'm just saying that I am going to finally agree with it. All this time, I didn't want to give up on you. I thought that there might be a chance for us, but these past months was what changed my mind. I've seen and been with you ever since you first started to like Max and it was like yesterday when I confessed to you. I guess I finally opened my eyes when Max came back home. You guys care for each other and are in love. Anybody that isn't blind can see that. Even if you aren't mates, that doesn't mean that you weren't destined to be with one another.”

I gazed into Adam's eyes and smiled. Leaning in, I kissed him on the cheek. “You're such a great person Adam. You're the best friend anyone can ask for. You really have done me good, and I don't think I would have made it this far without you. Someday, I hope you'll find your mate... and when you will, there will be no troubles, no rejections, just... love.”

Adam lightened up at my words and wrapped his arms around me for a hug. I responded, squeezing him a little to show that I meant what I said. I never want to see someone else go through what Max and I both had with our mates. Everyone deserved to be happy and I knew I was happy here with the Lunar Eclipse pack. I was happy with Max.

“Open the box princess.” Adam whispered, and I let go of him to go towards where the box sat. With one glance at him and the box, he gave me a reassuring nod. I bit my lip, before finally shrugging to then open it.

“This is your... early Christmas present!”

I almost laughed, but then stopped.

“Christmas...” I whispered, not believing that the holiday still existed. Back in the Rift Valley pack, we didn't celebrate it. All we ever did was sit around doing nothing since no one had any holiday spirit. I finally looked up at Adam, slowly smiling. “You guys celebrate Christmas?”

“Of course! Don't tell me you never...”

“No. Maybe only once when I was really young with my parents, but that was it. I can't even remember what it was like.”

Adam shook his head saying, “Well then, you sure have been missing a lot. You're going to have Christmas here and you are going to love it. The holiday is only in a week from now, so don't worry. You don't have to wait too long!” He laughed and tickled me until I begged him to stop.