Chapter 29: CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

Sarah watched in silence as Adam began to dress up late in the afternoon for a trip she has no idea about. After the little incident between her and his redhead girlfriend had occurred and Adam had banged the phone on her when she called, she had refused to talk to him no matter how much he tried. And tried he had, doing all sorts of things for her to pacify her anger.

It wasn't that she couldn't bear to forgive him for the issue she had with the redhead but she finds it hard in her heart to forget the fact that the man who had claimed that she was important to him could disconnect the call with her when she had been baring her heart to him. Of all the things that Sarah could take, that was the least of it.

When he had arrived back home late at night that night, he had told her that he hadn't banged the phone on her on purpose but that his phone had shut down while they were talking. To prove that what he was saying was right, he had brought out the phone which indeed had been dead but Sarah wasn't one to let go of such matters easily. What's more, he had refused to let her know exactly what the relationship between him and the redhead was.

Sarah had made up her mind to be as secretive as he was about herself also. She had locked up and refused to tell him anything about whatever he asked her about herself. Even if the question he asked her was how she was, she refused to divulge her details. If he had thought that she would back down from their war because she was a coward, Sarah was sure that he had a rethink about it now.

Even more, once he was dressing up for his everyday outing, Sarah would get up, take her bath, and also dressed up to leave the house. No matter how hard he asked about where she was going and what she was going there for, she wouldn't even behave like she heard the question in the first place. Most of the time, she would only go to the trees surrounding the house and sit under the shade until he was out of the house, then she would return home.

But in all honesty, she missed them. She missed how they would banter over little things. She missed how they played and ran around like little children without any worries. Most of all, she missed how they could just sit down together quietly without saying a single word, simply enjoying each other's company.

She missed Adam himself. The way he would always compliment her looks after she had finished dressing up. The way he would praise her whenever she did something right and how he would always encourage her when she got it wrong. She also misses how he could always make her laugh whenever she was down or sunken. She misses how he would always steal a kiss or two from her without giving her any clue as to what he was about to do. Then, she misses how he would always call her frequently whenever he wasn't home with her.

After Adam had tried to ask for her forgiveness and she had given him the cold shoulder, he had let her be on her own. Sarah was already tired of the little war between them but her ego would not allow her to talk to him first and since he wasn't making any more efforts to reconcile them, the strife between them had dragged on for too long. Although, to be honest, the man still informed her whenever he was going out or after he returned in.

Damn her ego for getting in the way, Sarah cursed inwardly as she saw that Adam had finished dressing up in tight jeans and a polo top. Sarah remembered vividly that the top he was wearing was the same top he had worn the first time they met and she smiled to herself.

"Something finally makes you happy, my lady?" Adam asked her.

Sarah let the smile wipe itself clean off her face. She didn't bother to reply to him or even acknowledge his words. Even when Adam raised a brow at her in question, her silence was the only grace she granted him.

"Fine. Suit yourself," Adam said angrily and walked away to the door. He seemed to remember something because he paused in his footsteps. "By the way, I'm going over to the pack house for a yearly ceremony. I won't be returning today and tomorrow either because we have a yearly ceremony that requires me to stay with my pack for a whole day."

Before Sarah could say anything, he was out the door.

Adam drove over to the pack house in agony. He was getting tired of Sarah's attitude and he didn't know what else to do about her. When he had asked Ian and Simeon for help over how he could get his mate to start talking to him again, they had told him to leave her alone until the anger she felt had dissipated itself, then he could sit her down and explain the whole thing to her. It was already two weeks and Adam didn't know if the anger was leaving or increasing in her.

If he had known that Sarah would be as stubborn as she was now over him hanging up on her as she kept claiming, then he wouldn't have listened to his friends' dating advice. Would have simply pinned her down and talked to her until she was ready to listen to him and he wouldn't let her go even after she had listened until she had forgiven him completely. Perhaps, if he had tried that approach with her, he wouldn't be in such an awful dilemma.

In the first place, he wouldn't be in all the trouble he was in if the woman his mother had saddled on him hadn't gone over to his place when he wasn't home. Thinking about her even now made his anger rise. To think that the mother had been shameless and had called him on the phone to ask him to give her daughter a second chance irritated Adam even more than the said daughter irritated him. How could a mother sell her daughter so cheap?

That too, when it wasn't a daughter he was interested in any single bit. If it wasn't for his mother who had put him in such a mess, why would he even know if she exists or not? Now, her damn existence was messing up his life and relationship with the one woman he had truly ever wanted. He hoped earnestly that Sarah would forgive him very soon.

He arrived at the pack house and went into the mansion to talk to Ian first about how far the preparation had gone. Just as he stepped inside, he saw Ian coming towards him and waved to the other man to draw his attention.

"Alpha," Ian greeted.

"Beta," Adam playfully replied to him.

Ian chuckled lightly before his expression hardened. "I need to warn you about something, Adam," Ian told him.

"Okay? Let me guess, you haven't begun preparing for the blood moon celebration yet?" Adam brought out his phone and began to type away.

"I wish that was the case, my dearest friend," his beta said in all seriousness.

Adam had been on the phone trying to text Sarah that he was now safely at the pack house. He became alert almost immediately after he heard what Ian said.

"What's wrong? Did something happen to your town men?" Adam asked his beta.

"No. This is about your mother, Alpha. She called me over to her room yesterday and asked me to talk to you," Ian informed him.

"About what?" Adam asked his best friend.

"About you and lady Xana. She wanted me to convince you to make her your Luna."

Adam cursed loudly, not caring what the few pack members who heard the curse would think of him as their leader. Why was his mother still supporting that woman despite seeing his disinterest in her?

"I have to go and talk to my mother," Adam informed his beta and started moving away.

"One more thing, Alpha," Ian said, stopping him from leaving.

.

"What is it, Ian?" the Alpha asked, already dreading the answer his beta would give him.

"She's here. The redhead I mean," Ian said.

"Fucking shit!" Adam said and rushed away to his mother's room.

True to Ian's words, he met her in his mother's room. The two women were going over some fabrics and were giggling together. Adam got irritated with Xana as he thought about what the two women were always laughing over each time he saw them together. He cleared his throat loudly and the two women stopped what they were doing.

When Xana looked up and saw that it was Adam who stood by the door, she let a smile spread out to her face as she stood up and went over to him. She knew that he was more than shocked to see her here but soon, her presence would be the least of his shock before the day was over according to what both of their mothers had arranged for him.

After she had gone over to her mother and cried to her about the agony she was facing over the man that she had loved for most of her life, her mother had stayed true to her word and called Adam's mother as soon as she possibly could. Alicia had been so surprised and had reprimanded Xana for not reaching out to her first. Before that day was over, the Alpha's mother had arrived at her mother's place.

Together, the two women had planned and mapped out how they would get Adam to listen to them. Within two hours, Xana had forgotten about how Adam had humiliated her and was already happy about what was going to happen next. Alicia had insisted that Xana returned with her to the mansion and she had gladly obeyed. Both women had decided not to tell him about Xana's stay until he would come for the blood moon and see for himself. She couldn't deny that she was glad to see him despite how he had treated her before.

"Hi, Alpha," Xana greeted him, wringing her fingers in front of him when she got to where he was.

Adam hissed at her loudly and turned over to his mother. "Mom, what do you think you are doing with all…?” Adam stopped in his words and looked at Xana with disdain. "...these."

His mother scoffed at him and raised a warning finger at him before she replied to him. "Be nice, Adam. Xana is here under my care and guardian."

"Then keep her under your car and guardian, Mom. Stop trying to saddle her on me," he told his mother in a disapproving voice.

"Why would I need to saddle her on you when you guys are getting married tomorrow?" Alicia said casually as if planning her son's wedding behind his back wasn't something unusual.

Adam couldn't believe his ears. He blinked rapidly to see if he was dreaming. When he saw that his eyes were just fine, he pinched himself on his arm and nearly winced. Had his mother just dropped the bombshell that he was getting married to the redhead? He? Marriage? That too, a marriage he wasn't aware of at all? His mother must be joking.

"You're joking, right?" Adam asked her.

"No, she's not. We are getting married tomorrow," Xana replied to his question. She squawked to express the joy she got in delivering the news.

His mother wouldn't let him be, right? Adam thought and went away from the room without saying anything to both women. He went to his car and made his journey back to his house where he met Sarah practicing her vocabulary. Sarah looked very shocked to find him back home in such a short time when he had told her a few hours ago that he would be staying back at the mansion.

"Sarah, I want you to dress up now. Just grab whatever kind of clothing you could and be back in fifteen minutes," Adam commanded her.

Because of the kind of expression that he spotted, Sarah didn't bother to argue with him and just went to her room to get changed. She threw on the first gown she laid her hands on and returned to the sitting room where Adam remained standing.

"Let's go," he instructed her and walked out.

***

All through the car ride, Sarah was curious about what was going on with Adam. She also wondered where they were going and why Adam seemed so upset but her anger and ego wouldn't let her ask him anything. When they finally arrived at the pack house, Sarah felt a little relieved to know that they were at a place she was familiar with. When they got to the front door, Adam held her hand firmly and walked in with her after he pushed the door open. He took her to where everyone from the pack was and cleared his throat to gain their attention.

"From today, Sarah, who is my mate, will be staying here with me at the pack house. Anyone rude to her would be considered rude to me as the Alpha," Adam announced to them.

Sarah looked at him in astonishment. She wondered why he was suddenly behaving the way he was. Was he that desperate for her forgiveness? She thought, thinking that he was doing it for her forgiveness.

"Also, I am not going to get married to any other woman except her. So, I want you all to disregard any news you might have heard."

"You are not getting married to that vampire, Adam. Not on my watch," Alicia said loudly.

"I am getting married to this vampire," Adam retorted back to his mother, holding up Sarah's hand. "That shameless woman you are trying to make my burden though, that's never going to happen."

"How dare you disobey me?" Alicia shouted at her son.

"Why don't we come reach an agreement, mom? Just a month. In just a month if Sarah fails to pass your tests and win your love, then I promise to marry the woman you choose for me," Adam bargained with his mother.

"Fine." His mother sneered. "Xana, let's go," she said to the redhead and dragged her out of the room.

Sarah heard as Adam heaved his relief after his mother was gone and he had dismissed the rest of the clan. Somehow, she had managed to understand what was going on from the conversation both parties had a few minutes earlier. What felt like thousands of butterflies flaunted in Sarah's stomach as she looked at Adam? At that moment when he had defended her, all the anger she felt toward him left completely. She knew that she had only a month to prove herself but she was ready to do anything to win Alicia’s heart. If not for anything, then, she would do it for Adam. She thought, determination radiating through her as she smiled at Adam.