After what seemed like an eternity, James came up with something that seemed acceptable to say for Cornelia to hear. "How about we start with spending the day together and see where it goes?"
Cornelia's heart skipped a beat. Not because of what he said, but how he said it. She could feel that he meant it. He really wanted to be with her, and that made her happy.
"Don't you have things to do with Alpha Damon?"
James was pleasantly surprised by Cornelia's question. The fact that she knew this, meant she was paying attention to him.
"I do. I should be done in about an hour. Will you wait with me?"
"WITH you?"
James confirmed. "My sister will make a public statement, and after that I'm free. Will you wait with me? When that's over, we can go wherever you want."
'Wherever she wants?', Cornelia wondered. She had no idea other than... "Can we go to the aquarium?"
James frowned a bit. He didn't want to admit it, but he couldn't lie, "That's in the human city and I don't have a driver's license."
"You don't have a license?", Cornelia repeated thoughtfully. She was not familiar with that concept. "How would you go with your friends to the human city?"
James felt heat creeping up his neck from embarrassment, but he pushed through it to answer, "Zack and Erik are older than I am, and they have licenses. I will have mine in about one month, and I don't want to ask anyone to give us a ride." He really wanted to be with Cornelia, just the two of them. "We can do whatever you want, as long it's something nearby."
Cornelia asked because she didn't know, and now she realized that his age was a tricky topic. Was it because he was too young to feel the bond?
Her heart was racing as the pull toward James intensified with every breath she took, and he was right there, holding her hand, and wanting to be with her.
Cornelia scrambled her mind to come up with something they could do but the truth was that she didn't know what humans or werewolves do to pass time, and she was not sure if activities from her realm would be appropriate.
Cornelia remembered her last night's outing and where she saw people having fun. "There is a sweet shop in the town square with colorful cookies, and there is a restaurant, or maybe we can go swimming in the lake?"
James was not sure about swimming because that meant everyone will get to see Cornelia's gorgeous body no matter how much her swimsuit covered, but maybe he could ask Alpha Damon about some private swimming spots. The rest was totally acceptable.
James' lips lifted into a smile. "It seems we have a plan."
His insides jolted when he felt a slight movement of Cornelia's fingers as they tightened around the edge of his hand. She was not just allowing him to hold her hand, but she was holding him back! Somehow, that was better than any intimacy he experienced so far.
James pushed those thoughts away because he didn't want to dirty this moment with his chocolate-colored beauty. He was a bundle of nerves, and he feared that he will make an ass of himself.
"Is this where we will wait until your sister makes her statement?", Cornelia asked.
James realized that sitting in a car probably won't do. "Do you want us to go for a walk, or garden, or…" He swallowed hard. "My room?"
Cornelia was not sure, but she didn't want to be confined in a room, or in a garden where they could have an audience, so… "A walk sounds nice."
Reluctantly, James let go of Cornelia's hand, and he was quick to exit the car and circle it to open the door for Cornelia.
He offered her his hand, palm up, the same one that was aching to feel hers again, and when she put her hand into his, James gave it a squeeze and didn't let go. Somehow, her hand in his felt right.
"Which way?", James asked, and Cornelia gestured randomly toward the forest. She really wanted to remove her shoes and walk barefoot.
"Does this mean our plans for the day are off?", Petra's voice sounded from the door of the packhouse.
James froze like a child caught doing mischief and he turned toward Petra in slow motion. Why were Zack and Erik there also?
"Yes. Sorry. Please, go on without me."
"No need to apologize.", Petra responded.
"Keep your phone on!", Maya shouted from the window on the second floor. "We will message you when it's time to come back."
James looked up to see that Maya was there with Caden, Talia, and Damon now, and at the stairs leading to the main entrance of the packhouse were not only Petra, Erik, and Zack, but also Mindy, Gideon, Theo, and Mike, all of them looking at James and Cornelia with knowing smiles.
It took James a second to realize that they set him up. Damn! He walked right into it! But he was not angry. Somehow, for the first time in his life, James felt that there are people interested in his well-being, not as the future Alpha, but as James, a kid who was about to make a mistake. Can he dare to think of them as his friends?
"Thank you.", James said sincerely, and he hoped they will know that his thanks was for much more than just Maya's promised reminder.
James tugged Cornelia's hand so that they start walking.
On the second floor of the packhouse…
"What did we miss?", Talia asked while craning her neck to see James and Cornelia disappearing behind bushes.
Talia and Damon came out of the study in time to hear Maya shouting that she will give a call to someone, so they came to investigate.
Maya turned to Talia and looked at her with sparkles in her eyes.
"Talia's Cupid services!", Maya exclaimed.
Talia didn't get it. "What?"
"You don't like it?" Maya pursed her lips and her eyes lit up with another idea. "Malia. It's a play on mate and Talia to make Malia or Melia. Which one do you like better? I prefer Malia."
Talia really didn't know what to think of this. "Slow down and tell me what's going on first."
"Another mated couple!", Maya said victoriously and tilted her head toward the window.
"You mean… Cornelia and James?", Talia asked with surprise evident in her voice. She saw them holding hands, but mates? "How is that possible? He is underage."
Maya bobbed her head. "Everything is possible with Malia. Satisfaction is guaranteed within forty-eight hours or your money back. Malia delivers."
Caden stifled a laugh. "That's pretty good. You should write it down."
"You think so?", Maya asked enthusiastically. "I will get more ideas from Mindy and Kalina and we should create a logo and slogan and trademark it and…"
Talia turned to look at Damon helplessly while ignoring Maya's chatter.
"You are amazing.", Damon said dotingly.
Talia blinked. "You don't believe that nonsense how I can bring mates together. Or do you?"
Damon laughed and gave Talia a smacking kiss on the lips before scooping her in his arms and carrying her upstairs.
Talia didn't resist. She wrapped her arms around Damon's neck and leaned on him to enjoy the carrying service he provided.
They had more than half an hour until they needed to get back to work mode, and both Damon and Talia wanted to cuddle.
Caden frowned and he was about to call after Damon to come back, but Maya grabbed his arm and gave him a squeeze with, "Let them go. We have so many things going on, that it's rare to see the two of them relaxed and just happy."
Caden snorted, but he knew that Maya was right.
Since Talia came to the packhouse it was one thing after another, and Damon and Talia went to a secluded cabin to enjoy three days only to end up with dark magic possessing Damon and a boatload of unknowns. But they knew that Marcy will make her public statement in less than an hour and that Alpha Edward will retaliate.
"Let's do our part.", Caden said. "We need to reinforce patrols at borders and to contact our spies and informants to keep their eyes and ears open for any signs of trouble."
