Talia and Meg went on the side to discuss the situation related to the upcoming Council of the Alphas, leaving Cornelia and James to sit on the sofa.
James couldn't get out of his head what he overheard. "Cora, is it true that one day here is like a month in the Midnight Guardians pack?"
Cornelia confirmed. "It's the same in my realm."
James' eyes lit up. "How about we go there? My father expects me to return in a few days, but we could stay there a few months!"
Cornelia's mood dropped. After one week or one month, James was planning to return home, wherever that was, and… was he planning to leave her behind? "Let's talk about it later. For now, we need to return to the Dark Howlers pack."
"Don't you want to stay for the Alpha ceremony?", James asked Cornelia.
Cornelia was not in the mood for ceremonies.
Cornelia started the day with an intention to visit the human city, but because of James, they ended up stuck in a packhouse, and then they went to a training center that was full of sweaty people smacking each other, and now they were here. No matter how Cornelia looked at this, she spent the whole day stuck indoors without seeing what this realm had to offer. If this is what a life with James will be, maybe she should go exploring the world on her own and leave him behind.
Cornelia was back to considering her original plan of returning to the witches' realm after the pack run in the Dark Howlers pack. As soon as Talia completes the ritual that will dispel the unwanted magic from Damon, Cornelia can leave.
To add to her irritation, Cornelia had a hunch that James didn't want people to know he was there. Was he really hiding from his father? If that was true, James' father was controlling and potentially dangerous.
"Why do you care about the ceremony? Can you attend it?", Cornelia asked dryly.
James didn't understand why Cornelia sounded upset. "I can stay in the back."
"What if someone recognizes you?"
"This is not about me.", James said. "It's not every day that a pack gets a new Alpha. It's quite eventful. The shaman will perform a ritual and…"
"I've seen plenty of rituals.", Cornelia cut him off.
James exhaled helplessly. "I take this as, you don't want to stay at the Lightclaw pack more than necessary."
"Correct." Actually, she didn't want to stay in this realm more than necessary, but she didn't want to talk about it. Not now.
James was holding Cornelia's hand and playing with her fingers, causing her irritation to flare and Cornelia decided to go to the restroom in an attempt to calm down.
With nothing else to do, James moved closer to Talia and Meg.
"I am impressed, Alpha Talia.", James said. "Converting my father's supporter into yours was a brilliant move. Tony and Kalina will owe you a lifetime of gratitude, and the whole Lightclaw pack is about to wake up to a brighter future with new leadership, assuming they don't sink the ship."
"Nothing will sink.", Talia said confidently. "With Damon, Axel, and Maddox supporting Tony, no one will dare to touch them."
James chuckled. "You speak of those three, but you forgot the most powerful one."
Talia didn't comment. She knew that James was talking about her.
"You are a force to be reckoned with, Alpha Talia. I pity the guy who will dare to oppose you."
Meg stifled a laugh. "You should pity your father then."
James nodded in agreement. "And not just him. With enough ambition, Alpha Talia can unite all werewolf packs into one."
"I have no intention of uniting anyone.", Talia was quick to say. "I did this only because Alpha Magnus was threatening Damon."
"Of course, you did. I look forward to your visit to the Red Moon pack when you deal with another Alpha who is threatening you.", James said with a smile that faded when his gaze moved to the bathroom door where Cornelia was. Why was she taking so long? "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure.", Talia and Meg responded in unison.
"Do you know why Cornelia is acting weird?" Was it that time of the month? But he didn't smell any blood.
Talia was surprised by this. How the heck was she supposed to answer this? She was clueless about relationships, so she turned to Meg and gestured to her to take over.
"Did something happen?", Meg asked.
James shrugged. "We were talking about the ceremony, and then she said how she was not interested in watching it."
"There must be something else.", Meg said.
What else? "I suggested that we go to the Midnight Guardians pack because then I don't need to return so soon. I wanted to spend more time with her. Was that wrong?"
"And after that?"
James didn't get it. "Nothing. She said that she is not interested in the ceremony."
"No, no. I meant, you will go to the Midnight Guardians pack, and what will happen after that? One way or another, you will need to return to the Red Moon pack, right?"
James nodded and Talia's expression lit up when she understood where Meg was going with this.
"How does Cornelia fit into that picture?", Talia asked and she made a face when James didn't respond after a second. "Are you serious about Cornelia?"
"Of course!", James responded without missing a beat.
"Then, you should tell her. When I met Damon, my wolf was weak, and I couldn't feel the bond. Damon and I had a lot of misunderstandings because he was sending me signals I either misread or missed completely. Cornelia can feel the bond, but you can't. Tell her what it means to you, what she means to you, and what you plan to do about it."
James gaped at Talia like she was saying something outrageous. And it was outrageous because it was so simple, yet he missed it completely.
James was always confident in his observation skills and ability to deduct information, yet now when it counted, he failed miserably. Did the mate bond turn him stupid? Since they arrived at the Lightclaw pack, James was just sitting by Cornelia's side and holding her hand, and… he didn't even notice what was going on around him, or what was going on with the woman whose hand he was holding. He missed his mark completely, all of them.
Oh, God! His intelligence deteriorated! By how much? Was it critical?
The bathroom door opened, and James was quick to move there and grab Cornelia's hand.
"Let's go back.", he said.
"You are eager to return? What happened with watching the ceremony?"
"I want us to go to a place where we can have privacy to talk, Cora. I need to tell you things so you understand who I am and what I can offer." Which was not much because when he removes the identity of the future Alpha of the Red Moon pack, it was just him, a sixteen years-old boy with a lot in his head and a small savings account, and… that was it. But he didn't want to keep secrets from Cornelia. If they were really mates, she will accept him, and they will figure out things. Somehow.
