Cornelia was not in a good mood. Instead of exploring this realm and checking out the human city, she spent most of her afternoon alone in the room, browsing on the tablet.
James had no intention of neglecting Cornelia, actually, everything he did was with Cornelia on his mind.
He was busy dealing with the necessary paperwork to transfer a portion of Jade's company to him, and he also wanted to secure Cornelia financially.
James went to meet with the lawyer to discuss his plan and to provide the necessary information. That shouldn't take a lot of time. They would meet again when the lawyer prepares everything, and James only needs to sign the paperwork.
Unfortunately, everything took much longer than James thought.
Cornelia legally didn't exist in this realm so in order to name Cornelia as his beneficiary, James worked with Caden to produce identification documents for Cornelia. She needed an identity that will be valid when presented in front of humans. Luckily, the Dark Howlers pack had this in place as they created IDs for many refugees that came their way.
Cornelia didn't understand what James was doing most of the afternoon, so she asked him about it after dinner, and she was not happy when he told her that he needed to meet with a lawyer (again!) later that evening.
"Why?", Cornelia asked.
"I want to give you full access to my assets and to name you as a beneficiary of my will. Documents are mostly ready, and I need to verify the information and sign them."
"Why are you doing that?", Cornelia asked, and her expression darkened as James explained. It all sounded confusing, but one thing she understood was, "Are you planning to die?"
"Of course, not.", he said. "However, I am not immortal and I will die one day."
"You don't need to.", Cornelia said and James's eyebrows shoot up. Was she serious?
He dispelled those thoughts and said, "It doesn't need to be death. Maybe I won't be around for other reasons and in case that happens, I want to know that you have access to my assets."
Cornelia didn't like this. "Why does it feel like you are planning to leave me?"
James was not sure if Cornelia's doubts related to him abandoning her were because of her initial disappointment when she realized that he can't feel the bond, or because she saw how werewolves are licentious, or maybe her insecurities went deeper than he could imagine. But he knew that he needed to assure her that he was not going anywhere. Not willingly, at least.
"Cora", he called. "Imagine that the two of us live in your Coven, and then something happens to you. Wouldn't you want to know that I am taken care of?"
Cora had difficulty seeing the problem. Witches were not materialistic, and they were not hoarding things. In their Coven, everyone did their part be it cooking, cleaning, harvesting, or weaving… they would eat how much was needed and practice magic, and that was it. She didn't understand the need of having money. Can you eat it?
James realized that his hypothetical situation didn't have the desired effect. He tried another approach.
"How about this scenario? We live in your Coven, and your sisters are not accepting me. I am a male and not a witch and none of them wants to get close to me. I get to eat and a place to sleep only when we are together. And then one day, you need to leave on a mission, and I can't follow. Will you be at peace while wondering if your sisters kicked me out?"
Cornelia's expression changed. Her sisters wouldn't do that.
Actually, if James was there and Cornelia was not close to protect him, Cornelia feared that her so-called sisters will try to get their hands on James. He was a handsome, healthy male, able to copulate and produce offspring. That's why Cornelia didn't want to take him to the Silver Flame Coven, but she didn't want to tell him that, fearing that James will be interested to go there when he hears how hundreds of attractive (and scarcely dressed) females will be available for him to pick from. After all, if James doesn't feel the bond, there will be nothing to remind him of fidelity. Will he abandon her?
Unaware of Cornelia's thoughts, James was pleased to see Cornelia's face darkening which meant that she wouldn't be happy if he was in the Coven without her.
"In case that happens, you will want to have something in place to assure I am safe. Right?" James waited for Cornelia's confirmation, and then he continued, "This is a similar thing. I have no intention of leaving you, Cora. And I have even fewer thoughts about ending my life before it's my time. However, accidents happen, and if it comes to that, I want to know that you won't be left to fend for yourself. Yes, you could reach out to Talia, Damon, and many others to help you, but money is a necessity if you want to be independent."
"I thought that werewolves live in packs." Just as witches live in Covens. "Why do you speak of independence as a necessity?"
James was embarrassed to say this, but he had to, "Because my pack is not a good place to be, and my family sucks. If I have a choice, I would leave, but I'm not reckless to put myself in a position where I won't have a place to sleep or what to eat."
"If your pack is not good, why don't you stay here? This pack seems nice."
James had to agree with that. The Dark Howlers pack was nice, however… "My father wouldn't let me go. If I stay here, I will attract trouble for Alpha Damon and his pack. If I leave in the near future, my father will accuse Alpha Damon of putting ideas into my head."
"And that's why you are going back, to a no-good place.", Cornelia said solemnly.
"Right.", James confirmed. "But it's temporary. We have two years to come up with a plan that will allow us to sever the connection with the Red Moon pack and to disappear without endangering anyone."
"Since you have an exit plan in place, why do you need to give me access to your wealth?"
James liked that she called it wealth. It was not much, but she didn't grasp the concept of money and assets, and he wanted her to think that he was mighty.
"Just in case an accident happens.", James said with a smile and gave her a small kiss on her cheek. "I need to meet with the lawyer. You are welcome to join, if you wish."
Cornelia refused. She gestured toward the tablet. "My time will be better spent learning."
James wondered what she was learning about. He told her to stay away from social media because they are full of unreliable information, but even that was learning about human culture, so he let it be.
"Cora", he called. "I know that today didn't pass as planned but I promise to make it up to you. I will be back in no time, and then we can do something fun."
He kissed her again, this time on the lips, and then he rushed out of the room before he changed his mind and missed meeting with the lawyer who was already waiting for him.
