James returned to his room to find Cornelia sleeping on the bed with a tablet under her hand.
He exhaled helplessly. He thought that meeting with a lawyer will take no more than half an hour, but it dragged for more than two hours. There were so many documents to sign, and it took much longer than he thought it will. Again.
James kept the folder on the side table and pried the tablet from Cornelia's fingers, and then he sat on the edge of the bed and observed Cornelia's sleeping form. She was beautiful.
He regretted that they didn't have a date, and they didn't spend the day alone either. But on the other hand, she was now his beneficiary, and she had her identification documents in order, and those were important.
If James was a regular guy, none of those would be necessary, but the circumstances of his birth forced him to do many things that were not common for a person his age.
James was a young boy when he realized that his father was not a caring parent like the ones he saw on the television. Alpha Edward was interested in results and maintaining his image of a strong Alpha, which meant that James needed to be strong and excel in his studies in order not to tarnish Alpha Edward's reputation.
More than anyone else, James would be punished harshly whenever he lagged behind the schedule others set for him, so James made sure to meet expectations, so he doesn't end up in trouble.
James was about twelve years old when he found out that he doesn't have an Alpha aura.
At first, he was in disbelief. The guy testing it made a mistake! The equipment was defective! And then he panicked as the truth set in: he really didn't have an Alpha aura.
But, what did that mean? Was he a faulty child or… was he not Alpha Edward's son? He already knew that his parents didn't practice monogamy, so the latter was highly possible.
Everyone knew James as the son of Alpha Edward, the young Alpha of the Red Moon pack, the leader of the next generation of Alphas. That glorious image was crumbling in front of James' eyes as he could see his father disposing of him secretly in order to conceal the disgrace of raising an impostor as his own child. Heck, the old guy would probably make it look like one of his enemies did it, so that he can get some benefits!
James was aware of Alpha Edward's personality. If James was not his son and didn't have an Alpha aura, it meant that James had no value, and he was in trouble. Big, big trouble.
James wanted to flee, but where would he go? His father had spies everywhere and they could track him easily, and James fell into depression while thinking about harming himself. James was looking into ways to cripple himself and make it look like an accident. In that way, he can blame the injury on his lack of Alpha aura.
Just before James did something irreversible, George showed up with a story about how there were cases of late bloomers where Aura shows later.
James suspected that was a bunch of rubbish. He did his research, and he never heard of such a thing as late bloomers. James didn't understand why George helped him out, and in time he realized that George was not Alpha Edward's loyal dog as others portray him.
Could James use George? He was not sure, so he decided to observe the youngest Commander.
James was always wary of George, waiting to find out George's motives, which only made him more cautious about everything.
He needed a plan, but time was passing quickly between training and studying, and the only consolation James had was that he was relatively safe until his eighteenth birthday.
James' childhood was not a carefree one; someone was always watching him and waiting for the young Alpha to make a mistake. As James grew older, more and more people were looking his way and James knew about their intentions. They were wondering how strong he was, how smart he was, and how much they can use him to get to Alpha Edward and then to the Red Moon pack. James pretended not to see any of those, but the tension was intensifying by the day.
James was sixteen years old now, and not a na?ve child. He survived so far by doing enough, yet not too much to stand out. However, now that he found Cornelia, James knew that things would need to change.
He needed to provide for her, and he will need to protect himself and his mate. Was he strong enough for that? Probably not. He was desperate for allies, but the trick was that the more people knew about Cornelia, the bigger was the possibility of Alpha Edward finding out about her.
James needed to be smarter than ever, or everything might collapse.
James saw the lawyer's confusion when they were putting the will together and how everything will go to Cornelia Silver (the name on Cornelia's documents). However, the guy was not nosy, and James hoped that Caden was right about the lawyer knowing how to keep secrets because if this reached Alpha Edward's ears, a lot of people will be in trouble.
James released a long breath and looked at his chocolate-colored beauty that was sleeping peacefully. His good mood about settling the paperwork was spoiled at the thought that he neglected his mate. Again.
James knew that Cornelia was curious about the world, yet because of him, she stayed in the room. He hoped that she will forgive him, and he decided to address her needs as his highest priority going forward.
Even if Heaven collapses, tomorrow, they will go on a date, and he will treat her as a lady worthy of admiration and respect, and give her only the best of things.
James got up and swiftly changed into sweatpants and a cotton t-shirt. He brought those for training, as he would usually sleep in his underwear (or nude), but because of Cornelia, James decided to cover up while sleeping so he doesn't make it awkward for her. But once they go all the way, he will definitely NOT wear any sleepwear, and he won't allow her to cover up either. He will cover her up, with his body. He liked that mental image.
Slowly, very slowly, James lifted the blanked and scooted under it to join Cornelia.
The moment their bodies touched, Cornelia moved, and she ended up with her head on his shoulder.
James loved that Cornelia gravitated toward him in her sleep. Was that their mate bond showing her the way? He liked to think so.
James buried his face in her hair and took a deep breath, allowing the sweet scent of wild berries to fill his system. It was appetizing and it made him think of Cornelia's addictive flavor he tasted while they kissed earlier that day.
His crotch area tightened as he thought about how she would taste when he kisses her on her lips down there. James never went down on a woman, but while thinking of Cornelia, he really wanted to bury his tongue between drenched folds, and… he groaned and moved sideways to adjust his erection.
James and Cornelia didn't go on a date, nor spent the day alone, but they were together now, and they had tomorrow. They definitely had tomorrow, and that was a good thing.
With those thoughts, and Cornelia in his arms, James closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
