Chapter 24

[James’ POV]

Upon having the door slammed in his face, James’ anger had ultimately reached new heights. No one had ever spoken to or treated him in such a manner. And the fact that it was Mia who was the one who’d done it, made it hurt all the more.

James curled his hand into a tight fist and raised it back up with the intention of knocking on the door again. Hell, he was contemplating taking the doors off its damn hinges.

‘This conversation is far from over!’ He thought angrily to himself.

He deserved an explanation for Mia’s behavior and he was determined to find out what was the cause for her earlier outburst.

But, much to his surprise, his wolf, Jack, was the one who persuaded him to leave Mia alone. Instead, he marched off to his private office and secluded himself. The alpha went straight for the hidden mini-bar behind his desk and poured himself a much-needed drink.

He didn’t care how early in the day it was. He needed something to dull the ache in his chest. From there, he sat down in silent contemplation.

“I don’t understand,” he muttered.“What the hell went wrong? I’ve done everything to ensure that she would be taken care of and would want for nothing...Yet something’s gone wrong and I can’t figure it out.”

‘Well, we must have missed something,’ Jack noted.

“Yes! But what?”

James clenched his jaw at the awful memory, recalling how she’d spoken to him just moments ago.

‘If what you’re looking for is a new Evelyn then I‘m telling you right now that you’ve chosen the wrong woman’.

How could she have possibly come to such an outlandish conclusion? James was certain that he’d never given such an indication that he was interested in any other woman.

And why would he be when he had her?

Mia. The same woman who’d been newly haunting his nights ever since he moved her into his house. The same woman who he would give anything to remain in her presence twenty-four seven. The very same woman who once kissed him on impulse in front of a large crowd of people.

It was that very kiss that knocked the man’s entire world off its axis.

For the first time, James felt like everything made sense. An unfamiliar, yet welcoming wave of warmth flooded him that he never wanted to escape from.

His wolf, Jack, nearly erupted beneath the surface with insurmountable joy and euphoric ecstasy. His instincts knew immediately who Mia was to him.

‘James!! It’s her! We found her!’ Jack exclaimed with joy. ‘Our mate!!’

When Mia pulled back from the first kiss, James felt like he’d slipped into a glorious head fog. But a second later, he found himself needing more. Much, much more.

Good God...He couldn’t believe it.

Mia Johnson was his. This beautiful, feisty, and determined woman was all his.

James was happily stunned yet, partially annoyed—annoyed by all the wasted time that had gone by where the two of them could have been together.

What truly had James stumped was why Mia hadn’t initially come to the same realization of their special connection when they’d kissed. There was no chance that his instincts were mistaken. But upon discovering the truth behind her wolf’s dormant nature, it all made sense.

James was not happy to hear about Mia’s unique situation. It seemed like another hurdle the two of them would need to overcome.

‘It doesn’t matter,’ Jack argued. ‘We can be together now! There’s nothing in our way!’

Hell, even if there was something, or someone, that needed to be dealt with, James was well prepared to remove the obstacle by any means necessary.

Granted he wasn’t particularly pleased to discover that she was currently pregnant with another man’s child; however, James was more than willing to overlook the fact simply because she was his mate. He knew, deep down, that he was going to love that baby as though it truly belonged to him.

All his life, the alpha was desperate for a warm, loving family of his own.

He almost had it with Evelyn until she was regrettably taken from him.

James still bore the guilt from the loss of his first wife. Now that he had finally found his fated mate, he was determined to do everything in his power to keep her safe and well-guarded. By mapping out nearly every moment of her day, he’s able to ensure that nothing bad will happen.

James decided to call up Danial for another opinion on the matter.

“Sir? Are you and Mia alright?” his Beta asked.

“To be honest, I have no idea. That press conference turned out to be a complete shit show.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Daniel commented.

“Everything was working out so well and then suddenly it all came apart.”

“Well, Sir, if I may speak frankly...all because things were going well on your end, doesn’t mean they were working out on Mia’s end,” he explained. “Perhaps what you might need to do is sit down and have a real conversation with her.”

James’ brows furrowed at the thought of trying to speak with Mia again. He knew it wasn’t going to be possible, at least not for a little while.

“Explain to her why the schedule is so important—right now, it sounds like she believes everything that you’ve been doing for her was all to replace Evelyn,” Daniel said.

James felt his heart ache terribly within his chest, thinking about how he managed to make his own mate feel so inadequate. All that time, he believed that he was making all the decisions with her best interests in mind. But no.

“I understand what you’re saying,” he told the beta. “Thank you for the help.”

James ended the call and placed his phone down. He picked up his glass and finished the rest of his drink, knowing what he needed to do. The press conference may have been a failure, but he was determined to ensure the stability of his relationship with his mate come hell or high water.