Chapter 69

[James’ POV]

James was never one to believe in miracles. In fact, when he lost Evelyn all those years ago, part of him was convinced that he was cursed. But when he saw her walk through the front doors of the house, he thought he’d been graced by some kind of miracle. But that came with a series of questions.

What actually happened to her?

What kept her away from him for so long that the authorities had no choice but to deem her officially dead?

Had she been trying to find her way home ever since she'd been gone?

The list went on for miles in his head. James was determined to find out everything he could. However, after several days, the man discovered that he was no closer to finding out the truth about any of it.

In fact, it seemed like James was somehow finding out less—if such a thing were possible. Whenever he would get a chance to speak with Evelyn, he kept noticing that she would immediately avoid the question or try to redirect the conversation. And if that weren’t frustrating enough, there were even times when James felt that some of Evelyn’s responses sounded rather rehearsed.

‘It’s as though she’d spent hours practicing in front of a mirror or something,’ he thought to himself.

As time went on, James found himself growing more and more frustrated at the act and was becoming less inclined to believe Evelyn’s sincerity. What he also couldn’t fathom was why Evelyn refused to look at anyone for too long. And the same concept applies when people try and look at her... It was as though the woman was trying to hide herself.

Regardless, he was so overwhelmed with unspeakable joy to have her back in his life.

His wolf, on the other hand, felt quite differently.

At least three times a day, his wolf would demand that James stop whatever it was he was doing and spend time with Mia.

‘Why are you neglecting her?’ Jack snarled.

“I’m not neglecting her,” James fired back.

‘She's going to think that we don’t care for her. And then what?’

James was beginning to develop a massive headache amongst all the pointless arguing.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

James lifted his head to speak to whoever was on the other side of the door, telling them to promptly enter. A worried-looking Lily came into the study. “Have you seen, Mia?” she asked.

“She’s supposed to be with the seamstress.”

Lily shakes her head. “No. I was just on the phone with the seamstress, Mia isn’t with her.”

James felt his anxiety spark to life. “What do you mean? Where is she?”

“I don’t know. I checked briefly in the bedroom and saw that her bag was gone too.”

Their moment of building tension was brutally interrupted by the sound of the front doors opening. Both Lily and James swiftly made their way toward the front hall to see who it was that they just walked into the house.

To James’ unnerving astonishment, he found Mia standing in the front fourier with Michael. She wore a smile on her face that James was convinced he hadn’t seen in forever. It was honest and filled with light and warmth. Yet, she was standing next to Michael.

‘Since when the hell are the two of them on decent terms?’ he wondered to himself.

James’ wolf growled back with an even darker insinuation. ‘Well, while you were off ignoring her, she found someone else who was willing to give her the time she deserved!’

James forced himself to stifle the growl that almost came out.

“Thank you for meeting up with me today,” Mia acknowledged.

“The pleasure was all mine,” Michael said. “You know you can always reach out to me.”

Mia nodded her head and went as far as to agree to another possible meeting. And then, to make the situation all the more harrowing to witness, the two had gone ahead and actually hugged one another.

What the hell was going on?!

James did not like the exchange that was happening between them. Nope. Not one bit. It was far too intimate for his liking and the last bit of patience he had finally snapped.

“And just where the hell were you?” he demanded.

“I needed some time to myself so I met up with Michael,” Mia explained calmly.

James narrowed his eyes. “You knew you had an appointment with the seamstress this afternoon.”

“So what?” she asked with a shrug. “What does it matter if I miss one appointment or any of them for that matter?”

James felt his anger and disbelief rise to new heights. “What?”

“Now that Evelyn is back, there’s clearly no more need for me to fill in anymore.”

He pressed a hand to his head to ease the growing ache that he wished would go away. Didn’t they already have this exact discussion once before?

‘For crying out loud, can you blame her for even feeling this way?’ his wolf questioned.

God, it was all becoming too much for James to think clearly.

“We’ve been through this before...Mia, you’re not filling in Evelyn. You’re not her replacement—”

“Could have fooled me,” Michael commented. “Anyone with a working pair of eyes could see that you still hold a flaming torch for your ex-wife.”

“Who the fuck are you to pass judgment on me?” James snarled with indignation.

Michael wore a prideful smile that James was itching to tear off his face.

“Merely someone who knows when to truly appreciate something special when I have it,” the other man slithered.

It was truly remarkable how James was able to keep himself grounded for so long. Michael had given him a last pointed look before giving Mia’s arm a light squeeze and then turning on his heel to head out.