Chapter 72

[James’ POV]

‘I fucked up,’ James thought darkly to himself. ‘I fucked up massively.’

He remained in that same spot at the bottom of the staircase ever since he watched Mia leave the house. The wolf within him, including every nerve in his body, was arguing for him to follow after her.

But, somehow, James knew that if he were to try and stop Mia things were only going to get worse. So, he let her go. Jack was utterly losing his mind. He snarled and thrashed within the mental cage James kept him restrained in.

‘Why did you let her leave?! For fuck’s sake she could be horribly hurt—what about the baby?! We should have taken her to the hospital at the very least!!’

“She wouldn’t let me touch her,” he growled under his breath. “She wouldn’t let me anywhere near her...What have I done?”

What had he done?... Or was it rather what had he failed to do that was eating away at James’ conscience?

He’d witnessed Evelyn push Mia halfway down the stairs—it was like witnessing something straight out of a nightmare. No. It was far, far worse.

James knew he’d never get the terrified look on Mia’s face out of his mind. The awful sound her body made when it slammed against that final step...His stomach rolled with nausea and revolution.

To say he was upset was a true understatement. He was overcome with a series of emotions. Panic. Fear. Anger. Confusion. Hatred...Sorrow...Anguish.

James didn’t know who to worry about more; Mia or the baby that was growing inside of her. It was difficult to tell how she landed from where he was standing. Nonetheless, it was a frightening thing to have witnessed.

He was upset with himself for not listening to Mia before when it counted. Why hadn’t he just given her a brief moment of his time? Would it have killed him to hear her out?

No. So, why hadn’t he?

It was no surprise that Mia was uncomfortable with the way things had developed around the house. James had zero doubt in his mind that had he given her the chance to talk, she was going to suggest that they reach out to Evelyn’s family.

Deep down, tucked away in the dark recesses of his mind, James felt afraid. Part of him didn’t want to lose Evelyn again. He wasn’t sure how he managed to get through it the first time; but, there was no telling how things would go a second time.

It was a kind of pain that he never wanted to relive; however, the feeling of watching his actual mate walk out on him seemed to have pierced him even deeper.

It was a pain like nothing he’d ever experienced before. Rejection. James had always believed that such a possibility was beneath him. It was as if the idea was simply improbable.

Yet, there he was. Feeling as though his heart was on the verge of splitting itself into two, James knew he only had himself to blame.

‘You best believe that it’s your fault!’ his wolf howled in distress. ‘You’ve driven your actual mate away all for the sake of a woman you once knew. And now we’re alone.’

Again, it was true. James knew that what he’d been hanging onto, even after all those years, was nothing but the memory of Evelyn. The woman that appeared out of nowhere, wasn’t the same woman he’d originally fallen in love with.

Meanwhile, there was no guarantee that Mia was going to come back any time soon.

‘Why would she want to come back, knowing that all you’ve done is ignore her?’ his wolf snapped back.

James snarled under his breath, trying to suppress the anger that was simmering within him.

He didn’t want to believe that all was lost. Yes, a small part of him wanted to think that there was still a chance that something could be done to save his relationship with Mia.

‘Well, if you ask me, you can start by doing something about this other woman who’s clearly a hazard to have in the house,’ Jake pointed out. ‘Jesus Christ. Did you see the way Mia appeared when we tried to help her up?’

In fact, James had witnessed the remarkable sight of seeing Mia’s wolf come through. That was primarily one of the main reasons why James felt so startled. The growl and deepened voice that belonged to someone else was ingrained in his mind. There could be no other possibility—it had to be her wolf.

Well, so much for trying to awaken her wolf through love and passion. Instead, it came out due to anger, fear, and pain.

Finally, after what felt like hours, James pulled himself away from the spot near the stairs in search of Evelyn. He found her sitting quietly in the living room with her knees tucked close to her chest.

That sense of wonderment and appreciation he once felt when he saw her was now gone. In its place was a fiery sense of rage and exasperation.

“What the hell did you do? How could you push Mia down like that?”

“I...”

“Fucking hell, she’s pregnant! You could have hurt her, you could have hurt the baby!”

James struggled to rein in his anger and not continuously lash out, but his wolf refused to be pushed down any longer.

“Who even are you?!” he snarled. “The Evelyn that I knew, would have never done something so violent as to shove someone down a flight of stairs.”

“James—”

“I think it’s time that you return to your actual family. I’m calling your brother and he can come and pick you up. I can’t even look at you right now.”

James turned on his heels and left the room. He reached for his phone and tried calling Mia but she refused to answer his calls or any of his messages.

The pain in his chest continued to grow worse. He needed to find a way to bring her back and fix things between them. Suddenly, James remembered Mia telling him that she was going to be spending a few days with Emily.

“I have to find her address,” he said determinedly.