Chapter 82

[James’ POV]

‘A deal?!’ What in the actual hell was David talking about? ‘Has this man lost his mind?!’

James was on the brink of seeing red. The anger that swirled and crashed within him was more than enough to awaken the feral creature inside of him. He couldn’t stop it—part of him didn’t even care to try.

‘Who the fuck does this psycho think he is?’ his wolf snarled.

James couldn’t fathom a single reason why David would want to kidnap his own niece. It didn’t make a shred of sense.

It was no mystery that the two of them didn’t exactly see eye to eye when they came across one another at the Alpha Gathering. David’s not-so-subtle sneer was quite the indicator that he was not a fan of his marriage to Mia.

But, other than that one time, they hadn’t come into much more contact. So, why now? What exactly prompted the man to make such a blatant decision?

Why was his marriage to Mia such an issue in his eyes? And what the hell kind of a deal could he possibly think to propose to James that would intrigue him enough to accept?

It wasn’t as though his marriage to Mia was a relatively new situation. The two of them had been married for nearly half a year already.

‘And we’ve already had our fair share of complaints when it comes to our marriage,’ he thought tiredly.

Having finally dealt with the ongoing issues with his own family, James was under the impression that they were finally in the clear. Of course, that was before all hell broke loose between the two of them and their relationship was on the verge of dissolving at the goddamn seams.

James had to force back the worry and nauseating pain that came with thinking about Mia and how they left things. There was no mistaking the pain in her eyes from when he last saw her.

He was stupid to think that Mia would find joy and happiness in being his fated mate. Why would she be happy when he’d literally kept the truth of the fact from her for months?

All he could hope for now was a chance to have Mia hear him out. But the odds haven’t been in his favor recently.

“What kind of a deal?” he grits through his teeth. “Well, now that I’m thinking about it, it’s more like a choice, rather than a deal. The way I see it, your marriage to my niece was a complete ruse and nothing short of a hasty, ill-thought-out decision on her end,” he explained.

James curled his hand into a tight fist as the man went on.

“Of course, I’m willing to overlook her poor taste in judgment for the sake of her being family. Had I known that it would even be possible for her to get mixed up with the likes of you Dereks, I would have stepped in long before now.”

“What fuck do you have against my family?” James hissed.

Was David some sort of secret, anonymous shareholder in the company? He couldn’t understand where this animosity for his family was coming from. Normally, he wasn’t one to care. James knew that for better or for worse, his family wasn’t the most noble or giving but in the end, he would do anything to defend them.

“You see, the choice I’m offering you is meant solely for ‘your’ future. I heard through the grapevine that you and Mia haven’t been doing well together...You can either burn the marriage contract that you made Mia sign and this whole mess will disappear as if it never happened.”

James’ features twisted in rage. The concept of him burning that marriage contract was as likely as him giving up his title as CEO of Crescent Moon.

It still didn’t make any sense to him. David was making it sound as though James had forced Mia to sign that marriage contract—it had always been of her own volition.

But what truly sparked the man’s curiosity was where David had been hearing the news about anything regarding his relationship with Mia.

Surely Mia hadn’t said anything to David directly. It wasn’t as though the two of them were close. James could still recall the way Mia reacted to the idea of her uncle trying to make a reappearance back into her life. It made her nervous, hesitant, and anxious.

However, the same could not be said for Michael...

James would have been lying if it said that he wasn’t bothered by the two of them getting closer.

‘Well, if you had managed to get your head out of your ass sooner, none of this would have ever happened!’ his wolf argued.

Good God. Now was not the time to argue with himself.

“Doesn’t sound like much of a choice,” he remarked.

“Obviously, I’m not finished,” David snarled. “Of course, destroying that marriage contract is considered the easiest and most logical option, but I’m going to give you a chance to prove yourself.”

James sneered. “I don’t need to prove myself to someone like you.”

“Oh, but you do. For reasons I will never understand, Mia seems to have this deep infatuation for you and I’m not entirely convinced that you feel the same way. So you can either let her go, here and now. Or...You can fight for her.”

In the distance of David’s side of the phone, James could just barely make out the sound of Mia’s voice.

“Don’t listen to him! James! David’s insane!”

His heart began racing in his chest. He did not like the sound of her voice. Mia sounded frightened, her voice was broken and strained.

“Put Mia on the phone,” he demanded. “I know she’s there, put her on the phone. I need to know that she's alright.”

David chuckled. “Wow, I hadn’t thought you even cared for that way—”

Something snapped within James. The last bit of his humanity melted away from the crude, audacious remark that David made the mistake of spewing out.

“You son of a bitch, I can practically sense her fear through the phone, put her on the fucking phone!”

“No, I don’t think I will. Perhaps it will motivate you to come and retrieve her yourself,” David said. “I’ll send the address.”

Before he could get another word in, the call dropped. James felt like the last string of his sanity had been slashed.

Daniel, Emily, and Lily were all frantically wondering what was going on and if Mia was alright. James briefly explained the screwed-up situation which only proceeded to raise more questions.

“You’re not seriously going to burn the marriage contract, are you?” Lily asked with worry.

“Of course, I’m not burning it. But that only leaves me with one other alternative.”

As soon as the address came through, James was out the door and heading straight for the car. He had no idea what he was potentially walking into, but it didn’t matter.

James fully intended to find Mia and bring her back home.

‘No matter what it takes,’ his wolf said venomously. ‘We will not let anything happen to her or our children.’

“Not to worry,” he told himself. “I’ve got a plan.”