Chapter 554 – Hidden Desires of the Werewolf King Novel

Filed To Story: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel

Maya is one of the believers that Talia has a matchmaking ability, so when Mindy asked her for help with James and Cornelia, Maya didn’t refuse. She was curious if Talia’s power will reach someone who is only sixteen years old (aka James), so after the meeting with Marcy, Maya lingered in the hallway, in front of the open window that provided a good view of the driveway in front of the packhouse.

At first, Maya didn’t understand why Mindy requested two handsome soldiers to escort Cornelia, and what was that with required dirty talk before they leave the packhouse? But now Maya wanted to congratulate Mindy on her plan to use James’ possessiveness to trigger him. Once Mindy joins the pack officially, having such a sharp (and slightly twisted) mind will definitely come in handy and Maya hoped that Mindy will accept to be Talia’s ranked member.

And this officially became another notch on Talia’s post for matched mates!

Maya’s eyes sparkled as she was imagining the advertising campaign. They will call it, “Talia’s Cupid services” and have Valentine’s and New Year’s specials. They will make a fortune!

In the car…

Cornelia wanted to get away from James, yet she ended up confined with him in a tight space. She glanced at the door behind her while trying to figure out how to open it, but there were several buttons and notches, and she didn’t know which one will allow her to get out.

James frowned at the sight of Cornelia who was leaning away from him, how much the car allowed. And why was her hand moving over the door? Was she trying to give him a slip?

“I won’t harm you.”, James said. “I heard them talking about seducing you and…”

“Should I thank you?”, Cornelia interrupted him. “You ruined my day. Who knows if they will be willing to escort me now?” And getting replacements will probably take time.

James couldn’t believe this. Was she still willing to go with those two? But her hand moved away from the door, and that was a good thing.

“Didn’t you hear what I said?”, he asked.

Cornelia closed her eyes and exhaled slowly to calm down. He was too close, and it was messing with her mind. But she couldn’t give in to the pull, not when he didn’t feel it.

“I heard you.”, she said. “Do you think I can’t take care of myself?”

“It’s two of them, and only one you.”

Cornelia made a face. “Why do you care?”

“Because…”, James paused. Why did he care? “Because I feel a knot in my chest at the thought of you going with them.”

Cornelia snorted. She had no intention of finding herself random guys as romantic companions, but James’ behavior rubbed her the wrong way. “You don’t want me, but no one else can have me either. If I knew it will end up like this, I wouldn’t say anything last night.”

“Cora…”

“Don’t call me like that!”, Cornelia snapped. She was irritated but mostly sad. She could feel the bond, and her emotions were not reciprocated, and it was killing her on the inside.

“Even if you didn’t say anything, I would still feel it.”

Cornelia’s eyes widened. “Feel, what?”

“This…”, James said and reached to hold her hand into his. “A need to be close to you, and not to share you. I don’t want you to be with anyone else because I want you to be with me.”

He scooted closer to her and put his other hand over Cornelia’s. He was slightly disappointed that her hand was slack between his, but at least she didn’t pull it away.

“I don’t feel the bond, but I feel other things.”, James said. “Last night, I couldn’t sleep because you were racing in my mind. That never happened before. During breakfast, I fought against my urge to sit by your side and when I heard those two guys saying how you are easy on the eyes and they wanted to seduce you, I lost it. Werewolves are this protective only when they meet their mates.”

Cornelia looked at her hand that was sandwiched between James’. “Are you saying that you believe me?”

“I just met you, there is absolutely no logic in me believing what you said.”, James responded without missing a beat. “But I believe what I feel, and something inside me is urging me to be with you. Will you let me?”

“Let you do what?”, Cornelia asked cautiously.

James paused. What the hell was he supposed to say? That he was turned on by just sitting next to Cornelia and holding her hand? He really wanted to rip her clothes off and pounce on her, but there was no way he would say that or act on it. It wouldn’t end well.

Ah! Normally, he would come up with several great ideas and a few backup ones within a second, yet now his mind was full of Cornelia and the feeling of her soft hand in his, and there was nothing else.

After what seemed like an eternity, James came up with something that seemed acceptable to say for Cornelia to hear. “How about we start with spending the day together and see where it goes?”

Cornelia’s heart skipped a beat. Not because of what he said, but how he said it. She could feel that he meant it. He really wanted to be with her, and that made her happy.

“Don’t you have things to do with Alpha Dayson?”

James was pleasantly surprised by Cornelia’s question. The fact that she knew this, meant she was paying attention to him.

“I do. I should be done in about an hour. Will you wait with me?”

“WITH you?”

James confirmed. “My sister will make a public statement, and after that I’m free. Will you wait with me? When that’s over, we can go wherever you want.”

‘Wherever she wants?’, Cornelia wondered. She had no idea other than… “Can we go to the aquarium?”

James frowned a bit. He didn’t want to admit it, but he couldn’t lie, “That’s in the human city and I don’t have a driver’s license.”

“You don’t have a license?”, Cornelia repeated thoughtfully. She was not familiar with that concept. “How would you go with your friends to the human city?”

James felt heat creeping up his neck from embarrassment, but he pushed through it to answer, “Zack and Erik are older than I am, and they have licenses. I will have mine in about one month, and I don’t want to ask anyone to give us a ride.” He really wanted to be with Cornelia, just the two of them. “We can do whatever you want, as long it’s something nearby.”

Cornelia asked because she didn’t know, and now she realized that his age was a tricky topic. Was it because he was too young to feel the bond?

Her heart was racing as the pull toward James intensified with every breath she took, and he was right there, holding her hand, and wanting to be with her.

Cornelia scrambled her mind to come up with something they could do but the truth was that she didn’t know what humans or werewolves do to pass time, and she was not sure if activities from her realm would be appropriate.

Cornelia remembered her last night’s outing and where she saw people having fun. “There is a sweet shop in the town square with colorful cookies, and there is a restaurant, or maybe we can go swimming in the lake?”

James was not sure about swimming because that meant everyone will get to see Cornelia’s gorgeous body no matter how much her swimsuit covered, but maybe he could ask Alpha Dayson about some private swimming spots. The rest was totally acceptable.

James’ lips lifted into a smile. “It seems we have a plan.”

His insides jolted when he felt a slight movement of Cornelia’s fingers as they tightened around the edge of his hand. She was not just allowing him to hold her hand, but she was holding him back! Somehow, that was better than any intimacy he experienced so far.

James pushed those thoughts away because he didn’t want to dirty this moment with his chocolate-colored beauty. He was a bundle of nerves, and he feared that he will make an ass of himself.

“Is this where we will wait until your sister makes her statement?”, Cornelia asked.

James realized that sitting in a car probably won’t do. “Do you want us to go for a walk, or garden, or…” He swallowed hard. “My room?”

Cornelia was not sure, but she didn’t want to be confined in a room, or in a garden where they could have an audience, so… “A walk sounds nice.”

Reluctantly, James let go of Cornelia’s hand, and he was quick to exit the car and circle it to open the door for Cornelia.

He offered her his hand, palm up, the same one that was aching to feel hers again, and when she put her hand into his, James gave it a squeeze and didn’t let go. Somehow, her hand in his felt right.

“Which way?”, James asked, and Cornelia gestured randomly toward the forest. She really wanted to remove her shoes and walk barefoot.

“Does this mean our plans for the day are off?”, Petra’s voice sounded from the door of the packhouse.

James froze like a child caught doing mischief and he turned toward Petra in slow motion. Why were Zack and Erik there also?

“Yes. Sorry. Please, go on without me.”

“No need to apologize.”, Petra responded.

“Keep your phone on!”, Maya shouted from the window on the second floor. “We will message you when it’s time to come back.”

James looked up to see that Maya was there with Jaeden, Talia, and Dayson now, and at the stairs leading to the main entrance of the packhouse were not only Petra, Erik, and Zack, but also Mindy, Gideon, Theo, and Mike, all of them looking at James and Cornelia with knowing smiles.

It took James a second to realize that they set him up. Damn! He walked right into it! But he was not angry. Somehow, for the first time in his life, James felt that there are people interested in his well-being, not as the future Alpha, but as James, a kid who was about to make a mistake. Can he dare to think of them as his friends?

“Thank you.”, James said sincerely, and he hoped they will know that his thanks was for much more than just Maya’s promised reminder.

James tugged Cornelia’s hand so that they start walking.

On the second floor of the packhouse…

“What did we miss?”, Talia asked while craning her neck to see James and Cornelia disappearing behind bushes.

---