Confusion(JAMES POV)

There aren’t words to describe how happy I was when Marina finally opened her eyes after all this time.

Here in the human world, I am James Wood, heir to Wood Industries and the CEO of a billion-dollar corporation. I am active within our community. With more money than I know what to do with, I participate in Charity Galas, help with political campaigns, and help fund schools.

The world knows me as the selfless billionaire CEO.

What they don’t know is that I am known as the ruthless Alpha of Blackwood. My pack was my life. It was ingrained in who I was. I kept everything running like a tight ship.

But my pack was destroyed in an attack that left only two members; Marina and me. The last three years have been hell with the only connection to my past life lying in a coma.  

That attack cost me everything, including my wolf. He has been silent for three years. Locked away in some sort of holding cell in my head. I can still feel his presence, but it’s as if there is something keeping him from me.

Since that fateful day, the only thing on my mind has been revenge. Every single day stuck in this limbo has created a festering anger that has overtaken my mind.

But now, Marina is finally awake. Not only is she my mate, but she was our pack witch. Utilizing her abilities gives me the upper hand. She is able to foresee, and that is going to be incredibly helpful when we finally find those who wronged us.

Her waking up is the first step to me finally getting that revenge that I so desperately crave.

But something strange happened at the hospital. I thought at first, I’d been imagining it. Hell, I had to be hallucinating.

The doctor had dragged me down to that tiny conference room to discuss Marina’s home care. The air filled with the scent of blood mixed with something else, and I felt my wolf whimper in pain. The chair flew back five feet from the force of how fast I ran back to that hospital room.

It was then, that I’d smelled it. It was so strong, at first, I thought it had to be Marina, but as I lifted her from Rosa’s body, putting her back into the bed, the scent grew fainter, causing my head to snap back to where Rosa remained on the ground.

The softest, most alluring scent of roses and oranges blended with the scent of blood.

‘Onyx, I really fucking wish you were here right now to tell me what is going on,’ I groaned in my head to my wolf, who probably couldn’t even hear me.

I remember the day Rosalind and I had gotten married. It was selfish of me to agree, but I needed the company and the money for my future plans. I saw the way Rosa took care of me, and then the way she took care of Marina.

Her dedication to our care went above and beyond, though I could always tell she was interested in me. The thought disgusted me at first. I’d wanted nothing to do with any other woman. It was a sin to even consider it.

But I’d hoped that when Marina finally woke, she’d understand why I had done it. It was all for her and our revenge on those who wronged us.

Rosa was the heiress to Red industries and I was to be the heir of Wood Pharma. It was a match made in heaven according to humans. Two of the wealthiest families in America, merging as one.

But as time went on, I grew a soft spot for Rosa. She was no longer simply a caretaker. The woman was reliable to a fault. She was kind and hardworking. She took my shitty attitude in stride, never letting it dull her shine.

And while my mate was in a coma, I was nothing but shitty. That was the way it had to be. Keeping Rosa at a distance was best for everyone. I forced myself to live with a dark cloud over my head. Sleepless nights plagued me as I begged the Goddess to bring my mate back to me.

I needed her to move forward. I needed my Luna to rebuild our pack.  

Marina was saying something about divorce, but the scent coming from Rosa was clouding my senses.

I blurted out that I needed to discuss Marina’s care with her, basically dragging her into a spare room down the hall.

Marina speaking to me while I was frozen from Rosa’s scent was too much. I had to get her alone to see if I was just going insane.

But the moment it was just the two of us, and she’d pinned me with a fire in her eyes that I’d never seen before, I had told her I didn’t want a divorce. I couldn’t handle the thought while she held some sort of key to my wolf.

She needed to stop bleeding, or I was going to lose it.

I’d basically begged her to close the wound before rushing out of the room to catch a breath. Her scent was too strong.

I rejoined Marina in her room, trying to pick up on her scent, though it was fainter than ever now, “Trust me. As soon as everything settles down... I will move forward with the divorce. Just give it time, Marina,” I forced the words out, but they tasted bitter as they left my tongue. I’d masked my disgust with myself, smiling at her as I responded to her worries.

But it felt like I was betraying both of them with my lies.

Moments later, Rosa barged into Marina’s room, causing the door to bounce harshly off the wall. She started yelling, but the only thing that I heard was that she was going to have our divorce papers drawn up tomorrow morning.

My panicked eyes found hers and everything froze as my wolf whimpered again. Her scent was stronger now, flooding my senses and making everything hazy. I inhaled deeply, drowning in her scent.

Onyx was rattling the bars of his cage. I could feel it. He wanted to get to Rosa, but how was that possible?