JAMES

I could barely look at her, knowing the following words out of my mouth would be hard for both of us to swallow.  

“I would love to be your mate, Zira, seriously, but…I…I…already have one.” 

“What!” 

I could immediately feel a pull on my heart. I knew this wouldn’t be easy, but I couldn’t prolong it to worsen it later.  

Zira looked at me, shocked, before quickly recovering to a blank expression. We stared at each other for a few more minutes, and I could see she was conversing with her wolf. 

“Just great, James. Why not just rip her heart from her chest while you’re at it?” Deacon...