Bittersweet

Chapter 21 - One Step Closer

"Survival was my only hope, success my only revenge" ~ Patricia Cornwell

James' POV

It hurt.

It hurt to know that the one person you were falling for was the one person trying to stab you in the back and kill you.

For the first time since my mate died, I had feelings for someone, I felt for someone, and that very someone made me hate myself, killed me.

I knew there was a reason why Eva wanted to kill me, but I needed to find out what it was.

It was clear to me that she was a weresnake and that she killed Kate and her family, but why?

After I had run off on her, I had simply returned to the Palace, packed a bag, and left. I contacted a private investigator and had him look into Eva Parker, or better yet Sonia Roy. Another lie.

That was the reason why I was currently pulling up outside a small village by the name of Amravit, near Canterbury.

From a first glance I could tell that it had been burned down rather severely. With every ounce of confidence in me, I stepped out of my vehicle, my feet hitting the crusty ground beneath me.

Taking slow steps, I advanced inside, passing by the many burned down houses that had yet to be broken down and reconstructed. It was a while before I came across anybody in the village itself.

A man popped out of the corner, carrying an armful of logs towards one of the broken building around the area. Taking my chances, I approached him, watching him stop in his tracks as he watched me come.

"What are you doing in our lands Royal?" he sneered, taking me completely by surprise.

"H-how did you-"

"You have some nerve showing up in our village after everything you've put us through" he yelled, dropping his logs on the floor in complete rage. What the hell was going on?

"Listen, forgive me but I really have no idea what you' re talking about, in fact that 's what I'm here to find out, I need to know what happened" I stated, looking the man right in the eyes. Judging by the way his eyes glew golden due to his rage, I could tell he was a weresnake, and he definitely knew what was going on.

"You should go ask your parents boy. Now get out of here." He demanded in a tone that had me growling at him.

I didn't care who he was, I'm a royal and I need his respect.

"Don't growl at me boy" he then said sternly, surprising me even more.

If I wanted the truth, this was it. I had to calm myself. So that's what I did. Calming my wolf down, I took a deep breath, not moving from my spot.

"Look, I'm trying to right the wrongs that might have happened here, but please, I need to know what happened here, please" I pleaded, watching the man's eyes return to their original colour.

"What lie did they feed you then?" he asked me, confusing me utterly

"I don't understand-"

"What lie did they tell you about how you earned your precious title of the Royals ha?" he interrupted, causing me to frown at his question. What is he talking about?

"What do you-"

"Just answer the question" he snapped, really getting on my nerves.

"Holy gold. They retrieved holy gold from the Himalayas, happy?" the man looked at me and began laughing. Like literally laughing his ass off. What the fuck is his problem?