Backstory: James’ life was relatively uneventful until the death of his mother from a prolonged illness when he was 7. The loss causes him and his dad, Seán, to become close.
Because of his dad’s job as Sheriff of Alpha county, James spent much of the time after school hanging out at the station or with his neighbor and best friend Jesse. The two quickly became like brothers and start hanging out daily, even at school.
On Halloween of his sophomore year in high school, his dad was taken to the hospital in critical condition after a routine call went wrong. James meets Aurelia at the hospital and quickly makes a deal to save his dad’s life. The deal resulted in him working at her shop after school and during weekends as well as becoming her apprentice for 10 years. The rest of his high school career passed without much issue and he continued to learn about magic and the various creatures living in Point Noir. He graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s degree in English from the local university and continued to work with Aurelia at the bookshop.
After graduating, he and Jesse move into an old apartment downtown close to the bookshop and the bakery. When he’s not working at the bookshop or at home he is usually getting into mild trouble with Vaughan or working out with Jesse.
By age 22, he’s established as “Wolf” in the fae community and helps Aurelia retrieve small artifacts and maintain peace between the various factions in Point Noir. He keeps this part of his life a complete secret from Jesse and his dad. He doesn’t like keeping it a secret, but worries that it will be too dangerous for them. For him, keeping his family safe is his biggest priority. Ryan, Jesse’s boss at Fairy Good Bakery, seems to dislike him intensely and reminds him near constantly that he can’t juggle his double lives forever. He avoids the bakery whenever he can. Later that year, he meets Sam at the coffee shop she works at and she starts to frequent the shop. They quickly become close, but he doesn’t try to pursue his small crush on her for fear of having to explain the magical world to her. Later on, when he discovers she knows about magic, he still doesn’t pursue a romantic relationship with her, instead he confides in her about his struggles and worries concerning the faeries and magic.
At the beginning of the story, he’s almost exactly 8 years into his contract with Aurelia and comfortable in his role. He's been able to keep his second life a secret pretty easily with some minor truth fudging along the way. While far from uneventful, his life’s pretty stable. He has a casual relationship with Vaughan at the time, but both of them know it’s not a forever type of romance.
Allies: Callum’s Hunters, Aurelia, Samantha “Sam” Holloway, Jesse O’Connor, Giroux Pack.
Enemies: The Hunter’s Association, Traditional Fae
