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Fifty-Seven
publish date:
2026-01-31 16:39:27
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TEMPORARY MATES, PERMANENT CRAVINGS One hundred and fifty two
Cameron POVLisa’s calm gaze rested on me as I watched her mother’s retreating figure. She excused herself to go upstairs for a nap, and I couldn’t be more relieved.“You don’t need to go to the festival,” I said. “You can watch it on TV.”“That sounds like a command,” she replied.“It’s not.”“Good,” she said. “Because I don’t take those from you anymore.”Her feistiness was new and interesting. I’d heard pregnancy hormones could make a woman bold. I didn’t mind this side of her, stating things as she saw them and damning the consequences.I moved closer. She didn’t step back.“That’s open to review. You can’t make decisions without telling me,” I said.“I’m bored to death,” she said. “You built a structure around me and expected me to stay inside it. I’m reminding you that I don’t have to.”“That structure protects you.”“It protects your version of things,” she said.I held her gaze and reached for her, closing the distance between us. We stood close enough that the thought of kiss
TEMPORARY MATES, PERMANENT CRAVINGS One hundred and fifty one
Lisa POVCameron’s silver jeep occupied the front drive. The guards stood at the perimeter, their usual casual stance abandoned for rigid vigilance. I stepped out of my car and ignored the weight pressing against my chest.Voices drifted from the dining room. I walked toward the entrance and stopped in the doorway. Cameron sat at the head of the table, across from my mother. Fine china sat before them. They both looked toward me as I crossed the threshold.“There she is,” my mother said. “Just at the right time. How was your stay at the nursery?”I moved to the table and pulled out a chair. I sat down and ignored her question. She pushed a plate toward me. The scent of coconut fish curry and warm rice rose into the air.“You should eat,” she said. “I made your favorite.”Cameron kept his focus on me. He reached for a small velvet box resting near his water glass.“I got you something,” he said.I took the box and flipped the lid open. A glass bottle sat nestled in silk. The glass was
TEMPORARY MATES, PERMANENT CRAVINGS 150
LisaMy phone rang while I was still in the living room. I glanced at the screen and smiled when I saw Sasha’s name.I picked up.“You finally remembered I exist,” I said.Sasha laughed on the other end. “Please. You’ve been the one acting like a government official. I called you three times yesterday. And Cora has been worried about you. She returned to Silver Creek last week and wanted to be sure you're okay.”My heart warmed. I leaned back into the couch. “I’ve been meaning to go to the nursery anyway.”“And what about Packfest? It's so sad you're not here. You and I haven't missed it in the last five years straight. So sad your absence is breaking the streak.”Shoot, the festival.The idea of going settled in my head.“Maybe I wasn’t planning to miss it,” I said.Sasha squealed. “Look at you wanting to pull a surprise on me. Well, I'm glad. At least come home and breathe normal air.”Normal didn’t fit my life anymore, but I understood what she meant.“You’ve been locked up in that
TEMPORARY MATES, PERMANENT CRAVINGS One hundred and forty nine
Lisa POVI knew the sound of Dr. Harry’s car. The crunch of tires against gravel as he pulled in without rushing made me pull my hair into a bun. I checked the window for confirmation and went downstairs. My mother let him in. They were pleasant as usual, always finding something to talk about. He stepped into the living room with a case in one hand and a smaller bag in the other. His clothes looked sharper than the last time he came.“Good morning, Lisa,” he said.“Hi, Doc,” I said casually.He set the case on the table and opened it. “We are doing a longer session today. I want to track the markers in real time instead of relying on delayed readings.”I rolled my eyes. “That is what you said yesterday.”“Trust me on this,” he said without hesitation. “That is why I went to school for years.”“Fair.”He pulled out the portable ultrasound machine and set it up on the table in front of the couch. Wires, gel, and the monitor were laid out with precision. I adjusted myself on the couch a
TEMPORARY MATES, PERMANENT CRAVINGS One hundred and forty eight
Cameron POV The office never stayed empty. People rotated in and out without thinning the room. The glass walls gave the illusion of space, but movement from the hallway bled through constantly. Files stacked across my desk. My laptop stayed open with too many tabs, each one demanding attention at the same time.Persistent knocks came at steady intervals. A young gamma held onto a file, asking for a job. Two brothers argued over land boundaries until I settled the matter and assigned oversight to a neutral party. A widow reported harassment from a relative; I issued a formal warning and reassigned property access to her name alone. A wounded guard’s family pushed for extended treatment support; I approved the coverage. The accountant presented numbers with a confidence that didn’t hold; I adjusted the allocations and set a mandatory review. None of it stopped. Each problem replaced the last before it fully cleared.Franklin stayed near the door, managing the flow. The security monit
TEMPORARY MATES, PERMANENT CRAVINGS One hundred and forty seven
Cameron POVThe street stayed quiet as I turned into the driveway. Early morning blue light sat over the houses, the kind that made everything look mystical. I rounded into the driveway and slowed at the sight of the red jeep. My headlights cut off before I fully stopped.I decided to check the time on the dashboard. It was earlier than I had planned to return. I could have sworn Evangeline went out yesterday with that car and was not due to return until tonight. I stayed in the driver’s seat with my hands on the wheel, thinking about whether I miscalculated her schedule. The engine idled rougher than usual, the vibration running through the steering wheel into my palms.If she was the one, I had not expected her back this early. The air held the first sounds of birds waking somewhere beyond the compound walls. I turned off the engine and stepped out of the car. A guard mounting the door straightened and saluted. I nodded and kept moving. I reached the front door and pushed it open.
TEMPORARY MATES, PERMANENT CRAVINGS Sixty-Nine
LisaI woke up at three in the morning feeling more rested than I had in weeks. Which made no sense. I'd only been asleep for four hours. Lisa, with her body tucked against mine.Four hours shouldn't have been enough.But I felt grounded. Like someone had reset something fundamental inside me that
TEMPORARY MATES, PERMANENT CRAVINGS Sixty-Eight
LisaThe night air hit us like a wall when we stepped outside, cold enough to make my breath come out in small white clouds. Cora and I walked in silence for a while.“So?” she asked eventually. “Learn anything?”“More than I expected.” I smiled. “The knotting stuff especially.”We walked a little
TEMPORARY MATES, PERMANENT CRAVINGS Sixty-Seven
LisaThe hospital room had become familiar enough that I could navigate it half-asleep, which was basically how I arrived most mornings. My mother was already awake when I walked in, propped up against a mountain of pillows that had slowly migrated into the wrong positions overnight.“Let me fix th
TEMPORARY MATES, PERMANENT CRAVINGS Sixty-Six
CAMERON POVI kept my distance from Lisa and stopped going near her room or looking for reasons to see her. It was the only way to steady things with Evangeline and keep the house from turning into a war zone.Evangeline stayed close to me during meals and followed me through the house as if monitor
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