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One hundred and sixty four
publish date:
2026-04-21 23:13:57
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TEMPORARY MATES, PERMANENT CRAVINGS One hundred and seventy four
Lisa POV"What is going on?" I leaned toward my mother as I looked for an answer."Your guess is as good as mine," she said. Alpha Kieran stood with Nadia, but his eyes stayed locked on my mother, a smile stretching across his face. "We should excuse them to talk," my mom whispered. She didn't look at me; her eyes remained fixed on Alpha Kieran.I shifted my gaze to Nadia. She usually wore clothes like a shield of high fashion, every hair a perfect coil. Today, the makeup was gone. Her outfit was simple. She gave me a nod, her eyes dropping to the curve of my stomach before she turned back to Cameron."Help me with lunch," my mom said to me.In the kitchen, the air felt thick. I gripped a carrot under the running water, rubbing the skin until it squeaked. Nearby, my mom’s knife clicked against the cutting board, but it kept stopping. She would tiptoe toward the doorway to catch a sound from the other room, only to turn back and give me a shake of her head. No clues. But Franklin’
TEMPORARY MATES, PERMANENT CRAVINGS One hundred and seventy three
The moment those words, “I love you,” left my mouth, it felt as though I had done something forbidden and something exhilarating at the same time. Even I didn’t know how or why I said it at that point, when it wasn’t as though we were having sex for the first time. We’ve had it countless times, but somehow I just felt like saying it then.His muscles locked under my touch, or perhaps it was just a fragment of my own imagination from the dread I felt after saying “I love you” to someone who was already mated to another woman. I bolted upright, dragging the blanket over my chest and sliding to the far edge of the mattress.“I didn’t, I didn’t mean it. I mean, you should ignore me. I wasn’t thinking straight.”His eyes remained on me, lids heavy and unfocused in the post-sex haze, or whatever it was that made him look more frail than usual.“You shouldn’t apologize,” he said, curling his fingers around my hand and tracing a slow circle over my knuckles with his thumb. “I don’t mind it.”
TEMPORARY MATES, PERMANENT CRAVINGS One hundred and seventy two
Cameron POVEvangeline remained on the floorboards beside the window, her arms locked around her knees. I stood in the center of the rug and tried to find the energy to move toward her. Franklin reached down to grab her elbow, and she screamed. He snapped his hands up and backed into the doorframe.“You let her speak to me like that,” she said. She stared at me, blinking through the water in her eyes.“She’s under pressure,” I said.“And I’m not?” She pushed off the floor and marched at me. “You know me. I wouldn’t hurt you or Nadia. I love you both.”I dropped into the chair. “Nadia doesn’t hate you.”“But you spoke to Desmond.”“I told you I was upset,” she said. “I didn’t mean to give him the information he’s using. Everyone makes mistakes. Why is the whole house now full of people pointing at me for things they are doing themselves?”I didn’t answer. I didn’t have the breath for an argument. “Can we talk in the morning, when the sun is up?” I said.She wiped her face with the back
TEMPORARY MATES, PERMANENT CRAVINGS One hundred and seventy one
NADIA POVThe pre-trial chamber was a long room with tables and walls that absorbed sound. The presiding elder sat at the head of it. She had been in the judicial seat longer than I had been alive.Franklin waited for me in the parking lot.“I’ll stay out here,” he said. “Let them think what they want for now.”I held his gaze. “If this goes wrong, you don’t stay outside.”“I won’t.”Elder Justine asked to speak to me alone before the session began. I followed her to the side, away from the center.“You understand the position you’re in,” she said. “You’ve been given room others wouldn’t have.”I let that sit. They gave grace because of what my brother represented.I folded my arms. “I didn’t come here to beg.”“I didn’t ask you to beg,” she said. “There is a path to resolution that does not require a full proceeding. If both parties can reach a private agreement—”“I won’t be apologizing to Desmond.”“Nadia, please listen. You and Desmond should speak. You reach an agreement. Somethi
TEMPORARY MATES, PERMANENT CRAVINGS One hundred and seventy
NADIA POVI was on my fourth position when I stopped trying to sleep and just lay there, looking at the ceiling.The trial sat at the front of my mind no matter how I tried to push it back. Two days. That was all I had before everything moved from quiet talk to public judgment.I should not have been afraid.Desmond did not scare me. What scared me was how much he knew.He knew about me and Franklin. He knew about Cameron and Lisa. Those were not things people guessed. Those were things people were told.I sat up.There were only so many people who had access to that level of detail.I ran through them one by one.The household staff. Seven of them, all live-in, most of them long-term. The youngest had been with us for six years. They were paid well and understood what loyalty to an Alpha house meant in practical terms. That did not mean coercion or fear was impossible. A well-paid person could still be threatened. I noted it, but I set it low.Desmond had resources. He could have pai
TEMPORARY MATES, PERMANENT CRAVINGS One hundred and sixty nine
LISA POVThe drive out of the pack wasn't exactly safe, but we found our way out.My father's pack clearance had given us a narrow window through the military-designated route, and the convoy moved fast through it. Two vehicles in front, one behind, all of them carrying Cameron's guards. My father sat in the lead car. I sat in the middle one with my mother and Dr. Harry, watching the trees change as we crossed into neutral land.I stopped counting the checkpoints after a while.It took three hours to reach the neighboring pack's transport hub, and every checkpoint we hit added time. The guards at the first gate looked at the documents twice before waving us through. At the second, they held us for nearly twenty minutes while someone on the other end of a radio confirmed our clearance.When we finally reached the neighboring pack’s airport, the weather had already turned.The airport was regional and small, with a low ceiling and a departures board cycling through three destinations. T
TEMPORARY MATES, PERMANENT CRAVINGS One hundred and twenty six
Franklin raised the hospital bed, and the tube in my arm tugged when I shifted. The monitor around my stomach kept a steady rhythm, tracking the baby. I watched the screen, then turned my attention away.I didn’t like how steady that sound was. It felt too calm compared to everything happening insi
TEMPORARY MATES, PERMANENT CRAVINGS One hundred and twenty five
Cameron POVEvangeline pulled back before the oil touched her hair.“Don’t use that on me!”The oracle stopped with the bottle still raised. Evangeline rushed closer to me and kept her arm pressed tight against her side.“It makes me feel worse, Cameron. I can’t breathe.”I reached out and took the
TEMPORARY MATES, PERMANENT CRAVINGS One hundred and twenty four
Lisa I held the edge of the sink with both hands while my stomach emptied again. The tiles under my bare feet felt cool and slightly damp from the splash of water I had run earlier. I spat once, then again, and the bitter taste stayed on my tongue no matter how many times I rinsed my mouth. James
TEMPORARY MATES, PERMANENT CRAVINGS One hundred and twenty three
LisaThe suitcase snapped shut. The latch caught with a click that echoed through the bedroom. My mom stared at the luggage. She looked ready to unpack it as she turned her head and looked at me with uncertainty.“Do I look like I’m trying too hard?”She had chosen a dress that fit her shape. Her ha
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