All Chapters of TEMPORARY MATES, PERMANENT CRAVINGS : Chapter 131 - Chapter 140

Cameron POVThe stack of consent forms felt thick under my hand. I picked up the black pen provided by the hospital and looked at the first signature line. The medical jargon blurred into a sea of gray text. I turned the page. My name went down where the red arrows pointed. Each stroke of the pen felt heavy. I moved to the next page and signed again. With every signature, I felt the weight of Evangeline's life shifting onto my shoulders.Lisa’s voice echoed in my mind. It was a persistent sound that I could not shake. I looked toward the bed where Evangeline lay. She was pale. Her breathing was shallow. It made no sense to me. Franklin and Lisa were tossing around accusations that did not fit the woman in front of me. I knew her. She was my mate. She had been insecure lately. But insecurity was a far cry from murder.The nurse stood by the bed with a digital tablet. She did not look up from the screen as she asked about the patient’s medical history."She has been sick all her life

Lisa POVI kept my eyes fixed on the plastic-domed food tray. The meal consisted of a scoop of gray mashed potatoes and a piece of boiled chicken that looked like wet cardboard. A printed label with my name and room number was taped to the side. I picked up the plastic fork and poked at the chicken, watching the clear juice pool in the corner of the tray.My mom let out a small, dry laugh from her chair.“So now the hospital kitchen is part of the plot too?” she asked.“I don't know,” I said, dropping the fork. It hit the tray with a dull thud. “Right now, anything feels possible. I don't trust the air in here.”She shook her head and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. “That is not a normal way to live, Lisa. You are in a high-security ward. This place is literally designed to keep you alive.”“And yet, I still ended up with a needle in my arm and toxins in my blood,” I countered. I looked at the dark window. The rain had stopped, leaving only distorted reflections of the

Franklin POVThe shipment report was forty minutes late. The last file had arrived with corrupted cells and incomplete columns, so I left the window open on my monitor while I waited for the logistics team to send the corrected version. Cameron expected the final tally by the end of the day. If I missed the deadline, he would assume I was too distracted by the investigation into whoever poisoned Lisa. My coffee had gone cold, forming a thin film on the surface. I drank it anyway, the bitter liquid coating my tongue, and took a bite of a sponge cake someone had left on the corner of my desk. The dry sugar hit the back of my throat the wrong way, triggering a cough. I spit the half-chewed mouthful into a paper napkin and threw it in the bin.The updated file finally pinged in my inbo. While I finished typing the last row of numbers, my phone screen glowed with a hospital notification. I read the preview on the lock screen before completing the sentence I was writing. I saved the docume

Lisa POVThe discharge papers felt heavy in my hand. I smoothed the wrinkled sheets against my thigh, desperate to leave the smell of bleach and sickness behind. My mom was already packing my small overnight bag.The door pushed open with a sharp click. A man in a white coat stepped inside, but he didn't have the heavy tread of the senior consultant. He moved with a light bounce in his step, his stethoscope swinging against his chest. Dr. Harry. He looked young, his skin clear and his dark brown hair cropped close in a style that felt too trendy for a high-risk ward. He spoke with a rapid-fire clip, clicking a silver pen incessantly.“I’ll be taking over your case now that you’re being discharged,” he said, pulling a rolling stool toward the bed. “We’ll keep everything tight from here. No loose ends.”I stared at him, my fingers tightening on the guardrail of the bed. He looked like he hadn't yet seen the kind of emergencies that broke a person. I looked toward the door, half-expect

Lisa POVI almost rolled my eyes at the young doctor. He stood just outside my door, finishing a phone call and tossing around clipped medical terms.He couldn’t have been more than twenty-six. There was a rough charm to him, the kind you’d expect in a crowded club, not a specialist who works for an expensive hospital. With a poison scare still hanging over me, I didn’t feel comforted. I didn’t want someone like him handling my case. I watched him without making it obvious. He ended the call and stepped inside.“Good morning, Ms. Hartwell,” he said, flashing a smile that didn’t match the hour. “How are you feeling today?”“It’s Lisa. I’m fine,” I said.He apologized and moved to the bed, already pulling out his stethoscope. He checked the monitors, adjusted the IV, then reached for the blood pressure cuff. “Everything looks good,” he said. “Vitals are steady. You’re holding up well.”I said nothing. I didn’t need the flattery.He hesitated, his hands hovering over his bag. “You’ve