Todos os capítulos de TEMPORARY MATES, PERMANENT CRAVINGS : Capítulo 161 - Capítulo 170

Lisa POVMy father stood across the lane between two stalls, half-turned, speaking to someone I didn’t recognize.He looked… reduced. The broad presence I remembered had thinned into something quieter. His clothes hung differently. His face had lines I didn’t remember him having.I told myself to turn away.I didn’t.He looked up. At first, he didn’t recognize me. Then his gaze settled, and he blinked in surprise.“Lisa.”I turned away. Sasha whispered that I didn't have to talk to him if I didn't want to. The guards adjusted their positions without blocking anything.He stepped closer, looking hesitant.“You came.”“It’s a general festival.”He gave a nod.“You look…” He stopped himself. “You’re well?”His eyes dropped to my stomach and stayed there. And maybe my body grew defensive because I knew he was about to say something stupid, and I hated myself that I was giving him more attention than it was necessary.“I’m not here to fight,” he said.He looked around, adjusting to the mov

EVANGELINE POVFranklin returned with the report in his hand and that look he always wore when something didn’t sit right with him. It wasn’t suspicion anymore. It was a lingering focus, even when there was nothing left to find.“The lab is done with the first pass,” he said.Clean, the report said. No toxicity markers. Nothing that would hold up to scrutiny.I smiled inwardly and poured myself a glass of water.“That’s good,” I said. “At least that puts one thing to rest.”Franklin’s gaze was on Cameron. “No, it doesn’t. I don’t trust Desmond, and I strongly believe he has access.”“Belief is not the same as proof,” Cameron said. “And if he wanted to make a move, it wouldn’t look like this.”Silence followed that.Franklin didn’t agree, but he stepped back from it. I watched the shift and kept my face neutral.The herbs had done exactly what they were meant to do. Nothing.What I had planted in that corner of the narrative was a trail for Franklin to chase, and it would keep his atte

Cameron POVI woke at almost eight in the morning for the third time that week.I got up and went to the sink to run cold water over my face, stood there with my hands on the edge of the basin and waited for my head to clear the way it always did in the mornings. The fog thinned but didn’t fully lift.A knock came at the door before I straightened.“Enter.”A maid stepped in with a tray. “Your tea, Alpha.”She placed it on the table and left. I picked up my phone from the nightstand. The brightness hit me before my eyes had adjusted, and I had to lower it before unlocking the screen. Even that small adjustment took more effort than it should.I read Franklin’s message twice before the words settled: Lisa cleared the first route. We’re moving her now. I held onto that and called him.He picked up.“Alpha. You’re awake.”“Why wasn’t I woken up?”There was a brief pause. “You needed rest.”“That’s not your call.”“Evangeline said—”“I didn’t ask what she said,” I cut in. “I asked why you

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

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