All Chapters of TEMPORARY MATES, PERMANENT CRAVINGS : Chapter 221 - Chapter 230

252 Chapters

Two hundred and twenty two

Cassidy POVThe fundraiser carried on as daughters drifted between tables and volunteers moved quietly through the crowd collecting pledge forms.A projector near the stage cycled through photographs of newly funded shelters, scholarship recipients, and refugee families standing in front of freshly completed homes.Laughter rose from one corner of the room when someone won a bidding war over a vacation package. Across the hall, two women debated donation figures. To anyone walking through those doors, it was exactly what it appeared to be: a room full of wealthy women raising money to improve other people's lives.I kept walking until I reached the women's restroom near the eastern wing. The door swung shut behind me.For the first time all day, nobody was asking questions or watching me.I gripped the edge of the sink and let out a shaky breath before staring at my reflection.The fluorescent lights overhead were unforgiving. They highlighted every sleepless night, every old scar, ev

Two hundred and twenty three

Cassidy POVA month later, formal invitations to the wedding arrived. I never responded.On the day of the wedding, I stayed home. My mother attended because the invitation had come directly from the future Luna. Refusing would have created gossip neither of us needed.When she returned that evening, she set a small gift box on the kitchen table and removed her shoes."How was it?" I asked, scooping ice cubes into my mouth.My mother looked at me and sighed."Beautiful."I nodded.She unpacked a small container and placed it in the refrigerator."Vanessa asked about you."I grabbed another ice cube."Did she?""She misses you."I nearly laughed.My mother closed the refrigerator door."Cassidy..."There was a warning in her voice.I looked away."You can't stay angry forever."That did it."Why does everybody keep saying that?"Her head drew back at the force in my voice. I pushed away from the counter."Stay angry at what? At who? Kieran married his mate. Good for them. They're happy!

Two hundred and twenty four

Life moved on anyway.I became pregnant again. Lawrence was ecstatic.He started making plans for a bigger house. For the first time in years, I started imagining a future too.Nolan's nanny, who was kind enough to occasionally update me on his progress, described something she had seen under his pillow during a phone call.Something wrapped in cloth sat beneath the edge of my son's pillow. Symbols had been stitched into the fabric with dark thread. She sounded more curious than concerned. She seemed to think it might be some sort of protective charm and wondered whether I'd left it there during one of my visits and forgotten to mention it.I hadn't.The image stayed in the back of my mind long after the conversation ended, but I wasn't even allowed to investigate further because three days later, my son collapsed.The call came while Lawrence was mowing the lawn. I still remember screaming and rushing to the van, with Lawrence running after me shirtless."Calm down, Cassidy," he said

Two hundred and twenty five

Cassidy POVEven more ironic was my mother's death the following year. By then, she was the only person who still called me every morning. The only person who visited, scolded me for being stubborn, and still convinced me to eat afterward.When she died, the silence changed. Before, it had been loneliness. Afterward, it became heavier.There was no one left to pull me back when I started spiraling or to stop me from chasing ghosts.No one left to remind me that there was still a world beyond grief.The funeral ended. People went home. The casseroles stopped arriving. The phone stopped ringing.And for the first time in my life, I realized there wasn't a single place left where I belonged without conditions attached to it.Lawrence was gone.My children were gone.My mother was gone too.I remember standing in the middle of my kitchen a week later, staring at two coffee mugs in the drying rack.One was mine. The other had been hers.I couldn't bring myself to put it away.That was the

Two hundred and twenty six

Lisa POVThe atmosphere inside Alpha Kieran's house had changed.It wasn't dramatic, yet I felt it. Conversations between him and my mom ended too quickly, and silences lingered. My mother stayed polite, but the ease she usually shared with Kieran was gone.The distance between them reminded me of the months after my father left, when my mother carried her hurt like armor.I couldn't blame her. I couldn't blame Kieran either.Cassidy's story had come out in pieces. Nothing fit into heroes and villains. The more I learned, the harder it became to decide who was right. Cassidy had reason to be angry. Kieran still carried the weight of his mistakes. Everyone had lost something, and nobody got it back.The part that stayed with me most was their son. Until now, I'd only known that Kieran and Vanessa had lost a son. I hadn't known another mother stood behind that story. A woman who had carried him, raised him, fought for him, and buried him.The grief in Cassidy's eyes made sense. So did t

Two hundred and twenty seven

Evangeline POVA cold silence settled in as soon as I stepped into the circle.The flames surrounding the chamber climbed the stone walls in twisting ribbons. Three figures sat above me. I avoided eye contact, blowing out a rapid series of controlled breaths to regain my composure.The Veiled Meridian was many things, but it was rarely quiet. Meetings usually carried conversation, updates, and instructions. Tonight, nobody seemed interested in any of those things.The sect tolerated failure occasionally. Repeated failure was another matter entirely. And for me, this was beyond a meeting. It was an execution.My execution.One of the figures looked me over, then smiled. The others chuckled. They had all read the reports and knew why I was standing there. Then laughter passed through the room anyway, carrying the same message more effectively than any accusation ever could."Do you know what I admire about you, Evangeline?"I swallowed, my gaze remaining fixed on the floor."Your confid

Two hundred and twenty eight

Evangeline POVDraining the last of the wine into my glass, I stood on the terrace overlooking the gardens, watching Chris direct the guards. The stillness of the evening, the lights dotting the grounds below, and the water rushing through the fountains made it all seem more pleasant. Or perhaps it was because I was tipsy.Four years ago, I stood in a place like this, and a sense of victory swept over me. Cameron had stood beside me.But now, here I was, drowning in nothing but misery, all because of Lisa.One surrogate.One disposable woman.She occupied every setback and failure.The reminder of what she had cost me made my heart pound even faster.If someone placed her in front of me right now, I would take pleasure in hurting her. Because she came for me first.A familiar perfume drifted through the night air. I didn't need to turn around to know it was Nadia.The scent reached me before her footsteps did. I stared into the darkness beyond the estate. The surveillance no longer bo

Two hundred and twenty nine

Lisa POV“Mom, are you sure this is a good idea?"My mother didn't respond.She sat beside me in the back of the Hilux van with her purse resting on her lap and her gaze fixed on the road ahead. The silence told me she was nervous too. We hadn't told Alpha Kieran where we were going. Part of me felt guilty about that. The other part understood why. If Kieran knew, he would want to come. If he came, Cassidy might refuse to see us before we even reached her front door.Franklin drove. He hadn't asked many questions or even tried to talk us out of it. At some point, he would tell Kieran. That much was inevitable.He was doing it for Cameron. Everyone seemed to be reaching the same point. Pride or etiquette no longer mattered. The only thing that mattered was stopping whatever was happening to Cameron before it became permanent."She lives near the military barracks," Franklin said as he guided the van around a bend. "Works in the kitchens there."I looked out the window.The city disappe

Two hundred and thirty

Cameron POVWater dripped from my hair onto my shoulders. Outside the bathroom, Nadia waited with a towel.The ice bath had worked for now.When the voices got too loud and layered over each other, Nadia would drag me into the bathroom and dump me into freezing water.The shock interrupted it, not permanently but it bought me breathing room."They won't shut up," I said, my tone gravelly. " They keep fucking talking and telling me what to do.”Nadia stepped behind me. The towel moved through my hair. I pressed my eyes shut."They want Lisa dead."The words tasted rotten." They keep saying kill Lisa, again and again, and again."I opened my eyes. Nadia eyes filled with unshed tears. She made me sit and began brushing my hair."Where's Franklin?"She set the comb down and heaved a sigh."He went to see Lisa."Everything inside me stalled and my chest tightened."Why?"Nadia smiled."Because he's trying to help."I looked away. Help. The word carried a hundred possibilities.Was she saf

Two hundred and thirty one

Lisa POVThe van rolled through the gates, and Alpha Kieran stood outside, waiting with a frown plastered on his face.“I smell trouble,” Franklin said. “I better drive off before I bear the brunt of it.”“I'll handle it,” my mom said as Franklin parked.“Are you all out of your minds?” he bellowed as my mother opened her door.“You went to Cassidy without telling me? Whose idea was this?”His gaze bounced between me and my mother.“Seriously?”I climbed out of the van with my mother's help. Kieran stopped talking long enough to make sure I was steady, then he resumed.“You couldn't have mentioned it first, Susan? Is that the reason for the silent treatment?”“We mentioned it now,” my mother said blandly.Kieran groaned with frustration.“She wants real proof of my bond with Cameron.”He went quiet. I could almost see him working through the possibilities.“She... she said that?”His phone rang on our way inside.“It's Cassidy,” he announced, dread in his tone.“Put it on speaker,” my

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