Alle Kapitel von TEMPORARY MATES, PERMANENT CRAVINGS : Kapitel 321 – Kapitel 330

I glanced at the clock. There were still hours until morning. I opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of ice-cold water, then sat on the plastic chair and pressed it against my thighs, hoping to cool down. I held it there until my fingers went numb from the cold, but even that couldn't chase the heat away.I'd never felt this helpless before. I wanted to scream, but I clamped a hand over my mouth instead. My shoulders shook as I fought to stay quiet, tears slipping down my cheeks. I wiped them away and forced myself to breathe. Crying never changed anything, and I hated myself for doing it anyway.Every scent seemed sharper. Even my own scent smelled different.By morning, I'd barely slept. Heaviness dragged through my body, leaving my legs weak and my head aching. Getting dressed took longer than usual as I tried to hide the shadows beneath my eyes, changing outfits until I found something that wouldn't cling to my skin.I forced myself to eat, then tied my hair away from my neck, e

Isabella POV“This feels wrong,” I said as Wesley pulled into the driveway and parked beneath the covered section beside his house.He didn't respond until he turned off the engine and took the keys. “What does?” he said, glancing back at me.“I feel like I'm walking into a lion's den. What if your family or someone sees me here?”“No one is coming here,” he said after a chuckle. “People don't visit me without telling me first.”I reached for my door, but Wesley came around and opened it for me, making sure our bodies brushed against each other as I stepped out.“What about Barbara?” I said.Whenever I mentioned Barbara, he seemed to have that look, like he was hiding a very funny joke.“Barbara doesn't come here. We mostly see each other outside.”Although that eased some of the tightness in my chest, there was still something weird about their relationship.“There you go with that frown. Must you overthink everything?” he said, pulling me closer and kissing my forehead.I sighed, wo

Wesley POV Dropping Isabella off felt like parting with something too valuable to let go.Beyond her stamina in bed, which, by the way, I wasn't complaining about, there was something else. I had connected with her in ways that would be very difficult to walk away from.Sometimes I would remind myself what I was doing, and it would bring a certain discomfort. This was supposed to be purely sexual and nothing more.But I liked her.It showed in how I tossed and turned in bed alone, reminiscing about how she tucked her head beside me. I would wake up in the morning and not want to go out, wanting to spend the rest of the day with her.Even that was mild compared to what I had begun to experience lately.The heaviness I usually carried around this point in the fortnight wasn't there. My muscles didn't feel as tight. I slept through the night, and my appetite seemed normal.The life I had lived had trained me to expect a spiral around this time, and to expect being rushed to the daughter

Isabella POV “So, did leaving make anything better?” Harrison asked.I scoffed bitterly. “Well, at least I had a roof over my head.”When I got back to my father, the doctor said I was severely malnourished and the baby could die. One of the maids would sneak food to me so my stepmother wouldn’t notice. She suspected my father was behind it, but she never said anything.“I’m sorry for every bad thing I said to you,” Harrison said. “I just needed to vent my anger out. I had no right to judge you.”“Well, you owe me dinner,” I said, making him glare at me before he smiled.Iris drew her stool closer to me.“Now that you’re running from that bastard Alpha, why get involved with Wesley, who’s also from an Alpha family? I know he isn’t evil, but after everything you’ve been through, you can’t ignore the possibility of history repeating itself.”“We’re figuring things out.”Harrison and Iris exchanged glances.“I don’t approve of everything you’ve done with Wesley, but you’re both adults.

Wesley POV“Sorry I’m late,” I said, hurrying into the muted chamber where the council members were already seated, including my father and mother.Their barely contained smiles made me suspicious. Even my mother’s eyes held a playful glint, and Dad looked just as amused.“Did I miss something?”“Not much,” Dad said. “Except I was just announcing that my formal preparations to hand over the Alpha position will begin in seven weeks.”My eyes widened as the council erupted in applause and laughter.My mother’s grin stretched the widest.Dad winked at me.The rascal hadn’t even told me he was going to do this.“Well, what a surprise,” I said. “I suppose this is what I get for spending years asking you to step down. You finally decide to do it after I’ve stopped asking.”Laughter swept through the chamber.Dad only grinned.The council members turned to the preparations, discussing the rites that would begin in seven weeks.My gaze snapped to Dad.The rites.I would have to shift in front