TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 105

One hundred and five

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One hundred and five

“How much longer are they going to keep us waiting?” James asked.

We were at the family court, waiting for the elders inside the chamber. More than two hours had passed. James paced the hallway while I sat on the bench. Even with the doors closed, their authority pressed into the air.

The presiding judge was Elder Logan, a man who had married and divorced four times. Either Alpha Marcus o Luna Catherine would sit beside him as ruling authority. No one needed to warn me about bias. I was a woman Richard was a man. I was an Omega. He was a Beta.

If they had let me walk away without judging me, that would have worried me more.

Elder Rita stepped out of the chamber and stopped in front of me.

“Susan, you look well.”

She belonged to the kind of women who taught obedience as virtue; give your husband what he wants, never deny him, even when it costs you. Her gaze moved over my dress, measuring it without asking.

I wore a tailored purple dress that matched the frames of my new glasses. The tinted lenses hid nothing; they sharpened my focus.

I bowed. She inclined her head.

“You know how divorce is viewed in our culture. Thirty years is not something you discard.”

Another elder joined her. Then another. Soon four of them stood before me, studying me as if I had betrayed my

Vows.

“The children will leave. You will grow old alone. If you endured thirty years, what is a few more? Soon you and Richard will age. Desire fades. You will need each other.”

James tightened his hold on my hand. I did not know if he meant to steady me or himself.

I said nothing. To them, I was replaceable. I should have been grateful that a Beta chose me, housed me, fed me. They ignored his affair as if fidelity were optional for men. Most of them had divorced themselves. Now they preached endurance.

They moved toward the courtroom.

“Mom, breathe,” James said under his breath.

“I’m not afraid.”

We walked into the chamber.

The room curved around the tribunal seated at the center, arranged so no one could hide. Their platform sat higher than ours. The difference was deliberate.

I heard Richard before I saw him. He entered from the opposite door.

He looked older and tired.

So this was what freedom had done for him.

The hurt rose in my chest, but I swallowed it and held his gaze.

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There was nothing left to save.

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Luna Catherine reviewed the files beside her. James sat at my side. Richard stood across from me.

“We open the hearing of Richard and Susan Hartwell for the dissolution and annulment of their thirty-year marriage,” Elder Logan announced.

They let Richard speak first. He stepped forward.

“Elders, Luna Catherine, I am not a perfect man. I have made mistakes. I am here to correct one.”/

He gestured toward me without looking at me.

“Susan is my wife. I chose her despite opposition. We all understand hierarchy. It is not easy to rise when you marry beneath your rank. After she lost her vision, I became the sole provider. I made sure she and the children lacked nothing. Because of a lapse, something we could have handled privately, she chose to leave and take the children.”

Thirty years reduced to a lapse.

He went ahead and painted me as unstable.

The room supported him before I even opened my mouth.

“I hate him,” James muttered, pressing a bottle of water into my hand. My throat burned, but I set it aside.

“She has always wanted more,” Richard continued. “Nothing satisfied her.”

He never looked at me.

“I ended the affair. I would never choose another woman over my family. Even she knows that. But because of Susan’s greed, she pushed Lisa into surrogacy. She infiltrated Alpha Cameron’s home and taught her daughter how to seduce him.”

Murmurs rippled through the elders. Every face turned toward me. There was nowhere to look that did not look back.

“Let her deny it. Let her deny that she encouraged arrangements that shamed this family.”

He used Lisa’s surrogacy as leverage.

“I can attest that Lisa has exceeded her duties,” Luna Catherine said. “Because of her, my daughter’s relationship is suffering.”

She closed the file.

“I respected your family. Richard has served this community well. Lisa worked for me for two years. I believed in her character. If boundaries were crossed, the influence came from you. Lisa is young and is obviously being misled by ambition.” 1

My fingers tightened against the armrest.

“That is not true,” I said, rising to my feet. “Lisa fulfilled a contract. I went to Alpha Cameron because he offered to fund my surgery. I had lived in darkness for years. Should I have refused?”

Richard stared at me as if the surgery offended him.

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“You built a second life in my shadow. Do not insult this court by shrinking it into a mistake.”

“Enough,” Elder Logan cut in. “If these claims are proven, you will lose more than reputation. You will leave this marriage without compensation.”

James stood.

“This is not fair. You are condemning my mother without evidence.”

“Silence,” Logan warned.

James did not sit.

“Lisa caught him cheating at his office. She has proof. If this court refuses to review it, then this hearing is a sham.”

“Remove him,” Luna Catherine ordered.

The guard seized James by the arm. He tried to resist but they outnumbered him.

The doors shut behind him.

“You know this is true,” Luna Catherine said to me. “You positioned your daughter near Alpha Cameron to secure influence. You orchestrated this.”

Richard met my eyes and gave the slightest nod, as if confirming her version.

“That is a lie,” I said. “Alpha Cameron and Evangeline had problems long before Lisa signed that contract.”

The tribunal bell rang.

“Susan, you will speak when addressed.”

I sat.

Richard softened his tone.

“I want peace. My mistake does not justify her retaliation. I ended the affair. I am here to repair my home.”

“Your turn,” Logan said. “Do you wish to respond?”

I stood and adjusted my glasses.

“I am ready to proceed with the divorce. I would rather leave empty-handed than stay in this sham of a marriage.”

Silence spread through the hall.

The verdict was delayed. I expected that.

What I didn’t expect were the threats, even after I made it clear I wanted nothing from him.

The elders discussed me as if I were a case file, not a person standing in front of them.

I kept my mouth shut. If I pushed back, they would call it aggression.

Richard leaned into the narrative, warning me I

would regret this, painting me unstable.

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And the presiding elder, who had started neutral, now joined in.

“Look at you. Destabilizing your marriage and your daughter’s future. I pray you don’t regret this.”

“Luna,” Richard said, “I don’t want conflict. I want my family whole.”

“Well, I’m sorry. We cannot help someone who refuses help.”

Luna Catherine worsened things with her accusations.

I wasn’t safe in this pack.

They had already condemned me and my daughter. Nothing I said would change that.

So I made a decision.

I would leave for good.

Our reputation would burn either way. Whatever Evangeline fed her mother had already done its damage.

When they adjourned, I walked out.

James waited in the courtyard.

“Let’s go.”

We reached the car.

Richard charged toward us.

James stepped in front of me, blocking my path. Richard stopped a few feet away.

“Has this really gotten to this?” His gaze flicked between us.

“What do you want?” James shot back.

I touched his arm. “James.”

“This is what you planned, isn’t it?” he continued. “You ruin her name and still expect her not to divorce you? I used to look up to you. You taught me what a man should be. Then you showed me this.”

“Get in the car, James.”

He held his father’s stare, then got in and slammed the door. The engine stayed off. He watched through the glass.

Richard looked at me.

“So it’s true. You’re banking on Cameron’s generosity now?”

“If that’s what you want to believe.”

“Come on, Susan.” He reached for me.

I stepped back.

“I still love you. Don’t erase what we had. I stood against my parents for you. They didn’t want us married. I chose you.”

“That was thirty years ago. And I’m grateful for it. I got my children. But you don’t get to hurt me and then cash in old sacrifices as if they erase the damage.”

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“I’m sorry.” His voice cracked. “I want you back. I want Lisa and James back.”

“You should drop the victim act. It doesn’t suit you.” I held his gaze. “Wasn’t your secretary enough? You were ready to sell our house and ship us out.”

“That’s over. I don’t want her. She was nothing. There’s no peace there. It was just sex. It would never work.’

He really believed I would compete for him.

“It’s too late, Richard. I’ve found any mate.”

He stared, then laughed. The sound came out forced, like he needed it to be funny.

“Your mate? Come on, Susan. If you want revenge, just say that. But don’t insult me with fairy tales.”

“It’s not a fairy tale.”

James leaned halfway out the window. “And he’s better than you. Alpha Kieran. A Lycan Alpha.”

Richard blinked.

“Seriously? What delusional fantasy world would make a powerful alpha mate with her? Even if it were true, why would an Alpha up there want an Omega down here? Make it make sense.”

“Believe it or don’t,” I said and walked to the car.

“You’re making a mistake!” he shouted.

“I already did. I married you.”

James started the engine. Richard stepped in front of the car. James hit the horn and rolled forward. Richard jumped aside.

“Susan!” he yelled. “You’ll regret this!”

We drove off.

I leaned back and let the tension drain out of my spine.

Silence filled the car until we reached the highway.

“So,” James said, eyes on the road, “are you really going to accept Alpha Kieran? Because last I checked, you said it was sacrilege.”

I looked out the window and let the corners of my mouth lift.

“We’ll see.”

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