TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 106

One hundred and six

Lisa

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A heat sat under my skin and refused to die. No matter what I did, Cameron stayed in my head.

Franklin buried himself in logistics. He came in late and left before sunrise. The house stayed quiet all day. I moved from room to room and ended up back where I started. There was nothing to distract me.

It got so bad I almost asked the nurse if a pregnant woman could go into heat.

I knew better. Werewolf biology made it clear; pregnancy shuts down heat. But it can sharpen desire.

Mine wouldn’t calm down.

Every time I closed my eyes, Cameron filled the space. His voice. His body. The way he looked at me.

I wanted him more than I ever had, and I hated that about myself. Pretending it wasn’t there only made it harder

to breathe.

I tried everything. I stayed in hot baths until the water cooled. I swam until my shoulders ached. I ran drills until my lungs burned. I let movies play without watching them.

Nothing worked.

My body answered to hormones, not discipline. Touching myself didn’t fix it. It left me restless and irritated.

Today was my mother’s court hearing, and no one called.

I figured it would drag. My father had a talent for twisting words and calling it reason. He would frame himself as patient, wounded, misunderstood. He would make her question her own memory. I hoped Mom wouldn’t fold.

I kept checking the door like I could somehow walk into that courtroom.

I called three times. It rang out each time. I stared at the screen before setting it face down.

At noon my phone rang.

Mom.

“How bad?” I asked.

She sighed.

“They let him speak first,” she said. “You can imagine the rest. They spoke to me like I was the one who cheated.”

That didn’t surprise me.

“Luna Catherine said I forced you into the contract. That I positioned you near Alpha Cameron. That you exceeded your duties.”

My heart skipped.

“Exceeded?” I repeated.

“She implied you seduced him.”

My fingers tightened around the phone.

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James’ angry voice came faintly through the line.

“What does my contract have to do with your marriage?” I asked.

“They needed something that would stick,” Mom said. “Your name is convenient.”

“They’re shifting blame and I hate this,” I snapped. “If they can’t win cleanly, they make it personal.

“Calm down, sweetie,” Mom said. “I’ve already lost most of what they can threaten me with,” she said. ” Reputation? It was fragile to begin with. Friends? We don’t have many. When the contract ends, we leave. That’s enough.”

“Or we don’t leave,” James cut in, closer to the phone now. “We can relocate to Alpha Kieran’s pack. I wouldn’ mind being introduced as the future Luna’s son.”

Despite everything, I pictured it. A different territory. A different life.

“They picked the wrong person,” I said. “Let Alpha Kieran stand beside you publicly.”

“That isn’t necessary,” Mom said.

“It is.Dad thinks he can stretch this out until you’re tired. Freeze his assets. Let him feel pressure for once.”

“That would escalate things.”

“They already escalated,” I said. “They accused you of planning seduction. They want you worn down. They want you apologizing for wanting out, and that’s not fair.”

James agreed with me.

Silence filled the line.

“We’ll see what the ruling says,” Mom said.

That was her compromise. Delay.

I stared at the wall in front of me. They were trying to rewrite us in public. I wasn’t going to let that stand.

Instead of calling Cameron, I texted him.

We need to talk.

Your mother-in-law dragged my name in court.

He didn’t reply.

Franklin had mentioned trading routes and shipments earlier. That probably had his attention.

I lay back. The ceiling fan hummed. Just as I closed my eyes, my phone chimed.

I’ll come over as soon as I can.

I read it twice before plugging my phone in.

“As soon as I can” could mean an hour or tomorrow.

Even with everything burning around me, that message made my body tingle. I rolled my eyes at myself.

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Wasn’t my desire proving Luna Catherine right?

The thought annoyed me more than the accusation.

Sasha and Cora came back in the afternoon. Sasha was leaving in two days. They hadn’t labeled their relationship, but it had direction.

“So,” I said, topping off Sasha’s glass, “who’s relocating for love?”

“I wouldn’t mind staying,” Sasha said. “But my mother would suddenly develop a terminal condition the moment I pack.”

She looked at Cora in a way that wasn’t subtle anymore.

“Cora always said she wanted to leave this place,” I said. “A fresh start helps.”

Cora’s fingers tightened around her glass.

“What if it fails?” she finally asked.

“Then it fails,” I said. “You survive it. That’s usually how it goes.”

Sasha nudged her. “See? Motivation speech.”

“I’m still taking baby steps,” Cora replied.

I watched them and knew something would lock into place between them.

“So what’s the plan when the pack decides you’re in love with Cameron?” Sasha asked.

“I’m not in love with him.”

“Love is expensive,” I said. “Wanting someone is not the same thing.’

“Please,” Sasha said. “You don’t need to feel guilty for loving someone unavailable. If I were straight, I’d fuck him.”

Cora laughed. “”They’ll call you the villain anyway,” she said. “But fractures don’t start with the outsider.”

you.”

“So what should I do?” I asked.

“Stop carrying their relationship like it’s your job,” Cora said.

“I never thought they’d drag my mother into it,” I said. “What did she do to deserve that?”

“Talk to Luna Catherine,” Sasha said. “Correct her.”

“What would that change?” I said. “If my mom accepts Alpha Kieran, she won’t need my father for anything,” I said. “And if she hesitates, I won’t.”

Cora snapped her fingers. “Love the upgrade. Bigger cock, bigger money.”

“Ugh.”

They laughed. They moved into the kitchen. Laughter shifted into quiet touches and shared glances. I left before it felt like I was intruding.

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I pushed the food around my plate and gave up halfway through.

Sasha hugged me before she left. “I’ll call every day. Don’t let them win.”

“They already made it personal,” I said. “I don’t plan on being polite.”

Not long after, I saw Cameron’s car pull in.

I muted the TV and stared at the dark screen, then pushed myself off the bed and went downstairs.

He stood in the living room, phone to his ear. His gaze lifted when he sensed me. I sat across from him.

He ended the call and crossed the room to sit beside me.

Close enough that his thigh touched mine. I kept my hands clasped so I wouldn’t reach for him.

When he hung up, he set his phone down.

“Evangeline likely told her version,” he said. “Her mother escalated it.”

“Dragging my mother into it is deliberate,” I said. “If that story spreads, it sticks.”

He held my hand. “Tell me what you want from me.”

“I signed that contract to protect my mother. Now she’s humiliated in public. Even if we stopped having sex after the first time, would that change the narrative? The contract required natural conception. Why pretend it didn’t?”

His hand slid around my waist before I could step back. He pulled me into his chest. My body relaxed against him before my mind caught up.

The tears came anyway.

“I’ll address it,” he said. “If I step in, it won’t be subtle.”

“I don’t care about revenge. I want my mom safe.”

He pulled back enough to look at me.

“If she accepts Alpha Kieran publicly, the story changes,” he said. “They’ll think twice before touching her.

“I understand Evangeline is sick,” I said. “That doesn’t give them permission to hurt us.”

“I’ll speak to Luna Catherine directly,” he said. “Your father won’t stall this without pushback.”

He leaned in to kiss me.

“You know this doesn’t help the narrative,” I said.

“It’s just a kiss.”

I moved away before our mouths met.

“You can’t kiss me while you claim to love Evangeline.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “I keep telling myself she’s my mate,” he said. “That this is physical. It would be easier if that were true.”

“Don’t blur it,” I said. “You don’t love me. You want me. That’s different.”

“It stopped being just that.”

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He looked away, then back at me. “Bring her here. This house isn’t easy to threaten.”

I nodded.

He stood. “I should go before this gets complicated.”

His hand lingered at my waist.

I let myself stay there, then stepped back.

“The doctor scheduled your first ultrasound in three days,” he said.

I nodded.

“Evangeline wants to attend.”

My stomach tightened.

“I won’t fight her for a moment that belongs to her,” I said.

“She needs to see it,” he said.

He touched his lips to my cheek like a promise he wasn’t ready to define, then walked out.

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