TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 113

One hundred and thirteen

Cameron POV

Late night conversations with Nadia used to be our thing when we were younger.

We would sneak into each other’s rooms after the house fell quiet. Most nights it happened after our father’s wife. finished punishing one of us. The punished one sat there fighting tears while the other climbed through the window or slipped through the door with stolen bread or whatever comfort we thought could fix anything.

Watching Nadia walk into the wine bar tonight dragged those memories back.

She pushed the door open with her shoulder, heels hanging from one hand. She dropped them on the counter and let out a long breath. I grabbed a bottle and poured her a drink. She lifted the glass, drank, then rolled the liquid around while staring into it. That habit meant she was thinking too much.

“Dinner ended well,” I said. “Except that your man talks like a contract document. Are you sure he isn’t marrying you for status?”

She groaned and leaned her weight on the counter.

“Don’t start. Desmond has his own money. He only asked for a simple favor.”

“I have needed things from other Alphas. The difference is I ask directly. I don’t pretend to fall in love with their sister to get what I want.” I slid the bottle back into its place. “You’re treating this marriage like someone set a deadline on your life.”

Her fingers drummed against the glass.

“And you are reading too much into this. You wouldn’t understand. You’re a man.”

“That excuse again.”

“I cannot live under your roof forever,” she said. “Right now it feels comfortable because Evangeline is my friend. But life changes.”

She pushed the glass away, then pulled it back again.

“What happens when the children start coming? What happens when I grow older with nothing to show for it? What happens if something happens to you? Someone new becomes Alpha and decides your sister is a useless extra in the house.”

I leaned back against the counter.

“That is not how things work.”

She gave me a look.

“Also,” I added, “it’s strange hearing this from you. You spent most of your life running toward chaos. Since when did you start worrying about safety and structure?”

“Since I realized the world does not care about women.”

“Nadia, you will always have enough to live well even if I disappear tomorrow.” I picked up my glass. “You and Franklin are miserable. Because of you he skipped dinner.”

She groaned again.

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Kindrod and thirteen

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“There is no me and Franklin.”

“You like him.”

“You’ve lost your mind.”

She lifted her glass and drank.

“I will marry Desmond. With him I won’t wake up wondering if everything around me will collapse one day. If you think I’m making a mistake, let me make it. I’m the one who will live with the consequences.”

Her voice dropped.

“Franklin would have been perfect,” she said. Then she waved the thought away. “But he isn’t. He isn’t from any royal line. He has nothing except the position you gave him. If you fall, he falls. That is a double disaster waiting to happen.”

“That logic comes from imagining the worst outcome every time.” I watched her over the rim of my glass. “You are forcing yourself into a life you are not even excited about.”

She laughed and shook her head.

“That’s rich coming from you. If I told you to marry Lisa, what would you say?”

The question hit harder than I expected.

“That is not the same situation.”

She pointed her glass at me.

“You would refuse immediately. Even though you like her. You know it makes no sense to be with her. You know it would create more scandal than whatever feelings you pretend not to have.”

I set my glass down harder than intended.

“My responsibility is Evangeline. She needs me. That is the reality.” I rubbed the back of my neck and exhaled. ” Lisa will give birth and move on with her life. She will find someone who deserves her.”

Nadia pressed her palm to her chest with exaggerated sympathy.

“That was tragic.”

“My situation with Lisa is not the same as yours with Franklin. If you like him, go after him. I’m not stopping you from marrying Desmond. But you should marry someone you actually love.”

She scoffed and refilled her glass.

“By the way,” she said. “I saw something strange the other day.”

My attention sharpened.

“I wasn’t snooping,” she continued. “But I heard Evangeline talking to someone. An older woman I have never seen before.”

I straightened.

“What kind of woman?”

“Didn’t see much of her. Heavy cloak. Gray hair.” She tapped the glass against the counter. “The woman told

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one hunarna and thirteen

+15 Bchus

Evangeline to keep something safe.”

Nadia glanced at me.

“Later I walked into the room. There was a wooden mirror on the table.”

“A mirror?”

“Yes. The back had compartments.”

She made a face.

“Inside were tiny packets tied with thread. They looked like colored sand. And the smell was terrible.”

I frowned.

“What kind of smell?”

“Rotten. Sour. Like something old.”

The wine suddenly tasted wrong in my mouth.

“That’s strange.”

“Very strange,” Nadia said. “I thought she stopped chasing treatments. She told everyone she was tired of searching for cures.”

She leaned closer.

“I think we should keep an eye on her.”

Then she studied my face.

“What about that smell you mentioned before?”

I looked away.

“I don’t know.”

Maybe I had grown used to it.

I didn’t tell Nadia the rest. I didn’t explain that the bond I once felt with Evangeline had thinned into something fragile. I didn’t admit that something inside me kept whispering that something was wrong

I kept those thoughts where they belonged.

Some burdens are not meant to be shared.

This one was mine.

WHAT WAS MISSING (AND ADDED INTO THE SCENE)

You had strong dialogue, but a few places lost behavioral pressure. I added:

1. Environmental interaction

Cameron pouring wine

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