TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 126

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One hundred and twenty six

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Franklin raised the hospital bed, and the tube in my arm tugged when I shifted. The monitor around my stomach kept a steady rhythm, tracking the baby. I watched the screen, then turned my attention away.

I didn’t like how steady that sound was. It felt too calm compared to everything happening inside me. If something was wrong, it shouldn’t sound this normal. That part unsettled me more than the pain.

James dropped my bag onto the chair. “I didn’t know what to pack.”

“You brought going-out clothes. Planning to sneak me out?” I said with a chuckle.

“I panicked. I don’t know how long you’ll be staying.”

“She’s staying as long as she needs to. Even if it means spending the remainder of her pregnancy here,” Franklin said, causing me to roll my eyes.

A nurse walked in, connected the IV line into my arm, made sure I was comfortable, and left.

“What if this isn’t food?” I said to Franklin. “What if my body is rejecting the pregnancy?”

Franklin scoffed. “You’re not a doctor. Let them do their job while we wait. More importantly, we need to tell Cameron.”

I shook my head. “Not yet. He just got to the North. He has Evangeline to deal with.”

“And you’re here.”

I looked back at the monitor. “I don’t want to make it a bigger deal than it is.”

That wasn’t the full truth. I just didn’t want to hear his voice and feel worse. If he sounded worried, I would start thinking this was serious. If he sounded distant, that would be worse.

“You’re already in a hospital bed, Lisa. It is a big deal.”

James announced that my mother was heading upstairs.

I groaned. “Great.”

The door opened, and she walked in, her attention fixed on me before she reached the bed. Alpha Kieran followed. She pulled me into a hug and held on.

“I’m okay, Mom. You didn’t have to rush back.”

She pulled back and looked at me. “Don’t do that. You know how I felt leaving you all by yourself, and my came to pass.”

fears

For a second, I almost said I wished she had stayed. I swallowed it. She finally had something good happening for her, and I refused to be the reason it stopped.

Alpha Kieran stepped forward, his gaze moving from me to the monitor.

“We have a strong one, it seems.”

“At least let him behave first,” I said. “He’s doing too much already.”

He laughed, then turned to Franklin. “What are the doctors saying?”

“They’re still running tests.”

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He accepted that and looked back at me. “You haven’t told Cameron.”

“There’s no need. I don’t want to distract him.”

“You’re not a distraction, dear. You’re carrying his child.”

That word sat heavier than it should have. His child. Not mine alone. Not something I could quietly deal with and move on from. It tied everything back to him whether I liked it or not.

“That doesn’t mean I pull him away from everything else.”

Alpha Kieran and Franklin headed off to speak to the doctor. My mother moved to the table, opened the flask she brought, and poured the contents into a cup. Steam rose and faded between us. She took my phone and plugged it in when I reached for it.

“You’re not doing anything yourself right now.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She gave me a look that made it clear she wasn’t amused.

I tilted my head toward her. “So how was your weekend?”

“Irrelevant.”

“I can tell it was going well until today interrupted. I didn’t mean to.”

She shook her head and handed me the cup. “Drink.”

“Not until you tell me how much fun you had.”

“Lisa, please, not now. Besides, we’re taking it slow.”

My brow wiggled, and she swatted my arm playfully when I tried to touch her.

“It’s barely a month since you met him, and you’re glowing already. I can’t even wait for you to celebrate your first anniversary. You’d be blinding us.”

She shut me up when Franklin returned with a small bag and set it down. His phone rang. He glanced at the screen, then at me.

“Cameron. And I’m telling him.”

My chest tightened.

I wasn’t ready. I had been fine all day pretending this was manageable, but hearing his name made everything feel real in a way I couldn’t control anymore.

“I’ve been trying to reach you,” Franklin said and put it on speaker.

Cameron’s voice came through. “What is it?”

“It’s Lisa.”

His tone shifted on the line. “What about her?”

Franklin looked at me, and I shrugged.

“She’s been having severe cramps. She’s on bed rest in the hospital.”

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“When?”

He told him.

“You waited this long to tell me?”

“She didn’t want-”

“That’s not your call,” Cameron snapped. “You should know better.”

My mother glanced at me, but I kept my focus ahead.

Franklin stayed steady. “She wanted you focused on Evangeline.” Then he handed me the phone/”Talk to him.”

The nerves I felt all day hit me at once. I adjusted my grip and forced myself to remain steady.

“I’m fine.” 1

“Why didn’t you want me to find out?”

“I didn’t want to make it bigger than it is. The baby is fine. He’s only doing what alpha babies do.”

There was a pause on the other end before he said, “He?”

My heart did a tight squeeze.

“They checked. It’s a boy.”

For a second, I waited for something softer from him. Something that felt like more than responsibility. When it didn’t come immediately, I told myself I shouldn’t have expected it.

The silence shifted. I couldn’t read his emotion to know if it was anger or awe.

“And you’re just telling me now?”

“They had to scan. It wasn’t planned.”

“What exactly is wrong?”

“They’re still figuring it out,” I said. “Some markers came back off, but nothing’s confirmed.”

“And what about you? How do you feel?”

I closed my eyes. “They’re running more tests, and until then, I stay here. Please don’t worry about me. You’re already dealing with enough. Handle that first.”

I wanted him to argue with that. I wanted him to say he was coming anyway. When he didn’t, I told myself this was exactly what I asked for.

He went quiet, but the tension stayed. It was clear he had a lot to say or couldn’t bring himself to. The line stayed open until it grew awkward, and I assured him I was going to be fine, then handed the phone over to Franklin.

The hours passed, and the doctors repeated the same instructions throughout the day: rest, monitoring, no stress, and the label that followed, a high-risk pregnancy.

James walked in that evening, looking disturbed.

“There’s something off about your home nurse. I saw her at the house. Upstairs.”

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That pulled my attention. My mother looked up from the table where she had been arranging my dinner.

“I knew it,” she said.

“She came out of Lisa’s bathroom,” James continued. “And when she saw me, she didn’t say anything. She walked past like someone who had something to hide.”

I looked between them. “Stop insinuating. She probably came to check on me and left. That doesn’t mean anything.”

My mother gave me her full attention. “That woman has been off from the beginning. Something about her does not sit right. What if she put something in your medication?”

A small part of me reacted before I could stop it. Not belief, not fully, but something uncomfortable. The idea didn’t sound as ridiculous as it should have.

I held her gaze. “That’s a serious accusation.”

“And you’re in a hospital bed with something they can’t explain. It makes her worth looking into. I’m not saying she did it. I’m saying we should check.”

“And how do you plan to do that?”

“We test what you’ve been taking.”

I leaned back against the pillow, feeling the IV line shift slightly with me.

“You’re reaching. Evangeline is fighting for her life. She has no reason to

“I didn’t mention Evangeline,” Mom said. She held my gaze without looking away. “This is not about who you think would or wouldn’t do something. This is about what is already happening to you.”

That hit harder than I expected. I had already connected it in my head, even if I didn’t want to admit it out loud. Hearing her say it without saying it made it harder to ignore. 1

“And what if it’s just my body? What if this is exactly what the doctor said it is?”

“Then we confirm that, and we move on.”

James pulled a chair closer and sat. “There’s no harm in checking.”

“There’s harm in accusing someone without proof.”

“No one is accusing her,” my mother said, reaching for her phone. “We’re verifying. I’ll call Franklin. We’ll have the medication tested. If it’s clean, we drop it. If it’s not, we deal with it.”

I closed my eyes, shutting that down before it turned into another argument.

“I don’t think everything has to be a conspiracy.”

And I wasn’t sure if I believed that anymore. That was the part I didn’t say, because once I did, it would change everything.

“And I don’t think everything is a coincidence. Get some rest,” she said. “I’ll figure this out.”

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