TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 127

One hundred and twenty seven

Evangeline POV

The nurse tightened the cuff on my arm until the fabric pressed deep into my skin. The machine beeped sharp enough to draw a glance from the doctor. He checked the screen, then looked at me over the top of his glasses.

“Her blood pressure is still elevated. We can’t proceed like this.”

Cameron stood at the foot of the bed with his shoulders dropped forward and his hands loose at his sides.

“We’ll give it a few days,” the doctor said. “Two, maybe three. We need stability before we operate. This would be reckless.”

“That’s fine,” Cameron said. “Do whatever you need.”

The nurse adjusted the cuff again, her fingers cool where they brushed my wrist. I kept my breathing uneven, pulling air in short pulls and letting it out the same way to push the numbers higher on the monitor.

When the doctor turned to the nurse and spoke to her in a low voice, I swallowed my smile. My lips stayed pressed together until the moment passed.

Too easy.

“Keep monitoring her,” the doctor said as he headed out. His coat brushed the doorframe on the way. “No stress.” The room went quiet after they left, but Cameron didn’t. He picked up his phone from the windowsill and shifted to the side like that would hide anything from me. The screen lit his face in the dim afternoon light coming through the blinds.

“Is something wrong?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Nothing. Just Franklin.”

“You’ve been on your phone all day,” I said. I watched the way his thumb moved across the screen.

“It’s work. You know how it is. We’re going to be here for a while, I can’t ignore everything.”

He shifted his weight toward the door. I grabbed the front of his shirt and held the fabric in my fist. “Don’t go.”

“Eva, I’m not leaving. I’ll be right outside.”

“No. Stay here, please. It gets worse when you’re not here. I don’t know why.”

He hesitated with the phone still in his other hand. The screen stayed lit for another second before it went dark.

“I’m here,” he said, and shoved the phone into his pocket.

I took his hand. His thumb kept moving against the back of my hand in slow circles, but his attention wasn’t here. His eyes kept drifting toward the window.

“You’re distracted.”

“I’m not.”

“You are.”

He looked away, then back at me. His jaw moved once before he spoke.

1/4

hunded and twenty seven

+15 Bonus

“Lisa almost lost the baby.”

I almost rolled my eyes. Instead I pushed myself up against the pillow until I sat straighter.

“What?” I said. “How? What happened?”

“They don’t know yet. She’s in the hospital. They’re running tests.”

“Is the baby okay?”

“For now.”

“For now? What happened to her?”

“I don’t know. They think her body’s reacting. Something isn’t stable.”

I looked down at the thin hospital blanket across my legs and shook my head. The fabric bunched under my fingers where I gripped it.

“That’s not right. What if we made the wrong decision? What if she can’t carry the child? What if the baby isn’t healthy and-”

“It’s fine,” Cameron said. “I’m sure he is.”

“He?”

He nodded. “Our baby is a boy.”

I forced a smile. My cheeks pulled tight and I held the expression until it felt steady.

“But we need to be sure he’s healthy. Living like that is not something you fix later. It’s not too late to make the right call.”

“I know what you mean,” he said. “But Lisa was tested before the procedure. Let’s wait until we know.”

I leaned back into the pillow. The cotton case felt warm from where my head had rested earlier.

“Okay.”

My hatred for Lisa kept climbing. She walked into this mess and twisted everything, and now she was pulling Cameron away from me right when I needed him most. I felt it every time her name came up, that slight shift in him, the way his attention slipped. My fingers tightened around his hand until my nails pressed into his skin.

I hated it.

“You’re here,” I said, still holding his hand, “but not the way you used to be. I can feel it. Do you want to return to the pack?”

“Eva, please don’t start,” he said. “I just want to know she’s fine.”

“What about me?”

He looked away with his jaw tight. The muscle stood out along the side of his face.

“I’ll go get us lunch. And don’t forget, stress is the last thing you need.”

“Well, don’t cause it,” I snapped. “Either go to Lisa or give me your full attention.”

He nodded once and walked out. The door closed behind him with a soft click of the latch.

2/4

Tipe funded and finty anyon

+15 Bonus

The door hadn’t even closed before the anger hit. It sat heavy in my chest and made my pulse thump against the cuff still wrapped around my arm.

“Damn you, Lisa,” I muttered. “Just… damn you.”

My phone buzzed on the table beside the bed. I reached over and grabbed it. The screen showed Nadia’s name. I picked up.

“Eva, how are you, darling? Are you okay? When’s the surgery?”

“I’m fine. My blood pressure’s acting up, so they pushed the surgery a few days.’

“I can come,” she said. “You shouldn’t be alone.”

“I’m not. Your brother’s here. Focus on your wedding.”

“That’s actually why I’m calling.”

“What about it?”

She went quiet. The line carried only the faint sound of her breathing.

“I don’t think I can do this. I don’t feel anything. It just feels wrong.”

I rolled my eyes and let my head drop back against the pillow.

She had everything laid out for her and still found a way to complain.

“I thought I was sure, Eva. But it doesn’t feel real. I don’t love him. I don’t even like him enough to marry him.”

“Is this about Franklin?”

Silence stretched for another second.

“Come on, Nadia. You can’t do this. Franklin is just a beta.”

“I know, I know,” she groaned. Her voice cracked on the second word. “But I keep thinking about how miserable I’ll be. And Desmond isn’t even faithful. I wish things were different with Franklin. I really like him.”

There it was. Same old whining.

I shifted on the bed and pulled the blanket higher over my lap.

“I get how you feel, but Desmond is an Alpha. He has money and stability. You won’t struggle. Love alone doesn’t build anything.”

“I don’t want to feel trapped.”

“You’re not trapped. You’re choosing security, and you’re overthinking it. You’ll be fine. Just go through with the wedding.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“You should. Don’t throw away something stable over a crush on your brother’s beta.”

We ended the call and I dropped the phone on the table. The plastic case clicked against the wood surface.

It buzzed again. I picked it up.

3/4

+15 Bcnus

Dr. Beauty.

The dosage worked. The baby won’t survive.

I read it, deleted the message, and smiled. My lips curved up slowly and stayed there while I set the phone back down on the table.

Everything was falling into place.

P

Comments

Support