TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 130

One hundred and thirty

Franklin POV

The ceiling fan in the doctor’s office hummed at a frequency that vibrated inside my skull. Dr. Aris rubbed the bridge of his nose, his skin sallow under the harsh light. He slid Lisa’s results toward me. The paper felt heavy the ink crisp and undeniable..

“Will this affect the baby?” I asked.

“We hope not,” he said. “Whatever she ingested was designed to disrupt the pregnancy.’

The air in the room felt thin. Every breath I took tasted like ozone and antiseptic. I had failed. As Beta, my primary function was the safety of the pack, yet I had allowed a predator into the inner circle.

“So what happens if she doesn’t improve?” I pressed.

“If her vitals become unmanageable without aggressive intervention, we may have to choose between stabilizing her and continuing the pregnancy.”

The word left me before I could stop it. I dragged a palm down my face, feeling the stubble prickle my skin.

“Do everything possible, please” I said, knowing Cameron cannot handle the loss.

“Until her vitals require it, we keep her under strict monitoring,” Aris replied.

I stood up and didn’t say goodbye. I walked out, my chest hot with a pressure that made it hard to move naturally.

In the hallway, Susan paced a narrow strip of carpet. Her eyes were swollen. When she saw me, she lurched forward, her hands reaching out as if to grab my forearms before she caught herself.

“What did he say?” she asked.

“She’ll be fine,” I said.

The lie felt slick in my mouth. Susan leaned back against the wall, her shoulders dropping an inch. She was already drowning in the guilt of being the one who handed Lisa those pills. I couldn’t add the weight of a potential choice between mother and child to her shoulders.

I pushed open the door to Lisa’s room. The sound of the pulse oximeter dominated the space. Lisa lay in the center of the bed. Plastic tubing snaked from a bag of saline into the crook of her elbow. She looked fragile, a sharp contrast to the vibrant girl who had been laughing in the kitchen days ago.

“I’ll be right back,” I said to Susan. I paused at the foot of the bed. “I suspect Lisa’s medication. I can’t confirm yet as they can’t identify the compound,” I said. I stepped closer, lowering my volume so it wouldn’t carry past the door.

Susan stepped toward the bed, her forehead creasing. “That doesn’t make sense.”

“It doesn’t,” I agreed. “All we know is it’s foreign and sophisticated. It was built to sabotage a pregnancy without leaving a trail. It didn’t come from her body’s natural chemistry.”

I checked my watch. “I have to get the nurse arrested.”

“Okay,” Susan whispered.

“Don’t tell her anything more,” I warned. “We don’t need the stress levels rising.”

1/3

Hundred and thirty

+15 Bonus

I walked out of the hospital into the biting afternoon air. It didn’t cool the heat in my blood. I got into the SUV and gripped the steering wheel. My knuckles turned white, the leather creaking under the pressure.

My phone vibrated in the center console. Cameron was calling. I watched the screen glow, then fade. I couldn’t talk to him. Not while he sat in a waiting room praying for Evangeline’s surgery to go well. Not while I suspected his mate was the one who had put Lisa in that bed.

The police station smelled of stale coffee and damp coats. I went straight to the observation room. The nurse sat in the interrogation suite. She wasn’t wearing a uniform anymore, just a plain grey sweater. She sat with her hands folded on the metal table. She didn’t tap her feet. She didn’t look at the camera..

I walked in and pulled out the chair opposite her.

“What did you put in Lisa’s medication?” I asked. “Walk me through it. Every step.”

She looked at me. Her eyes were clear.

“I didn’t do anything, sir,” she said. “I administered the prescribed vitamins. I followed the hospital protocol. Everything is logged.”

“So you’re blaming the hospital?”

“I’m not blaming anyone,” she replied, “I have no reason to poison her. I’m well paid. My record is clean.”

“You were seen leaving her room multiple times outside of your rounds.”

“I was checking on her,” she said. Her voice remained level. “I didn’t even know she’d been admitted until the shift started. Beta Franklin, I did nothing wrong.”

I leaned forward until I could see the reflection of the overhead lights in her pupils. I waited for the blink. I waited for the slight tremor in her hands. She remained still.

“I don’t believe you,” I said. “You had the access. If something was introduced, it came through you.”

Tears welled in her eyes, but they didn’t fall. She didn’t look away.

“I understand how it looks,” she whispered. “But I didn’t do it.”

“Don’t play games,” I said. I let my voice drop to a low growl. “I have no patience for liars. Come clean now, or the consequences will be severe.”

“I have a sick mother,” she said. “Why would I risk my license? Why would I risk my life?”

“Money makes people do strange things,” I said.

I stood up. The chair scraped harshly against the floor. I couldn’t stay in the room with her anymore. The lack of a crack in her story was either proof of innocence or the mark of a professional.

“You have three days,” I said, looming over her. “If you’re still holding this story then, I’ll escalate this myself. You won’t like the methods.”

I turned and walked out, the heavy door clicking shut behind me.

Outside, the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon. My phone lit up again. Cameron.

I stared at the name. The weight of the secret felt like lead in my gut. I couldn’t tell him yet. He was already losing his mind over Evangeline.

2/3

whunted and thirty

C

+15 8cnus

I got back into the car and sat in the silence of the cabin.

I was his second. I was his brother. And I would keep this burden until I had the proof to tear his world apart for his own good. I would find the link. I would find the trail. And when I did, the poison in our home would be purged.

D

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