TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 168

One hundred and sixty eight

Evangeline POV

She was back.

I stood at the upper landing window and watched the vehicles pull through the gates. I watched Franklin step out. of the car with the guards who had traveled with Lisa.

She was not supposed to be here.

I turned away from the window before anyone came upstairs, went to sit on the bed, and made myself breathe at a normal pace. Then I called my mom. She picked up on the second ring.

“Why did you let her leave?”

There was a pause on her end.

“She was let through.”

“By who?”

“Your brother.”

I hissed out a curse.

Kade had done this. Not a loophole. Not a miscommunication. My brother had physically overridden a border security protocol and cleared the road himself. He had invoked his authority as an Alpha’s son and put his name on the breach.

“He overrode protocol and took responsibility for it,” she said.

“Mom, you should have stopped him! Kade is getting on my last nerve, and I don’t know why you can’t punish him or bring him under subsection.”

“Calm down, Eva,” she said. “Getting worked up won’t bring a solution.”

“I know that,” I snapped. “The girl’s presence will interfere with my progress. When Cameron finds out she has returned and goes to her, I will not be able to stop him.”

Another pause, shorter this time.

“This changes the pace, then,” she said. “So we adjust.”

│I

I pressed my fingers against my temple, forcing my voice down before it rose again.

“How is he?”

I exhaled slowly, forcing myself to stay calm.

“He’s slowing,” I said. “More than yesterday. He’s awake, but not fully present. He starts something, then drops

1. He repeats himself. He lets Franklin finish things he usually controls.”

“And the unction?”

“I increased it enough to reduce his active hours.”

“That’s good,” she replied.

1/5

hundred and sisty night

Her tone settled into something colder.

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“The unction is doing exactly what it should be doing. His clarity is narrowing. What Lisa does to him is real, but it requires direct proximity. Physical contact. They must not see each other.”

My grip tightened around the phone.

“Why can’t she just stay away? She’s like an insect I so badly want to squish.”

“You’re close to the end. Adapt. Push back, and let’s wrap this up. Be watchful of Franklin as well. He’s close enough to be dangerous. As long as you keep your movements clean, he can’t prove anything.”

“He’s not the only one. Nadia is starting to look.”

“So break that before it forms.”

I nodded, even though she couldn’t see it.

“I will.”

“And Evangeline,” she added.

“Yes.”

“This is your window. Don’t waste it.”

The line went dead.

I lowered the phone and stayed where I was, letting the anger settle into something focused.

Lisa wasn’t a mistake.

She was a disruption.

Disruptions could be managed. 1

I pushed away from the wall and moved through the house. A guard approached first.

“Alpha asked for the patrol update,” he said.

“He’s resting,” I replied. “Leave it with me. I’ll pass it on.”

He hesitated, then handed it over. Another stopped me near the stairs.

“There’s a request from the western unit,” he said.

“I’ll handle it,” I replied. “He doesn’t need interruptions.”

By the time I reached Cameron’s door, I had already redirected three requests and delayed two more.

I stepped in quietly.

He was awake.

“You should rest,” I said.

“I’ve been resting,” he replied. “I have work.”

“It will still be there,” I said. “You won’t, if you keep this up.”

2/5

Cine hundred and ity eight

He looked at me, weighing it. Then he lay back.

“Fine,” he mumbled. “A little longer.”

I stepped out again, closing the door behind me. By evening, the house had shifted.

Requests came to me first. Decisions passed through me before reaching him.

At the base of the stairs, I saw Franklin, watching and calculating.

I held his gaze, then moved past him.

Let him watch. He wouldn’t see what I didn’t show.

“Evangeline.”

His voice stopped me.

“Yes?”

“It’s six p.m.,” he said. “Cameron has a call scheduled. If he misses it, he’ll question it.”

“I’ll wake him,” I said.

He nodded. I turned and went back upstairs.

When I entered, Cameron was already shifting, as if he had been hovering near waking.

“You have a call,” I said.

He sat up slowly.

“Right.”

He stood, steadier than before.

“Thank you,” he added.

We walked out together. Franklin was already waiting. They left, and I remained there. Too much presence becomes visible; too little becomes absence.

That night, I went to the room I kept locked.

The air inside held the scent of the oils, heavier than the rest of the house. The vessel sat where I left it.

I lifted it and turned it slowly. The surface shifted under the motion.

This was the one that would end it.

I set it back down and watched it.

Ten days.

Then dominion.

I closed the container, left the room, and went to find Nadia.

She was in one of the side rooms and managed a smile when she lifted her gaze.

“You have been avoiding me,” I said.

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3/5

unded and may wight

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“That’s not true, Eva. I have been busy,” she replied.

“That’s not the truth,” I said. “If something is wrong between us, say it.”

I stepped closer.

“I miss how we used to talk, before everything became… this.”

“It’s the trial,” she said. “That’s all. It has nothing to do with you.”

“Nothing at all?”

She hesitated.

“It’s not about you,” she said again.

“Good,” I said. “Because I was starting to think you didn’t trust me.”

She looked at me, then exhaled.

“It’s complicated,” she said.

“It always is,” I replied. “That doesn’t mean we turn on each other.”

“I’m not turning on you. You went to Desmond, even took herbs from him. That doesn’t sit right.”

I held her gaze.

“Do you think I would harm Cameron and you?” I asked. “My mate and best friend?”

“That’s not what I’m saying.”

“Then what are you saying?”

“That something isn’t lining up,” she said.

I sat beside her and held her hand.

“All I want is to be well,” I said. “That’s it. Nothing more.”

Perhaps my mother was right. Nadia wasn’t the problem. She was so easy to fool; from her facial expression, I could tell there were so many thoughts hovering around her head.

“I don’t trust Franklin,” I said quietly.

That caught her attention.

She frowned. “Why?”

“He’s too… efficient. He always is.”

“That’s his job.”

“Is it? Or is it something else? Look, I’m not saying I’m right. I’m saying we don’t know everything.”

“You’re reaching,” she said with a chuckle.

“Maybe,” I replied.

She didn’t agree, but she didn’t dismiss it cleanly either.

4/5

One hundred and saty night

Ten days, and this would be over.

She picked up her file again.

“I need to finish this,” she said.

“Of course,” I replied. I turned to leave.

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