TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 18

Eighteen

Lisa POV

The days crawled by.

I stayed indoors and avoided Alpha Cameron. Not that it required effort. He seemed to have forgotten I existed.

The mansion was large enough that I could spend entire days in my room without crossing paths with anyone. Breakfast appeared outside my door each morning. Lunch arrived at noon. Dinner at six.

The servants had started looking at me with curiosity, the kind people use when they’re trying to place someone who doesn’t belong.

One of them, a young woman about my age with wide brown eyes, tried to talk to me a few days ago.

“The morning sun is good for the skin,” she said. “The gardens are quiet in the evening. You could walk there if you like.”

“I’m fine. Thank you.”

She lingered near the doorway.

“Are you a relative of the Alpha or Lady Evangeline?”

I mumbled something and turned away before she could ask anything else.

What was I supposed to tell her? That I was living in the Alpha’s house, eating their food, waiting for the day he walked into my room and used my body for money?

Cameron probably wouldn’t appreciate the staff learning the details. But I knew how these things worked. Secrets in houses like this never stayed hidden forever.

Soon enough they would understand exactly what I was doing here,

A woman with a contract.

I spent most of my time reading or watching movies, anything that kept my mind busy. I’d always been comfortable indoors. This wasn’t so different from my life back home, except for the days I worked for Luna Catherine.

Except back home I hadn’t been waiting for someone to take my virginity in exchange for fifty thousand dollars.

Curiosity got the better of me.

I made the mistake of searching first time sex lycan mating.

The results were not reassuring.

Lycan knots can last thirty to forty–five minutes.

Size differences between Lycan males and werewolf females may cause tearing.

First–time bleeding is normal, but excessive bleeding should be reported to a physician.

I slammed my laptop shut.

Then the warnings started replaying in my head.

Luna Catherine’s voice.

“This isn’t a love match, Lisa. Your purpose is to provide a service.”

Cameron’s voice during the interview, cold and detached.

“There will be no softness. No romance. You’ll receive what is necessary for conception and nothing more.”

Evangeline’s calm instructions from that night in her bedroom.

“Lie on your back. Keep your legs apart. Don’t move unless he tells you to. Don’t touch him. Don’t kiss him. Just let him do what he needs to do.”

Everything about this felt wrong.

But I had signed the contract.

The money would help my mother. James’s school fees would be covered. We could buy a house. We could breathe again.

Backing out now wasn’t an option.

My period ended.

I checked the ovulation tracker Nadia had installed on my phone.

Peak fertility window in three days.

After a while I started wondering if Cameron had changed his mind. Maybe Evangeline had convinced him this arrangement was too cruel. Maybe they had found another surrogate.

Think about why you’re doing this.

My gaze drifted to the portrait of Evangeline hanging on the wall. I considered turning it around.

Then I stopped.

What would that change?

Nothing.

In a strange way, I was doing this for her too. Giving her the child she wanted before she died.

The thought sat wrong in my chest.

I pushed it aside and finished getting ready.

At eight forty–five I put on the lingerie set that left me feeling more exposed than if I had

been naked. I added the silk robe and tied it tight around my waist.

At eight fifty–five I sat on the edge of the bed and watched the door.

Mightman:

My palms were slick with sweat. My chest rose and fell too fast to control.

Then, exactly at nine o’clock, someone knocked.

The sound sent a jolt through me.

I stayed where I was for a moment, forcing my breathing to slow.

Then I stood and walked to the door.

My hand trembled as I reached for the handle.

I opened it.