TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 187

One hundred and eighty seven

Evangeline POV

+15 Bahus

The summons came at dusk with no explanation or delay. That alone told me I was in trouble.

Tonight wasn’t a general assembly but a direct summon, which meant failure.

By the time my car passed through the final checkpoint road, my hands had gone cold against the steering wheel.

The building sat ordinary among the rest. I parked in the parking lot, stayed in my car to give myself as much breathing room as possible, and got out.

My stomach twisted harder. The front entrance stood open already. Two women crossed the corridor ahead of me. Neither acknowledged me.

I kept walking. The lower chamber entrance sat beneath the east wing behind a carved wooden door. One operative stood beside it waiting for me. She opened the door without speaking.

Cold air hit me immediately. The chamber below was already prepared.

Candles lined the walls. Grey fabric covered the stone floor beneath ritual markings I recognized immediately from Dominion preparation rites.

But there was more added now. A second structure stood near the center platform, metal restraints attached to polished black stone.

My steps slowed.

Cameron’s Dominion.

“Proceed,” a soft female voice echoed.

I forced myself forward. Seven women sat above the chamber floor behind elevated stone seating arranged in a crescent. Their faces remained partially hidden beneath shadow and candlelight. None of them looked surprised to see me afraid.

“Where is the vessel?”

My throat tightened.

“The extraction timeline shifted,” I managed carefully. “The surrogate was removed before final containment protocols could stabilize.”

“And Dominion?”

“I… I requested additional time.”

Another voice entered calmly from the left side.

“You were given a compatible Alpha, unrestricted access, support, medical infrastructure, legal control pathways, and four years of preparation.”

Every word landed harder than shouting would have.

“And still, the surrogate escaped carrying a viable asset.”

“We are close,” I said quickly. “Cameron’s dependency levels remain stable. Emotional resistance has reduced

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he fusted and reghty sevent

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significantly. The interruptions from the surrogate created temporary destabilization, but I can correct it.”

“Can you?”

The question came softly.

That frightened me more than anger.

I looked toward the center platform again before forcing my attention back upward.

“I can finish this.”

One of the women stood from her seat. The chamber became quieter. Even the operatives near the walls straightened.

I recognized her voice before she spoke again.

Thessaly.

“You misunderstand your position, Evangeline.”

She descended the steps toward the chamber floor with measured movements.

“You seem to believe this mission belongs to you.”

She stopped several feet away from me.

I lowered my head.

“You were selected because your compatibility score with the Alpha allowed amplification. You were cultivated because your profile favored attachment conditioning. You were funded, shielded, and operationally maintained.”

Her voice never changed volume.

“That does not make you irreplaceable.”

My chest tightened so hard it hurt.

“I understand.”

“No. You do not yet understand the consequences of your failure.”

She gestured toward the smaller ritual structure behind me.

“That architecture exists because the vessel became necessary to complete bloodline stabilization.”

I stared at the floor.

Failure had moved beyond embarrassment now.

Thessaly stopped directly in front of me.

“If powerless civilians escape Meridian containment through your negligence, you will not be granted death. You will survive your failure consciously.”

The words entered me coldly.

“You will remain aware of what you lost, why you lost it, and who replaced you. You will regret being born before the process concludes.”

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My even

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Nobody in the chamber reacted. This was normal to them.

Thessaly stepped back.

“You have six days until Dominion finalization.”

“I… I can do it,” I whispered. “I just need access restored around Cameron’s security structure, and I can stabilize. him again.”

“You should have stabilized him already.”

I lowered my head further.

“Do not mistake affection for usefulness,” Thessaly said. “The Alpha was never your reward.”

The dismissal came without announcement.

I turned and walked toward the exit carefully because if I moved too fast, they would see panic.

The upper hallway felt warmer after the chamber. I barely reached the exterior corridor before somebody grabbed my arm hard enough to stop me.

Selene.

Senior field operative.

My handler.

She released me roughly and kept walking beside me toward the underground parking level.

“You embarrassed yourself.”

“I’m fixing it.”

“You are living in that house enjoying privileges while the mission fails.”

The underground garage echoed around us.

I wiped my face angrily before the tears could spread further.

“I’m doing everything you told me to do.”

Selene stopped beside my car.

“No,” she replied coldly. “You became emotionally compromised by allowing attachment to interfere with completion timing.”

“That’s not true.”

“And yet he remains unfinished.”

I looked away.

“If I am forced to complete your work personally, you will not enjoy the outcome.”

The threat settled heavily between us. She was right. If a senior operative stepped in directly, it meant I had lost ownership of the mission and everything I spent years building.

Selene folded her arms.

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whanged and mighty bevan

+15 Brnus

“I will visit the house later. I want to assess the Alpha myself.”

My heart pounded harder.

“Yes,”

“You will prepare him properly before I arrive.”

“Yes.”

“And Evangeline,” she added quietly, “I hope you are not stupid enough to let Cameron slip through your hands when Dominion is this close.”

I nodded. She walked away without another word. I stayed beside the car until the garage doors closed behind her vehicle, then I got inside mine and locked the doors.

My hands shook badly while I reached for my phone. I called my mother. The line rang four times with no answer.

The fifth call went to voicemail. Swearing under my breath, I wiped my face, started the engine, and drove home to prepare for Selene’s arrival.

As always, I made myself sick before Cameron came upstairs. The pills dissolved under my tongue, and nausea came afterward in waves strong enough to force tears into my eyes. My hands shook while I leaned over the bathroom sink waiting for the dizziness to settle properly.

I hated this part, even though it worked.

By the time Cameron entered the bedroom, I was already curled beneath the blankets with the bathroom door left open deliberately.

He crossed the room.

“Eva…”

“I’m okay,” I whispered.

He touched my forehead and looked toward the bathroom.

“You threw up again.”

I looked away.

“It passed. I don’t want another hospital visit.”

“You need treatment.”

“I’m tired of treatment.”

That part, at least, was true.

Cameron sat beside me.

“In less than a week, we’ll be back in the North,” he said quietly. “The new surgical team reviewed your case already. They think the procedure has a strong chance of helping.”

I almost forgot about the North arrangement entirely.

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+15 8gnus

The Meridian handled all of it. The surgeons, specialists, records, and consultations. Every doctor who touched my case belonged to them anyway.

Cameron still believed he was saving me. That was the cruelest part sometimes.

“I feel guilty for ruining your life.”

His gaze hardened.

“Stop.”

“I mean it. You barely sleep anymore. You miss meetings because of me. Your entire schedule revolves around whether I can get out of bed without collapsing.”

“You’re my mate. I deserve you alive.”

The word settled heavily between us.

If only he knew.

Four years of rituals and chemical reinforcement hidden beneath devotion and caretaking. And still, part of me reacted every time he said it.

I looked down before he could notice the panic moving through me again.

Six days was all I had left.

Cameron brushed the blankets back.

“Come to the hospital with me.”

“No,” I replied too fast. “Please. I just want to rest.’

He studied me long enough to make my stomach tighten.

“You’ve been refusing examinations more often.”

“I’m tired of people poking needles into me.”

“You know they’re trying to help.”

If only he knew.

I forced myself to relax again.

“Please don’t leave the estate tonight.”

“Okay,” he said. “I’ll work from my study.”

“Thank you,” I said with a controlled smile.

He kissed my forehead before standing.

After he left, I waited until his footsteps disappeared completely down the hallway. Then I sat upright and shoved the blankets away from my legs.

I grabbed mint gum from the bedside drawer and pushed two pieces into my mouth aggressively.

The bathroom door opened quietly behind me. One of the maids stepped out carrying cleaning supplies.

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orbed and gnty solven

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Damn it.

I forgot she was there.

She lowered her gaze quickly when she realized I was sitting upright.

“My apologies, my lady.”

I pulled the blankets back around myself instantly.

“No,” I replied softly, forcing weakness back into my voice. “I just needed water.”

The maid nodded. I watched her while she gathered the last towels from the bathroom.

People noticed more than they were supposed to.

That was the problem with staff. They watched constantly while pretending not to exist.

“You can go,” I told her.

She left quietly. I stayed still until the door shut behind her. Then I got up and walked toward the mirror. The pills had left faint redness beneath my nose again. I fixed it.

By evening, the estate security informed me Selene had arrived.

Fear hit immediately.

Selene entered the foyer wearing black from neck to wrist. No jewelry or anything memorable except the feeling she left behind whenever she entered a room.

I led her toward the west wing sitting room near Cameron’s office corridor. The farther parts of the house stayed quieter there.

The door shut behind us. Selene looked around once before speaking.

“Are you ashamed of me?”

My stomach tightened.

“What?”

“You rushed me away from the main rooms.”

“I didn’t want unnecessary attention.”

“You mean scrutiny.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Selene removed her gloves.

“You lost control of the surrogate and the investigation around the pregnancy. You lost control of your own household staff. You are failing.”

Anger flashed through me despite the fear.

“I have Cameron completely attached to me.”

“And yet Dominion remains incomplete,” she said with a mocking laugh.

6/8

+15 Bonus

“He’s close. You act as if this is simple.”

“It is simple. I got my husband under Dominion in six months. Your mother got your father under Dominion in one year. Your weakness irritates me.”

I looked away before I said something reckless.

“A woman without authority becomes decoration in her own household. Your staff should fear disappointing you. Your in-laws should orbit your approval. Your mate should never emotionally drift far enough to destabilize.”

I stayed quiet.

“You allowed too many emotional variables to remain active. You let a mere surrogate survive long enough to become important.”

I clenched my hands harder.

“There was interference, and you know this. The poison should have done the job.”

“Excuses upon excuses. That’s all you know.”

Selene stopped beside the fireplace.

“The doctor investigating the scans became inconvenient.”

I looked up.

“What happened to him?”

“His access routes were revoked. Pregnancy files now reroute through Meridian-controlled physicians exclusively.”

I sighed in relief.

“So he won’t find anything.”

“He already found enough to become a problem. He’s curious,” Selene said. “Curious people become dangerous when nobody humiliates them early.”

I looked toward the hallway.

“We should head to the room. Cameron’s beta is stalking me. He installed additional surveillance around the estate.”

“As expected,” she said. “Because unlike you, Franklin pays attention.”

The insult landed cleanly.

“I already redirected two security staff members,” I replied flatly. “Any footage involving tonight will disappear before morning.”

“Good. Take me to the vessel’s room.”

I led her upstairs. The hallway remained quiet except for distant movement downstairs from evening staff rotation. Cameron was still in his study. I closed the door carefully behind us.

Inside the bedroom, Selene walked through the space. Her attention moved over the bed, windows, and adjoining bathroom.

7/8

+15 Bonus

Then she approached the headboard, removed a narrow black pouch from her coat, and slid something beneath the frame.

The air changed immediately. She opened another container and spread dark powder along the underside of the bed frame where nobody would see it unless they crawled beneath the mattress.

She straightened and brushed invisible residue from her fingers.

“If Cameron regains lucidity again before completion, then another force is disrupting reinforcement pathways.”

I stayed silent.

“Where is the girl?”

“Silver Creek. Kieran’s territory.”

She scoffed.

“That foolish man thinks he can defeat us a second time. His protection will not matter if the bloodline confirmation returns positive. If the child’s bloodline destabilizes Dominion, then the womb itself becomes an active threat.”

My stomach twisted unexpectedly.

If the baby mattered that much, then failure became even more unforgivable.

“The extraction timeline accelerates after confirmation,” Selene continued. “There will be no more delays.”

I nodded.

“And Evangeline,” she added, “complete Dominion before something else reaches him first.”

I nodded, even though something terrifying was fighting back hard enough to protect Cameron from the Meridian.

Something I couldn’t wait to crush.

P

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