TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 188

One hundred and eighty eight

Lisa POV

The day dragged on with everyone seeming to be hiding the truth from me. Harry was neck deep looking for markers and connecting alpha Kieran’s dominion stage to Cameron’s. Alpha Kieran had barely been around, and no one offered information unless I asked directly, and even then, the answers came stripped down into small pieces.

“He’s handling pack matters,” mom told me earlier while helping carry a tray of steaming tea mugs across the kitchen counter.

Pack matters did not usually send people home with stubble spreading across their jaw from skipped sleep.

Harry was now with Cameron’s scans. And inside me, I felt that something was coming, even though I could not piece it together.

Night settled across the estate while rain tapped against the windows upstairs. Sleep refused to come, so I left my room, wrapped my cardigan around me and walked downstairs.

Alpha Kieran’s voice stopped me before I reached the foyer. He was on the phone with Franklin’s easily recognizable voice through the speaker.

I lingered near the hallway entrance without planning to listen, though the strain in Franklin’s voice held me in place.

“Did he mention the heaviness and dizziness again?” Kieran asked, standing near the fireplace. Orange light from the fire cut across the sharp lines of his face.

“Describe it exactly.”

“He said the air felt thick. Like he was walking underwater.”

Dread settled in my stomach. Kieran asked if it happened mostly before sunrise and he got disoriented afterward. Franklin seemed to confirm all.

Kieran dragged a hand across his forehead.

“That progression is accelerating.”

“He forgot the word for keys earlier.”

“What?”

“He asked one of the staff where his… metallic access thing was, Yesterday he forgot the word for his phone. He stared at it before calling it ‘the communication thing.’ One of the councilmen had to repeat a question three times.”

My stomach tightened around the words. That was beyond stress.

“He gets angry whenever I point it out and then calls me paranoid. He heard the voice again during the council meeting calling his name in a deep, harsh tone.”

“Did he answer it?” Kieran said as he panicked.

“No. But he’s not fine.”

“Put him on the phone.”

1/3

One hundred and sighty eight

+15 Beaus

“That may not be a good idea.”

“Don’t argue with me. Boy.”

Static crackled through the speaker before Cameron’s voice came through the line. I pressed my hand against the wall beside the hallway arch and stayed still.

“Waht did Franklin tell you now? That I’m losing my mind?.”

His voice sounded normal, even amused.

“Cameron, how long has the auditory interference been happening?”

Cameron gave a laugh through the speaker.

“I was probably exhausted.”

“You’re hearing voices and calling it exhaustion? You are experiencing cognitive disruption symptoms.” “You’re overreacting. And dramatic”

Kieran lowered his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

1

“Cameron, they’re taking you! Open your eyes and come to me. That voice will keep calling your name until you answer. I’ve seen it before.”

Cameron scoffed, “You’re starting to sound insane too.”

“Listen to me carefully,” Kieran said. “If you hear it again, do not respond. I’m coming to get you.”

Kieran looked toward the hallway and saw me standing there. He straightened and the call ended a few seconds later. Neither of us spoke after the line disconnected. I walked toward him and sat on the opposite couch. He stayed quiet long enough to make my heart pound.

“They’re attacking him mentally.”

I wrapped my arms around myself as I struggled to understand. Even he looked drained. Dark circles sat beneath his eyes. The sleeves of his black shirt were rolled unevenly toward his elbows.

“That’s evil.”

He nodded.

“Evangeline’s father achieved Dominion years ago.” 1

The word ‘Dominion’ came up again. Everybody in this house spoke about it yet nobody explained it plainly.

“What does that actually mean?”

Kieran looked through the rain sliding down the foyer windows before answering.

“It means somebody else occupies your decision-making eventually.”

I remained silent and tried to sort through the memories pushing around inside my head.

“When I worked for Luna Catherine, her husband barely spoke.”

Kieran looked at me. The memories kept coming after that.

2/3

Dee hundred and eighty night

+15 Bonus

“He always asked permission for everything. Leaving events early. Approving schedules.” I looked back at him. “I thought he simply loved his wife. Now, looking back at it, it’s clear Luna Catherine runs his life. Sometimes he looked…” I stopped and searched for the right word. “Far away. She answered questions for him constantly.”

Kieran nodded.

“That’s wicked.”

“Yes.”

“And Cameron…” My voice dropped. “That’s happening to Cameron?”

He sighed and didn’t respond.

“Can’t somebody report this?”

“To who?”

“The authorities.”

“The Meridian owns pieces of the authorities.”

Anger hit me hard enough to heat my face.

“So everybody lets this happen?”

“No,” Kieran replied. “People fight it constantly. Most lose. I was only lucky to escape.”

I stared at my bare feet, then looked back at him.

“Then bring Cameron here.”

“It’s not that simple, my dear.”

“Why?”

“Because forced extraction before stabilization can worsen things.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“It means if we move too early and fail, we may destroy what resistance he still has left.”

Fear settled deep in my chest hearing that. The rain outside grew heavier and the wind rattled branches against the glass.

Cameron was trapped inside whatever was happening to him, and nobody in this house knew how to pull him out

yet.

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