TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 211

Two hundred and eleven

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There was nothing in my head except a heavy, unexplainable confusion. So many questions and unanswered mysteries crowded my mind, especially surrounding this strange woman who had come to the house. My thoughts were too tangled for me to focus on anything except what they kept telling me; that if I wanted to protect myself, I needed to join another sect. It was all too much to process.

I stood in the hallway, facing the huge floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the landscaped garden, where a hummingbird hovered outside. The tiny bird stayed suspended in front of a red hibiscus, its wings blurring gray while its beak jabbed into the center of the flower. My mind swirled with doubts and questions. Why would Alpha Kieran even want me to join something like that? And why did the solution have to revolve around me instead of Cameron himself?

I tried to understand it. The baby was involved, and there was also the possibility that Cameron might be my mate, which was insane to even consider. But no matter how hard I tried to piece everything together, nothing made

sense.

I stayed in that wing of the house, wanting to be alone with my thoughts and avoiding everyone else. My fingers rested against the cold windowpane, leaving faint prints on the glass. I knew it wasn’t good to overthink or stress myself out, especially while pregnant, but it wasn’t something I could control.

That didn’t last long because my mom came to find me. Her slippers clicked against the marble floor until she stopped beside me. I could see the sadness and uncertainty in her eyes too.

“This is madness,” I said.

When she placed a hand on my back, her palm felt heavy through my linen dress. She let out a breath that stirred the hairs near her collar.

“I know.”

“I don’t want to be part of it,” I replied, turning away from the garden.

“You already are, honey. The fact that you’re no longer willing to give up the baby means you’re stepping into battles I don’t think you’re prepared for, especially considering how much you’ve avoided all of this.”

I looked at her from the corner of my eye, leaning against the mahogany window frame.

“That’s completely different, Mom. Wanting to save the baby because I don’t think it’s fair for my body to go through something this life-altering for nothing, only for the child to be killed, is different from joining some secret cult to save my life.”

She sighed, her fingers sliding off my spine to grip her sweater.

“The Daughters of the Moon,” I mocked bitterly, my voice dropping as I copied Cassidy’s tone. “It sounds insane just thinking about it. Join one secret society to fight another.”

“It’s another form of protection,” my mom said softly. She reached out to smooth a loose thread on my sleeve,” Right now, you’re the most vulnerable person in all of this.”

“What if joining them is worse?” I asked, turning fully to face her. “What if I go in and can never leave?”

My mother hesitated before answering.

“I don’t think Kieran would knowingly hand you over to people who would destroy you,” she said carefully. “But I also don’t think he fully understands what they’re asking of you emotionally.”

1/3

That landed harder than reassurance would have.

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She didn’t have an answer beyond that either. Her gaze drifted to the floorboards between our feet.

Alpha Kieran’s footsteps approached from the grand staircase, his heavy leather boots echoing against the stone before he turned into the corridor. His expression was tense, and I watched him exchange a glance with my mom, his jaw tightening as he stopped beneath the light.

“There was a fire in Harry’s lab,” he said, pulling his hands from his pockets and resting them on his hips. Apparently, it was an electrical fault. He’s devastated. He lost a lot of equipment.”

The way he said electrical fault made it obvious he didn’t believe it.

“Oh my God,” I whispered, rushing downstairs to find Harry. My sandals slapped against the steps as my hand slid along the polished wooden banister until I reached the main foyer.

Harry sat on the bench near the coat rack, a black phone pressed to his ear. Ash stained the cuffs of his gray trousers, and he smelled of burnt rubber. I waited until he finished the call. He muttered a short agreement, ended it, and placed the phone face down on the small table beside him.

“I’m so sorry,” I said as I approached him.

He raised a hand, his knuckles dark with grease marks.

“Don’t blame yourself.”

“No, it happened because of me.”

His mouth tightened.

“It happened because somebody wanted to send a message,” he corrected quietly.

I could see the grief in his eyes, his pupils small beneath the entry lamp. Years of work, gone because of me.

He dropped heavily into the armchair in the corner of the reception room, resting his elbows on his knees while staring at his stained fingernails.

“My records are gone,” he muttered. “Years of work and equipment. Patient files. Research samples. At this rate, I might not even be allowed to keep my license.”

Kieran walked into the room behind us, his large frame blocking the light from the hallway.

“That’s enough,” Alpha Kieran said firmly. “You’re allowed to be angry, Harry, but you cannot collapse now. We have to fight this together.”

My mom arrived at the bottom of the stairs, her fingers twisting the edge of her cardigan.

“Don’t be hard on him,” she said. “He just lost his clinic.”

“I’ll finance another practice,” Alpha Kieran replied, looking directly at Harry’s slouched shoulders. “Whatever you need. Equipment, location, staff, legal support. But until things cool down, you stay here.”

Harry scoffed, the dry sound ending in a cough. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, leaving behind a dark smudge.

“You say that like they won’t burn the next one too.”

Nobody answered.

Even Harry was beginning to crack under all of this.

2/3

Nonded and sloven

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James stepped out from the dining room, holding a half-empty glass of water.

“This is crazy,” he said, his eyes moving between the Alpha and the doctor. “If they can destroy a lab this easily,

then what exactly stops them from coming after Lisa next?”

My heart sank, my fingers curling into a fist against my dress.

They were doing everything possible to destroy anything connected to Cameron.

Alpha Kieran looked toward Harry again.

“By the end of this, you will not suffer financially for helping us,” he said. “I’ll make sure of that”

Harry laughed bitterly and looked up at him.

“You still think this is about money?”

“No,” Kieran replied. “I think they’re trying to frighten everyone around Lisa badly enough that they walk away from her.”

Silence settled heavily through the foyer.

Kieran’s eyes shifted toward me afterward, steady and unreadable.

“And that is exactly why we cannot afford to lose.”

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