TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 22

Twenty–Two

LISA POV

I lay awake staring at the ceiling, replaying last night in my head on an endless loop. The pain. The shame. The transaction notification lighting up my phone at 2:47 a.m.

When Sasha’s name flashed across the screen, I almost let it ring out. She would keep calling until I answered, though, so I accepted and pressed the phone to my ear.

“Hey.”

“Lisa.” Her voice carried tight worry. “You didn’t answer last night. I’ve been losing my mind.”

“I’m fine.”

“Bullshit. What happened? Did he…?”

I didn’t answer.

Silence stretched between us.

“Oh god,” Sasha said. “He did.”

“Can we not do this right now?” The sharpness in my voice surprised even me. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Too bad,” Sasha shot back. “Because we’re talking about it. First of all, I still don’t understand why any woman would willingly subject herself to that. The vagina was not designed for that. It was designed for softness, pleasure, another woman’s touch, not some man’s-

“Sasha.”

“I’m just saying!” She huffed loudly. “The whole concept is barbaric. Penetration, pain, all of it. You should’ve just-”

She stopped herself.

Then her voice softened,

“Are you okay?”

My throat tightened. “I don’t know.”

“Did he hurt you?” she asked. “Because if he didn’t take proper consent, I don’t care what that contract says. My mom’s a lawyer. We’ll find a loophole. We’ll make him suffer. He can’t just

“He didn’t force me,” I cut in before she built a war plan. “He asked if I wanted to back out. I said no.”

“Why are you defending him?” Sasha snapped. “He doesn’t see you as a person, Lisa. You’re a commodity to him. A means to an end.”

“The commodity got fifty thousand tokens last night,” I said quietly.

Silence fell again.

“That’s what this is,” I continued. “A transaction. He got what he paid for. I got paid. It’s done.

“Lisa-”

“What do you want me to say?” My voice cracked despite my effort to keep it steady. “That I hate it? I do. That it hurt? It did. That I cried in the shower after he left? Yeah. I did that too. But I signed the contract. I made the choice. Now see it through.”

“You don’t have to do anything,” Sasha said fiercely. “You could leave right now. Come home. We’d figure something out.”

“And then what?” I asked. “My mom becomes homeless. James gets pulled out of school. We start over from nothing. Except this time I’ve already done the thing I was trying to avoid and have nothing to show for it.”

Sasha exhaled sharply.

“This isn’t fair.”

“No,” I said. “It’s not.”

The line went quiet.

Then Sasha asked, softer now, “Will the next time hurt less?”

I closed my eyes.

“I don’t know, Maybe. If he even wants to do it again.”

“Of course he will. He needs an heir.”

“Yeah.”

A pause followed, then Sasha spoke again with sudden determination.

“I’m coming to visit.”

“You don’t have to-”

“I do,” she cut in. “That pack is three hours away and I don’t care. I’m not leaving you alone in this.”

Tears gathered behind my eyes.

“Okay.”

“I’ll come next weekend,” she said. “We’ll figure out a time.”

“Okay.”

“And Lisa?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you. And I’m sorry this is happening to you.”

I swallowed hard.

“I love you too.”

We hung up.

I set the phone down and stared at the wall.

Then it rang again almost immediately.

I sighed and answered.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Lisa” Her voice sounded thin and shaky. “I just saw the deposit. Fifty thousand tokens. That’s too much. I can’t accept this.”

Her voice cracked.

“This is blood money. I can’t.”

My patience snapped.

“Then what do you want me to do?” I demanded. “He already slept with me, Mom. It’s done. The money is yours. Take it or don’t, but either way I already spread my legs for him.”

She started crying.

Great.

“I’m sorry,” she sobbed. “I never wanted this for you.”

“Stop.” I pressed my palm against my forehead. Just stop. I made the choice. It’s not your fault.”

“But it is. If I’d been stronger, if I’d fought harder in the divorce-”

“Mom, please. I already feel like shit. Don’t pile guilt on top of it,”

She quieted except for soft sniffling.

“James has been staying at Parker’s,” she said finally. “Three nights now. He won’t come home.”

A knot formed in my chest.

“That’s normal. He sleeps there all the time.”

“Not like this. He’s angry. Breaking things. Acting reckless. And the news spread at his school.”

Cold dread settled over me.

“What news?”

“About you. About the contract. Someone found out and started spreading it around that his sister sold herself to a Lycan for money.”

My stomach twisted.

“I mean it. I’m doing this so we can survive. If he wants to throw a tantrum about it, fine. But he doesn’t get to make you feel worse.”

“I will,” I said more gently, “I’ll call him later and try to explain.”

“Thank you.”

I sat on the edge of the bed staring at my phone.

“Enjoying the show?”

“That’s a new one.”

“You don’t have to pretend with me. If you want to ask something, ask.

“How was it last night… after the hospital?”

“She’s stable.”

“Was it because Cameron touched me?”

Franklin shook his head.

“Evangeline’s episodes are unpredictable. They can happen anytime. It wasn’t about you.”

A knot loosened in my chest.

“Okay.”

“They also performed a ritual to mute the bond.”

I looked up.

“Is that possible?”

“It’s called the Still Howl,” he said. “It suspends sensory feedback through the mate bond during conception.”

He watched my reaction before continuing.

“You deserved to know. You’re part of this situation whether anyone likes it or not.”

“Oh.”

“It works best when the act is purely reproductive.”

I absorbed that quietly.

So Evangeline’s collapse hadn’t been because Cameron touched me.

Just terrible timing.

“Thank you for telling me.”

“Anytime.”

I left the training grounds feeling slightly lighter

That feeling vanished when I reached the main house.

Voices carried down the hallway.

Servants.

I slowed.

“I give her a month before she breaks,”

“A month?” another voice laughed. “Two weeks.

More laughter followed.

“Can you imagine,” someone said, “Alpha Cameron choosing a werewolf over a Lycan.”

“Did you see the sheets this morning?” a younger voice added. “Margot handles the guest wing linens. She almost fainted when she saw them. Blood everywhere.”

Heat crept up my neck.

“Poor thing,” the first woman said, dripping false sympathy. “She has no idea what she signed up for.”

I stood in the hallway listening.

For a moment I considered stepping out and telling them to shut up.

But it wouldn’t change anything.

I turned and walked back to my room.

When I sat on the edge of the bed, I focused on breathing and tried very hard not to cry again.