TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 227

Two hundred and twenty seven

Evangeline POV

A cold silence settled in as soon as I stepped into the circle.

The flames surrounding the chamber climbed the stone walls in twisting ribbons. Three figures sat above me. I avoided eye contact, blowing out à rapid series of controlled breaths to regain my composure.

The Veiled Meridian was many things, but it was rarely quiet. Meetings usually carried conversation, updates, and instructions. Tonight, nobody seemed interested in any of those things.

The sect tolerated failure occasionally. Repeated failure was another matter entirely. And for me, this was beyond a meeting. It was an execution.

My execution.

One of the figures looked me over, then smiled. The others chuckled. They had all read the reports and knew why was standing there. Then laughter passed through the room anyway, carrying the same message more effectively than any accusation ever could.

“Do you know what I admire about you, Evangeline?”

I swallowed, my gaze remaining fixed on the floor.

“Your confidence.”

More laughter.

“We gave you an Alpha already isolated from his support system. We provided extensive information and protection, including resources most of our members would kill for.”

More chuckles filled the air.

“He should have reached Dominion months ago,” she continued, looking directly at me. “He should have stopped resisting. Why hasn’t he?”

My mouth felt dry.

“I don’t know.”

The laughter returned.

“I don’t know,” she repeated. “As strategies go, that’s certainly a creative one.”

My nails dug into my palms.

“He… he was progressing.”

The words sounded weak even to me. The woman raised an eyebrow. Heat flooded my face as her smile vanished.

“You have become emotionally compromised. Devotion was never part of the assignment.”

“Where is her mother?” another asked.

My mother stepped forward when all eyes landed on her. For a brief instant, relief swept through me. If they were speaking to her, perhaps they were finished speaking to me.

The illusion didn’t last.

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+15 Bchus

A man seated near the front opened a file.

“Your daughter has received resources unavailable to most members.”

They went on, reciting every opportunity and exception I had been given.

My mother lowered her gaze.

“I taught her discipline. She… we’ve done everything. The surrogate’s reputation has been destroyed. We turned. public opinion against her.”

A page turned somewhere in the chamber.

“We attempted to remove the child and performed every ritual.”

The lack of reaction frightened me.

One of the leaders folded his hands. His gaze settled on me.

“So why is Cameron of Wild Fangs still resisting?”

My lips stayed sealed. A full Dominion should have happened already. The calculations no longer made sense. The rituals had been performed and the pathways opened. Yet somehow Cameron continued clawing his way back to

himself.

My eyes drifted across the chamber. The Debt Collectors stood along the rear wall, masked and watching.

My heart pounded.

Nobody spoke about them openly. We didn’t need to. The traces they left behind spoke for them. People simply stopped existing within the world they once occupied. The Debt Collectors arrived when the Meridian decided an investment could no longer be recovered.

One of them watched me. The simple movement sent a chill through my body.

Tears burned my eyes as I lowered myself to the ground and pleaded for mercy. The sound echoed through the chamber.

“Give me more time. Please.”

One of the leaders rose from her seat. She crossed the distance between us. Her hand struck my face, and the force knocked me onto the floor.

Pain exploded through my jaw as the woman crouched beside me. Her hand brushed a strand of hair away from my face. Blood filled my mouth.

“You misunderstand the situation,” she said, her voice carrying no emotion. “You are asking for time as though time belongs to you.”

I stared up at her, and she smiled gently.

“In all my years, I have never seen someone receive this much support and accomplish so little.”

Laughter moved through the chamber as she stood and adjusted the sleeve of her robe.

“When Cameron reaches Dominion without your active participation, your usefulness ends. If he does not reach Dominion, your life ends.”

The meaning settled over me as she returned to her seat.

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“Finish what was entrusted to you.’

Her gaze shifted toward the Debt Collectors. The masked figures remained motionless.

“You do not want them inheriting your responsibilities.”

The chamber erupted into knowing laughter while silent tears streamed down my face.

+15 80s

My mother pulled me into a corner of the chamber after the meeting dissolved. Her arms wrapped around me.

“It’ll be fine,” she said, her hand moving across my back. “We’ll find a way.”

A bitter laugh tore out of me. I shoved her hand away.

“That’s all you ever say.”

My voice cracked through the chamber. Several heads turned, but I didn’t care.

The words spilled out faster.

“We’ll find a way. We’ll fix it. We’ll survive it. Look where all those ways have brought me.”

My mother stared at me. I pointed toward the chamber we had just left.

“They want me dead. And that slut gets to walk away. She destroys everything she touches and walks away.”

My hands trembled.

“I can’t sleep, think, or breathe without wondering who’s watching me. So tell me, dear mother, when they come for me, what happens?”

The question hung between us.

“Will you stand in front of them?”

Silence.

“Will you die for me?”

She turned away as I laughed.

“That’s what I thought.”

“Evangeline.”

I wiped my face.

“You won’t.”

She remained silent.

“What’s the point of joining, then? I’m nothing but a tool. It makes me wonder what it would have been like to belong somewhere else. Some ordinary family. A life where every friendship wasn’t measured by usefulness. A life where I didn’t wake up every morning owing something to somebody.”

My mother started laughing. The sound caught me off guard. She pressed a hand over her mouth, but the laughter kept coming.

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+15 89

She shook her head, then laughed again. The sight unsettled me.

“What’s funny?”

She wiped beneath her eyes.

“You, my dear.”

I glared at her. The laughter faded.

“You thought love would protect you. You thought Cameron would make sacrifices for you.”

Another laugh escaped her. Her next words carried no warmth.

“I told you countless times during the first year to begin preparations for his Dominion, but you were so carried away by mere lust.”

My mother stepped closer. Her gaze locked onto mine.

“Do you know what I’ve suffered for our family? What I’ve given? Blood? Sweat? Tears?”

She didn’t wait for an answer.

“I obeyed. I carried burdens that weren’t mine.”

Her eyes hardened.

“And unlike you, I finished my assignments.”

My chest tightened.

“You call me cruel and heartless for ending lives. But at least I understand where I belong.”

A small smile replaced the coldness on her face.

“You’re right about one thing, dearest. When the time comes, you’re on your own.”

She reached out and touched my cheek. Her hand dropped.

“I’m here because you’re my daughter. But if the Meridian asks me to choose…”

She let the sentence hang, turned, and walked away. She never looked back.

The last thread holding me together snapped. A scream ripped from my throat. The sound echoed through the empty corridors.

Nobody cared.

Eventually, my voice gave out.

I slid down the wall and sat on the floor as tears blurred my vision.

My hands trembled as I buried my face in them.

One after another, every certainty had vanished.

Even my mother had already begun preparing for a world without me.

4/5

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