TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 241

Two hundred and forty one

Lisa POV

Joanna had asked for my expected delivery date. She explained that over the next few months, I would spend designated nights at the chapter house. The closer I got to giving birth, the more often they would ask me to stay because they were watching for opportunities.

Over the next few days, the chapter house slowly revealed itself to me.

It wasn’t only a shelter. It was evidence. Preparation.

The Daughters didn’t treat every case the same because the Meridian didn’t destroy every life the same way. They studied the damage, adapted to it, and built their response around it.

The house ran on routines that felt ordinary until I looked closer.

A board near the entrance listed rules instead of welcomes.

Never reveal another sister’s location.

No visitors after curfew.

No private contact with a partner still under Meridian influence while staying in the house.

Older women who didn’t bother greeting newcomers claimed the front porch every evening. They watched me come and go with distrust in their eyes.

Children who carried pieces of the Meridian they didn’t understand ran through the courtyard. One little boy asked his mother when his daddy was coming home A girl declared that she hated hers. Nobody corrected either of them.

Even the hallway carried its own life.

The kitchen never truly rested. Someone baked whenever she was angry. Someone else chopped vegetables just to keep her hands busy. Arguments broke out over food and dirty pots, but I soon realized they weren’t really about either. They were about grief looking for somewhere safe to land.

At night, the wooden partitions did little to hide the lives around me.

One woman slept with soft music playing. Another begged for silence, Someone cried out after another nightmare.

Farther down the corridor, a newborn let out a wail. Women hurried through the hall toward the sound.

I rested a hand against my stomach.

Would my child be born inside these walls too?

Not everything here was heavy.

Earlier that day, a former resident had stopped by with her new mate. Women who recognized her rushed over laughing and pulled her into hugs.

Victoria watched me take it all in. We stood near the edge of the upstairs veranda.

A few feet away, two women leaned against the railing, sharing cigarettes.

“It’s a relief she’s finally free,” one of them said. “She kept going back to her ex-husband. He’d throw her out before breakfast with another black eye.”

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The other woman laughed.

“And she’d come running right back here.”

Their conversation drifted into laughter and plans for businesses they hoped to build from whatever remained of their old lives.

“They don’t sound very sympathetic,” I said.

Victoria followed my gaze and smiled.

“Life hardens people. Meridian made sure of that.”

She headed toward the stairwell, and I fell into step beside her.

Near the hallway stood a large mirror covered with colorful notes.

I am safe.

I forgive myself.

I survived today.

Every woman added something before walking away.

One woman stared at an old photograph of her husband. Another crumpled a letter begging her to come home after he’d already brought another woman into their marriage. She laughed, crushed the letter tighter, and walked

away.

“I thought everyone here would be… softer,” I admitted. “I thought the Daughters could defeat the Meridian.”

Victoria tucked a strand of strawberry blond hair behind her ear and faced me.

“You don’t survive this by staying soft.”

Questions crowded my mind, but I couldn’t untangle them.

She opened another door.

Rows of shelves filled the room from wall to wall.

“Records room,” she said.

She walked to one shelf, ran her fingers along a binder, and pulled it free.

Names were written neatly across the spines.

“Everyone has one?”

“Everyone who stays long enough.”

She placed the binder on the table and opened it.

The first page held a photograph clipped to official documents.

I looked at the name.

“Yours?”

She nodded.

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“It looks like a court case.”

She turned several pages. Medical reports. Witness statements.

“What happened?” I asked.

She closed the binder.

“My husband reached Dominion.”

I waited.

“He married someone else. A month later, I lost my baby.”

My throat tightened. The pattern was becoming impossible to ignore.

“I’m sorry.”

She slid the binder back onto the shelf.

“Everyone in this room has a story like that. Some have stories they’ll carry for the rest of their lives.”

Silence settled between us.

“You don’t have a file yet,” she said. “We’re trying to keep it that way.”

Her words stayed with me as we left the room.

She wasn’t speaking as someone who had escaped the war.

She was living with what it had already taken

A brass bell rang through the house.

Conversation stopped.

The bell rang again.

Women moved without rushing, as if they already knew where they belonged.

By the third ring, my chest felt tight.

I drew a careful breath.

Would I ever leave this place with my child?

That evening, Joanna sent for me since Kieran’s driver would be picking me up the next morning.

I knocked three times before stepping into her office.

Joanna looked over the papers on her desk.

Cassidy sat beside her.

“Cassidy tells me a Meridian woman approached Cameron.”

I nodded.

“Did you tell Cameron about us?”

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“No. I’ve been avoiding his calls. He’s starting to notice.”

Joanna nodded.

“Keep doing that. Cameron is being watched. Every word he speaks becomes someone else’s information.”

“The woman who approached him…” I swallowed. “She told him breaking the bond could kill him.”

“She’s probably telling the truth.”

“I thought the bond was false. How can breaking it be dangerous?”

“Because false bonds can be engineered to become stronger than natural ones. The Meridian knows how to override nature. Cameron may not reach full Dominion because of his Alpha blood. It could be your pregnancy. could be something else.”

She held my gaze.

“They failed to finish what they started. That tells us they aren’t as unstoppable as they want people to believe.”

She folded her hands.

“We have enough evidence to challenge the bond’s legitimacy. We still don’t understand how it was created.”

I frowned.

“Why does that matter?”

“Because proving something is false doesn’t tell you how to break it. We have theories, but theories don’t save lives. If we discover how the false bond is anchored…”

She tapped the papers.

“…we’ll know how it’s maintained and where to break it.”

The explanation sounded simple.

I looked between Joanna and Cassidy.

“What exactly do you need from me?”

Joanna didn’t look away.

“You are the only witness with access to everyone involved.”

My fingers tightened around each other.

“You want me to go back.”

“No.”

She answered without hesitation.

“I won’t send you into a trap because it’s convenient. But we also don’t build our plans around fear. You’re our only firsthand witness. Right now, that’s more valuable than anything else.”

“And how will I be protected?” My voice faltered. “They have more influence than we do. How do you win?”

She gave a quiet laugh.

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“We don’t always. We survive long enough to make them lose something they wanted. If they come after you, they’ll find your sponsor first.”

My eyes shifted to Cassidy.

“What does that mean?”

Cassidy answered before Joanna could.

“It means if someone has to face them, I go.”

I stared at her.

“You’re risking your life.”

Cassidy didn’t answer.

Joanna folded her hands and looked from Cassidy to me.

“We’re not leaving you alone. But don’t mistake that for kindness. Every woman the Meridian abandons becomes another weapon they can use.”

I lowered my eyes.

“So what happens now?”

“You prepare for your initiation.”

She closed the folder.

“The life you’ve been living is already ending.”

She rested her hand on the file.

“You aren’t pledging loyalty to me. You aren’t even pledging loyalty to this chapter. You’re making one promise.”

Her eyes stayed on mine.

“Survive long enough to finish what the Meridian began.”

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