TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 267

Two hundred and sixty seven

Cameron POV

My head snapped up as a bandaged figure walked into the dining room. I looked at Franklin standing nearby, then back at her.

It was Evangeline.

She looked terrible. Her lip was split, bandages wrapped around one hand and across her head, and one eye had swollen almost shut. Franklin had told me Meridian beat her, but I hadn’t imagined this.

I hurried over and pulled out a chair.

Her eyes stayed on me as she lowered herself into it with care, every movement stiff, as though even sitting hurt. She tugged her sleeve over her bruised knuckles, trying to hide what couldn’t be hidden.

We looked at each other without speaking, and when we finally did, we asked the same question.

“How are you?”

Her face crumpled.

“What have I done?” she whispered.

She buried her face in her hands and cried. I reached toward her without thinking, but my hand stopped halfway. Franklin remained where he was, giving us the space to talk.

“I don’t know who I am anymore.” Her voice scraped against her throat. “Everything they taught me was a lie. Everything. My purpose, my mother, my whole life. They lied about all of it.” She shook her head. “The truth is… once they were done using me, they were done.”

She wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand.

“I killed the only person I ever wanted to make proud.” Her voice broke. “I hate myself.” She finally looked at me. “I hate what I became.”

I didn’t know what to say. Franklin had already told me about the self-harm attempt. I still couldn’t tell whether she’d wanted to escape the guilt, the punishment, or simply the sound of her own thoughts.

“The longer you hide from it,” I said quietly, “the more it owns you.”

She nodded without looking up.

“You’ll have to tell your father what happened.”

A whimper escaped her.

“Then you’ll tell the council. If you don’t, people will rewrite the story, and they’ll make Lisa the villain.”

Her shoulders sagged.

“What reputation am I protecting?” she asked, wiping her face again. “I’ll tell the truth. I’ll do whatever they ask. I just… I want this misery to end.”

Now that she’d said it out loud, the weight of it settled on me too. Alpha Marcus wouldn’t take it well. Then there was the council. They would strip away her status. They would make an example of her. The constitution demanded it for anyone who knowingly brought evil into their home.

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I poured a glass of water and held it out. When she reached for it, her hands shook so badly she had to steady the glass with both of them.

“Where will you go after this?” I asked.

A tired smile crossed her face.

“Without the Daughters, Meridian would’ve chopped me into pieces.” She stared into the water instead of drinking it. “They’re the only reason I’m still alive. If they stop protecting me, Meridian will finish what my mother started.”

She wasn’t wrong.

“They’re difficult to predict,” I said. “Even now, I still don’t know what to make of them.”

Evangeline nodded. “It’s no wonder Meridian feared them.”

Silence settled between us. There was nothing left to say.

I pushed my chair back and stood.

“I hope, someday, you forgive yourself.”

Her mouth trembled, and fresh tears filled her eyes. I turned and walked away.

Franklin fell into step beside me and tapped my shoulder as we headed for the exit.

“Who would’ve thought I’d end up feeling a little sorry for her?” he said. “Just a little, though. She still has to answer for what she did.”

We climbed into the van. I stared through the windshield as Franklin started the engine.

“This is exhausting.”

“It is,” Franklin said. “I’ll be happy when it’s finally over.”

Although it had been two weeks since Luna Catherine died, everyone in the Alpha House still wore mourning clothes.

Her condolence book sat in the middle of the room beside flowers and a large framed portrait. It almost made me curious enough to read what people had written. All the lies from people who never knew who she really was.

My gaze kept drifting back to her picture. Her painted eyes seemed fixed on me.

I looked away.

The maids came in with refreshments, but I left mine untouched. Kieran and Franklin spoke quietly between themselves until Kade came downstairs, also dressed in black, and gave us a look that told us his father was coming.

Alpha Marcus walked in. He looked older, as though grief had hollowed him out. His shoulders sagged beneath the weight of it. I wondered whether Catherine’s death had truly freed him from Dominion or whether part of it still lingered inside him.

“Thank you for coming,” he said to Kieran, shaking his hand before greeting me.

“How are you holding up?” Kieran asked.

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Marcus lowered his eyes.

“I don’t know.”

Evangeline joined us. Marcus reached for her hand and they sat together on the sofa.

“I wake up and remember she’s gone,” Marcus said quietly. “After that… I remember nothing else.” His eyes glistened. “If I could just bury her, maybe this nightmare would finally end.”

Kade looked away.

Marcus rubbed a hand over his face.

“Catherine would’ve been so proud to see how the world is mourning her. There’ll never be anyone like her.”

No one answered.

Evangeline’s gaze stayed fixed on the Persian rug. She held herself so rigid I noticed her teeth digging into her lower lip. Most of her wounds had healed, but her arm still rested in a sling. I found myself wondering what she’d told her Father to explain all those injuries.

My eyes moved between Evangeline and the front door, measuring the distance if I needed to get her out before this exploded. I caught her eye and gave the smallest nod.

“I have something to tell you, Dad,” she said.

Marcus looked at her, expecting nothing more than an ordinary conversation.

“I killed Mom.”

Silence swallowed the room.

Marcus stared at her. His eyes moved from one face to another, waiting for the joke.

“What?” he whispered.

“It was me.”

He stared at her as though his mind refused to understand the words.

Evangeline slowly rose to her feet.

“What do you mean?” His voice sounded small.

Evangeline tried to explain Meridian and how Catherine attacked her first, but Marcus never let her finish. He lunged across the room.

Franklin and Kade grabbed him before he reached her.

Kieran and I stepped in front of Evangeline.

“You monster!” Marcus roared. “What did she ever do to deserve that? Why? You killed your own mother! Do you know the curse you’ve placed on yourself?”

Evangeline broke down.

“You did this to my wife.” His voice cracked. “You… of all people. One of the people she trusted most.

“That’s enough, Dad,” Kade snapped. “Mom tried to kill Evangeline. She brought a cult into our lives. She

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would’ve murdered your daughter, and you never would’ve known.”

Marcus shook his head violently.

“No. Don’t be a fool. Your mother loved both of you.”

Kade gave a bitter laugh.

“If that’s love, I’d hate to see what hatred looks like.”

Marcus pointed a shaking finger at Evangeline.

“You evil child. I’ll tell everyone. You’ll spend the rest of your life known as the daughter who murdered her own mother.”

Tears streamed down Evangeline’s face.

“I know.” Her voice broke. “I deserve that. Please… please forgive me.”

Marcus threw himself forward again, but Franklin and Kade held him back.

His grief-filled screams echoed through the house as Kade and I hurried Evangeline outside. Staff stopped what they were doing to stare, but nobody dared move.

A familiar woman stood beside one of the waiting vehicles. I recognized her from the ritual. One of the Daughters.

“It is done,” she said. She opened the rear door and looked at Evangeline. “Get in the car.’

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