TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 271

Book 2

Twenty-five Years Later

Isabella POV

“My son is burning up. Please help him!”

I rushed into the pack medical center, clutching my four-year-old tighter against my chest. He cried in my arms, his skin so hot it burned against mine.

The hospital receptionist looked me over from head to toe before her gaze settled on Maverick’s flushed face.

“And why haven’t you brought him in sooner?” she asked.

The words caught in my throat.

Maverick had been sick for three days. I had spent every one of them begging my father and stepmother Gwen to let me use the family ID card. They refused. They knew the hospital wouldn’t treat us without it, and stepmother Gwen would rather watch my son die than let anyone in this pack discover I was the product of her husband’s affair.

The receptionist waited. She expected me to reach into my pocket and hand over the card.

“I… don’t have one.”

Her forehead creased. “What do you mean? Whose family do you belong to?”

My heart sank. If I said my father’s name, they would make sure I paid for it.

“I have no family,” I lied.

She gave me a long look before asking, “Who is the father of the child?”

The silence stretched between us.

I couldn’t answer.

“Are you sure the child is yours?”

“Yes. Yes, he’s mine.” I pulled Maverick closer as he cried against my chest.

“I’m sorry. Without any means of identification, we can’t admit you. Please leave.”

I burst into tears.

“Please. If he doesn’t get any medication, he might die.”

Her expression didn’t change.

“And if I admit you, I could lose my job. I’m not sacrificing my livelihood for someone who won’t even tell me who she is.”

I kept pleading until she pressed a button beneath the desk.

“Security!”

One of the guards caught my arm. At the same time, my son cried out from the carrier strapped against my chest. The sound echoed through the lobby.

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The guard rough-handled me, forcing me aside while everyone else walked past as though this were nothing more than a spectacle.

He only let go of my arm because someone walked in. I knew the person was important because the receptionist rushed to her feet.

Luna Lisa.

She held a phone to her ear as she crossed the lobby in a black gown and gold heels. Doctors, nurses, and patients alike lowered their heads in greeting.

My desperation grew as I turned back to the receptionist.

“Please,” I whispered. “Just help him. Please. I promise I won’t tell.”

She kept giving me signals to leave the reception desk, but Luna Lisa was approaching, and even though I knew my efforts would be futile, I took the chance. The guard tried to push me into a corner when Luna Lisa looked in our direction.

“What’s happening here?” Luna Lisa asked.

The receptionist’s face lost what little confidence it had as she explained that I had no identification and no registered family.

I shook my head, tears spilling freely.

“Please,” I begged. “I don’t mean any trouble. My child is dying.”

Luna Lisa stared at my child and rested her hand against his neck.

She pulled it away immediately and scolded the nurse who had pretended not to see me cry and beg earlier.

“His fever is this high, and none of you thought to give him first aid while sorting out the paperwork?”

“I’m sorry, my lady,” the receptionist said quietly.

Luna Lisa looked at the head nurse, who hurried forward and lifted Maverick from my arms, rushing him to the emergency wing.

“Put every expense under my name,” Luna Lisa said to the receptionist.

My knees buckled, and I dropped to the floor, crying so hard I couldn’t catch my breath.

“Stand up.”

I looked up to find her holding out her hand. I took it with trembling fingers and let her pull me to my feet.

Standing before the Alpha’s wife made me feel painfully small.

“Why don’t you have any means of identification?”

“I… I don’t have anyone.”

She studied me.

“And the child’s father?”

“I don’t know.”

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She looked puzzled.

“Are you not from this pack?”

I lowered my eyes.

“My parents are dead. I came here looking for work.”

An obvious lie. If she discovered the truth, she would hate me. But I couldn’t go back to my father’s house just to. live like a servant while my son suffered.

She sighed and glanced at the receptionist before looking back at me.

“You may have your secrets, but that little boy shouldn’t have to pay for them.”

I lowered my gaze.

“What education do you have?” 1

“Preparatory school certificate.”

“Would you love to work for me?”

My head snapped up, convinced I had heard wrong.

Even the receptionist looked equally shocked.

“Thank you,” I whispered before the words tumbled out faster. “Thank you so much, my lady.”

She dismissed my gratitude.

“I’m doing this for the child. I’ll send someone to collect you when he’s discharged.”

Without waiting for another response, she continued deeper into the hospital. I covered my mouth, struggling to believe any of this was real.

Ignoring the receptionist’s muttered complaint, I hurried to the emergency wing.

Doctors surrounded Maverick’s bed, placing an IV line, drawing blood, and beginning treatment. The urgency in their movements filled me with fear and relief. I had almost lost my baby.

I stayed by Maverick’s bedside all night. Even if Luna Lisa forgot her promise, it didn’t matter anymore. She had saved my son’s life, and I would never stop being grateful for that.

The next morning, after the doctor finally discharged him, a driver from the Alpha House arrived.

“The Luna sent me,” he said. “She asked me to bring both of you to the Alpha House.”

I thanked him quietly before following him outside with Maverick in my arms.

A black jeep bearing the pack crest carried us down a private road toward the Alpha House, where Alpha Cameron and Luna Lisa lived. My father’s family had always been obsessed with the Alpha House, so I already knew Alpha Cameron was one of the most respected Alphas in the region.

People said Luna Lisa was kind, but not soft. She helped those she believed deserved it. I never imagined someone like her would help someone like me.

A maid led us to a room in the staff wing. It was bigger than any bedroom in my father’s house, making the cramped attic where Maverick and I had slept feel even smaller by comparison.

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The door closed behind us. Maverick looked around the room before turning to me.

“Mommy… can we stay here forever?” he asked. “I don’t want to go back to Grandpa’s house.”

My chest tightened.

“I don’t know about forever. But Mommy is going to work here, and I need you to be a good boy.”

He wrapped his arms around my neck.

“Grandpa won’t come and take us away, right?”

I held him tighter.

“No,” I whispered, praying with everything in me that this one promise would be the only one I never had to

break.

It was six days of peace. I’d never lived like this before.

Alpha Cameron and Luna Lisa were away on official business, so I spent my days helping wherever the staff needed me. They hadn’t decided what my permanent duties would be yet. The maids welcomed me without looking down on me. I bathed Maverick, nursed him back to health, ate good food, and slept without waking to another reminder that I had ruined my father’s family.

When word spread that the Alpha and Luna were returning that evening, everyone got busy. I followed the others into the kitchen and helped the chef prepare dinner.

“We’re expecting about twelve people tonight,” the chef announced. “Don’t forget how Wesley and Angie like their steaks. One medium rare, one well roasted.”

“Who are they?” I asked the maid beside me as we grated vegetables.

“The Alpha and Luna’s children.”

I’d never thought about their children. They were adults with lives of their own, so I guessed they only came home for family dinners.

I did everything I could to help. I couldn’t afford to lose this job and be sent back to my father’s house.

That evening, I helped serve dinner as laughter drifted in from the sitting room. It was clearly a family gathering. One by one, they made their way into the dining room.

The first to walk in was a tall, lanky young woman about my age. Her black hair was cut short in a punk style with a shaved line on one side, and blue eyeliner made her grey eyes stand out. She wore a black singlet, denim shorts, and chains that matched her edgy appearance.

Then came another woman who looked to be in her forties, followed by Alpha Cameron and the rest of the family.

Then I heard a familiar voice.

Barbara.

Oh goddess!

What was my sister doing here?

I looked away immediately. She couldn’t see me here. If she did, she’d tell Luna Lisa I had no business being in the

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Alpha House.

“At this rate, Wesley will arrive in time for breakfast instead of dinner.” the man with the eye patch said.

They laughed.

I was looking for a way to slip out when Barbara’s eyes landed on me. Her mouth fell open, and she stared as though she couldn’t believe I was there.

That was all the opportunity I needed.

I slipped out of the dining room and hurried down the hallway without knowing where I was going. I just needed to get away before Barbara caught up with me.

“Isabella! You bloody witch! Get back here. Do you think you belong in this house?”

I rounded a corner and walked straight into someone.

He was so tall I had to tilt my head to look at him. He looked so much like Alpha Cameron there was no mistaking who he was.

I glanced behind me. Barbara was still coming, but she wasn’t glaring anymore. She was smiling.

When I looked back at the man, a strange scent reached me. It reminded me of fresh woods and the earth after rain, warm enough to make everything else disappear.

I stepped back, confused.

My wolf stirred.

Mate, she cried.

Before I could make sense of it, Barbara reached him and wrapped her arms around him. He hugged her back.

“I’ve missed you so much, Wesley,” she said.

I blinked in confusion.

Luna Lisa’s son was my mate.

And he was holding the sister who had made my life a living hell.

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