TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 274

Two hundred and seventy four

Wesley POV

Mom and I were talking when a football rolled into the room. A little boy came charging after it, scooped it up, then paused when he noticed us. He couldn’t have been more than three years old.

“Who’s this little menace?” I said with a snort.

Mom had no idea.

A young woman hurried in after him.

“Maverick, get back here!”

She stopped short the moment she saw us, and seemed mortified.

“Isabella,” she said with a smile. “I’m glad you and your son are settling in.”

“I’m sorry, my lady. I thought he was asleep. I was helping in the kitchen.”

“Nonsense,” Mom said, resting the back of her hand against the little boy’s forehead. “Let him run around. As long as he doesn’t knock over my figurines, we’re perfectly fine.”

“How are you, handsome? What’s your name?”

“Maverick,” he replied.

“Oh? That’s a strong name,” Mom said, smiling up at Isabella.

I wasn’t looking until now and recognized the boy’s mother as the same girl who’d walked straight into me.

She seemed about my sister’s age .Her hair was a deep golden brown, her eyes a striking shade of gray that caught the light, and before I could stop myself, my gaze wandered lower.

Damn.

The wolfbane was supposed to keep my wolf in check. Unfortunately, it also had the annoying habit of cranking my sex drive through the roof. Then again, I couldn’t blame it entirely. The woman was gorgeous. She had the kind of curves that could derail a man’s train of thought without even trying.

She stole a few quick glances at me too. Every time our eyes met, a flush crept into her cheeks before she looked

away.

“Friend of yours?” I asked Mom, still shamelessly checking her out.

Mom chuckled.

“No. I met them at the hospital.” She ruffled the little boy’s dark hair before looking at Isabella. “This house gets far too quiet when my children aren’t around. I was thinking of sending you to work with the women at the orphanage, but that would mean living there. Then I thought, why not keep a little life around the house instead? We could use the noise. The Alpha Secretariat could use another pair of hands.”

Isabella’s eyes widened.

“My lady… I… I don’t know what to say.”

She dropped to her knees, tears gathering in her eyes.

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Mom sighed.

“Up, Isabella.”

She waited until Isabella looked at her.

“I don’t like people kneeling to me. I’m your Luna, not a goddess.”

“I’m sorry, my lady.”

She quickly got to her feet, brushing at her cheeks.

Typical Mom.

She never needed a reason to change someone’s life.

“All right, Maverick,” Mom said. “Go rescue your football.”

The boy grinned, grabbed the ball, and kicked it straight back out of the room.

I laughed as he bolted after it, Isabella hurrying after him before stopping at the doorway to let Barbara pass.

“I suppose it’s time to join the old people to start discussing weddings.”

Barbara laughed.

“I suppose so.”

Mom wrapped her in a hug.

“Congratulations. If we’re making this official, your parents, my husband, and I need to sit down and talk.”

“Of course, my lady,” Barbara said with a respectful nod.

Mom gave us one last smile before walking away. Barbara hurried over, throwing her arms around me.

“See?” she said, pulling back with a smile. “I told you it’d work. I knew they’d come around.”

I smiled and tucked a loose strand of her ginger hair behind her ear.

“If this ever becomes too much, you walk away,” I said. “You’re not tied to me. Date whoever you want. Fall in love if you find the right person. This is just an arrangement to get everyone off my back.”

“I know.” She smiled, though it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “But if you ever decide you want this to be more ”

“Barbara, why would I do that?”

She didn’t answer.

“I’ve retired from relationships,” I said with a yawn. “The job nearly killed me the first time.”

She looked away.

“I know losing Beatrice broke you. But it’s been five years, Wesley. I’m not saying it has to be me. I just don’t think she’d want you to spend the rest of your life alone.”

She meant well, but she didn’t understand. This wasn’t about Beatrice anymore or even about heartbreak. It was about living in a body that couldn’t even recognize the one person fate supposedly made for me.

“I’ll pass,” I said lightly. “Let’s keep fooling the Council, and in the meantime I’ll find you some ridiculously

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handsome Alpha who’ll sweep you off your feet.”

She tucked her response behind another smile.

Maybe I was being cruel. Barbara cared about me more than she ever admitted, yet she was still willing to help me pull off this ridiculous arrangement, but I couldn’t afford to think beyond what made sense.

The last time I let emotions make my decisions, I buried the woman I loved.

I wasn’t making that mistake again.

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