TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 316

Three hundred and sixteen

Isabella POV

By half past ten, the sound of printers jamming, phones ringing, and the Accounting Department running at full tilt had become part of my daily life. Payday was only two days away, and payroll preparations had swallowed the entire office. Reports passed between departments, approval requests piled up by the minute, and everyone seemed buried beneath deadlines.

Even Harrison, who always liked to chat with us in the morning, had his face practically glued to his monitor while stacks of files surrounded his desk. Somewhere along the way, I’d settled into the rhythm of the office. I was no longer the frightened newcomer trying to prove I belonged. I did my work, kept my head down, and avoided attention.

Emma had sent me for another cup of coffee because, according to her, three hours of sleep wasn’t enough to survive payroll week, and she was far too busy to leave her desk herself. I’d barely dropped off the coffee and headed for my desk when my phone vibrated inside my pocket. It was a text from Iris.

Luna Lisa has been asking for you.

My heart lurched.

Had Grandma Cassidy forgotten to tell her I’d moved into the staff lodge?

I should’ve felt honored, maybe even excited, that someone as busy as Luna Lisa still remembered me. Instead, anxiety settled in my stomach. Maybe yesterday’s confrontation with my father’s family still lingered, along with the theft accusation hanging over me.

At lunch, Iris and I met in the cafeteria. I picked at a bowl of buttered corn and grilled chicken while she twirled spaghetti around her fork.

“She really likes you, Bella. For her to stop in the middle of everything and ask, ‘Where’s Isabella?’ That means something.”

Luna Lisa had returned to a mountain of work after days away from the pack. The fact she’d noticed my absence at all should’ve meant something.

“I hope you’re not going to walk into that office and start minimizing yourself again.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean exactly what I said,” Iris said, taking another bite. “Tell her what happened. Don’t try to downplay anything.”

I lowered my eyes to my food.

“I’ll tell her I didn’t steal anything.”

“And?”

“And that’s enough.”

“No, it isn’t.” Her voice softened. “Isabella, you’re acting as though telling the truth is the same as causing trouble. Emerald accused you and tried to destroy your reputation. If Luna Lisa asks what happened, answer her honestly. Let her decide what to do with the truth.”

That’s how Iris saw the world. She believed fairness existed if the right person was willing to listen. I wanted to believe it, but life had taught me that justice and truth rarely arrived together.

“I don’t want anyone losing their job because of me,” I admitted. “Even Emerald. If she does, it won’t be because I wanted revenge.”

“It won’t be because of you either,” Iris replied. “People don’t lose their jobs because someone tells the truth. They lose them because of what they choose to do.”

I stared at my lunch as my appetite faded, as another thought surfaced: whether I should tell Luna about Wesley and me. If anyone could explain why he couldn’t feel the bond, it would be her.

“Fine,” I said to Iris. “I’ll tell the truth. Can I eat now?”

When the summons finally came, I headed to Luna Lisa’s office. Cool air wrapped around me as I stepped inside, making me even more nervous. I had prepared myself for formality, perhaps even disappointment. There was no reason for someone like Luna Lisa to believe a new employee over someone who’d worked beside her for more than five years.

She looked tired, yet softer somehow. She wore almost no makeup, and her usual polished appearance had given way to something more natural. Somehow it made her even more beautiful. Wesley was the male version of his mother, except for his father’s dark hair and height.

“You disappeared without saying goodbye. Did my house scare you away?”

The question caught me off guard. There was amusement in her voice instead of suspicion, and somehow that unsettled me even more.

“No, ma’am.”

She gestured toward the chair opposite her desk.

“Sit.”

I lowered myself into the chair, sinking into the cushion.

“What happened? Last I checked, the staff lodge isn’t nearly as comfortable as my house.”

“It isn’t.” I managed a small smile. “I wanted to tell you before I moved, but you’d only just returned, and with everything on your plate, I didn’t want to become another thing demanding your attention.”

She moved a stack of files into a tray at the corner of her desk before looking back at me.

“Grandma Cassidy explained your move, and that’s fine if you weren’t comfortable staying at the Alpha House. But while I was away, you also ended up transferred to another department. Don’t you think that’s a lot to happen while I was gone?”

Every answer I’d rehearsed vanished.

“Tell me. From the beginning. In your own words.”

I told her about the missing jewelry, the accusation, the humiliation of having my belongings searched, and my insistence that I had never stolen anything. I explained how the transfer to Accounting had happened, and how I’d accepted it because I didn’t want to create more problems. I left nothing out, and I didn’t exaggerate.

Sitting across from Luna Lisa felt nothing like sitting across from my father. I wasn’t shrinking beneath every word or preparing for the next insult. Luna Lisa genuinely wanted to hear my side before deciding who I was.

When I finished, she leaned back in her chair and kept watching me, as though weighing not only my words, but

The accusation wasn’t simply an attack on you,” she said at last. “It reflected back on me. You entered this household because I brought you in. If someone under my recommendation is accused of theft, people don’t only question your character. They question my judgment.”

Oh goddess.

She reached for the phone on her desk and pressed the internal line.

“Send the Head of Human Resources to my office immediately,” she said. “And have Emerald come as well.”

Within minutes, the office filled with people who held far more power over my future than I ever would. The Head of Human Resources arrived carrying a folder, accompanied by a man.

Emerald entered last. Despite knowing the truth, the knot in my stomach refused to loosen.

Barbara’s influence had already reached farther than I’d imagined. There was no reason to believe it stopped with Emerald. Luna Lisa herself might be fair, but fairness meant very little if the people beneath her had already decided the outcome.

She reached for the dismissal papers already sitting beside the HR report.

“You are terminated, effective immediately.”

Emerald’s breathing hitched.

“No… please…”

“Your employment ends today. Security will escort you while you collect your belongings. Your building access will be revoked.”

She remained on the floor, crying so hard that her words dissolved into broken apologies, begging for another chance, insisting she’d made a mistake.

Watching someone lose everything should have felt like justice. Instead, unease spread through me.

Emerald had simply been the hand that carried out someone else’s malice, while the woman I believed had set everything in motion remained untouched, shielded by her reputation and her place beside the Alpha’s family.

Luna Lisa had no idea how much larger the problem really was.

The victory should have tasted sweet.

Instead, it felt unfinished.

Emerald’s sobs filled the office until Luna Lisa’s patience finally gave way.

“I’ve heard enough,” she said firmly. “Leave my office before I call security myself.”

The scent of cedar and rain-soaked earth drifted in.

My breath caught.

The mate bond stirred before I heard footsteps. Heat climbed my neck as my hand curled into a fist.

I hadn’t seen Wesley since the night outside the club. He stepped into the doorway, speaking into the phone.

“Mom, Grandma Susan’s been trying to reach you. You left your other phone at home.”

Luna Lisa looked up.

“Oh goodness.”

She took the phone with a smile.

“Hi, Mom.”

Wesley turned toward the room. Our eyes met. My heart lurched.

I looked away.