TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 322

Three hundred and twenty two

I glanced at the clock. There were still hours until morning. I opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of ice-cold water, then sat on the plastic chair and pressed it against my thighs, hoping to cool down. I held it there until my fingers went numb from the cold, but even that couldn’t chase the heat away.

I’d never felt this helpless before. I wanted to scream, but I clamped a hand over my mouth instead. My shoulders shook as I fought to stay quiet, tears slipping down my cheeks. I wiped them away and forced myself to breathe. Crying never changed anything, and I hated myself for doing it anyway.

Every scent seemed sharper. Even my own scent smelled different.

By morning, I’d barely slept. Heaviness dragged through my body, leaving my legs weak and my head aching. Getting dressed took longer than usual as I tried to hide the shadows beneath my eyes, changing outfits until I found something that wouldn’t cling to my skin.

I forced myself to eat, then tied my hair away from my neck, even though I never wore it like that. Something felt wrong, but I needed to make it through work. My wolf kept dragging me back to Wesley’s voice and touch. I forced myself to think about anything else, but Wesley’s name kept surfacing.

“Come on, baby, we need to get to daycare,” I said, reaching for Maverick’s shoes and dressing him with the little energy I had left, but he kept playing, ignoring me.

“I don’t want to go.”

“I know, but Mommy has to work.”

He ignored me and somersaulted across the room.

I guess the lack of sleep made me snap at him. His lower lip trembled.

I groaned and pressed my fingers to my temples as he backed away. The door was already open, so Iris must have heard him from her room. She came into my room.

“Starting Monday with chaos, I see,” she said with a chuckle, lifting Maverick into her arms. Her gaze shifted to

“You look rough. Are you alright?”

I mumbled something vague and thanked her, but she waved it off and left with Maverick.

After drawing a few deep breaths, I locked the door and met Harrison on the stairs. He stopped when he saw me. If only he knew I didn’t have the energy to deal with whatever was between us.

My body made the choice for me, and I kept walking toward the bus. He didn’t speak to me, so I didn’t speak to him.

Another pull hit me when we reached the office. It hit during the weekly briefing, as we gathered around the large round table while Emma went over the workload. I sank into my chair.

The smell of coffee suddenly seemed too strong, and I kept losing track of what Emma was saying.

“Let’s get to work,” Emma said.

Chairs scraped back. I stood, but my vision blurred and the floor tilted beneath me. I reached for the table but couldn’t get a grip. Then a hand caught my arm and steadied me.

I looked up. Harrison.

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I gripped his forearm until the room steadied.

“Are you okay?”

Concern edged into his voice, something he hadn’t shown me the past few days.

I straightened. “I’m fine,” I said.

“Are you sure?”

I nodded. He let go. I grabbed my notebook and walked away.

By noon, sweat gathered along my hairline, and I had to slow my usual pace. It felt as though someone had struck

a match inside me and kept feeding the flame, hotter and hotter, until I couldn’t drink enough water.

One of the women in accounting asked me to deliver a file, but it slipped from my trembling hands when I reached for it. She caught it.

“Are you okay? You’re walking like your legs hurt, and your eyes are red.”

“I’m fine.” I nodded and turned away.

She stopped me.

“You’re not okay,” she said. “Is this your first heat?”

My brain went blank, and I almost smacked my forehead. My wolf had been pushing me toward Wesley, which explained the heat and my desperate need to be with my mate.

She gave me a knowing smile.

“It’s not going to get better until he touches you. Or she, if that’s the case,” she said with a wink. “You can try everything, but it won’t work. Maybe you should go home.”

I shook my head.

She gave me a look. “This is the last place you should be if you haven’t given in to the cravings that come with heat.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Okay, if you say so.

It scared me that my body had accepted Wesley as my mate when he hadn’t even claimed me. The bond was clearly not something I could suppress, hide, or eventually escape.

I tried to finish my work, but my mind unraveled when I heard Wesley’s voice near the elevator, In the hallway, my wolf grew more insistent, demanding to know why I hadn’t gone to our mate.

Wesley hadn’t even reached accounting. The faint sound of his voice made me grip the wall. I couldn’t control this

anymore.

I needed my mate.

I headed to his office and pushed the door open. He looked up from his desk, his serious expression giving way to a smile. I barely managed to close the door.

“What’s wrong?”

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