TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 349

Three hundred and forty nine

Tabella POV

Downstairs was crowded as Iris and I came from the kitchen.

“Oof, I smell gossip,” she said as we headed upstairs. People stood in clusters, leaning over the rail and watching . the road below.

When I reached our floor, I looked toward the entrance and understood why.

Oh, Goddess.

Luna Lisa’s car sat at the curb.

I nearly dropped the covered bowl I carried for Maverick. I handed it to a laughing Iris and rushed downstairs.

“I told you you’re already a big shot here, didn’t I?” she teased behind me. “Luna herself has come to grace you with her presence.”

I ignored her and almost bumped into a startled Harrison.

Downstairs, people tried to hide their curiosity. Some pretended to pass by. Others stopped to greet Luna Lisa.

She saw my face and tipped her head toward her car.

“Get in.”

I slid into the passenger seat. She pulled away from the building and stopped where Wesley always parked to wait for me. She left the engine running and the air conditioning on.

“You don’t like attention,” she said, watching me with a smile.

“People invest too much in other people’s business.”

Her smile grew.

“Maybe that means you won’t have to hide in there much longer. Cassidy told me you switched rooms and stopped coming to work after the gala. I suppose that’s because of my daughter.”

I shifted in my seat.

“I’m not sure I’m ready to deal with everything that happened. And I never meant to deceive her. I feel terrible for causing all that chaos.”

“Anita is angry, but she’ll get over it. You have every right to feel guilty for hurting her, but she isn’t your mate. I hope she finds hers soon. Having someone else to focus on might help her move on.”

I managed a smile.

“Anita and Wesley have always shared a strange connection, one where, when he’s in pain, she sometimes feels a phantom version of what he’s going through. Cassidy thinks that might be connected to the bond.”

That explained so much.

Anita hadn’t just been flirting with me. She had been responding to something she could actually feel from Wesley.

My chest sank.

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“You didn’t know,” Lisa said. “You have no reason to blame yourself for something you couldn’t have understood.

Silence settled between us.

“How is that strong and charming boy of yours?”

“He is well.”

“You can bring him to Alpha House whenever you need to clear your head.”

As tempting as that sounded, I didn’t think we needed refuge. The worst had already passed.

“Thank you, Luna, but he’s not much of a problem.”

She smiled.

“He reminds me so much of Wesley as a little boy. Always jumping all over the place.”

“Were there signs something was wrong before he was born?”

Her smile faded.

“I was poisoned.”

The word stunned me. My hands tightened around my knees.

“Who did it?”

“Have you ever heard of the Veiled Meridian?”

I’shook my head.

Relief crossed her face.

“Before I became Luna, they were a powerful cult. They targeted Alphas, council members, anyone whose influence threatened them.”

“A cult?”

She kept her eyes on the road.

“Alpha Cameron was targeted through a false bond. They sent a woman to him as a honeypot to manipulate him. I was originally hired as a surrogate. Then I discovered Cameron was my true mate. By then, I was pregnant with Wesley, and the Meridian had poisoned me.”

I could barely process what she was saying.

“I nearly died. Wesley survived because of the bond I shared with Cameron and the help of people like Cassidy. Otherwise, he would have died with me.”

“I’m sorry.”

My mind remained stuck on the name.

“What happened to them?”

“They still exist, as far as I know. Just not as powerful as they once were.”

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“If their actions still affect Wesley, why didn’t you and Alpha Cameron reverse what they did?”

We tried for years. Without success. That’s why I joined the Daughters.”

Everything clicked.

Luna Lisa and Grandma Cassidy’s involvement with the Daughters wasn’t about rituals or secret societies the way. I’d assumed. Lisa had joined because she was desperate to save herself, and later, her son.

I didn’t realize I was crying until Lisa pulled a tissue from the console and handed it to me.

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