TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 77

Seventy-Seven

Lisa

I knew my mother was not sleeping.

The first time I checked, it was past midnight. I was on my way back from the bathroom when I saw light under her door. I knocked once and pushed it open.

She was sitting upright in bed, the blanket over her lap, staring at the wall. The bedside lamp was still on.

“You should be sleeping, Mom.”

“So should you.”

Her voice was steady, but her eyes did not blink.

“Are you in pain?”

“No.”

She said nothing else. I stayed by the door, then turned and left.

When I checked again, it was almost three. I had not slept either. She was in the same position, but this time her hands were clasped tight in her lap.

“You’re thinking about him.”

She did not deny it.

I leaned against the doorframe. “Mom, you’re acting like you’ve committed a crime.”

She let out a short laugh. It stopped halfway. “It feels like I have.”

I sat at the edge of the bed.

I should have been happy for her. A mate bond at her age. After what my father did to her for thirty years. After the affairs and the pretending. It should have felt fair.

Instead, it sat wrong in my chest.

She spent days telling me how my father’s cheating made her shrink in her own house. Now she had another man, and he was not my father. I did not know how to react.

“Alpha Kieran seems steady,” I said.

She looked at me.

“Cameron spoke well of him. He trained him. That counts.”

She rubbed the ring finger on her left hand like something was still there.

“Being respected does not mean I am ready.”

“I know.”

She lay back down, but her eyes stayed open.

In the morning, my phone buzzed. James. I stared at his name before opening the message.

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+15 BCAUG

I am coming to see Mom.

He had been angry about everything. Seeing that message eased something in me.

He was trying.

I typed back the address and told him I would meet him at the gates.

He responded with a short “Okay.”

Franklin drove me down to the gates. James was already standing outside the gates when we arrived. Hands in his pockets. Shoulders tight. He looked older. Or maybe I had not seen him in weeks.

I got out of the car and walked straight to him. He barely had time to brace before I wrapped my arms around him.

He stood stiff, then patted my back, the way he did when I refused to let go.

“Get off me,” he said, and I laughed.

“You’re always going to be my baby brother, and I will never stop hugging you the way I like.”

Franklin came around the car. “Good to see you again.

James gave him a brief nod but did not offer his hand.

“Sorry,” I muttered to Franklin.

“It’s fine,” Franklin said easily.

We got into the car. I tried to keep the air from feeling too thick.⚫

“The place is large enough that you won’t even notice most people,” I said lightly. “You could get lost in it.”

James looked around once, then back at me. “You’re staying in the Alpha’s house.”

“Yes.”

“There’s enough space,” I added. “It’s not like we’re all sharing a room.”

“I’ll book a hotel.”

“Come on James.”

“I’m not sleeping under the same roof as the guy renting my sister’s womb.”

The words were blunt. Franklin adjusted the rearview mirror but said nothing. I looked out the window.

“I can cover the hotel,” Franklin offered.

“No. I’ll pay for it myself.”

“You don’t have to make everything a fight.”

“I’m not,” he said. “I just know my limits.”

We drove the rest of the way in silence.

The surgery was scheduled for Monday. Fourteen hours until they repaired the damage in my mother’s left eye.

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+15 8chus

The second hand on the wall clock dragged past four. James and I sat in the surgical waiting room while they wheeled her in.

The television on the wall played a loud morning show that no one was watching. Every time the doors to the operating wing opened, I sat up and looked, expecting news.

James sat beside me and did not talk. He kept checking the time on his phone, then dropping it face down on his thigh.

After a few hours, my stomach cramped from hunger, but I ignored it. A nurse walked past with a clipboard, and/ both of us stood before realizing she was not looking for us.

The doors to the waiting area opened again, and this time it was Cameron.

He was holding two paper bags. Grease had already started to soak through the bottom of one bag. 1

“Thought you might be hungry,” he said.

I blinked at him, then stood. “Thank you.”

Cameron set the bags down on the small table between us.

James looked up at him without smiling.

“James,” I said, clearing my throat. “This is Alpha Cameron.”

Cameron extended his hand. James hesitated for a second. Then he took it.

“James.”

The handshake was quick and empty.

If Cameron had not paid for the surgery, James would not have stopped at a handshake. When James felt cornered, he pushed. I waited for it, but Cameron did not react.

“How is she?” Cameron asked me.

“Still in surgery. It’s taking longer than they thought.”

“That does not always mean something is wrong,” he said. “Complicated procedures can run over time.”

He reached for my hand and wrapped his fingers around mine. I stiffened at the touch. James noticed immediately. I felt his gaze shift from our hands to my face.

I did not pull away. I had not slept, and my head would not stop replaying worst-case scenarios. His hand was steady.

Then I pulled away.

“Thank you for the food,” I said, picking up one of the bags to break the moment.

“Eat,” he said. “You need it.”

James opened the other bag and looked inside. “At least the hospital food won’t kill us now,” he muttered.

“Alpha Kieran is downstairs,” he said to me. “He wanted to come up. I told him I would check first.”

“My mother is not ready,” I whispered. “And James does not know about him yet.”

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+15 Benue

Cameron nodded. “He does not seem to like me very much.”

“He’s angry. It’s not personal.”

Cameron nodded. “Fair enough. I have a pack meeting to attend.” He glanced at his phone.

He looked at James again. “I heard you are staying at a hotel.”

James nodded. “Yes.”

Cameron’s gaze flicked to me. I knew what he was not saying. Why not at the house?.

James answered before he could ask. “I’m not staying under the same roof as the guy renting my sister.”

Cameron did not snap back or glare.

“I understand why you would feel that way,” he said.

James blinked, thrown off by the lack of fight.

“You think money makes everything okay?” James pressed. “You think because you paid for surgery, you can buy whatever you want? Not everything is for sale.”

Cameron looked at him directly. “You are right. Not everything is for sale. And you are right to be protective. She is your sister.”

James had squared his shoulders, ready to argue. Part of me wanted James to see what I saw in him. When Cameron stayed calm, James eased back in his seat.

“I did not take advantage of her,” Cameron continued. “She made a decision. I respected it. If that still bothers you, I accept that.”

James picked up his coffee and took a sip. He made a face. “This tastes terrible.”

Cameron almost smiled.

“You are nearly an adult,” Cameron said. “You will inherit responsibilities whether you want them or not. If you ever want to understand how leadership works, my door is open. You do not have to accept, but the offer stands.”

James stared at him. “Why would I want guidance from someone who rents women?”

“Because leadership is more than pride.”

James looked at me like he was waiting for me to object.

Cameron checked the time. “If there is any update, call me.”

James watched him leave. Then he looked down at his coffee again and took another sip.

“Tastes like shit,” he muttered.

I swallowed a smile.

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