TEMPORARY MATES PERMANENT CRAVINGS novel Chapter 99

Ninety-Nine

Lisa

I called Cora after several unsuccessful attempts to reach out. She answered.

“Hey, Lisa.” Her voice sounded forced and bright.

“Are you busy?”

“Oh, yes. I had to go to the nursery. Dorothy was having issues with some of the kids who were teething, and she had to take them to the infirmary. Then I had to pick my daughter from school.”

“You’ve been busy lately.”

She went quiet, then said, “Did you not hear what I said?”

“I did. It’s not your first time juggling things.”

I pressed my head into the cushion and looked at the ceiling. “Sasha tells me she likes you.

“Oh, fuck.” The word came out under her breath.

“Lisa, I don’t want to mess her life up. Sasha is wild and fierce and fun to be around. If this were another life, maybe I’d be excited that someone like her asked me out. But she deserves someone clean. Someone without history.”

I sat up straighter. “Cora, stop. You’re not dirty.”

“You of all people know where I came from. What I did. What people would say if they found out I let men touch me for money. I don’t want to drag her into that.”

I pressed my fingers into my forehead. “That’s not dragging her into anything. That’s your past. It doesn’t decide your future. And Sasha isn’t judgmental. If you like her, give it a chance. Don’t decide for her what she can handle. Tell her the truth. Tell her what you had to do to survive. If it doesn’t work, then it doesn’t work. That’s life.”

She didn’t answer.

“I’m trying to get out of here. We should meet. All of us.”

“That’s fine.”

We ended the call, and Sasha called right after.

“Well? What did she say? Don’t make me wait.”

I laughed under my breath. “She likes you, but she’s scared.”

“Of what? Me?”

“Not you. She thinks she isn’t good enough. She thinks she’ll hurt you.”

“That’s ridiculous. I don’t care about any of that. I like her. Everyone has a past.”

“You’re a good one. Tell her that when she opens up. Make her understand you care about now and what comes next. Then see where it goes.”

Later, my mom came downstairs with a stack of papers, reading them with her good eye. The other was still bandaged.

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“Is that for the hearing?”

“Yes.” She handed them to me.

The hearing was coming up.

“I don’t want you to leave.”

Her mouth curved, tired but steady. “I won’t be gone long, I’ll come back right after.”

“Or maybe I should just go with you.”

“You know Cameron would never allow that.”

“I don’t like the idea of you going alone.”

“I won’t be alone. And even if I were, I’ve made peace with the fact that this marriage is over.”

The idea of her walking into that courtroom alone made my stomach knot.

“What about me? I can’t stay here alone.”

“You know you’re not alone.” She squeezed my hand. “There are people here with you. The nurse will be coming to check on you. And speaking of which, there’s something about that nurse.”

I straightened and looked at her. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. I just have a feeling.”

“Mom, you don’t have to overreact. She was probably sent by Cameron, and she knows what she’s doing.”

She sighed. “If you say so.”

She went back to reading the papers, but the thought stuck with me.

The next morning, Franklin came to pick my mom up. I insisted on going with them because my mom was getting her bandage removed that day.

By the time we stepped outside, three cars were waiting in the driveway, two security vehicles and Franklin’s car. He opened the back door for my mom first and gestured for me to slide in beside her. Guards moved around the cars, doors shutting, engines turning over.

It felt excessive for something as simple as removing a bandage, but nothing about our lives was simple anymore.

The car pulled away from the safe house. I leaned back against the seat and watched the buildings pass outside the window. For the first time in days, I wasn’t staring at the same walls. The tension in my shoulders eased.

“I almost forgot what outside looked like.”

Franklin laughed from the front seat.

The hospital entrance buzzed with people moving in and out. Specialist appointments were scheduled that day, and the lobby was packed. The air smelled of antiseptic and floor cleaner. Phones rang behind the reception desk, and monitors beeped somewhere down the hallway.

My mom and I waited in the lobby.

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Then the atmosphere shifted.

Before I even saw his face, I knew he was important. The receptionist straightened, and a few patients bowed their heads as he passed. He tapped a few shoulders in greeting, then stopped near the hallway entrance and scanned the room.

Alpha Kieran.

I sat up straighter. This wasn’t a coincidence. His eyes went straight to us.

“What’s he doing here?” my mom whispered when I nudged her. My mom’s shoulders stiffened before she lifted her chin to face him.

He walked straight toward us.

“How are you?” His voice carried hesitation. “I heard about the appointment. I wanted to make sure everything went well.”

My mom looked away. “You didn’t have to come.”

“I wanted to.”

Franklin, the obvious culprit, glanced at me, then looked away.

I stood and moved a few steps off, pretending to check my phone.

The thought hit me that Alpha Kieran might actually be the person who could make my mom happy. Hope followed right after. I suddenly felt like I was watching the beginning of something I didn’t know how to name yet. It made me wonder what it would look like if my mom actually chose happiness again.

We were called into the examination room.

The doctor greeted us and guided my mom to the chair. “Ready to see again?”

My mom let out a nervous laugh. “I hope so.”

Alpha Kieran and Franklin stayed near the wall, giving her space. I stood beside my mom, holding her hand.

The doctor began removing the bandage, peeling back each layer while I tightened my grip on her fingers. The last layer came away.

My mom squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them again. A thin film covered her eye. The doctor wiped it away with gauze.

“Open your eyes.”

She opened them. Tears gathered along her lashes.

“Can you see?”

She focused. “Yes. I can see.”

She pulled me into a hug, her grip tight against my shoulders.

When she turned her head, her gaze landed on Kieran. Her brows lifted when she saw him, then she looked away.

The door opened behind us, and another doctor walked in.

My mom blinked, tears still clinging to her lashes. “I can’t believe I can see.”

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“I told you.”

“I forgot how clear things looked.”

The doctor checked her reaction with a small chart, adjusting the lenses for her glasses. When I asked why she needed them, he explained the surgery was successful, but her vision would keep improving over the next few months.

Alpha Kieran stepped closer, careful not to crowd her.

“I didn’t expect you to be here.”

“I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“You didn’t have to.”

Her mouth curved.

There was no pity in his expression. No judgment. No awkward sympathy, and I respected that. 1

We waited upstairs to see the consultant when someone stepped into the doorway.

I turned and saw Cameron standing there.

At first, my brain didn’t process it. I thought I was hallucinating, but he was there, dark circles under his eyes, sleeves of his black shirt pushed to his elbows.

The room seemed to narrow around him. Every other sound faded into the background.

His gaze moved from me to my mom, then back to me again.

My grip tightened around the chair arm. I didn’t know if I wanted to run to him or walk the other direction.

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