My Cheating Mate (Emma and Jeremy) novel Chapter 11

My Cheating Mate

Jeremy pov

I gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turned white as I drove through the night toward the address my private investigator had finally tracked down. Emma was three states away, holed up in some seedy motel that made my wolf snarl with protective instinct.

She shouldn’t be in a place like that. She should be home, safe, in our house where she belonged.

Even though I was the reason she’d left.

The thought sat heavy in my chest. It had been weighing on me more and more over the past week, especially after my last encounter with Vanessa. The way she’d talked about Emma, the casual cruelty, the complete lack of empathy–it had repulsed me in a way I couldn’t ignore. 3.

When had Vanessa become so… callous?

Or had she always been like this, and I’d just been too blinded by desire to see it? 2

My phone buzzed. Vanessa’s name appeared on the screen. I ignored it. She’d called six times today, each message more demanding than the last, wanting to know what I was doing about “the Emma situation.”

The Emma situation. Like my mate was a problem to be solved instead of a person I’d hurt.

I’d hurt her. Badly. The realization had been growing steadily over the past week, fed by Marcus’s barely restrained violence every time he looked at me, by my father’s disappointment, by the gaping hole in my chest where Emma’s presence through the mate bond used to be.

She knew. She had to know about the affair. There was no other explanation for why she’d leave so completely, taking only what was hers and blocking me almost entirely through the bond.

The question was: how much did she know?

Just the affair? Or had she heard Vanessa and me talking about using her as a broodmare? About the plan to get her pregnant and then reject her?

The thought made me sick. If she’d heard that, if she knew I’d been planning to use her so callously…

My wolf whined, actual distress bleeding through. He’d been increasingly agitated all week, fighting me constantly, snarling

୮ whenever Vanessa came near. It was like he’d finally woken up and realized what we’d done.

What we’d lost.

The GPS announced I was five minutes from the motel. My heart rate picked up, anxiety and anticipation warring in my chest. What would I say to her? How could I possibly explain?

I couldn’t. There was no explanation that would make this better, no excuse that would justify betraying my mate.

But I had to try. Had to at least see her, talk to her, figure out what she was planning to do with whatever proof she had.

The motel came into view a run–down place with flickering neon lights and cracked parking lot asphalt. My wolf snarled again. This was where my mate had been staying? This dump?

I parked and sat for a moment, trying to gather my thoughts. Through the mate bond, I could finally feel her clearly now that I was close. She was awake, her emotions a chaotic mix of anger, hurt, and something else.

Fear.

She was afraid of me.

+25 BONUS

The realization hit like a physical blow. Emma, my sweet, gentle Emma, was afraid of her own mate.

1

I got out of the car and headed for room 47, the one the investigator had identified. Light showed under the door. She was definitely awake.

I raised my hand to knock, then hesitated. What if she ran? What if seeing me made her bolt, and I lost track of her again? Before I could second–guess myself further, I knocked. Three sharp raps.

Silence from inside. Then, carefully: “Who is it?”

Her voice. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed her voice until this moment.

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