My Cheating Mate (Emma and Jeremy) novel Chapter 140

Chapter 140

+15 Bonus

Chapter 140

My Cheating Mate

Jeremy pov

Grace finally fell asleep around 3 AM, her tiny body relaxing in Emma’s arms after a feeding. Emma herself had dozed off shortly after, exhausted from the night’s events and the emotional toll of everything Lord Castellan had

revealed.

I’d carefully transferred both of them to our bedroom, tucking Emma in and placing Grace in the bassinet beside the bed. For a moment, I just stood there watching them-my mate and my daughter, peaceful in sleep despite the chaos surrounding us.

They deserved better than this. Deserved a world where ancient conspiracies didn’t target week-old babies. Where vampire lords didn’t have to assign permanent guards. Where mothers didn’t have to live in constant fear.

I was going to give them that world. Whatever it took.

I left them sleeping and headed downstairs, needing coffee and a moment to process everything. The kitchen was dark except for the pre-dawn light filtering through the windows.

Except it wasn’t empty.

Lord Castellan sat at the kitchen table, perfectly still in that way only vampires could manage. A cup of something sat in front of him-tea, I thought, though I’d never seen him actually consume anything before.

He looked tired. Actually tired. I hadn’t thought vampires could look tired, but his face had a drawn quality I’d never seen before. The kind of exhaustion that went beyond physical-the bone-deep weariness of someone who’d been fighting too long.

“Jeremy.” He acknowledged me without looking up. “Grace is asleep?”

“Finally. Emma too.” I moved to the coffee maker, needing the ritual of making it to keep my hands busy. “I didn’t expect to find you here. Thought you’d be out interrogating Council operatives.”

“I was. For the past four hours.” He finally looked up, and I saw his eyes had returned to their normal dark color. But something in them was different. Haunted, maybe. “I got the information I needed.”

I poured coffee, then sat across from him at the table. “And?”

“The three Council operatives I identified are heading here. To the pack house. They’ll arrive within the hour.” He paused. “They requested a meeting. With you, Emma, and me. To discuss terms.”

“Terms?” My hand tightened on the coffee mug. “They threaten my daughter, plant a spy in my pack, and now they want to negotiate terms?”

“Apparently yes.” He sipped his tea-or whatever was in the cup. “The operatives I spoke with tonight were… lower level. Foot soldiers, essentially. They didn’t know about the Sarah Mitchell operation. Didn’t know about the messages sent to Emma. They’re genuinely concerned that a rogue faction within the Council has gone too far.”

“A rogue faction. Within an already secret extremist organization.” I laughed bitterly. “How deep does this go?”

“Deeper than I initially thought.” He set down his cup carefully. “Jeremy, the Council isn’t a monolithic entity. It’s fractured. Different factions with different methodologies. Some believe in passive resistance to cross-species alliances-political pressure, social maneuvering. Others” He paused. “Others believe in more direct action.”

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Chapter 140

+15 Bonus

“Like threatening babies.”

“Exactly. And apparently, the direct action faction has been operating without full Council approval. Which is why the leadership is willing to meet. To-in theory-distance themselves from what happened and offer assurances it won’t happen again.”

“Do you believe them?”

“No.” The answer was immediate. “But I believe meeting with them gives us intelligence. Lets us see who’s leading which faction. Gives us faces to attach to the threat.”

I drank my coffee, processing. The Council wanted to meet. Here. In my pack house. To discuss my daughter’s safety like it was a business negotiation.

“What do they want in exchange for leaving Grace alone?”

Lord Castellan was quiet for a moment. “They want the alliance dissolved. Want me to withdraw my support from Crescent Moon Pack. Want assurances that Grace won’t be raised in an environment that normalizes vampire- wolf cooperation.”

“So they want us to abandon the alliance that kept us alive through two wars. And raise my daughter isolated from the very allies who’ve been protecting her.” I set down my mug before I crushed it. “That’s not happening.”

“I told them as much. But they’re coming anyway.” He met my eyes. “Jeremy, I need you to understand something. This meeting is dangerous. The Council leadership coming here personally-it could be genuine negotiation, or it could be reconnaissance for a future attack. We need to be prepared for both.”

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