My Cheating Mate (Emma and Jeremy) novel Chapter 142

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Chapter 142

Chapter 142

+15 Bonus

The honesty was refreshing. And somehow more reassuring than empty promises would have been.

“Fair enough.” I started up the stairs. “Forty-five minutes. We’ll be ready.”

I checked on Emma and Grace first-both still sleeping peacefully. I left them there, closing the door quietly, before heading to my father’s room.

He answered on the first knock, already awake and dressed. “Jeremy. What’s wrong?”

“Council leadership is coming. Meeting in forty minutes. We need everyone in position.”

His face hardened. “I’ll get Marcus. What do you need from us?”

“Armed presence. Visible but not aggressive. Show of strength without provocation.” I paused. “Dad, Lord Castellan thinks they might try something. Might use the meeting as cover for an attack.”

“Then we’ll be ready.” He gripped my shoulder. “Son, whatever happens in that meeting, remember-Grace comes first. The pack comes first. If the Council tries to force impossible choices, we don’t negotiate with our daughter’s safety.”

“I know.”

By the time I got back downstairs, Lord Castellan had transformed the dining room into a formal meeting space. The long table positioned strategically, chairs arranged to give us tactical advantage, subtle positioning that probably meant something in vampire politics that I didn’t fully understand.

His vampire warriors were stationed throughout the house-invisible to casual observation but present. I could feel them, could sense their predatory readiness.

My father and Marcus took positions near the entrances, armed but not obviously so. A statement that we were prepared but not openly hostile.

Lord Castellan stood at the head of the table, looking every inch the ancient vampire lord. Gone was the exhaustion I’d seen in the kitchen. This was his political mask-cold, calculated, powerful.

“They’re here,” he said quietly, not looking at any visible sign but clearly sensing their arrival.

A moment later, there was a knock at the front door.

I opened it to find three figures standing on my porch in the pre-dawn light.

Two men and one woman, all appearing to be in their forties but carrying themselves with the kind of presence that suggested they were much, much older. Dressed in expensive but understated clothes. Faces pleasant but eyes that calculated and assessed everything.

“Jeremy Trent,” the woman said, her voice cultured and smooth. “Thank you for receiving us on such short notice. I’m Madeline Corso. This is Thomas Vex and Christopher Dane. We represent the Council.”

“Representatives of an organization that threatened my week-old daughter.” I didn’t move from the doorway.” Give me one reason I shouldn’t kill you all right now.”

Madeline’s smile didn’t waver. “Because we’re here to prevent exactly the kind of escalation that would necessitate violence. May we come in? We have much to discuss.”

I stood aside, letting them enter. They moved with careful grace, eyes tracking every detail, every position, every potential threat.

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Chapter 142

+15 Bonus

Lord Castellan waited in the dining room, perfectly still. When the Council representatives saw him, something shifted in their expressions. Recognition. Concern. Maybe even fear.

“Castellan,” Thomas said carefully. “We weren’t certain you’d actually be here.”

“Where else would I be?” His voice was pleasant ice. “Someone threatened a child under my protection. Did you think I’d handle that through intermediaries?”

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