My Cheating Mate (Emma and Jeremy) novel Chapter 153

Ehopter 153

Chapter 153

My Cheating Mate

Grace pov

I didn’t understand why everyone was so serious all the time lately.

Mama and Daddy kept having quiet conversations that stopped when I walked into rooms. Uncle Cas didn’t smile as much, even when I showed him my new drawings. Grandpa Richard kept checking all the windows and doors like he thought someone might try to come in uninvited.

It was weird. And a little scary, even though no one would tell me why.

I was sitting at the kitchen table coloring-trying to draw Uncle Cas with his dark hair and the way his eyes crinkled when he actually smiled-when I heard raised voices from Daddy’s office.

“We’re not sending that response.” That was Mama, her voice sharp. “It’s too aggressive. It’ll provoke them.”

“That’s the point.” Daddy sounded tired. “Emma, they want to take Grace. They want Cas dead. There’s no diplomatic response to that.”

“There has to be a middle ground-”

“There isn’t.” Uncle Cas’s voice, quieter than the others but somehow carrying more weight. “The Council gave an ultimatum. We either comply or we refuse. There is no middle ground.”

I put down my crayon. The purple one I’d been using for Uncle Cas’s shirt. It didn’t feel right to color when everyone sounded so upset.

I slipped off my chair and padded toward the office. The door was cracked open just enough for me to see inside. Mama and Daddy stood by the desk. Uncle Cas was at the window, his back to everyone, looking out at the woods like he could see things the rest of us couldn’t.

“Thirty days,” Mama said. “The deadline is today. We have to send an answer.”

“Then we send what we already decided.” Daddy picked up a piece of paper from his desk. “Simple. Clear. No room for misinterpretation.”

“Read it again,” Uncle Cas said without turning from the window.

Daddy cleared his throat and read: “To the Council of Preservation. We have received your demands regarding our daughter Grace and Lord Castellan. Our answer is no. We will not surrender Grace to Council custody. We will not sever our alliance with Lord Castellan. We will not abandon the integrated world we have built. If you attempt to enforce your demands by force, you will find us ready. Lord Castellan is family. Grace is our daughter. These facts are not negotiable. Respectfully, Alpha Jeremy Trent, Luna Emma Trent, and Lord Castellan of the Nightshade Coven.””

The room was quiet after Daddy finished reading.

M

“It’s a declaration of war, Mama said softly.

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“It’s a statement of fact.” Uncle Cas turned from the window finally. His face looked different than usual Older somehow, even though I knew vampires didn’t really age. Sadder. “Emma, they declared war the moment they demanded Grace. This is just our formal response.”

“Once we send this, there’s no taking it back.”

“I don’t want to take it back.” Daddy set down the paper. “Emma, do you want to take it back? Do you want to give Grace to the Council? Tell Cas he has to leave?”

“Of course not. But-”

“Then this is the only answer we can give.”

I must have made a sound because all three of them turned to look at the door. At me, standing there in

my purple shirt with crayon marks on my hands.

“Grace.” Mama’s face changed immediately, shifting to the smile she used when she didn’t want me to know she was worried. “Sweetie, we didn’t hear you come downstairs. Are you done coloring?”

“You’re fighting.” I walked into the room even though I knew I probably wasn’t supposed to. “About me. And Uncle Cas.”

They exchanged looks. That thing adults did when they were trying to decide what to tell kids.

“We’re not fighting,” Daddy said, kneeling down to my level. “We’re just-discussing something important

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