My Cheating Mate (Emma and Jeremy) novel Chapter 181

Chapter 181

My Cheating Mate

Emma pov

The pregnancy test sat on the bathroom counter, two pink lines unmistakable in the morning ligh

Positive.

I was pregnant. Again.

My hands were shaking as I picked it up, confirming what I’d already seen three times. Two lines Definitely pregnant. Approximately six weeks along based on my calculations, which meant conception had happened right around that evening–the one we’d stolen for ourselves while Grace stayed with Grandpa Richard.

The unproductive evening. Very productive, apparently, 1

I sat on the edge of the bathtub, test still in my trembling hands, processing. Trying to sort through the tangle of emotions that came with this discovery.

Happy. I was happy. Definitely happy. Jeremy and I had talked vaguely about maybe having another child eventually. Grace had been asking for a sibling for the past year–specifically requesting a baby broth who could “learn about horses and also maybe dragons if those become available.”

But the timing.

The Council ceasefire had four years and ten months remaining. We were in the middle of rebuilding coalition structures. Grace’s sixth birthday was in two weeks. The formal family portrait she’d requested -the one that would make a political statement about Cas being family–was scheduled for next month.

And now I was pregnant. With a second child who would be born into the same complicated, dangerous, politically fraught world that Grace had been born into.

A second child the Council would see as another symbol of integration. Another threat to their ideology.

A second child who would grow up calling Cas “Uncle Cas” and not understanding why that was supposed to be revolutionary.

I set down the test and put my face in my hands.

Happy. Terrified. Overwhelmed. All of it at once, mixing together until I couldn’t separate individual emotions anymore.

“Emma?” Jeremy’s voice from the bedroom. “You okay? You’ve been in there a while.”

I picked up the test. Stood. Opened the bathroom door.

He was getting dressed for the day–jeans and a pack t–shirt, the informal Alpha uniform for days without

official business. He saw my face and stopped mid–motion, shirt half on.

“What’s wrong?

I held out the test without speaking. Let him see the two pink lines.

His expression went through several rapid shifts–confusion, recognition, shock, and then something that looked unmistakably like joy breaking through everything else.

“You’re pregnant.”

“I’m pregnant.” My voice came out steadier than I felt. “Six weeks, approximately, I’ve been feeling off for a couple weeks but I thought it was just stress from coalition coordination and Grace’s birthday planning and-“I stopped. “I’m pregnant.”

He closed the distance between us in two steps, pulling me into his arms. “Emma. We’re having another baby.”

“We’re having another baby.” I held onto him, grounding myself in his solid presence. “Jeremy, I’m happy. I am. But I’m also-”

“Terrified?”

“Completely terrified.” I pulled back to look at his face. “Grace was born into hunter attacks and vampire debts and Council threats. We’ve spent six years protecting her from organizations that want to destroy what we’ve built. And now-” My voice cracked. “Now we’re bringing another child into this. Another target. Another symbol for the Council to obsess over.”

“Or another member of our family. Another person we love.” He touched my face gently. “Emma, I know the timing isn’t perfect. I know the world is still dangerous. But Grace–Grace is thriving. She’s happy and confident and building three–story horse parliaments. We protected her through everything. We can protect this baby too.”

“Grace had the full force of vampire–wolf coalition protecting her from birth. This baby-” I paused. “This baby will be born during the ceasefire. During the waiting period. When we’re all holding our breath waiting to see if Aldric’s vote changes the Council’s position.”

“Which means less active threat than Grace faced.” He pulled me close again. “Emma, the ceasefire is holding. The coalition is stronger than ever. Aldric is reconsidering eleven centuries of positions. We’re in a better position now than we were six years ago.”

“Or we’re in the calm before the storm. The pause before the Council’s final vote.”

“Maybe. But Emma-” He put his hand on my still–flat stomach, tentative but reverent. “This baby is going to grow up with Grace as a big sister. With Uncle Cas teaching them about vampire history. With two packs worth of aunts and uncles and cousins. With a family that’s already fought wars to protect what we’ve built.”

“Grace is going to be so excited.” The thought made me smile despite the fear. “She’s been asking for a sibling for a year.”

“She’ll probably want to name them after a horse.”

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“She’ll probably want to build them a block stable before they’re even born.” I put my hand over his, both of us touching the place where our second child was growing. “Jeremy, I’m scared. More scared than I was with Grace somehow, even though objectively things are safer now.”

“Because you know more now. About how much can go wrong. About how many threats are out there.” He kissed my forehead. “Emma, being scared doesn’t mean we’re making a mistake. It means we understand what we’re protecting.”