My Cheating Mate (Emma and Jeremy) novel Chapter 195

Chapter 195

But I didn’t. Just stared at the message and felt increasingly conflicted.

Footsteps behind me. I turned to find my father approaching–Garrett Reed, one of Alpha Trent’s most trusted enforcers. He’d served the pack for thirty years, had been there through the Black River war, the hunter attacks, the Council conflicts.

“Connor.” He sat beside me on the log. “Your mother said you ran out of the house looking upset. Want to talk about it?”

“Not particularly.”

“Found your mate?” Not a question. He’d always been perceptive.

“Maybe.”

“Maybe? Son, the mate bond isn’t ambiguous. Either you found them or you didn’t.”

“I found her.” The admission came reluctantly. “Grace. Grace Trent is

my

mate.”

My father was quiet for a moment. “Alpha Jeremy’s daughter.”

“Yeah.”

“And you’re upset about this because-?”

“Because I’m with Courtney. Have been for six months. And Grace is “I stopped.

“Grace is what?”

“Complicated. Different. Her whole family is different.” I ran my hands through my hair. “Dad, choosing Grace means choosing all of that. The vampire uncle. The Council politics. The constant scrutiny because her family is the model for integration.”

“And choosing Courtney means what? Simple? Normal?”

“Yes. Exactly that.”

My father sighed. “Connor, I’m going to tell you something I learned thirty years ago during the Black River war. Simple and normal aren’t the same as right. And complicated doesn’t mean wrong.”

“This is different-

“No, it’s not. It’s exactly the same.” He looked at me seriously. “Son, I watched Alpha Jeremy almost destroy his mate bond with Luna Emma. Watched him choose the easy, exciting option over the mate the Moon Goddess gave him. You know how that turned out?”

“He almost lost everything.”

“He did lose everything. For a while. Had to spend years rebuilding trust, proving himself, earning back what he’d thrown away.” He paused. “Connor, Grace is your mate. The Moon Goddess doesn’t make mistakes about these things. You can fight it, ignore it, choose Courtney instead. But that mate bond isn’t going anywhere. It’ll just hurt more the longer you ignore it.”

“What if I don’t want Grace as a mate? What if I want

“What you want doesn’t change what is. You can reject the bond if you’re absolutely certain. Some wolves do. But Connor-” He gripped my shoulder. “Before you make that choice, you should actually get to know Grace. Nor the

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version Courtney tells you about. The real Grace.”

“I’ve known Grace our whole lives.”

“Have you? Or have you known of Grace? Seen her from a distance? Heard other people’s opinions about her?” He stood. “Son, Grace Trent is brilliant, talented, kind. She’s grown up in the spotlight because of her family’s integration model. That’s pressure most wolves never face. And she’s handled it with grace—pun intended while pursuing her art and maintaining her principles.”

“Courtney says she’s weird”

“Courtney says a lot of things.” My father’s voice was flat. “Connor, I like Courtney fine as a person. But I’ve watched her treat Grace poorly for years. Subtle things. Comments about her art, her family, her choices. Nothing overt enough to address formally. But cruel nonetheless.”

“She’s never–Courtney wouldn’t-”

“She absolutely would and has.” He looked at me. “Son, you’re eighteen. You get to make your own choices. But make them with accurate information. Don’t reject a mate bond based on someone else’s opinions about your fated mate. Actually spend time with Grace. Actually talk to her. Then decide.”

After he left, I sat alone with my thoughts.

Grace was my mate. That was fact.

I was with Courtney. Also fact.

I wanted Courtney–her excitement, her ease, her understanding of pack social dynamics.

But my wolf wanted Grace. Desperately. Completely.

And somewhere in there was me, Connor Reed, trying to figure out what I actually wanted versus what I was supposed to want.

My phone buzzed again. Courtney: *Dinner tonight? We can talk about whatever’s bothering you.*

And another message. This one from an unknown number, but the content made it clear–Grace’s number: *You don’t have to acknowledge the bond. I understand if you don’t want this. But I’m giving you 24 hours to decide. After that, I’m making my own choice about how to proceed. – Grace*

Twenty–four hours. Grace was giving me twenty–four hours to choose.

To choose between the mate bond and Courtney.

Between complicated and simple.

Between what the Moon Goddess had given me and what I’d been building for the past six months.

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