My Cheating Mate (Emma and Jeremy) novel Chapter 242

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Chapter 242

She was quiet for a moment. “I don’t feel bad about it either. Is that wrong? Should I-should I feel worse about extremists being hunted?”

“No. You should feel relieved that the people threatening you are being dealt with.” I kissed her forehead. “Grace, you’re allowed to want safety. Allowed to be okay with Uncle Cas eliminating threats to our family.”

The office door opened. Alpha Jeremy emerged, and his expression was-fury. Barely contained, absolutely lethal fury.

Lord Castellan was behind him, talking quickly. “Jeremy, we approach this systematically. We use Courtney’s intelligence to track patterns, identify locations-”

“Systematically?” Alpha Jeremy’s voice was too quiet. Too controlled. “Cas, these extremists tried to kidnap my daughter this morning. Are planning to target my son if that didn’t work. You want me to be systematic about hunting them?”

“I want you to be effective about hunting them. Rage makes mistakes. Mistakes get people killed.” Lord Castellan moved in front of him. “Jeremy, I understand. Grace is my niece. The thought of Marcus Dane or Elena Frost succeeding where Thomas failed-it makes me want to tear the world apart to find them. But we’re better than rage. We’re smarter than that.”

“Are we? Because right now smart feels like letting threats continue existing while we gather intelligence and plan carefully.” Alpha Jeremy looked toward where Grace and I sat. “My daughter completed her mate bond last night. Should be celebrating. Should be enjoying being newly mated. Instead she’s processing terrorist threats and learning the assault this morning was just one battle in a longer war.”

“Daddy-” Grace started to stand.

“Stay with Connor.” His voice softened slightly when he looked at her. “Baby girl, I’m not angry at you. I’m angry at extremists who think terrorizing my family is acceptable. Who think my choices about who to include in my pack are their business to oppose with violence.”

“The Preservation Front is broken,” Lord Castellan said. “Thomas is dead. Twelve of their wolves are captured. Their coordinated assault capacity is gone. Marcus and Elena are–they’re remnants. Dangerous remnants, yes. But not the immediate existential threat Thomas represented.”

“Until they rebuild. Recruit. Plan new attacks.” Alpha Jeremy ran his hand through his hair. “Cas, how long do we live like this? How long does Grace need protection protocols? How long do we prepare for the next assault?”

“As long as it takes to find Marcus and Elena and end them.” Lord Castellan’s voice was absolute. “Jeremy, I’m going to hunt them. Personally. I’m going to use every resource the Nightshade Coven has Every contact. Every favor owed to me over eleven centuries. And I’m going to eliminate the Preservation Front leadership permanently.”

“How long will that take?”

“I don’t know. Could be weeks. Could be months. Marcus and Elena are careful. Paranoid. They’ve survived this long by being smart about security.” He paused. “But Jeremy, they made a mistake this morning. They tried to kidnap Grace. They escalated to violence against my family. That’s-that’s the kind of mistake I can work with.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning they’re emotionally invested now. Angry that Thomas failed. Determined to succeed where he didn’t. That emotional investment will make them careless eventually. Will create patterns I can exploit.” Lord Castellan’s eyes had gone black. “They should have stayed in the shadows. Should have stuck to political opposition. The moment they tried to kidnap Grace they made this personal. And I’m very good at ending things that are personal.”

The temperature in the room had dropped. I pulled Grace closer, my wall responding to the vampire lord’s power with instinctive wariness.

“What do you need from me?” Alpha Jereiny asked.

Chapter 24:

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“Keep Grace safe. Maintain security protocols until I’ve confirmed Marcus and Elena are eliminated. Keep the coalition strong- allied packs and covens need to know we’re still standing, still defending integration despite the assault.”

“Done. What else?”

“Let me work. Don’t-don’t interfere when I find them. Don’t insist on pack justice or formal proceedings. Marcus Dane and Elena Frost are going to disappear. Quietly. Permanently. That’s not negotiable.”

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