My Cheating Mate (Emma and Jeremy) novel Chapter 248

Chapter 248

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Chapter 248

“Did you know about the planged assault?” Christopher asked.

“No. Not until after.” She shook her head. “The Preservation Front contacted me three-days before the attack. My father-“Her voice broke. “Thomas Vex was my father. I didn’t know he was high-level Preservation Front leadership until Lord Castellan told me. Didn’t know he was planning an assau Didn’t know about the dead wolf they left at the border with the threatening

note.”

“But you suspected,” Madeline said. “When you gave them Grace’s information, you suspected they weren’t planning pleasant

conversation.”

“Yes.” The admission was quiet. “Yes, I suspected. I just-I didn’t let myself think about it too carefully. Because thinking about it meant acknowledging I was helping terrorists. And I wanted” She stopped. “I wanted to believe there was a version of this where Grace got scared and Connor came back to me and everything went back to how it was before the mate bond.”

“That’s not how mate bonds work,” another Council member observed.

“I know. I knew then. But I-I wasn’t thinking rationally. I was hurt and angry and jealous and the Preservation Front told me what I wanted to hear.” Courtney wiped her eyes roughly. “That doesn’t excuse it. Doesn’t make it better. I’m just—I’m trying to

explain how I made such terrible choices.”

“Tell us about the intelligence you provided to Lord Castellan,” Madeline said. “About your cooperation.”

“After giving the Preservation Front Grace’s schedule, I felt-wrong. Guilty. Scared I’d made a huge mistake.” She took another shaky breath. “Then Lord Castellan contacted me. Asked questions. I told him-I told him everything I knew about the Preservation Front’s plans. About the assault. About my father’s involvement.”

“Why?” Christopher leaned forward. “Miss Vex, why did you cooperate with Lord Castellan when doing so betrayed your own

father?”

“Because I realized-” Courtney’s voice broke completely. “I realized that wanting revenge on Grace didn’t justify helping terrorists. That my jealousy didn’t make attempted kidnapping acceptable. That my father’s ideology was-was wrong. And dangerous. And I’d helped it by giving them information.”

“You gave Lord Castellan intelligence that contributed to stopping the assault,” Madeline said. “Intelligence that helped prepare Crescent Moon Pack’s defenses. Intelligence that ultimately resulted in your father’s death. Did you know Thomas Vex would die when you provided that cooperation?”

“I knew it was possible. Lord Castellan was-he was very clear about what would happen if the Preservation Front attacked.” She was sobbing now. “I knew my father might die. Knew my intelligence might help kill him. And I-I gave it anyway. Because stopping the assault mattered more than-than protecting my father’s extremism.”

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Silence while she cried. I found myself wanting to-comfort her? That didn’t make sense, She’d attacked me. Given extremists my schedule. But watching her break down under Council questioning-

It was hard to stay angry.

“Miss Vex,” Madeline spoke gently now. “You were eighteen years old when these events occurred. Raised in Thomas Vex’s household, taught from childhood that integration was wrong and traditional separation was sacred. To what extent do you believe your upbringing contributed to your choices?”

“It gave me the framework.” Courtney wiped her eyes. “My father taught me that the Trent family’s vampire alliance was unnatural. That integration undermined pack tradition. That Grace was-was wrong just for existing in a family that included Lord Castellan. I believed those things because my father said them and I trusted him.”

“And now?” Christopher asked. “Do you still believe integration is wrong?”

“No.” The answer was immediate. “I don’t-I can’t believe that anymore. Not after watching Alpha Jeremy show me more compassion than my father ever did. Not after Lord Castellan treating me with more dignity than the Preservation Front showed

Chapter 23

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anyone. Not after Grace” She looked directly at me for the first tirife: “Not after Grace texted me hoping I found peace after I’d attacked her with a knife. Integration isn’t wrong. My father’s ideology was wrong. I just-I couldn’t see it until I’d already made terrible choices based on what he taught ine.”

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Chapter 229