My Cheating Mate (Emma and Jeremy) novel Chapter 270

Chapter 270

Book 2: The Rejected Mate

Connor pov

I stood in the pack house common room, coffee in hand, watching my son make an absolute fool of himself.

Nathaniel Reed-Nate to everyone who knew him was twenty-one years old, newly returned from his year of Alpha training with allied packs, and apparently determined to test every ounce of patience I had left.

He was flirting. Aggressively. With Jessica Matthews and her friend Sarah, two she wolves who were eating up the attention from the future Alpha’s son with obvious interest.

“And then,” Nate was saying, leaning against the wall with practiced casual confidence, “I took down the rogue alpha in under three minutes. Beta Marcus said it was the fastest he’d ever seen someone

He stopped mid-sentence as Rose walked past.

Rose Castellan. Lord Castellan’s great-niece, newly arrived from the Nightshade Coven to spend a year learning about wolf pad dynamics. Twenty years old, dark hair, her great-uncle’s striking features softened into something hauntingly beautiful.

And-critically-Nate’s fated mate.

The mate bond had snapped into place two weeks ago when Rose arrived. I’d seen it happen-the recognition in both their eye the immediate pull, the way Nate had gone absolutely still like his entire world had just reorganized itself around this vampire he’d never met.

For about ten seconds, it had seemed like everything would be fine.

Then Nate had decided-for reasons I still didn’t fully understand to completely ignore the mate bond.

Ignore her. Rose. His fated mate.

Rose walked past without looking at him, heading toward the library with a stack of books about pack governance. She moved with vampire grace, deliberate and controlled, but I caught the slight tightening around her eyes as she heard Nate flirting with Jessica.

Nate watched her pass. Something flickered across his face–longing, maybe, or conflict-then he turned back to Jessica with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Anyway, as I was saying-‘

I’d had enough. 1

I crossed the room, nodding at Jessica and Sarah. “Ladies, if you’ll excuse us. I need to speak with my son.”

“Sure, Mr. Reed.” Jessica smiled at Nate. “We’ll catch up later?”

“Definitely,” Nate said, his voice smooth. Practiced.

After they left, Nate turned to me with carefully neutral expression. “Dad, I was in the middle of-”

“Acting like an idiot?” I kept my voice low. Controlled. “Nate, your mate just walked past and you’re flirting with other she- wolves. What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m socializing. Making connections with the pack”

“You’re performing. Putting on a show.” I gestured toward where Rose had disappeared. “Nate, that’s your fated mate. Rose is your mate and you’re what? Pretending she doesn’t exist? Trying to make her jealous? Testing the bond to see if it’s real?”

“I’m not pretending anything.” His jaw tightened. “Dad, I’m twenty-one years old. I just got back from a year of intense

Chapter 328

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training. I’m allowed to-to figure things out before committing to a mate bond I didn’t ask for.”

“You didn’t ask for it? Nate, the Moon Goddess doesn’t take requests. The mate bond isn’t something you negotiate. It’s-“I stopped. Took a breath. Ta gift. A rare, precious gift that most wolves spend their entire lives hoping to find. And you’re treating it like an inconvenience.”

“It is an inconvenience!” The words burst out. Dad, I had plans. I was going to travel more, train with other packs, maybe explore before settling down. And then Rose shows up and suddenly I’m supposed to what? Drop everything because the Moon Goddess decided she’s mine?”

“You’re supposed to honor the bond. Get to know her. Give the connection a chance instead of actively fighting it by flirting with every she-wolf in the pack house.” I looked at him seriously. “Nate, Rose didn’t ask for this either. She’s far from home, learning about a culture that’s not hers, dealing with a fated mate who won’t acknowledge her existence. That’s-that’s cruel.”

“I’m not being cruel-”

“You are. Whether you intend to be or not.” I paused. “Son, what are you actually afraid of? Because this isn’t about wanting to travel or needing time. This is about fear. So what is it? Fear of commitment? Fear that Rose won’t be what you want? Fear that accepting the mate bond means giving up some version of yourself?”

He was quiet for a long moment. Looking everywhere except at me.

“She’s a vampire,” he said finally.

There it was. The real issue.

“Rose is a vampire,” I repeated carefully. “Nate, you’ve grown up with Lord Castellan as your great-uncle. You’ve spent your entire life in an integrated family where species boundaries don’t matter. Why is this different?”

“Because Uncle Cas is Uncle Cas. He’s been family since before I was born. That’s–that’s different than being mated to a vampire. Being bound to someone who’s fundamentally different Who doesn’t understand pack bonds or wolf culture or-” He stopped. “Dad, what if we’re incompatible? What if the mate bond is wrong?”

“The mate bond is never wrong.” My voice was firm. “Nate, I know this is scary. I know having a vampire mate feels complicated. But Rose is Lord Castellan’s great-niece. She’s been raised with the same values, the same understanding of integration. She’s not some stranger who doesn’t understand our world. She’s-she’s perfect for you if you’d give her a chance.”

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