My Cheating Mate (Emma and Jeremy) novel Chapter 275

Chapter 275

Book 2: The Rejected Mate

Nate pov

I kept stealing glances at Rose as we walked through the pack house corridors toward her guest room.

She was stunning. I’d noticed that the moment the mate bond snapped into place two weeks ago, but I’d been so busy fighting the connection that I hadn’t really let myself see her. Really see her.

Dark hair that caught the light. Delicate features that somehow managed to be both soft and strong simultaneously. Her great- uncle’s eyes-that particular shade that seemed to shift between gray and blue depending on the light. Moving with vampire grace even though she was clearly exhausted from crying.

My mate. And I’d made her cry for two weeks straight.

I felt like the biggest fool in supernatural history.

Rose sighed softly. The sound was-broken. Tired. Then a sniffle she tried to hide by turning her head slightly away from me.

Still crying. Even after my apology. Even after I’d promised to try. 1

Because words were cheap. I’d learned that from watching my parents’ relationship. From listening to Dad talk about how he’d had to prove himself to Mom after nearly destroying their mate bond with his own stupidity. 2

I was repeating his mistakes. Running from my mate because I was scared. Acting like fear was a valid excuse for cruelty.

We reached her door. Rose pulled out her key, not looking at me. “Thank you for walking me back. You didn’t have to—”

“I wanted to.” The words came out too fast. Too desperate. “Rose, know that doesn’t mean much right now. But I did want to. Want to spend time with you. Want to-” I stopped. “Want to start fixing what I broke.”

She finally looked at me. Red-rimmed eyes that made guilt twist in my chest. “Nate, why were you afraid of the mate bond? Really afraid? Not the surface reasons about needing space or wanting to travel. The real reason.”

The real reason. The thing I’d been avoiding admitting even to myself.

“I was afraid of failing,” I said quietly. “Rose, my parents almost didn’t make it. My dad made terrible choices. Nearly destroyed their mate bond before it really started. Spent years rebuilding trust. I grew up watching that. Watching how hard it was”

“So you thought-what? That you’d fail the same way?”

“I thought everyone would compare us. Would watch our vampire-wolf mate bond and wait to see if I could do better than my father did. If I could make it work when he almost didn’t.” I ran my hand through my hair. “And I thought-what if I can’t? What if I try and fail anyway? What if I hurt you worse by trying than by just–keeping distance?”

“So you hurt me immediately instead.” Her voice was flat. “Nate, that’s not protection. That’s just-fear disguised as nobility.

She was right. Completely, devastatingly right.

“I know. Dad said the same thing. That I was using fear as justification for avoiding something precious.” I looked at her seriously. “Rose, I don’t have a good excuse. I was scared and I let that fear make me cruel. I avoided you and flirted with other she-wolves and treated the mate bond like it was a burden instead of a gift. That’s-that’s all on me. Not on you. Not on the bond. On me and my cowardice.”

“What changed?” she asked. “Why apologize now instead of continuing to avoid me?”

“Because Dad called me out. Because I saw you walk past while I was flirting with Jessica and the look on your face–” I stopped “Because I realized I was destroying something precious before I’d even given it a chance. And that’s-that’s worse than failing after trying. That’s just giving up.”

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Rose was quiet for a long moment. “I’m a vampire.”

“I know.”

+16 Bonus

“You’re a wolf. We’re fundamentally different species. Different cultures, different instincts, different-everything.” She paused. “Nate, even if you try-even if we both try this might not work. The mate bond doesn’t guarantee compatibility. It just guarantees connection.”

“I know that too.” I took a careful step closer. “But Rose, you’re also Lord Castellan’s great-niece. You were raised understanding integration. Understanding that species differences don’t actually matter when it comes to family. You’re not some stranger who doesn’t understand wolf culture. You’re-you’re someone who gets it. Who’s been prepared for exactly this

kind of bond.”

“Prepared doesn’t mean easy.” Her voice was tired. “Nate, I’ve spent two weeks watching you avoid me. Two weeks feeling the mate bond pull while you ignored it. Two weeks wondering what was wrong with me that my own mate didn’t want me. That doesn’t disappear because you apologized.”