My Cheating Mate (Emma and Jeremy) novel Chapter 28

I was slowing down. Losing too much blood. These rogues were fresh, trained, organized.

And I was alone.

The large rogue lunged again. I tried to dodge but my injured leg gave out. His jaws closed around my shoulder, shaking violently.

Through the pain, through the blood and chaos, I saw Vanessa. She’d shifted to human form, standing at the edge of the battle, watching me struggle with cold satisfaction.

“How does it feel, Jeremy?” she called out, her voice carrying over the sounds of fighting. “To lose everything? To be helpless?”

I managed to throw off the rogue on my shoulder, but I was hurt badly now. Bleeding from multiple wounds, rry leg barely supporting my weight.

The rogues circled closer, sensing victory.

Then a flash of silver–white exploded into the fray.

Emma.

上

She hit the largest rogue with enough force to crack ribs, her teeth finding his throat before he could react. The other two turned to face this new threat, but Emma was already moving, faster than I’d ever seen her fight.

She wasn’t trying to kill them–she was trying to drive them back, away from me, away from the pack house.

*“Emma, get back inside!“* I tried to project through the mind–link, forgetting for a moment that our bond was dissolved, that she couldn’t hear me anymore.

But she fought like she could feel my panic anyway. Fought like the warrior she’d become in the three months since I’d lost her.

One of the rogues managed to catch her flank, claws raking deep. She yelped but didn’t slow, spinning and catching him across the face.

I forced myself back to my feet, ignoring the screaming pain in my leg and shoulder. Emma was hurt because of me. Fighting because I’d been too weak, too slow.

Not again. I wasn’t going to be weak again.

I launched myself at the rogue who’d hurt her, my jaws finding his spine. He went down hard and didn’t get back up.

r Emma and I stood back to back now, facing the remaining rogues together. Like we had three months ago at the motel. Like we should have been all along.

*Partners. Mates. Fighting as one.*

But through the corner of my eye, I saw the real threat. Vanessa had shifted back to wolf form and was stalking toward us, her eyes fixed on Emma with murderous intent. 1

She’d wanted me to see this. Wanted me distracted by the other rogues while she went after Emma herself.

I moved to intercept, but my injured leg finally gave out completely. I stumbled, falling hard.

And that’s when I saw it–the silver blade in the paws of a rogue I hadn’t noticed. Silver, deadly to wolves, aimed straight at my exposed side.

No time to dodge. No time to shift or defend.

The blade flashed in the sunlight as it descended.

Chapter 28

Theu Emma was there, shoving me aside, taking the strike meant for me.

The silver knife sank deep into her shoulder.

1

She shifted involuntarily from the pain, her human form crumpling to the ground, blood pouring from the wound. “No!” The word tore from my throat as I shifted, catching her before she hit the ground. “Emma! Einma, stay with me!” Her eyes were glazed with pain, her skin already turning gray around the wound. Silver poisoning. It would spread fast. “Jeremy,” she whispered, her hand weakly reaching for my face. “Protect… the pack…”

Then her eyes closed and her hand fell limply to her side.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify