My Cheating Mate (Emma and Jeremy) novel Chapter 281

Chapter 281

Book 2: The Rejected Mate

Nate pov

I stood in the pack house dining room, night-blooming jasmine carefully wrapped in my hand, waiting for Rose to arrive for breakfast.

I’d been up since dawn. Had gone to Mom’s garden and cut the jasmine exactly like she’d instructed. Had rehearsed what I’d say-something honest and simple. “Rose, I brought you flowers. I’m sorry for the past two weeks. I want to try. Actually try. Will you let me?”

The dining room was filling up with pack members for the morning meal. More witnesses than I’d anticipated. Which was good, according to Mom. Public claiming. Public commitment. Proof that I was choosing Rose.

1 My wolf was pacing. Nervous energy that came from knowing I was about to make a declaration. About to tell the entire pack that Rose Castellan was my mate and I’d been an idiot for avoiding her.

“Nate!” Jessica Matthews’ voice cut through my thoughts. She was approaching with that particular smile—the one that said she thought we had something despite me explicitly pulling back yesterday. “There you are. I’ve been looking for you.”

“Jessica.” I kept my voice neutral. Polite but distant. “I’m actually waiting for someone-

“Oh, I know. You’re always waiting for someone these days.” She moved closer, touching my arm. Familiar. Too familiar. “But you’ve got a minute, right? I wanted to talk about the pack run this weekend. I thought maybe we could-”

“Jessica, I need you to stop.” I stepped back, breaking the contact. “I can’t-we can’t do this. I’m not available.”

“Not available?” She laughed. Light. Flirty. Like I was joking. “Nate, we’ve been hanging out for weeks. I thought

11

“You thought wrong.” I tried to keep my voice gentle. “Jessica, I was-I was being an idiot. Leading you on when I shouldn’t have been. But I’m not available. I’m mated. Have been for two weeks. I just-I was too scared to acknowledge it.”

Her expression shifted. Surprise, then hurt, then something calculating. “Mated? To who?”

“Rose Castellan.” I said it clearly. Loudly enough that nearby pack members could hear. “She’s my fated mate. The Moon Goddess chose us two weeks ago and I’ve been-I’ve been handling it badly. But I’m done with that. Done avoiding her. Done pretending the bond doesn’t exist.”

“Rose Castellan.” Jessica’s voice had gone cold. “The vampire. You’re claiming a vampire as your mate?”

“I’m claiming my fated mate. Who happens to be vampire.” I held up the jasmine. “Jessica, I’m sorry if I led you on. That was wrong of me. But I need you to understand-there’s nothing between us. There never was. I was just -running from what I should have been running toward.”

“This is ridiculous.” Her voice was rising now. Loud enough that conversations around us were stopping. Pack members turning to watch. “Nate, we’ve been building something for weeks. You can’t just—you can’t throw that away for some vampire who’s only been here two weeks.”

“There was no ‘something’ to throw away. We hung out. I flirted. That was wrong of me when I was already mated. But Jessica-that’s all it was. Hanging out. Nothing serious. Nothing real.” I took another step back. “I’m asking you to respect that. To stop flirting. To accept that I’m with Rose.”

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Chapter 281

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“With Rose?” She laughed again. Sharp. Bitter. “Nate, she’s a vampire. She doesn’t even understand pack culture. Doesn’t know our traditions. Doesn’t belong here. How can you choose her over-over wolves who actually fit?”

“Because she’s my mate.” My voice was firm now. Final. “Jessica, Rose is Lord Castellan’s great-niece. She understands integration better than most wolves in this pack. She’s been learning our traditions from my mother. She’s gracious and kind and exactly where she belongs. And I’m done letting fear or pack politics or anything else make me pretend otherwise.”

“You’re making a mistake

TI

“The only mistake I made was avoiding Rose for two weeks while flirting with you and others.” I met her eyes. Jessica, I’m sorry. I hurt you by leading you on. That was wrong. But I need you to back off. To accept that I’m choosing my mate. That this “I gestured between us. “-is over. Was never really started. And isn’t happening.”

“Everyone’s watching,” she said quietly. Viciously. “You’re making a scene. Claiming a vampire in front of the whole pack. Is this really what you want? To be known as the wolf who rejected pack she-wolves for a vampire?”

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