My Cheating Mate (Emma and Jeremy) novel Chapter 42

My Cheating Mate

Emma pov

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Three hours. I’d been pacing the surgical waiting room for three hours, wearing a path in the linoleum while my father sat silently in the corner and Alpha Richard spoke in hushed tones with pack council members.

Jeremy’s blood had dried on my hands, dark and rust-colored. I’d tried to wash it off in the bathroom, but some had gotten under my fingernails, in the creases of my palms. Evidence of how close he’d come to bleeding out in my lap.

Evidence of how stupid and stubborn he was.

“He’s going to be fine,” my father said for the tenth time. “Jeremy’s strong. He’ll pull through.”

“He reopened surgical wounds that were barely healed,” I snapped, my fear conftag out as anger. “He pushed himself to testify when Dr. Reeves explicitly told him he wasn’t ready. He stood up there bleeding internally and didn’t say a word until he collapsed!”

“Because he needed to finish,” Alpha Richard said, approaching us. His face was haggard, aged by worry. “My son can be many things-foolish, stubborn, self-destructive when he feels he deserves punishment. But he needed to tell the truth. Needed the pack to hear it from him.”

“And it might kill him!” My voice cracked. “He might die because he was too proud or too guilty or too-” I stopped, pressing my palms against my eyes. “I can’t lose him. Not like this. Not when I’m still so angry at him but also-”

“Love him,” my father finished quietly. “You still love him.”

“Yes!” The admission burst out of me. “I love him and I hate him and I’m furious that he did this to himself and I’m terrified he

won’t wake up and I-” The words dissolved into sobs.

My father pulled me into his arms, letting me cry against his chest like I was five years old again. “It’s okay, baby girl. All of those feelings can be true at once.”

“It’s not fair,” I said, my voice muffled. “I was supposed to have time. Space to figure out what I wanted. And now he might die before I can decide if I can forgive him.”

“Then maybe the decision is already made,” Alpha Richard said gently.

I pulled back from my father, wiping my eyes. “What?”

“Emma, you’ve been by his side every day since he woke from his coma. You held his hand through physical therapy. You read to him. You testified yesterday knowing it would rip open your own wounds.” The Alpha’s voice was soft. “And today, who he collapsed, you didn’t hesitate. Didn’t think. You just ran to him.”

“That doesn’t mean-

IT

“It means exactly what you think it means,” he interrupted. “You love my son. Not the idea of him, not the mate bond, not obligation. You love him. Even after everything he’s done.”

“Loving him doesn’t mean I should be with him,” I argued weakly. “Love isn’t always enough.”

“No, it’s not,” Alpha Richard agreed. “But it’s a start. And Emma, I’ve watched Jeremy these past months. The guilt, the regret, the complete transformation in how he sees you, sees himself. He’s not the same man who betrayed you.”

“How do I know that?” The question came out desperate. “How do I know he won’t hurt me again the second things get comfortable?”

“You don’t,” my father said. “That’s the risk of loving anyone. But Emma, I’ve known Jeremy since he was born. I’ve never seen him fight as hard as he did during that rogue attack. Never seen him more committed to anything than he is to proving himself

Chopte

worthy ef you’

“He almost died proving π,”Lsaid bitterly.

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“Yes. He did.” Alpha Richard’s expression was grave. “And that’s something we need to address when he wakes up. This self destructive guilt complex isn’t sustainable. But Emma, the fact that he’s willing to die to make things right doesn’t that tell you something?”

Before I could answer, Dr. Reeves pushed through the surgical wing doors. Her scrubs were spattered with blood-Jeremy’s blood-and her expression was exhausted but not devastated.

Not devastated meant he was alive.

I couldn’t breathe until she confirmed it.

3

“He’s stable,” she said, and the relief almost knocked me over. “We repaired the damaged sutures, stopped the internal bleeding, gave him two units of blood. He’s going to recover, but Emma-” She looked directly at me. “He cannot do this again. Cannot push himself before he’s healed. The next time, we might not be able to save him.”

“There won’t be a next time,” I said firmly. “I’ll make sure of it.”

“Can we see him?” Alpha Richard asked.

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