My Cheating Mate (Emma and Jeremy) novel Chapter 7

Chapter 7

My Cheating Mate

Jeremy pov

I stared at my phone screen, reading Emma’s last text to her father for the third time. I’d hacked into the Beta’s phone–not difficult when I had Alpha access to pack systems desperate for any information about where Emma had gone. 2

*“I have proof.“*

Two words that made my blood run cold. 1

Proof of what? The affair? Something else? And what did she plan to do with it?

My office door opened without a knock, and Vanessa sauntered in wearing a dress that was far too revealing for pack house business. The sight of her usually excited me, but today my wolf snarled with actual hostility. 1

“Jeremy, baby, we need to talk.” She perched on the edge of my desk, crossing her legs deliberately. “It’s been almost a week. When are you going to reject Emma and make this official?” 3

I set my phone down carefully, fighting the urge to snap at her. “Vanessa, now’s not the time.”

“Not the time?” She laughed, sharp and grating. “When is the time, then? She’s gone, Jeremy. She left you. This is perfect. You can claim she abandoned the pack, reject her for desertion, and we can finally be together like we’re supposed to be.”

My wolf’s snarl intensified. He’d been increasingly agitated over the past week, pacing restlessly, pushing against my control in ways he hadn’t since I was a teenager learning to shift.

*She’s not our mate,* he growled. *Never was. Never will be.* 7

I shoved him down, irritated. He’d wanted Vanessa for years, had been perfectly happy with our arrangement. Why was he suddenly being difficult? 4

“It’s complicated,” I said, rubbing my temples where a headache was forming. “Emma’s father is the Beta. I can’t just reject his daughter without serious political ramifications.”

“So what?” Vanessa slid off the desk and moved closer, trailing her fingers down my chest. “Your father is the Alpha. He can handle Marcus. And once we announce our mating, once I’m carrying your heir, what can anyone really do about it?” 1

The casualness with which she discussed destroying Emma’s life, her reputation, her standing in the pack—it made something twist uncomfortably in my gut. 1

Γ “Vanessa, Emma’s been gone less than a week. If I immediately reject her and mate with you, everyone will know. They’ll figure out we were together before she left.”

2

“Let them figure it out.” Her eyes gleamed with something predatory. “Half the pack already suspects. And honestly, most of them will probably be relieved. Emma’s sweet, but she’s weak. She’s not Luna material. I am.”

Weak. She’d called Emma weak.

The same Emma who’d apparently figured out our affair, packed up her life, and disappeared without a trace. The same Emma who’d managed to block me almost completely through the mate bond, something that took serious strength and training. The same Emma who apparently had “proof” of something that made my father look at me with disappointment and Marcus look at me with barely restrained violence.

That didn’t sound weak. That sounded terrifyingly competent.

2

“You need to be patient,” I said, pulling away from Vanessa’s touch. “We do this wrong, and it could cost me the Alpha position.” “Then do it right!” Her voice sharpened with frustration. “Reject her for abandoning her pack duties. That’s grounds for

+25 BONUS

severing a mate bond. Then wait a respectful amount of time–a month, maybe two–before announcing that you and I have found comfort in each other during this difficult time. People will eat that up.” 2

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