My Cheating Mate (Emma and Jeremy) novel Chapter 84

My Cheating Mate

Jeremy pov

I woke to the best sight I’d seen in months–Emma curled against my chest, her hair splayed across tury shoulder, her breath deep and peaceful. The afternoon sunlight streamed through the cabin windows, casting everything in warm gold.

We’d made love. Actually made love, not just had sex. She’d trusted me with her body, her vulnerability, her heart. After everything I’d done, all the ways I’d hurt her, she’d still chosen to be intimate with me.

The weight of that trust felt both terrifying and precious.

I carefully brushed a strand of hair from her face, marveling at how peaceful she looked. No worry lines. No guarded expression. Just Emma, beautiful and trusting and mine.

Not fully mine. Not yet. We still had so much to work through. But more mine than I’d been in months, and that was enough to make my chest tight with gratitude.

I pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, careful not to wake her. She’d been through hell–the attack, the fear, the emotional exhaustion. She needed rest.

My phone buzzed on the nightstand. Once. Twice. Three times in rapid succession.

Dread pooled in my stomach. Multiple urgent calls at–I checked the clock–just past six PM. Nothing good came from that kind of urgency.

I carefully extracted myself from Emma’s embrace, tucking the blanket around her before padding naked into the living root to grab my phone.

Seven missed calls. All from my father.

The dread intensified.

I called him back immediately. He answered on the first ring.

“Jeremy. Thank God. I’ve been trying to reach you for twenty minutes.”

His tone–clipped, urgent, barely controlled–made my blood run cold. “What happened?”

“It’s Black River. They didn’t go to ground. They were planning.” I heard papers rustling in the background. “We just received intelligence from Silverbrook. Black River made contact with two other mercenary groups. They’re conserdating. Building a coalition.”

“How many wolves are we talking about?”

“Best estimate? Over a hundred. Three professional mercenary factions working together.” He paused. “Jeremy, they’re not just targeting Emma anymore. They’re planning a full–scale assault on Crescent Moon territory. They want to destroy the entire pack.”

The words hit like a physical blow. “Why? The contract was on Emma. Why escalate to-

ER

“Because we embarrassed them.” My father’s voice was grim. “They attacked with fifty wolves and we held them off, killed several of theirs, exposed their intelligence source. For professional mercenaries, that’s a reputation problem. They need to prove they can complete a contract, no matter the resistance.”

“So they’re bringing in reinforcements.”

“More than that. They’re turning this into a statement. A message to other packs: don’t fuck with Black River contracts.”

14

alt

Chapter

+15 Bonus

I sank onto the couch, mind racing. A hundred mercenaries. Professional fighters with military training and no loyalty except to money. Against our pack, even with allied support

“What’s our defensive capability?” I asked.

“We have about sixty combat–ready wolves. Silverbrook can send thirty. Moonshadow another twenty. That’s roughly one hundred and ten against their hundred.” He passed. “On paper, we have the advantage. Home territory, fortified positions, alliance support. But Jeremy, these are mercenaries. They won’t fight fair. They’ll use tactics we’re not prepared for.”

“When?”

“Unknown. Could be days. Could be a week. Our scouts are tracking their movements but they’re being careful, staying in neutral territory while they coordinate.”

I thought about Emma, sleeping peacefully in the next room. Thought about her curled against me, trusting and vulnerable and finally starting to heal.

“Emma can’t come back,” I said. “Not until this is over. She needs to stay here, stay hidden.”

“Agreed. But Jeremy-” My father’s voice softened. “We need you. Need your tactical mind. Your strategic thinking. I wouldn’t ask if we had another choice, but with Marcus coordinating security and me handling alliance politics, we don’t have anyone else who can plan large–scale defensive operations.”

“You want me to leave Emma here. Alone.”

“The safe house is secure. She has weapons, communication equipment, supplies for weeks. And Jeremy, if Black River is consolidating for a major assault, they’re not wasting resources hunting for her. They’re focused on the pack now.”

He was right. Strategically, it made sense. Emma was safer here than anywhere else. The pack needed leadership. Needed someone who understood tactics and could coordinate a defense against professional mercenaries.

But the thought of leaving her especially now, after what we’d just shared–made my wolf snarl with protective fury.

“How long would I need to be gone?”

“Unknown. Until we have a better sense of their timeline and can finalize defensive positions.” He paused. “I’m not ordering you, son. I’m asking. Can you leave her? Can you trust that she’s safe here while you help protect the pack?”

Could I? The last time I’d left her, mercenaries had attacked. Drake had betrayed us. Everything had gone to hell.

But this was different. No one knew this location except my father and Marcus. The safe house was designed to be invisible,

r undetectable. Emma would actually be safer here than anywhere in pack territory.

And my pack needed me. Our wolves needed me. People were going to die if we didn’t plan this defense properly.

“I’ll come back,” I said finally. “But I need to talk to Emma first. Need to make sure she’s okay with this.”

“Of course. Call me back within the hour with your decision.” A pause. “And Jeremy? I’m sorry. I know the timing is shit. Know you two just started–whatever you’ve started. But—”

“The pack comes first. I know, Dad. I’ve always known.”

After we hung up, I sat in the darkening living room for several minutes, trying to figure out how to tell Emma. How to explain that I needed to leave her alone in a safe house while I went back to coordinate a defense against a hundred mercenary wolves.