My Cheating Mate (Emma and Jeremy) novel Chapter 88

Chapter BR

My Cheating Mate

Jeremy pov

The war room was packed–every warrior, enforcer, and combat–capable wolf in the pack, plus representatives from Silverbrook and Moonshadow. Maps covered the table, showing defensive positions, patrol routes, potential attack vectors.

“Black River will likely strike from the northwest,” I was saying, pointing to the terrain map. “The forest is densest there, giving them cover until they’re practically on top of us. We need triple patrols in that sector, with overlapping fields of fire –‘

My phone rang. The sound cut through my tactical briefing like a knife.

“Ignore it,” my father said. “We need to finish-”

But something about the ring made my wolf surge forward, hackles raised. Instinct. Danger.

I pulled out my phone. Unknown number.

“I should take this,” I said, already moving toward the door.

“Jeremy, we’re in the middle of-”

“It could be about Emma.” The excuse came out automatically, though I knew somehow it wasn’t. This was something else. Something worse.

I stepped into the hallway and answered. “Yes?”

“Jeremy Trent.” The voice was male, rough, with an accent I couldn’t quite place. “Future Alpha of Crescent Moon Pack. I’ve heard so much about you.”

My blood ran cold. “Who is this?”

“I think you know who this is.” A dark chuckle. “Or rather, who I represent. Black River sends its regards.”

The mercenary leader. Had to be. The massive wolf who’d charged at Emma, who’d fought with professional brutality, who’d escaped into the forest.

“What do you want?” I kept my voice steady despite the adrenaline flooding my system.

“What do I want? That’s an interesting question.” I could hear him moving, background noise suggesting he was outdoors.” Originally, I wanted one thing. One female. Emma Smith. Simple contract. Clean kill. Everyone goes home happy.”

“That’s not happening.”

“No, it’s not. Because you made it complicated. You embarrassed my organization. Killed my wolves. Exposed our intelligence source.” His voice hardened. “You turned a simple assassination into a fucking catastrophe for our reputation.”

“Good.”

“Good?” He laughed, but there was no humor in it. “Future Alpha, you have no idea what you’ve done. Black River doesn’t fail contracts. Ever. Our entire business model depends on guaranteed results.”

“Then maybe you should have sent better wolves.”

“Oh, I did. I sent fifty of my best. Against your pack, they should have been more than enough.” A pause. “But you fought well. Better than expected. So now I’m sending a hundred and fifty.”

The number hit me like a physical blow. A hundred and fifty. Not a hundred like our intelligence suggested. Fifty percent more than we’d planned for.

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+15 Bonus

“You’re blifffing.”

“Am I? Ask yourself–would waste time calling you if I was bluffing?” More movement sounds. “I’ve consolidated three factions. Black River, Bloodmoon, and Ash Creek. Plus I’ve hired independent contractors. All told, one hundred and fifty professional mercenary wolves. All motivated by revenge and the promise of double payment if we succeed.”

My mind raced, recalculating defensive positions. We had one hundred and ten wolves. Even with home territory advantage, being outnumbered by forty percent was-

“Why are you telling me this?” I asked. “Why give away your numbers?”

“Because I want you to understand what’s coming. Want you to know that you can’t win. Want you to have time to consider my

offer.”

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