My Cheating Mate (Emma and Jeremy) novel Chapter 94

thapter 94

My Cheating Mate

Emma pov

The phone rang at 4:30 AM, jolting me from restless half–sleep. I grabbed it immediately, hoping it was Jeremy calling with good news.

Instead, it was my father.

“Dad? Is everything okay? Is Jeremy-”

“Jeremy’s fine,” he said quickly. “But Emma, we need to talk. About what your mate just did.”

The way he said “your mate” instead of Jeremy made my stomach drop. “What happened?”

“He called in a favor. From the vampires.”

I sat up straight, suddenly wide awake. “What? What vampires?”

“The Nightshade Coven. Lord Castellan’s group.” My father’s voice was tight with controlled emotion. “Jeremy contacted them directly. Asked for military assistance against Black River.”

“Okay…” I processed that. “Is that–is that bad?”

“It’s complicated.” He sighed. “Emma, vampires don’t do favors. They trade debts. Jeremy personally requested help, which means he personally owes Lord Castellan a favor in return.”

“What kind of favor?”

“Undefined. Could be anything. Called in at any time–tomorrow or fifty years from now. And Jeremy is honor–bound to comply, whatever it is.”

The implications hit me like a truck. “He traded himself to a vampire lord. For help in one battle.”

“Essentially, yes.”

I was out of bed, pacing the small cabin in my pajamas. “How could he–why would he-“Anger and fear warred in my chest. Dad, vampires are dangerous. Unpredictable. What if Lord Castellan asks for something terrible?”

“Then Jeremy will have to do it. That’s how vampire debts work.” My father paused. “But Emma, you need to understand why he did it. We’re outnumbered forty percent. Even with allied pack support, the odds weren’t good. Jeremy calculated that without additional help, we’d lose thirty to forty wolves in the assault. With vampire support, that number drops to maybe ten or fifteen.

“So he traded his future to save lives.”

“Exactly.”

I sank onto the couch, trying to process. Jeremy had made a deal with vampires. Had put himself in debt to an ancient, powerful creature for tactical advantage. It was either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid.

“How did the pack take it?” I asked.

“Mixed reactions. Some see it as strategic brilliance. Others think he’s risked too much.” My father’s voice softened. “But Emma, I’ve watched Jeremy plan this assault for the past day. He’s thorough, careful, weighing every decision. He didn’t make this choice lightly.”

“That doesn’t make it less terrifying.”

“No, it doesn’t. But it does show he’s committed to protecting the pack. Whatever the personal cost.”

+15 Bonus

1 thought about jeremy–my mate who’d already sacrificed so much, who was carrying so much guilt, who kept trying to atone for his past mistakes through increasingly dangerous gestures

“Dad, what if this is more self–destruction?” I asked quietly. “What if he’s not making strategic decisions but punishment decisions? Trading himself to vathpires because some part of him thinks he deserves whatever Lord Castellan might ask for?” My father was quiet for a moment. “I wondered that too. But Emma, I was in the room when he explained his reasoning. This wasn’t guilt talking. This was tactical analysis. Cold, rational calculation of costs versus benefits.”

“And the cost is Jeremy’s undefined future service to a vampire.”

“Yes But the benefit is potentially dozens of lives saved.”

“I hate this,” I whispered. “I hate that he’s putting himself at risk. Hate that even when he’s trying to do the right thing, he’s sacrificing himself. Hate that Vanessa’s choices keep destroying us even from the grave.”

“I know, baby girl. I hate it too.” He paused. “The vampire lieutenants arrived an hour ago. Assessed the tactical plan. They’ve committed twelve vampire warriors to the assault.”

“Twelve? Is that enough to make a difference?”

“Against mercenary wolves? Yes. Vampires are faster, stronger, harder to kill. Twelve vampires fighting alongside a hundred and ten wolves gives us numerical superiority and tactical advantage.”

I wrapped a blanket around myself, feeling cold despite the cabin’s decent heating. “When does the assault happen?”

“Tonight. Midnight. About nineteen hours from now.”

Nineteen hours. In nineteen hours, Jeremy would lead an assault against one hundred and fifty mercenary wolves, with vampire allies whose lord now owned a piece of his future.

“He could die,” I said, voicing the fear I’d been pushing down “Dad, he could actually die tonight.”

“He could. But Emma, he’s good at this. Really good. His tactical mind is one of the sharpest I’ve seen. If anyone can lead us to victory, it’s Jeremy.”

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