Chapter 32

My Cheating Mate

Jeremy pov

The council chamber was packed—all fifteen council members seated around the ancient oak table, with my father presiding at the head. Pack law required council presence for capital punishment votes, and everyone knew what today's meeting would decide.

Vanessa's execution. The when, not the if.

I sat in the chair reserved for the future Alpha, trying to focus on the proceedings while my mind kept drifting back to Emma. To the way she'd looked at me this morning across that coffee shop table—concerned, honest, still willing to try.

"The evidence is clear," Elder Morrison was saying, his weathered face stern. "Vanessa Quinn hired rogues to attack pack members. She led an assault on pack lands that resulted in seven deaths and thirty-two injuries. Pack law prescribes only one punishment for such crimes."

"Agreed," Elder Yasmin added. "The vote should be a formality. Execution, carried out within the week."

Several council members nodded. But then Councilman Drake—a wolf in his forties who'd always been close to Vanessa's family—spoke up.

"Before we vote, I think we need to address the root cause of Vanessa's actions." His eyes turned to me. "She was driven to madness by the future Alpha's treatment of her. He carried on an affair with her for months, made promises he didn't keep, led her on while mated to another woman."

My father's expression darkened. "Councilman Drake, Vanessa's crimes are not on trial here. Her motivations are irrelevant to the punishment pack law prescribes."

"Are they?" Drake leaned forward. "Because it seems to me that Jeremy Trent bears significant responsibility for what happened. He betrayed his mate, yes. But he also betrayed Vanessa. Made her believe they had a future together, then discarded her when it became inconvenient."

"That doesn't justify murder," Elder Morrison interjected.

"No, but it provides context." Drake's voice grew harder. "If we're executing Vanessa for her crimes, shouldn't we also punish the man whose actions drove her to commit them?"

The room erupted. Several council members started talking at once, some agreeing with Drake, others shouting him down.

My father stood, his Alpha dominance rolling through the room like a wave. "Enough!"

Silence fell immediately.

"Jeremy's affair was despicable," my father continued, his voice hard. "He betrayed his mate, violated the sacred bond, acted with dishonor. But there is no pack law that prescribes death for adultery."

"Maybe there should be," Drake said quietly. "Especially when that adultery leads to the deaths of seven pack members."

"Vanessa led the attack," Elder Yasmin argued. "Vanessa hired the rogues. Vanessa made those choices. Jeremy's guilt in the affair doesn't make him responsible for murder."

"Doesn't it?" Drake turned to me directly. "Tell us, Jeremy. Don't you feel responsible? Don't you lie awake at night thinking about how your selfishness led to those deaths?"

I did. Every night. Every day. The weight of those seven deaths sat on my chest like a boulder, crushing me under the knowledge that my choices had set everything in motion.

"I do feel responsible," I heard myself say. My voice sounded distant, disconnected. "Councilman Drake is right. If I hadn't had the affair, if I hadn't led Vanessa on, those wolves would still be alive."

"Jeremy—" my father started, but I continued.

"I betrayed my mate. I gaslit her. I planned to use her and discard her. And when Vanessa couldn't accept my choice to stop the affair, she snapped." I looked directly at Drake. "So yes, I bear responsibility for creating the situation that led to those deaths."

"That's not the same as being legally responsible," Elder Morrison said firmly. "Jeremy, your guilt is understandable. But Vanessa made her own choices. She could have accepted the end of your affair. Could have left pack lands. Could have moved on. Instead, she chose violence."

"Because I made promises I never intended to keep!" My voice rose, months of self-loathing finally spilling over. "Because I used her the same way I used Emma. Because I'm—" I stopped, breathing hard. "Because I'm exactly what Councilman Drake says I am. Someone whose selfishness got people killed."

My father's hand slammed on the table. "Jeremy Alexander Trent, that is enough!"

I'd never heard him use that tone with me in public. Never heard his Alpha voice directed at me with such fury.

"You are not on trial here," he continued, his voice shaking with barely controlled anger. "You are guilty of adultery. Of betraying your mate. Of dishonoring your position. Those are facts. But you did not hire rogues. Did not lead an assault. Did not kill seven wolves. Vanessa did those things of her own free will!"

"Only because I drove her to it," I said quietly.

"No." Beta Marcus's voice cut through the tension. I'd been so focused on my father and Drake that I hadn't noticed Emma's father standing at the back of the chamber. "Vanessa made her own choices. Bad relationships don't turn normal people into mass murderers."

"But—" Drake started.

"I have firsthand experience with this," Marcus continued, moving to stand beside my father. "Jeremy destroyed my daughter. Broke her heart, betrayed her trust, made her feel worthless. Do you see Emma hiring assassins? Leading rogue attacks? No. Because normal people—even deeply hurt ones—don't respond to betrayal with murder."

"Beta Marcus is correct," Elder Yasmin said. "Jeremy's actions were deplorable, but they don't transfer legal guilt for Vanessa's crimes."

"Some would say they transfer moral guilt," Drake persisted.

"Then some would be wrong," my father said coldly. "And I'm growing tired of this line of questioning. We are here to vote on Vanessa Quinn's sentence, not to retry my son's already-acknowledged crimes."

"I'm simply saying," Drake pushed harder, "that if we're executing Vanessa for murders that Jeremy's actions precipitated, perhaps Jeremy should face consequences beyond—"

"Are you suggesting execution for my son?" My father's voice was deadly quiet now, his wolf in his eyes. "Choose your next words very carefully, Councilman Drake."

The room went silent. Everyone knew what that tone meant. My father was on the edge of losing control, of letting his Alpha rage loose on anyone who threatened his heir.

"I'm suggesting," Drake said, clearly aware he was on dangerous ground, "that Jeremy Trent should face formal censure for his role in creating the situation that led to pack deaths. Perhaps suspension from his duties as future Alpha. Perhaps—"

"Perhaps you should remember that my son nearly died protecting this pack!" My father roared, slamming his hand on the table again. "That he took three bullets and multiple wounds fighting the rogues Vanessa brought to our borders! That he testified at trial even when it meant literally bleeding out in front of the entire pack!"

"Gestures of atonement don't erase guilt," Drake said stubbornly.

My father's eyes were fully wolf now. "Get out."

"Alpha—"

"I said GET OUT!" The Alpha command rolled through the room with physical force. "You are removed from this council vote. And when this meeting is over, you and I will have a private conversation about the wisdom of suggesting my son deserves death."

Drake went pale but stood his ground. "I'm a council member. You can't—"

"I'm the Alpha. I can do whatever I damn well please when someone threatens my heir." My father's voice dropped to a growl. "Now leave before I forget you're pack and treat you like the rogue you're acting like."

Two guards appeared at Drake's sides. He glared at my father but allowed himself to be escorted out.

After the door closed, my father took several deep breaths, visibly controlling his wolf. When he spoke again, his voice was steadier but still hard.

"Does anyone else wish to suggest my son deserves death for the crime of being a cheating bastard?"

Silence.

"Good. Then let's vote on the matter we're actually here to decide. Vanessa Quinn's sentence for hiring rogues and leading an assault on pack lands." He looked around the table. "All in favor of execution?"

Fourteen hands rose. Only the chair where Drake had been sitting remained empty.

"Unanimous," my father declared. "Vanessa Quinn will be executed by firing squad at dawn on Monday. Jeremy, as future Alpha, you will bear witness. Beta Marcus, you will command the execution detail."

"Yes, Alpha," Marcus said quietly.

"This council is dismissed." My father stood. "Jeremy, my office. Now."

I followed him in silence through the pack house corridors. Pack members pressed against the walls as we passed, sensing their Alpha's fury. No one dared speak or make eye contact.

Inside his office, my father closed the door and rounded on me.

"What the hell was that?" he demanded. "Why would you sit there and let Drake tear into you like that? Why would you agree that you deserve to die?"

"Because maybe I do," I said quietly. "Maybe Drake is right. Maybe my crimes are worse than Vanessa's because I started all of this."

My father stared at me for a long moment. Then, unexpectedly, he pulled me into a fierce hug.

"Listen to me," he said, his voice rough with emotion. "You are my son. You made terrible mistakes. You hurt people I care about. But you don't deserve to die. And I will not—will not—let anyone suggest otherwise. Do you understand?"

"Dad—"

"Do you understand?" He pulled back, gripping my shoulders. "Jeremy, this guilt is eating you alive. I've watched you waste away for months, barely eating, barely sleeping. And now you're agreeing with council members who say you should be executed?"

"I just—" My voice broke. "I can't stop thinking about those seven wolves. About their families. About how they died because I—"

"Because Vanessa hired rogues," he interrupted firmly. "Because Vanessa made choices. Bad choices that got people killed. But son, you can't take responsibility for someone else's crimes just because you feel guilty."

"How do I stop?" The question came out desperate. "How do I stop feeling like I deserve to die?"

"You talk to Dr. Chen. You do the work. You let Emma help you instead of drowning alone." He squeezed my shoulders. "And you remember that you're more than your worst mistakes. That you're trying to be better. That you're worthy of healing even when you don't feel like you are."

I nodded, tears streaming down my face. "I'm sorry. For everything. For disappointing you."

"You did disappoint me," he said honestly. "The affair, the betrayal—I was ashamed of you. But Jeremy, watching you take responsibility, watching you do the work to heal, watching you nearly die protecting your mate—" His voice cracked. "I'm proud of you now. Proud of who you're becoming even if you're not there yet."

"I don't deserve your pride."

"Maybe not. But you have it anyway." He pulled me into another hug. "That's what fathers do. We love our children even when they fuck up spectacularly. Even when they don't deserve it."

We stood there for a long moment, me crying into my father's shoulder like I was five years old again.

"Monday," he said finally. "You'll witness Vanessa's execution. It's going to be hard. Emma should be there with you."

"I can't ask her to—"

"Ask her anyway. She's stronger than you think. And she'll want to see this end. They both need to see this end."

He was right. Emma deserved to watch the woman who'd tried to kill her face justice.

"Okay," I agreed. "I'll ask her."

"Good." He released me, studying my face. "Now go home. Eat something. Sleep in an actual bed. And Jeremy? If you ever sit in a council meeting and agree that you deserve death again, I will personally kick your ass. Understood?"

Despite everything, I smiled slightly. "Understood."

"Good. Now get out of my office before I decide to ground you like you're sixteen."

I left, feeling marginally better but still hollowed out. Drake's words echoed in my head: *Don't you feel responsible?*

Yes. I did. And I probably always would.

But my father was right. I couldn't keep agreeing that I deserved death. Couldn't keep trying to punish myself instead of actually healing.

For Emma. For my father. For the pack.

I had to try to be better than my worst mistakes.

Even when it felt impossible.

Even when council members said I deserved to die.

I had to try.