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.

*"I have proof."*

Two words that made my blood run cold.

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.

"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?"

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.*

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

"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?"

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.

"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."

"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.

"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 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."

My wolf snarled again, louder this time. *No. Wrong. She's not our mate. Something's wrong.*

I wanted to tell him to shut up, but he had a point. Something did feel wrong. Vanessa had been my goal, my desire for years. But now that I actually had the opportunity to claim her, to make her my official mate, I felt... nothing.

No, not nothing. Revulsion.

I blinked, startled by the realization. When had I started feeling revolted by Vanessa?

"Jeremy?" She stepped closer again, concern and irritation mixing in her expression. "You're not getting cold feet, are you? We've planned this for too long to back out now."

"I didn't plan anything," I said sharply. "I told you we had to be patient, that we couldn't just—"

"That you were going to use her as a broodmare and then reject her," Vanessa finished, her voice hard. "Yes, I remember. We talked about it extensively. While we were fucking in this very office."

The bluntness of it made me flinch. Hearing our plan stated so baldly, without any of the justifications I'd wrapped it in, made it sound exactly as disgusting as it was.

"That was before she left," I said. "Everything's changed now."

"Nothing's changed except that she made it easier for you!" Vanessa's composure was cracking, anger bleeding through. "She left, Jeremy. She gave you the perfect out. Take it!"

"And what about the proof she mentioned to her father?" I stood, needing space from her, from this conversation. "What if she has evidence of our affair? What if she goes public with it?"

Vanessa waved a dismissive hand. "So what if she does? You're the Alpha's son. She's nobody. Who are they going to believe?"

"Her father is the Beta," I repeated, frustration mounting. "And Emma's never given anyone reason to doubt her word. If she says we were having an affair, people will believe her."

"Then we discredit her first." Vanessa's smile turned calculating. "We say she was unstable, jealous, paranoid. That she accused us of having an affair because she couldn't handle the fact that you and I are close friends. That her wild accusations drove her to abandon the pack."

It was a good plan. A solid strategy. Exactly the kind of political maneuvering that would work in pack dynamics.

So why did it make me feel like I wanted to vomit?

"I need to think," I said, moving toward the window to avoid looking at her.

"Think about what? Jeremy, this is everything we've wanted! We can finally be together, properly, without sneaking around. I can be your Luna, like I was always meant to be."

"Were you meant to be?" The question came out before I could stop it. "Because the Moon Goddess chose Emma, not you."

Silence. Heavy and dangerous.

When Vanessa spoke again, her voice was ice. "The Moon Goddess made a mistake."

"Maybe." I turned to face her. "Or maybe we did."

Her eyes flashed with hurt and rage. "Are you seriously choosing her? After everything? She left you, Jeremy! She abandoned you!"

"Because she probably found out I was cheating on her!" The words exploded out of me. "Because I betrayed my mate, Vanessa. I violated one of the most sacred bonds in our culture, and now I'm dealing with the consequences."

"You don't love her," Vanessa said, her voice shaking. "You love me. You've always loved me."

Had I? I'd wanted her, desired her, planned my life around eventually being with her. But love?

I thought about Emma. Sweet, gentle Emma who'd tried so hard to make me happy. Who'd baked cookies and asked about my day and never pushed when I was distant. Who'd swallowed her instincts about Vanessa because I'd told her to.

I'd never loved her. But I'd never given her a chance to be someone I could love, either.

"Vanessa, I need you to leave."

"Jeremy—"

"Now. Please."

She stared at me for a long moment, and I saw the exact second she realized I was serious. Her expression hardened into something cold and unfamiliar.

"You're going to regret this," she said quietly. "I've given you years, Jeremy. Years of waiting, of being patient, of being the other woman. And when you finally have the chance to make it right, you're choosing her?"

"I'm not choosing anyone. I'm trying to figure out what the hell I'm supposed to do."

"Figure it out fast," she said, heading for the door. "Because I'm done waiting for you to grow a spine."

She left, slamming the door hard enough to rattle the frame.

I sank into my desk chair, my wolf still snarling in my head. The mate bond tugged at me, Emma's absence a constant ache I couldn't ignore.

What had I done? And more importantly, how was I supposed to fix it?