LOGINCourtney's eyes went wide. "Not—not prison? Not exile?" "The Council recognizes your age, your cooperation, your genuine remorse, and the manipulative environment you were raised in," Madeline continued. "We also recognize the testimony of your victim, Grace Trent, advocating for rehabilitative co
The Council members conferred quietly. Then Madeline spoke again. "Grace Trent. Please approach to provide testimony." I stood on shaking legs. Connor squeezed my hand once before releasing it. I walked to the center position—standing a few feet from where Courtney sat. "Miss Trent," Madeline
"Did you know about the planned assault?" Christopher asked. "No. Not until after." She shook her head. "The Preservation Front contacted me three days before the attack. My father—" Her voice broke. "Thomas Vex was my father. I didn't know he was high-level Preservation Front leadership until Lor
My Cheating Mate Grace pov The Council chamber was imposing—ancient stone walls, high ceilings, formal seating arranged in a semicircle that put the accused directly in the center under scrutiny from every angle. Courtney sat in that center seat. Small. Broken. Nothing like the confident, crue
I wanted to believe that. Wanted to separate my father's choices from my intelligence. But the guilt was crushing—heavy and inescapable and deserved. "I miss him," I whispered. "I know I shouldn't. I know he was wrong. But Alpha Jeremy, he was my dad. He raised me and taught me and loved me even i
He was quiet for a moment. "I'm sorry for your loss. Even though Thomas tried to kidnap my daughter. Even though he led extremists against my pack. He was still your father. I'm sorry you lost him." The apology broke something in me. Tears came—hot and unexpected and impossible to stop. "You're
"That wasn't love," Jeremy said, and something in his voice made the entire room fall silent. "Love doesn't hire assassins. Love doesn't attack innocent people. Love doesn't—" He stopped mid-sentence, his eyes going unfocused. His hand slipped from the edge of the witness stand. "Jeremy?" Alpha
"You don't," I admitted. "You can't know for sure. That's what makes trust so hard—it requires a leap of faith. But Emma, I can tell you what's different now." "Tell me." "Before, I took you for granted. Thought the mate bond meant you'd always be there no matter what I did. I didn't value what
"And Vanessa?" I had to know. "Do you still have feelings for her?" "No." His answer was immediate, certain. "What I felt for Vanessa—it wasn't love. It was familiarity. Comfort. A fantasy I'd built up over years that had nothing to do with reality. When she showed her true nature, when she hired
"You did that," Emma said quietly. "Not just her. You made the choice to cheat. You made the choice to plan—" She stopped, pain flickering across her face. "To plan to use you," I finished, the words like ground glass. "I know. And there's no excuse for it. No justification. But Emma, I need you t







