Chapter 5

My Cheating Mate

Jeremy pov

Three days. Emma had been gone for three days, and I still had no idea where she was.

I sat in my father's office, trying to maintain some semblance of composure while Beta Marcus paced in front of the desk like a caged animal. Alpha Richard Trent watched us both with the calculating gaze that had kept him in power for thirty years.

"Let me make sure I understand this correctly," Marcus said, his voice deadly calm in a way that made my wolf flatten his ears. "My daughter has been missing for seventy-two hours, her phone is off, she's not responding to anyone, and you—her mate—have no idea where she is or why she left?"

"I've told you everything I know," I said, fighting to keep my own voice steady. "I came home from work and she was gone. Some of her things were missing. That's it."

"That's it?" Marcus's eyes flashed gold as his wolf surged forward. "My daughter doesn't just vanish without a reason, Jeremy. What happened? Did you fight? Did you do something to her?"

The accusation in his tone made my hackles rise. "I didn't do anything. We were fine. Everything was fine."

"Was it?" My father's quiet question cut through the tension. He was studying me with an intensity that made me want to squirm like a pup caught stealing from the kitchens. "Because Marcus is right. Emma isn't the type to run without cause. She's responsible, loyal, committed to this pack."

Committed. The word twisted something in my gut.

She had been committed. To me, to us, to the future I'd promised her while planning to throw her away. And somehow, she'd figured it out.

She had to have figured it out. There was no other explanation for why she'd leave so cleanly, so completely, taking only what was hers and disappearing like smoke.

But how? I'd been careful. Vanessa and I had always been discreet, or so I thought. We used my office, never anywhere public, never anywhere Emma would—

The cookies.

The memory hit me like a physical blow. I'd been with Vanessa in my office three days ago, and when I'd left, there had been cookies scattered in the hallway outside my door. Chocolate chip cookies.

Emma's chocolate chip cookies.

"Oh, fuck," I breathed.

"What?" Marcus demanded, stepping closer. "What did you just remember?"

I couldn't tell him. Couldn't admit that I'd been screwing Vanessa in my office while his daughter stood outside the door. He'd kill me. Actually kill me, Alpha's son or not.

"Nothing. I just—I remembered that Emma mentioned wanting to visit some old college friends. Maybe she went there?"

The lie sounded weak even to my own ears, and Marcus's expression said he wasn't buying it for a second.

"Her college friends live in Silverbrook Pack territory," Marcus said slowly. "I already called Alpha Morrison. She's not there, and none of her friends have heard from her."

Of course he'd already checked. Marcus wasn't just a Beta—he was a father terrified for his missing daughter.

Guilt twisted in my stomach. I shoved it down. I couldn't afford guilt right now. I needed to find Emma, needed to fix this before it spiraled completely out of control.

"The mate bond," my father said suddenly. "Jeremy, can you feel her through the bond? Get a sense of her location, her emotional state?"

I'd been avoiding reaching for the bond, afraid of what I might find. But with both of them staring at me expectantly, I had no choice.

I closed my eyes and searched for that invisible thread connecting me to Emma. It was there, faint but present, which meant she was alive at least. But she'd blocked me almost completely, keeping me out with a strength I didn't know she possessed.

When had she learned to do that?

I pushed harder, trying to sense something, anything. All I got was a wall of ice and a flash of emotion so cold it made me flinch.

Rage. Emma was absolutely furious.

"She's alive," I said, opening my eyes. "But she's blocking me. I can barely feel her."

Marcus's face went pale. "She's blocking her own mate? That takes considerable strength and effort. Jeremy, what the hell did you do to my daughter?"

"I didn't—"

"Don't lie to me!" Marcus slammed his hand on my father's desk, making us both jump. "Emma adores you. She's spent the last six months trying to be the perfect mate, the perfect future Luna. She doesn't just block you out and disappear unless you gave her a damn good reason."

He was right. I knew he was right. But admitting it meant admitting everything—the affair with Vanessa, the plan to use Emma and discard her, the complete betrayal of the mate bond.

"Son." My father's voice was quiet but firm. "Is there something you need to tell us?"

I met his eyes and saw the question there. He suspected. Maybe he'd always suspected my relationship with Vanessa wasn't as innocent as I claimed.

"No," I said. "Emma and I are fine. Were fine. I don't know why she left."

The lie sat heavy on my tongue, but I couldn't take it back now.

Marcus looked at me with an expression I'd never seen before—disappointment mixed with something darker. "If I find out you hurt my daughter, Jeremy, I don't care if you're the Alpha's son. I don't care about pack politics or alliances. I will make you regret ever laying eyes on her."

It wasn't a threat. It was a promise.

"Marcus," my father said carefully. "I understand your concern, but threatening my son—"

"Is exactly what I'll keep doing until I have answers." Marcus turned to face my father fully. "With all due respect, Alpha, that's my daughter out there somewhere. Alone. Scared. Running from something or someone. And her own mate can't even be bothered to show real concern."

The words hit harder than they should have. Because he was right—I wasn't concerned about Emma's wellbeing. I was concerned about what her disappearance meant for me, for my plans, for my future.

When had I become this person? When had I started caring more about Vanessa, about politics, about my own desires than about my mate?

"I want to help find her," I said, surprised to realize I meant it. At least partially. "Tell me what I can do."

Marcus studied me for a long moment. "You can start by being honest. About everything. Because Emma didn't just wake up one day and decide to abandon her mate and her pack. Something drove her away. And I'm going to find out what."

He left without another word, slamming the door behind him hard enough to rattle the windows.

My father and I sat in silence for several minutes.

"Jeremy," he finally said. "I'm going to ask you one question, and I want the truth. Did you cheat on your mate?"

I should have lied. Should have denied it, protected myself, maintained the fiction.

Instead, I found myself saying, "It's complicated."

My father closed his eyes, disappointment radiating from him in waves. "Get out of my office."

"Dad—"

"Out. Now. Before I forget you're my son and remember I'm the Alpha of this pack."

I left, my wolf whining in distress at the anger and disappointment from both our Alpha and our Beta.

But beneath it all was something else. Something I didn't want to acknowledge.

Fear.

Because Emma had outmaneuvered me completely. And I had no idea what she was planning to do next.