I Left Before He Learned My Worth novel Chapter 71

Chapter 71

ARIA

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The summons came through a young pack member named Thomas, who arrived at our chambers looking nervous and apologetic. “Alpha Kael requests Ivory’s presence in his office. Immediately. Luna Aria as well.”

I’d been reviewing supply inventories-trying to familiarize myself with pack resources, trying to find some way to be useful-when Thomas knocked. Now I set aside the ledgers and followed him down to Kael’s office, my stomach knotting with apprehension.

Ivory was already there when I arrived, standing near the window with her arms crossed. She looked better than she had in the clinic-more color in her face, steadier on her feet-but there was a tension in her posture that suggested she knew this wasn’t a social call.

“Close the door,” Kael said to Thomas, who nodded and pulled it shut behind me.

The silence that followed was thick and uncomfortable. Ivory didn’t look at Kael, didn’t acknowledge my presence, just stared out the window at the pack grounds with studied indifference.

“The rogue attack this morning,” Kael began, his voice formal, professional. “It wasn’t random. Marcus’s investigation turned up evidence that suggests the rogues were hired. Paid to specifically target our healers and damage our herb gardens.”

Ivory’s expression didn’t change, but I saw her shoulders tense infinitesimally. “Hired by

whom?”

“We believe Luna Sera of Blackwood Pack,” Kael said. “She made threats after the council’s verdict regarding Damon. Threatened retaliation for what she called an act of aggression against her mate and her pack. At the time, I thought it was posturing. Empty words meant to save face. But this attack fits her capabilities and her stated intentions.”

“Evidence?” Ivory asked, her tone clipped.

“Circumstantial,” Nina admitted from where she sat at Kael’s desk, papers spread before her. “But compelling. The rogues were too organized, too specifically targeted for this to be opportunistic violence. And we found payment markers-the kind Blackwood uses for mercenary work-near the attack site.”

Ivory finally turned from the window, her golden eyes sharp. “So Sera is declaring war by

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Chapter 71

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proxy. Attacking through rogues so she can claim plausible deniability if confronted.”

“That’s our assessment,” Kael confirmed.

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“And why are you telling me this?” Ivory asked, though I suspected she already knew the

answer.

“Because you’re a likely target,” Kael said bluntly. “Multiple pack members have reported hearing rumors that Sera is specifically furious with you. For misleading Damon that night. For setting up the false ceremony site that delayed his arrival. She blames you for his imprisonment as much as she blames us for actually imprisoning him.”

I watched Ivory’s face as this information settled. Watched something flicker in her expression -fear, maybe, or anger, or both mixed together in a complicated knot.

“So I’m supposed to what?” Ivory’s voice was sharp now, edges cutting. “Hide? Stop working? Live in fear because Luna Sera of Blackwood is throwing a tantrum over her mate’s well- deserved consequences?”

“We’re suggesting increased security,” Nina said carefully. “A guard detail when you’re working in the herb gardens or traveling outside the pack house. Basic precautions until we can confirm whether Sera is actually behind this or—”

“No.” Ivory’s voice was flat, final. “I’m not living under guard surveillance because of someone else’s vendetta. I have work to do, patients to care for, research that can’t be delayed. I refuse to let Sera’s threats dictate how I serve my pack.”

“Ivory, be reasonable-” Kael started.

“I am being reasonable,” Ivory interrupted, and now her gaze swung to me for the first time since I’d entered the room. There was something cold in it, something sharp and accusatory. “What I’m not being is accommodating of yet another mess that Luna Aria has dragged into our pack. First Damon and his obsessive dramatics, now Sera and her revenge plots. Tell me, Luna Aria, how many more disasters are you planning to bring to our doorstep? How many more people need to suffer for your baggage?”

The words hit like physical blows. I felt myself take a step back, felt the sting of them settling deep in my chest.

“That’s not fair,” I said, my voice sounding weak even to my own ears. “I didn’t ask Damon to-”

“Didn’t you?” Ivory’s voice was acid now, all the careful politeness she’d maintained before burning away to reveal the fury underneath. “You spent years devoted to him, years making yourself indispensable to him, years being the perfect supportive omega at his beck and call. And then you act surprised when he develops an obsession? When he can’t let go because you

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