Mated To My Mate's Worst Enemy (ARIA) novel Chapter 174

Chapter 174

ARIA

Finished

The walk to the woods was peaceful, almost surreally so after the chaos of the past days. The sun was warm, the forest around us alive with the sounds of birds and rustling leaves, and Kael walked beside me with a relaxed ease I’d rarely seen in him. No tension in his shoulders. No constant alertness scanning for threats. Just a man taking a walk with his mate, enjoying the morning.

We passed several pack members along the way, and I noticed how they reacted to seeing us together. Surprise, mostly-seeing their Alpha taking leisure time was apparently unusual enough to warrant double- takes. But also something like approval, as if they were pleased to see us doing something norinal together.

“This is nice,” I said after we’d been walking for about twenty minutes. “Just being outside without running from something or toward something urgent.”

“It is,” Kael agreed. “I’d forgotten what it felt like. To just exist without constant crisis management.”

We reached the edge of the deeper forest, where the trees grew denser and the sounds of pack life faded into natural wilderness. Kael led us to a clearing near a stream-a beautiful spot with dappled sunlight and the gentle sound of flowing water.

He set down the pack he’d been carrying and began unpacking. I watched with growing surprise as he pulled out a blanket, containers of food, fishing supplies. This wasn’t just a quick stop before shifting-this was a planned picnic.

“I thought we were going hunting?” I said.

“We will,” Kael assured me. “But I wanted to spend some time like this first. Just being human together. Talking without the pressure of pack business or other people around.”

He spread the blanket near the stream and gestured for me to sit. I did, feeling oddly formal about it despite this being my mate. Or maybe because of it. Because despite being bonded, despite sleeping in the same bed, despite all the crises we’d survived together-moments like this felt strangely intimate. More vulnerable than facing danger together.

Kael sat beside me and began pulling out the food he’d packed. Simple things-bread, cheese, fruit, some cold meat. Nothing elaborate but clearly chosen with care.

“I realized this morning that I don’t actually know some basic things about you,” he said as he arranged the food between us. “Your favorite foods, for instance. What you like to do for relaxation. The little details that make you who you are beyond Luna and mate and survivor of chaos.”

“I don’t know those things about you either,” I admitted. We’ve been so busy just surviving that we never got to the getting-to-know-you part.”

“Then let’s start now,” Kael suggested. He picked up a piece of fruit and offered it to me. “Tell me something about yourself. Something that has nothing to do with pack politics or Damon or any of the drama.”

I took the fruit, thinking. What could I share that was truly just about me? “I like thunderstorms,” I said finally. “I mentioned it before at our dinner, but I really do. The sound of rain, the smell of it, the way

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14:36 Mon, Dec 29

Chapter 174

GR

38

Finished

everything feels cleaned and renewed after. When I was younger, I’d sit by the window during storms and just watch. It was peaceful. Made the world feel smaller, more manageable.”

Kael smiled at that. “I like thunderstorms too. The power of them. The reminder that there are forces bigger than pack politics and Alpha responsibilities. That nature doesn’t care about our dramas and complications.”

We talked while we ate, trading small revelations. Favorite seasons-he preferred autumn, I preferred spring. Foods we disliked-he couldn’t stand beets, I hated anything too spicy. Small things that should have been learned months ago but had been lost in the constant crisis management.

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