Mated To My Mate's Worst Enemy (ARIA) novel Chapter 193

Chapter 193

ARIA

15%

Finished

“Nina was furious,” someone recalled. “Absolutely furious. She dragged Ivory to the healing center and proceeded to scold her loud enough that half the pack could hear. Something about being irresponsible and reckless and how tearing yourself internally during wilderness sex was the stupidest possible injury for a healer to sustain.”

“What exactly did she tear?” a younger voice asked, clearly not having been present eight years ago but hungry for details.

“Nina said something about aggressive positioning and adequate preparation,” someone answered. “That Ivory had let enthusiasm override sense. That healing a tear in that particular area was painful and embarrassing and completely avoidable if they’d just exercised basic caution.”

“But they didn’t,” another voice said with admiration. “They were young and horny and in the middle of a competition high. So they fucked in the forest like animals and Ivory paid the price with an injury that had Nina lecturing her about responsible sexual practices for weeks afterward.”

“Kael wasn’t much better,” someone added. “Nina chewed him out too. Said he should have known better. should have been more careful with his partner, should have had enough self-control to either prepare properly or wait until they weren’t in the middle of wilderness survival competition.”

“He just laughed though,” another voice recalled. “Took the lecture with good humor. Said some things were worth the consequences. That winning wasn’t always about coming in first. Nina threatened to hit him with a medical tray.”

“Those were different times,” someone said more seriously. “Before his curse. Before everything got complicated. Kael was less serious then. More willing to ust enjoy life and accept consequences. And Ivory was less burdened with responsibilities. They were just young wolves having fun and being stupid occasionally.”

“I miss those times,” another voice said wistfully. “When pack life was lighter. When the biggest scandal was our future Alpha getting caught having wilderness sex with the healer’s prodigy. Before the curse, before the isolation, before all the political complications we’re drowning in now.”

“Maybe the Hunt will bring some of that lightness back, someone suggested hopefully. “If the elders announce it. If we get to have that week of competition and celebration and watching our best warriors show off their skills.”

“If they host it at all,” another voice countered, “The elders might decide the pack isn’t in appropriate condition for festivities. That there are too many threat and complications to justify a week-long competition.”

“That would be disappointing,” the first voice said. “But guess we’ll find out. The elders will make their decision known soon enough.”

The conversation shifted then, moving to speculation allout other aspects of the elders’ visit, about potential outcomes of their assessment. I’d heard enough. More than enough.

I moved away from the alcove quietly, making sure they didn’t realize I’d been listening. My mind was reeling from what I’d learned. From the picture they’d hinted of Kael and Ivory during the last Ghost Hunt.

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20:55 Wed, Jan 70.

Chapter 193

15%

Finished

Young. Reckless. So consumed with each other that theyd prioritized sex over winning a competition round. So passionate that Ivory had literally injured herself and Kael hadn’t cared enough about consequences to exercise caution.

That wasn’t the controlled, careful Kael I knew. The Alpha who measured every decision against pack welfare and political implications. That wasn’t the professional, buttoned-up Ivory who maintained perfect boundaries and appropriate distance.

Those had been different people. People who existed before the curse, before complications, before I’d arrived to disrupt whatever they’d been building toward

And now there might be a Ghost Hunt. A competition that would force Kael to choose-compete with me and likely fail because I wasn’t Ivory’s equal, or compete with her and publicly demonstrate who he actually valued as a partner.

Either way, I would be humiliated. Either by my own inadequacy if he chose me, or by being passed over for someone better if he chose her.

I found myself heading toward the gardens without consciously deciding to go there. My feet just carried me to the place that had become my refuge when pack house politics became overwhelming. The place where I could be alone with growing things that didn’t judge or compare or find me wanting.

The late afternoon sun was gentle, casting long shadows across the carefully maintained beds. The air smelled of herbs and flowers, of earth and growth and life continuing regardless of human drama. I found a bench partially hidden by climbing vines and collapsed onto it, finally allowing myself to process everything.

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