Mated To My Mate's Worst Enemy (ARIA) novel Chapter 202

Chapter 202

ARIA

Finished

“That’s the spirit,” Nina said, though her tone suggested she didn’t actually believe I’d manage at all. “Just remember-the preliminary rounds are designed to weed out people who aren’t physically capable of handling the Hunt’s demands. Don’t be ashamed if you don’t make it through. Most people don’t.”

Most people don’t. The words hung between us like judgment. She was already assuming I’d fail. Already preparing me for the inevitability of being eliminated.

And she was probably right.

But I was going to try anyway.

Because giving up before even attempting would be worse than failing after genuine effort.

Because the pack needed to see their Luna at least try, even if ultimate failure was guaranteed.

Because I couldn’t keep being adequate without even attempting to be more.

The training master-a grizzled warrior named Cyrus who I’d seen around but never actually spoken to- called for everyone’s attention. The spectators quieted. The competitors moved into formation.

“Welcome to Ghost Hunt preliminary training,” Cyrus announced, his voice carrying easily across the field. “For those who’ve never participated before, understand this-these preliminaries are designed to break you. To push you past your comfortable limits. To identify weaknesses that would be fatal during actual competition. Not everyone here will make it through today. In fact, most of you won’t.”

He paused, letting that sink in.

“We’ll be testing everything. Endurance. Strength. Speed Tracking. Combat. Survival instincts. Mental fortitude under pressure. If you can’t handle one day of intensive training, you sure as hell can’t handle a week-long competition where the challenges are exponentially harder.”

His eyes swept across the assembled competitors. “Some of you are here because of demonstrated capabilities. Some because of your positions within the pack. And some-” his gaze landed on me briefly, “- because protocol demands your inclusion regardless of actual skill level.”

The callout was deliberate. Public. Making sure everyone knew that my participation was political rather than earned.

“But regardless of why you’re here,” Cyrus continued, “you’ll be held to the same standards. No special treatment. No allowances for rank or title. You perform or you’re eliminated. Understood?”

“Understood!” the competitors responded in unison.

“Good,” Cyrus said. “Then let’s begin.”

What followed was the most physically punishing experience of my life.

We started with running. Not gentle jogging. Full sprint. Lap after lap around the training field until my lungs burned and my legs felt like they might give out. Heople began dropping out after the fifth lap. By the tenth, half the initial competitors were walking or had stopped entirely.

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19:39 Sat, Jan 10 G GO

Chapter 202

སཊཱི50% =

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• Finished

I kept going. Sheer stubbornness carrying me forward even when my body was screaming to stop. I wasn’t fast-Ivory and several warriors were far ahead, moving with the kind of stamina that came from years of this level of training. But I wasn’t last either. Wasn’t the first to give up.

Adequate. Not exceptional. But not completely failing either.

Then came strength testing. Lifting increasingly heavy weights, holding positions that required core stability, exercises that made every muscle tremble with effort. More people were eliminated. More faces joined the spectator area, their chances at competition over before noon.

I struggled. God, I struggled. My arms shook. My core burned. The soreness from last night that the ice water had temporarily numbed came back with a vengeance. But I gritted my teeth and kept going. Kept lifting. Kept holding. Kept proving I wasn’t going to give up just because it hurt.

Through it all, I was aware of eyes watching. The spectators, obviously. But also the competitors who’d been eliminated, looking for validation that they hadn’t failed that the remaining participants were just exceptional rather than them being inadequate.

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