Mated To My Mate's Worst Enemy (ARIA) novel Chapter 216

Chapter 216

IVORY

64%

Finished

Stab wound to the abdomen. Deep penetration, significant blood loss, edges of the wound showing signs of… nightshade exposure? The discoloration was distinctive-she’d consumed belladonna leaves, probably to slow the bleeding and buy herself time.

Clever. Desperately risky and potentially fatal in itself, but clever. Using poison to create temporary stasis when actual medical supplies weren’t available showed resourcefulness and knowledge I hadn’t expected from her.

I examined the wound more carefully. The bleeding had slowed but not stopped. The nightshade was doing its job, but dosage was critical and she’d had no way to measure precisely. Too little and the stasis would fail. Too much and the poison would kill her faster than the stab wound.

I pulled medical supplies from my pack-real supplies that apparently hadn’t been sabotaged—and began treating the wound with practiced efficiency. Cleaning the edges, applying pressure to further slow the bleeding, preparing bandages that would need to be secured carefully to prevent reopening during

movement.

But something was wrong. Something about this whole cenario felt off in ways I couldn’t quite articulate.

The placement of the wound was precise. Almost surgical in its execution. Not the kind of injury you’d expect from desperate combat or accidental encounter. This looked like someone who knew exactly where to stab to cause maximum damage while avoiding immediately fatal strikes.

And Aria had managed to get herself to the nightshade plant despite a wound that should have left her barely mobile. Had managed to identify the correct plant, harvest it, consume it, and position herself in a location where she’d be relatively visible to anyone passing through.

Either she was remarkably lucky, or this entire scenario had been carefully constructed.

A test. Not for her-for me. To see how I’d respond to finding my partner injured and dying. Whether I’d provide aid or leave her to fail. Whether partnership mattered more than competition.

I finished bandaging the wound and sat back on my heels, studying the unconscious figure carefully. The breathing was too regular for someone in genuine shock from blood loss. The color was wrong-too healthy despite the visible pallor. And the wound itself, now that I looked more closely, showed signs of magical enhancement. Real blood, real injury, but maintained artificially at a specific level of severity.

Illusion. This was an illusion of Aria, created to test my response.

Which meant the real Aria was somewhere else, possibly facing her own test, possibly in actual danger.

I stood and prepared to leave the clearing, to continue searching for my actual partner rather than wasting time on magical construct.

But I hesitated. Because if this was a test of my characte, leaving even an illusory version of my partner to die would send a specific message. Would demonstrate that I valued winning over protecting my teammate. Would mark me as someone who couldn’t be trusted to prioritize partnership.

Damn it.

15:25 Fri, Jan 16 DG.

Chapter 216

༢ . 64%=

Finished

I couldn’t leave her here. Real or not, injured partner of magical test, the correct response from both tactical and moral perspectives was to provide aid and ensure survival.

I checked the bandaging again, satisfied it would hold for the time being. Then I gathered the illusion-or actual Aria, I still wasn’t completely certain-into my arms and began carrying her toward what I hoped was the general direction of the first checkpoint.

She was lighter than expected. Too light, actually, given her height and the muscle mass she should have developed from weeks of pack life. Another indicator that this might be magical construct rather than real

person.

But I kept moving. Kept carrying. Kept demonstrating that partnership mattered even when victory seemed uncertain.

The forest grew denser, the path less clear. My arms burned from the sustained weight. My legs protested the additional burden on top of already challenging terrain.

But I kept going.

Because if the Ghost Council was watching-and they definitely were watching-they needed to see that Shadowmere’s healer understood the value of protecting teammates. That I wouldn’t sacrifice my partner for personal advancement. That some things mattered more than winning.

Even if that partner was Aria. Even if our relationship was complicated by history and resentment and all the ways she’d disrupted what I’d thought my life would be.

Even then, I wouldn’t leave her to die.

I found the checkpoint thirty minutes before the two-hour deadline. A simple marked stone with the Ghost Council’s symbol, indicating the boundary of the first challenge zone.

I crossed the line carrying Aria’s unconscious form and immediately felt the shift in the air. The magical pressure that had been subtly present throughout the forest suddenly lifted. The sense of being watched intensified briefly, then faded.

A voice spoke from nowhere and everywhere: “Team Ten successfully reunited. Time: one hour and forty- seven minutes. Status: Both members alive. Proceed to Phase Two.”

The illusion-because it had definitely been an illusion dissolved in my arms. The weight disappeared, leaving me holding nothing but air. The test confirmed completed.

But somewhere in this forest, the real Aria was still out there. Still possibly injured, still potentially facing her own version of whatever test the Ghost Council had designed.

And I had no idea where to find her.

I set up a basic camp near the checkpoint-the instructions had indicated we’d have time to prepare before Phase Two began. Built a small fire using techniques that didn’t require matches. Foraged for edible plants and set basic snares for small game. All while keeping half my attention on the forest, waiting for any sign of my actual partner’s approach.

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