Mated To My Mate's Worst Enemy (ARIA) novel Chapter 304

Chapter 304

ARIA

"Until he figures out what to say," Nina said. "Until the investigation provides clarity about your involvement. Until he can navigate this situation without making everything exponentially worse. That's what being Alpha means—putting the pack's stability ahead of personal needs. Even when those personal needs are significant."

The explanation made sense intellectually even if it didn't make me feel any better. "You said Ivory's awake and receiving visitors?"

"Yes," Nina confirmed. "And before you ask—no, you shouldn't try to visit her. She's being gracious to pack members who are expressing concern. She'd probably be civil to you if you showed up. But it would be awkward for everyone and wouldn't accomplish anything positive."

"I wasn't planning to visit," I said, though part of me had been considering it before Nina's warning. "I learned my lesson about forcing confrontations with people who've made it clear they don't want to see me."

"Good," Nina said. "Keep doing what you're doing—your Luna duties, the inspections, showing the pack that you're taking your responsibilities seriously despite everything happening. And speaking of which—" her expression shifted slightly, "—the celebration party for the Hunt winners is being scheduled. Probably this weekend now that Ivory's recovered enough to attend."

My stomach dropped. "A party. Where I'll be surrounded by hundreds of pack members who think I'm inadequate and where Ivory will be present and where Kael will have to navigate being in the same space as both of us."

"Yes," Nina said. "But you'll attend. You completed the Hunt. You're one of the winners being celebrated. Not attending would be seen as cowardice or admission that you don't deserve recognition."

"Will Ivory try to kill me at the party?" I asked, only half-joking.

Nina's lips twitched slightly. "Ivory has excellent restraint. She's not going to attack you publicly at a celebration in her honor. The people with less restraint are Ivory's fans and advocates. They're the ones you need to watch out for. They can be extremely petty when they're making a point."

"How petty are we talking?" I asked warily.

"Martha once fed a visiting Alpha spoiled food because he sexually harassed Ivory," Nina said casually. "Gave him food poisoning bad enough that he was bedridden for three days and had to be sent home in disgrace. She claimed it was an accident, that the storage had malfunctioned, but everyone knew it was deliberate retaliation."

"And she faced no consequences?" I asked, shocked.

"The pack backed her," Nina said with a shrug. "Kael backed her. The Alpha who'd been poisoned couldn't prove it was deliberate and didn't want to admit he'd been sexually inappropriate with Shadowmere's healer. So he just left and we never saw him again. If you'd been here eight years ago—" she shook her head, "—you would have seen how protective this pack is of Ivory. How far they'll go to defend her or punish people who wrong her."

The message was clear: I needed to be very, very careful at this party. Because if I gave anyone even the slightest justification, they'd use it as an excuse to make me suffer in ways that couldn't be directly traced back to them.

"I'll keep that in mind," I said.

Nina stood, preparing to leave. "One more thing," she said. "About your awakened powers. The moon magic you manifested during the Hunt."

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