Mated To My Mate's Worst Enemy Chapter 100

ARIA

"She won't leave," Martha said firmly. "This is her home. And now that she has that young man paying attention to her—Jason, isn't it?—she might finally have a reason to stay that has nothing to do with the Alpha."

"They do make a cute couple," someone agreed. "Did you see them at the demonstration? The way he helped her, the way she looked at him?"

"Better match than some others would have been," Martha said, and there was something pointed in her tone. "Jason's a good man. Steady. Devoted to his sister. He'd treat Ivory right."

"Better than being strung along by someone who was always going to choose political convenience over real connection," another voice added.

The implication was clear. They were talking about Kael. About how he'd chosen me over Ivory, and how Jason was now a better option for her than Kael ever would have been.

I should have felt vindicated, maybe. Relieved that they saw Ivory moving on as a good thing. But instead, I just felt hollow. Because underneath their approval of Jason was the same implicit criticism of me—the political convenience, the inadequate replacement.

I left the kitchen and made my way to the main dining hall, where pack members were starting to gather for the evening meal. The large room was filled with conversation, laughter, the comfortable chaos of community.

I found a seat at one of the smaller tables near the wall, trying to be unobtrusive while I listened to the conversations flowing around me.

A group of older women—mothers and grandmothers of the pack—were seated at the next table over. Their discussion was animated, punctuated by knowing looks and meaningful glances.

"I always thought they'd end up together," one of them was saying. "Kael and Ivory. Even before the curse, there was something between them."

"Everyone saw it," another agreed. "The way he looked at her. The way she'd blush whenever he was around. It was obvious to anyone paying attention."

"And then during the curse, when she was the only one who visited him regularly? Spending hours in that den with him? We all knew something was happening."

"My daughter walks that path sometimes," a third woman said, lowering her voice conspiratorially. "She said she could smell them on each other. For years. They weren't exactly being subtle about it."

"Why would they be? Everyone assumed the bonding would happen eventually. Once the curse broke, once things stabilized, they'd make it official."

"And then the Blackwood girl showed up and everything changed."

The Blackwood girl. That's what I was to them. Not Luna Aria. Not their Alpha's mate. Just the outsider who'd disrupted the natural order of things.

"She's not entirely to blame," one of the women said, though she didn't sound convinced. "Kael made the choice. He could have bonded with Ivory instead."

"Political considerations," another dismissed. "Ivory has no family connections, no alliance value. Whereas the Blackwood girl brought the potential to end a conflict, to prevent Damon from causing more problems."

"Lot of good that did. Damon's in prison and his mate is threatening war anyway."

"Exactly. So we got saddled with an inadequate Luna and didn't even get the political benefits we were supposed to get in exchange."

I felt my face flush with shame and anger, but I stayed where I was. I needed to hear this. Needed to understand exactly how the pack saw me.

"The question now is what happens with Ivory," the first woman said. "She's clearly interested in that Jason fellow. And he seems quite taken with her."

"He's a good man," someone agreed. "Raised his sister alone after their parents died. That takes dedication."

"And he's attractive enough. Did you see him at the demonstration? Helping Ivory with everything, following her instructions, looking at her like she hung the moon?"

"It's sweet. She deserves someone who looks at her like that."

"Someone who actually chooses her," another added pointedly. "Not someone who keeps her as a convenient option while waiting for something better to come along."

The criticism of Kael was implicit but clear. They blamed him for how things had unfolded with Ivory. Blamed him for using her during the curse years and then bonding with someone else.

And they blamed me for being the someone else. For being the political convenience that had disrupted what they'd all expected to happen.

I stood up quietly, my appetite completely gone, and made my way out of the dining hall. The corridors were quieter now, most pack members either eating or preparing for the evening meal. I walked without particular destination, just moving through my own territory like a ghost.

Near the healers' quarters, I passed a group of young women—apprentice healers, probably—huddled together and speaking in excited whispers.

"Did you see how she looked at him?" one was saying. "When Jason helped her with the harvest demonstration? She was practically glowing."

"They're perfect for each other. He's so supportive, so attentive. Not like—" She cut herself off, glancing around nervously.

"Not like the Alpha, you mean," her friend finished. "It's okay to say it. Everyone's thinking it."

"I just feel bad for Ivory. All those years she spent taking care of him, visiting him in that den, and for what? To watch him bond with someone else the moment he's human again?"

"At least she's moving on. Jason's a much better option anyway. He actually appreciates her."

"And he's not already mated to someone else," another added with a slight sneer in her voice.

"Speaking of which, did you see the Luna at the demonstration today? Just standing there while Ivory showed everyone what real contribution looks like?"

"I almost felt sorry for her. Almost. But then I remembered that she's the reason Ivory's been so miserable, and the sympathy kind of evaporated."

"She's not the only reason," someone pointed out. "The Alpha made the choice. He's the one who rejected Ivory."