Mated To My Mate's Worst Enemy Chapter 117

ARIA

The summons came just as the sun was beginning its descent toward the horizon, casting long shadows across the pack house grounds. A guard appeared at the conference room door, his expression carefully neutral as he delivered the message.

"Luna Aria, your presence is requested in the main council chamber. Immediately."

My stomach dropped. This was it, then. Whatever investigation the elders had been conducting, whatever evidence they'd found—or failed to find—had led to this moment. The moment where my conditional freedom ended and judgment was passed.

"Who called the meeting?" I asked, my voice steadier than I felt.

"I wasn't told, Luna," the guard replied. "Only that your attendance is mandatory."

I gathered the documents I'd been reviewing, hands trembling slightly as I organized them into folders. If this was going to be my final hearing, I wanted to have my evidence with me. Wanted to present everything I'd discovered, thin as it was, before they made their decision.

The walk to the council chamber felt endless. Pack members stopped what they were doing to watch me pass, their expressions ranging from curiosity to satisfaction to something that might have been pity. Word had spread somehow—it always did in a pack—that something significant was about to happen.

The council chamber doors were already open when I arrived, the large room filled with far more people than a standard tribunal would require. The elders sat at their table at the front, their expressions grave. Kael was there too, standing off to the side with Nina and Marcus. His face was carefully blank, but through our bond I felt his turbulence—anxiety, dread, resignation.

He thought I was guilty. The realization hit me like a physical blow. Whatever was about to happen, whatever evidence had been found, Kael had already accepted that I was responsible for attacking Ivory.

But as I took in the scene more fully, I noticed something odd. The setup was formal, yes, but it wasn't quite right for a tribunal. The atmosphere felt different—charged with anticipation rather than the somber weight of judgment.

And then I saw her.

Ivory stood near the back entrance, practically vibrating with barely contained energy. Her golden eyes were bright, her posture alert despite her recent injuries. And beside her, looking equally excited, was Margo.

Something was very wrong with this picture.

"Luna Aria," Elder Morrison called, gesturing to the center of the room. "Please come forward."

I moved to stand in the designated spot, clutching my folders like a lifeline. Around me, pack members continued filing in, filling every available space. Whatever was about to happen, it seemed the entire pack wanted to witness it.

"Elder Morrison," I began, "I've been conducting my investigation as instructed. I have preliminary findings that I'd like to present—"

"That won't be necessary," Morrison interrupted, and my heart sank further. They weren't even going to hear my evidence. They'd already decided.

Before I could respond, before I could even process what was happening, Ivory burst fully into the chamber. And she was smiling. Actually smiling, bright and triumphant, like she'd just discovered the cure for cancer or solved some impossible puzzle.

"I apologize for the dramatic entrance," Ivory announced, her voice carrying clearly through the space. "But I have urgent news that couldn't wait for standard protocols."

The room went silent, every eye fixed on the healer who'd been attacked just days ago and was now practically bouncing with excitement.

"I've been conducting my own investigation," Ivory continued, moving to stand before the elders' table. "Into who really attacked me. And I've found irrefutable evidence."

My breath caught. Evidence? She'd found evidence?

"I know who tried to murder me," Ivory declared. "I know who shot that poisoned dart. I know who's been working for Sera. And I can prove it, beyond any shadow of doubt."

Hope flared in my chest, bright and desperate. She'd found proof. Proof that would clear my name, prove I'd been telling the truth, vindicate everything I'd been trying to—

"It was Luna Aria," Ivory said, her voice ringing with certainty. "I have irrefutable evidence that she attempted to murder me."

The words didn't make sense. Couldn't make sense. Ivory was looking at me with that triumphant smile, claiming she had proof of my guilt, and the room erupted into chaos.

Pack members shouting, some in vindication, others in shock. Guards moving forward to restrain me. The elders calling for order. And through it all, Kael standing frozen, his face pale, his emotions through our bond a roiling mess of betrayal and anguish and grim determination.

"Order!" Morrison's voice cut through the noise like a whip. "Everyone silence!"

The chamber gradually quieted, though the tension remained thick enough to choke on.

"Healer Ivory," Morrison said carefully, "these are extremely serious accusations. You claim to have evidence of Luna Aria's guilt?"

"I do," Ivory confirmed, still smiling that disturbing, triumphant smile. "Concrete, irrefutable evidence that she planned and executed the attack on me."

I couldn't speak. Couldn't move. Couldn't process what was happening. Ivory had promised to help me prove my innocence. Had given me the chance to investigate. And now she was standing before the entire pack claiming she had proof I was guilty?

"What evidence?" Elder Thorne demanded.

"I'll present it all tonight," Ivory said. "But first, I need to make a request. As the victim of this attack, as the one who nearly died from Luna Aria's actions, I'm invoking my right to request punishment."

"What punishment?" Cassius asked, though his expression suggested he already knew.

"Execution," Ivory said flatly. "Tonight. I want Luna Aria brought to the execution grounds immediately. I want her dead by hanging."

The chamber exploded again. This time, the elders didn't even try to contain it immediately. They seemed as shocked as everyone else by Ivory's request.

Execution. Immediate execution. Without even seeing the evidence first, without a proper trial, without—

"You can't be serious," I finally managed to say, my voice barely audible over the chaos. "You haven't even shown anyone this supposed evidence. You're asking them to execute me based on nothing but your word?"