Mated To My Mate's Worst Enemy Chapter 123

ARIA

"Am I?" I challenged, turning to face him. "What have I done since arriving here that proves that? What contributions have I made? What value have I added to this pack? Because from where I'm standing, all I've done is bring chaos and complications and constant drama."

Kael looked like he wanted to argue, but he couldn't seem to find the words. Because I was right, and we both knew it.

"Margo was miserable working for me," I said quietly. "Did you know that? She argued with Nina for days trying to get a different assignment because serving me felt like punishment. And when I fired her for gossiping, everyone saw it as petty abuse of power rather than justified response to inappropriate behavior."

"Aria—"

"I'm not asking you to defend me," I interrupted. "I'm not looking for reassurance or comfort or promises that things will get better. I'm just... trying to understand what I need to do. How I build the kind of trust that Ivory has. How I become someone whose word matters, whose decisions are respected, whose integrity is beyond question."

I sank back into the chair, exhausted by everything.

"Because right now, I'm just the Luna nobody wants," I said quietly. "The political convenience who brought chaos instead of value. The person who expects trust without earning it and then gets hurt when people don't automatically believe in her. And I don't know how to change that. Don't know where to start or what to do or if it's even possible at this point."

Kael moved to sit on the floor beside my chair, not touching me but close enough that I could feel his presence.

"It's possible," he said quietly. "It will take time and consistent effort, but it's possible. You can build trust. Can prove yourself. Can become the Luna this pack needs."

"How?" I asked, and I hated how defeated I sounded.

"The same way Ivory did," Kael said. "Through service. Through dedication. Through proving over and over that you use your position for the pack's benefit rather than personal gain. Through making yourself valuable in ways that can't be dismissed or ignored."

"That could take years," I said.

"Yes," Kael agreed. "It probably will. But Aria, you have years. You have time to build this foundation. Time to earn the trust that will protect you during future crises. Time to become someone the pack actually wants as their Luna."

He paused, then added quietly, "If you're willing to do the work."

I looked at him, at the man I'd bonded with just weeks ago, and tried to reconcile him with the Alpha who'd been willing to execute me based on someone else's word. Tried to understand how he could love me while also trusting Ivory so completely that my life became secondary to proving her point.

"I don't know if I can do this," I admitted. "Don't know if I have the strength to spend years proving myself to people who've already decided I don't belong."

"You do," Kael said with certainty. "You have more strength than you realize. You survived years in Blackwood. Survived Damon's obsession. Survived being accused of attempted murder and nearly executed for it. You can survive this too."

Maybe he was right. Maybe I did have the strength to keep fighting, keep trying, keep working toward earning the trust I so desperately needed.

Or maybe I was just too stubborn to give up, even when giving up would be easier.

Either way, I knew what I had to do. Had to start building the foundation I'd been neglecting. Had to prove through consistent action that I deserved the position I held. Had to become someone whose word mattered, whose integrity was beyond question, whose contributions made the pack stronger.

Just like Ivory had done. Just like everyone else who'd ever earned real trust and respect.

It wouldn't be easy. Wouldn't happen quickly. Wouldn't erase the hurt of what I'd experienced or the betrayal I still felt.

But it was the only path forward. The only way to ensure that if I was ever accused of something again, if I ever faced another crisis where my word was questioned—people might actually believe me.

Because I'd earned that belief through years of service and dedication and proven integrity.

Just like Ivory.

The comparison still stung. Still hurt to acknowledge how completely I'd failed where she'd succeeded. But maybe that pain could be useful. Could motivate me to actually do the work instead of just wishing things were different.

I looked at Kael, at the gifts scattered around the room, at the reality of my situation.

"Okay," I said finally. "Okay. I'll do the work. I'll build the foundation. I'll prove myself worthy of this position."

"Good," Kael said, and through our bond I felt his relief. "That's good, Aria. That's all anyone can ask."

But as he left to attend to Alpha duties, as I sat alone with my gifts and my thoughts and my plans for the future, I couldn't shake one final realization:

I was doing this alone. Building trust alone. Proving myself alone. Because while Kael supported the idea of me succeeding, he wasn't actually going to help me do it.

I was on my own. Just like I'd been on that platform, with a noose around my neck and no one to defend me.

And that, more than anything else, told me exactly where I stood.