Mated To My Mate's Worst Enemy Chapter 130

ARIA

"Am I?" Damon challenged. "Ask around, Aria. Ask the pack members who knew them then. Ask Nina, who probably walked in on them more than once. Ask anyone who paid attention to what was happening in that den for three years. Kael's wolf claimed Ivory as his mate. They were bonded in every way except formally. And that bond doesn't just disappear because he's human again and politically bonded to you."

"He chose me," I said weakly. "He bonded with me."

"He bonded with a convenient solution to his curse," Damon corrected. "You were there at the right time with the right circumstances. That's not the same as choosing you, Aria. That's just desperation and political necessity."

Each word was a knife, finding weaknesses I'd tried to ignore. Exploiting doubts I'd tried to suppress.

"Kael may try to make it up to you," Damon continued relentlessly. "May try to convince you that you matter to him. But you'll always be second place, Aria. Just like you were with me and Sera. You're everyone's backup plan. Everyone's convenient option when their first choice isn't available."

"Stop," I said, but my voice was barely a whisper.

"Why should I stop?" Damon asked. "Someone needs to tell you the truth. Someone needs to make you see what's happening. Kael was willing to execute you based on Ivory's word. Think about that, Aria. His mate. His bonded Luna. And he was ready to watch you hang because Ivory—a woman he fucked in wolf form, a woman his wolf still considers his—said you were guilty."

"The trap worked," I protested. "Ivory proved I was innocent. She saved me."

"Did she?" Damon leaned back, studying me. "Or did she just want to prove she could control Kael completely? That her word still carries more weight than your bond? Think about what happened, Aria. She orchestrated a situation where everyone—including you—believed you were going to die. Where Kael had to choose between trusting her and protecting you. And he chose her. He will always choose her."

"You don't know that," I said, but even I could hear the doubt in my voice.

"Don't I?" Damon challenged. "I know what it's like to have a mate you bonded with for political reasons while loving someone else. I know how that dynamic works, how it destroys the person who's second choice. And I'm telling you, Aria—you're living my nightmare. Except in your version, you're Sera. The unwanted mate. The political necessity. The woman whose bond isn't enough to compete with real history."

He paused, letting that sink in. Then continued, his voice dropping lower.

"Think about your life in Shadowmere. Really think about it. The pack tolerates you because you're bonded to their Alpha. But they don't want you. Don't trust you. Don't value you beyond your title. Given the choice, they'd have Ivory as Luna in a heartbeat."

"That's not—" I started, but he cut me off.

"Isn't it? When you were accused, how many pack members defended you? How many spoke up in your favor? How many believed your word over Ivory's?" He smiled, cold and knowing. "None. Not one single pack member thought you were telling the truth. They all assumed you were guilty because trusting you would mean doubting Ivory. And that's unthinkable in Shadowmere."

"Someone must have—" I tried again.

"Martha spoke up," Damon acknowledged. "Said you weren't capable of violence based on her observation. Not because she believed you. Not because she trusted you. Just because her professional assessment was that you're too weak and pathetic to attempt murder. That's not support, Aria. That's pity."

Each word landed like a physical blow. Because he was right. Martha hadn't defended me out of trust or belief. Just out of her assessment that I was too inadequate to be dangerous.

"The rest of the pack?" Damon continued. "They were ready to watch you die. Ready to believe you'd attacked their precious Ivory out of jealousy and insecurity. And they weren't wrong about the jealousy and insecurity, were they? You are jealous of her. You are insecure about your position. Because you know—you've always known—that you don't measure up."

"Stop," I said again, more forcefully this time. "Just stop. I didn't come here to be torn down by you."

"Then why did you come?" Damon asked. "What did you think I'd tell you? That everything's fine? That your mate loves you and your pack accepts you and you're living happily ever after? Wake up, Aria. You escaped one nightmare just to walk into another. At least in Blackwood, you knew where you stood. At least with me and Sera, the dynamic was clear."

"I was miserable in Blackwood," I protested.

"Were you?" Damon leaned forward again. "Or were you just uncomfortable because reality didn't match your fantasy? You wanted me to choose you. You wanted to be Luna. You wanted respect and love and validation. And when you didn't get those things, you convinced yourself you were suffering."

He paused, his eyes boring into mine.

"But Aria, you're suffering now too. Maybe even more than before. Because at least in Blackwood, the rejection was honest. Sera and I didn't pretend to want you there. We didn't make you think you had a chance at belonging while secretly hoping you'd leave. Your situation in Shadowmere is worse because they're lying to you. Pretending to accept you while resenting your presence. Pretending to trust you while constantly comparing you to Ivory and finding you lacking."

"They apologized," I said weakly. "They brought gifts. They acknowledged they were wrong about me."

"They apologized because they feel guilty," Damon corrected. "Because nearly executing an innocent person looks bad. But do you really think their fundamental opinion of you has changed? Do you really believe they suddenly trust you now, suddenly value you, suddenly want you as their Luna?"