Mated To My Mate's Worst Enemy Chapter 132

ARIA

"After everything I did for love," Damon corrected. "For you, Aria. I destroyed myself trying to claim you, and the pack understands that. They understand obsession. They understand the lengths you'll go to for the person you're meant to be with. And they'll forgive me because they recognize that my actions, while extreme, came from a place of genuine feeling."

"You imprisoned your mate," I said. "Your own Luna. That's not love, that's abuse."

"Sera understands," Damon said dismissively. "She knows I was confused. That I made mistakes. We're working through it. Rebuilding our relationship. And when I'm released, she'll welcome me back. We'll be stronger than ever, actually. This whole experience has taught us both valuable lessons about trust and commitment."

He paused, then added, "Lessons you should learn too. Because right now, you're making the same mistakes. Trusting people who don't trust you. Committing to a bond that's one-sided. Believing you can earn something that should be freely given."

"I need to go," I said, standing abruptly. "This was a mistake. I shouldn't have come."

"Probably not," Damon agreed. "But I'm glad you did. Glad I got to see you. Glad I got to tell you the truth even if you're not ready to hear it yet."

I moved toward the door, desperate to escape. But his voice followed me.

"Think about what I said, Aria. About where you really belong. About who actually values you versus who just tolerates you. And when you're ready to admit that Shadowmere isn't working, that you'll never be more than Kael's convenient second choice—come find me. I'll help you figure out what comes next."

I didn't respond. Just pushed through the door and past the guard, moving quickly down the corridor toward the exit. I needed air. Needed space. Needed to get away from Damon's poisonous words that resonated too deeply because they echoed thoughts I'd been trying to suppress.

Robert was waiting by the vehicle, looking concerned when he saw my face. But he didn't ask questions, just opened the door and drove me back to the pack house in merciful silence.

I went straight to my chambers, avoiding anyone who might want to talk. Locked the door behind me and sank onto the bed, Damon's words replaying in my mind on an endless loop.

*You'll always be second place. Just like you were with me and Sera.*

*His wolf has already claimed her.*

*You're tolerated but not wanted.*

*Even your own staff was relieved to stop serving you.*

*The pack tolerates you because you're bonded to their Alpha. But they don't want you.*

*You're living in your title rather than earning it.*

Every accusation, every cruel observation, every painful truth wrapped in deliberately hurtful language—it all circled in my head until I wanted to scream.

Because underneath the cruelty, underneath Damon's obvious manipulation and desire to hurt me, there were kernels of truth I couldn't ignore.

I was second choice. To Kael. To the pack. To everyone.

And I didn't know how to change that. Didn't know if it was even possible to change.

Maybe Damon was right. Maybe I was destroying myself trying to earn something that should have been freely given. Maybe I'd escaped one nightmare just to trap myself in another.

But even as the thoughts spiraled, even as I felt myself sinking into despair—a small, stubborn part of me whispered that Damon was doing exactly what he'd always done.

Finding my weaknesses. Exploiting my insecurities. Twisting truth and lies together until I couldn't tell them apart.

Using my own doubts against me because that's what manipulators did.

I just had to figure out which parts were true and which parts were poison designed to destroy what little confidence I'd managed to build.

Before Damon's words did exactly what he'd intended—drove me away from Shadowmere and back into his sphere of influence where he could continue to control and manipulate me.

The question was whether I was strong enough to resist that manipulation when so much of what he'd said resonated with my own fears.

Whether I could separate truth from lies when both felt equally real.

Whether I could survive in Shadowmere when surviving felt increasingly impossible.

I didn't have answers. Just questions and pain and a growing certainty that visiting Damon had been a terrible mistake.

One more in a series of mistakes that seemed to define my life lately.

And I had no idea how to fix it.

Or if it could even be fixed at all.