Mated To My Mate's Worst Enemy Chapter 3

ARIA

By the time I finished packing, dawn was breaking over Damon's territory. I didn't leave a note. Didn't say goodbye to anyone except Tom, the kind guard who'd always slipped me extra meat from pack hunts when I was recovering from my injuries.

"You take care of yourself, Miss Aria," he'd said quietly, his eyes sad but understanding. "And don't let anyone make you feel small ever again."

I promised I wouldn't.

The journey to Shadowmere territory took three days through dense forest and mountain passes that tested even my wolf's endurance. Luna Margaret had arranged for a guide—a grizzled older wolf named Marcus who'd lost his own pack years ago and now worked as a neutral courier between territories.

He didn't ask questions, which I appreciated. We traveled mostly in wolf form, covering ground faster that way.

No more waiting by the window for Damon to come home. No more swallowing my hurt while he rushed to Sera's side. No more pretending I was enough when I clearly never had been.

"We're crossing into Shadowmere land now," Marcus said on the third morning, his voice rough from disuse.

We'd shifted back to human form to navigate a particularly treacherous cliff path. "You feel that?"

I did. The air itself felt different here—heavier, touched with old magic that made my skin prickle. The trees grew taller, their trunks twisted into strange shapes. Even the birdsong sounded muted, cautious.

"What happened here?" I asked, pulling my jacket tighter against the sudden chill.

Marcus glanced at me sidelong. "You really don't know much about your future mate, do you?"

"I know he's cursed. That he's been trapped in wolf form for three years."

"That's the surface of it." Marcus paused at the edge of a clearing, surveying the land ahead. "Alpha Kael challenged a dark witch who was hunting human children for her rituals. He could've left it alone—humans aren't pack business. But he didn't. Tracked her to her lair and tore her throat out with his own fangs."

Pride flickered in Marcus's weathered face. "With her dying breath, she cursed him. Said he wanted to be a beast so badly, he'd become one permanently. His human form was locked away, and every day that passes, his human consciousness fades a little more."

My wolf stirred uneasily. "And his pack? They just... let him suffer?"

"His pack is loyal as they come. They've searched everywhere for a cure—witches, shamans, even vampires. Nothing worked." Marcus started walking again, leading me deeper into Shadowmere territory.

"Then their pack seer had a vision. Said only a true mate bond might anchor his humanity. Give him something to fight for."

"But I'm not his true mate," I said quietly. "We've never even met."

Marcus shrugged. "Fate's a funny thing. Maybe you are, maybe you aren't. But the seer saw silver fur in her vision, and you're the only silver wolf they could find willing to take the risk."

The only one willing. Because any smart she-wolf would run from a bond with a dying Alpha.

But I'd stopped caring about smart decisions the day I watched Damon place his mating mark on Sera's throat.

We traveled in silence after that, going deeper into forest, leading to his pack. We were often stopped by pack scouts who made sure that we weren't a threat.

Finally, as the sun reached its zenith, we emerged into a valley that took my breath away.

The Shadowmere pack settlement sprawled before us, built into the mountainside itself. Stone structures blended seamlessly with natural cave systems, and a crystalline river cut through the center of the village.

Wolves moved through the streets in both human and animal forms, and despite the heavy magic saturating the air, there was life here. Community.

"Welcome to Shadowmere," a warm voice said.

I turned to find a petite woman with kind eyes and silver-streaked dark hair approaching us.

"I'm Nina, Beta of Shadowmere pack," she said, offering her hand. "You must be Aria. We're grateful you've come."

Her genuine warmth caught me off guard. I'd expected coldness, cruelty, maybe resentment that their Alpha had to resort to an arranged bond.

"Thank you for having me," I managed.

Nina dismissed Marcus with thanks and a pouch of coins, then linked her arm through mine like we were old friends.

"Come, let me show you around before we take you to Kael. You must be exhausted from the journey."

She led me through the settlement, introducing me to pack members who greeted me with curiosity but also surprising acceptance. A group of children playing by the river stopped to stare at my silver hair—rare among wolves—then waved shyly.

"We're not a large pack," Nina explained as we walked, "but we're strong. Kael made sure of that before the curse took hold. He's a good Alpha, Aria. Perhaps the best I've served under."

"You say that like you think he can be saved."

Nina's expression turned fierce. "I have to believe it. We all do. He's fought the curse for three years—longer than the witch probably expected. If anyone can claw their way back from the edge, it's him."

We stopped in front of a large stone structure built into the mountainside, isolated from the other buildings. Two guards flanked the entrance, watching me with unreadable expressions.

"This is the Alpha's den," Nina said softly. "He stays here, away from the pack, when the curse is particularly bad. We can't risk him hurting anyone if he loses control completely."

My heart hammered against my ribs.

"And you want me to go in there? Now?"

"Not to complete the bond—that's for the blood moon ceremony. But he should meet you, sense you. It might help him hold on a bit longer." Nina squeezed my hand. "I won't lie to you, Aria. He's more wolf than man right now. But there's still something of Kael in there. I've seen glimpses of it."

The guards opened the heavy doors, and Nina led me into a dimly lit corridor that sloped downward into the mountain itself. Torches flickered along the walls, casting dancing shadows.

We descended deeper until the corridor opened into a massive natural cavern.

And there, in the center of the cavern on a raised platform of furs and blankets, lay the largest wolf I'd ever seen.

His coat was pitch black except for silver markings along his spine that seemed to shimmer in the dim light. Even lying down, he was massive—easily twice the size of any normal wolf. His eyes were closed, his breathing deep and even.

"Kael," Nina called softly. "Someone's here to meet you."

For a moment, nothing happened. Then slowly, those eyes opened.

They were gold—bright, burning gold—but there was something wrong with them. Like he was staring at a prey, rather than a person.

The massive wolf's head lifted, nostrils flaring as he caught my scent.

Then everything happened at once.

Kael surged to his feet with a snarl that reverberated through the cavern.

Nina immediately shifted her stance, putting herself partially in front of me. The wolf's lips pulled back, revealing fangs that could easily tear through flesh and bone.

But he didn't attack.

Instead, his wild gold eyes locked onto mine, and for just a moment, I saw something in his eyes, a desperate, drowning plea for help.

Then he threw back his head and howled.

The sound was anguished, haunting, full of a loneliness that echoed my own.

My wolf responded before I could stop her, howling back.

In the sudden silence that followed, Kael slowly padded down from his platform.

He stopped just a few feet away, lowering his massive head until we were at eye level.

"Finally... you came..."

Nina gasped beside me. "He hasn't spoken in over a year."

But I barely heard her. I was too focused on those gold eyes that carried stories of pain.

"I'm here," I whispered, not sure why tears were sliding down my cheeks. "I'm here, Kael."

The great wolf's eyes drifted closed, and he collapsed at my feet like a puppet with cut strings.

"He's never done that before," Nina breathed, wonder in her voice. "Aria... I think the seer was right. I think you really might be his salvation."

As I knelt beside the unconscious wolf, running my fingers through his midnight fur, I felt something shift inside my chest.

Maybe I'd come here to escape Damon. But looking at this cursed Alpha who'd fought darkness for three years, I wondered if I'd actually been meant to find him all along.

Behind us, neither of us noticed Nina pulling out her phone to send an urgent message:

*He responded to her. Get everything ready. We perform the ceremony at the next blood moon—we can't wait any longer.*

*He's running out of time.*