Mated To My Mate's Worst Enemy Chapter 30

ARIA

"Yes. Which is why we'll have guards stationed throughout the ceremonial clearing. If he shows up, if he tries to issue a challenge—"

"What happens then?" I interrupted. "If he formally challenges? Can Kael refuse?"

Nina's expression turned grim. "Technically, no. Ancient pack law allows any Alpha to challenge for the right to claim an unmated omega during a bonding ceremony. It's an old tradition, meant to ensure the strongest Alpha wins the mate. Most modern packs don't honor it anymore, but if Alpha Cross invokes it formally, Kael would have to either accept the challenge or risk looking weak in front of other packs."

My stomach churned. "So he could actually force a fight."

"He could try. But Aria—Kael would win. Even with his curse, even as a wolf, he's stronger and more experienced than Alpha Cross. You don't need to worry about the outcome of a challenge."

But I did worry. Because Kael was still recovering from the nightwalker attack. Because fighting Damon might injure him further. Because the whole situation was spiraling into violence and chaos when it should have been a celebration.

All because Damon couldn't accept that I'd moved on.

*"Aria?"* Kael's voice in my mind made me jump. *"Are you alright? I felt a spike of distress through our bond."*

I'd forgotten about our connection, forgotten that he could sense my emotions even when I tried to hide them.

*"I'm fine,"* I thought back, trying to project calm even though my mind was churning with worry. *"Just dealing with some complicated information."*

*"About Alpha Cross?"* There was steel in his mental voice. *"I heard about what he did to his Luna and mate. About his plans to challenge for you."*

Of course he'd heard. News like that would travel fast through pack networks.

*"It doesn't change anything,"* I said firmly. *"I'm still bonding with you in two days. Still becoming Luna of Shadowmere. Whatever Damon tries, whatever challenges he thinks he can issue—it won't work."*

I felt Kael's emotions through the bond—relief mixed with something darker. Fear, maybe. Or doubt.

*"Do you still love him?"* Kael asked quietly. *"Is part of you hoping he'll succeed in his challenge?"*

The question hit harder than I expected. Did I still love Damon? The honest answer was complicated, messy, not something I could easily explain.

But Kael deserved honesty. Or at least as much as I could give him.

I carefully shielded my deeper thoughts—the confusion, the guilt, the small part of me that would always care about the man I'd loved for years—and projected only certainty through the bond.

*"I'm choosing you,"* I told him firmly. *"Not because Damon hurt me, not because I'm running away from Blackwood, but because I want to be here. I want to be Luna of Shadowmere. I want to build a life with you, whatever that looks like."*

*"But do you love me?"* The vulnerability in his question made my chest ache. This powerful, cursed Alpha was asking me the same thing I'd been asking myself.

*"I'm falling in love with you,"* I said, and it wasn't entirely a lie. I did care about him. Did feel something growing between us that might become love given time. *"It's not the same as what I felt for Damon. But maybe that's better. Maybe what we're building is stronger because it's based on choice and respect rather than desperate longing."*

There was a pause. Then: *"You're shielding part of yourself from me. I can feel it."*

Damn. I'd forgotten how perceptive the bond could make him.

*"Some thoughts are private,"* I said gently. *"Some feelings are complicated and I need time to sort through them on my own. But Kael—I promise you this. In two days, I will bond with you. I will accept your mark, become your Luna, commit myself to you and this pack. You have nothing to fear from Damon or from my past. I'm choosing my future. I'm choosing you."*

Another pause, longer this time. I wondered what he was thinking, what he was feeling through our connection.

*"Thank you,"* he finally said. *"For being honest. For choosing me even though it's complicated. I know I'm not what you dreamed of—a cursed Alpha who can't even hold you properly. But I'll do everything in my power to be worthy of your choice."*

*"You already are,"* I told him, meaning it. *"You threw yourself between me and death. You've treated me with more respect in a week than Damon did in years. You're letting me find my own way instead of trying to control me. That's worth more than you know."*

I felt warmth through the bond, gratitude and affection and something deeper I couldn't quite name.

*"I'll see you at dinner,"* Kael said. *"Nina's planning something special apparently. A pre-ceremony celebration."*

*"I'll be there,"* I promised. *"And Kael? Thank you for trusting me. For giving me space to figure things out."*

*"Always,"* he said simply, and then the connection faded to its usual background hum.

I looked up to find Nina watching me with knowing eyes.

"He asked if you still love Damon," she said—a statement, not a question.

"How did you know?"

"Because I would have asked the same thing if I were him. After everything that's happened, after seeing you interact with Alpha Cross at the border—any mate would wonder."

"I told him I'm choosing him," I said. "That I'm committed to the bonding ceremony."

"But you didn't answer the question," Nina observed. "Do you still love Damon?"

I thought about it. About the man who'd imprisoned two women in his desperation to claim me. Who'd destroyed furniture in a rage. Who'd convinced himself he could force me into a bond I didn't want.

"I love who I thought he was," I said slowly. "The Alpha I imagined him to be during all those years I was devoted to him. But that person doesn't exist. Maybe he never did. And what he's become now—obsessive, controlling, dangerous—that's not someone I could ever love."