Mated To My Mate's Worst Enemy Chapter 53

ARIA

Nina hesitated, clearly torn between duty and desire. Finally, she nodded. "Just a few hours. Then I'll be back to help coordinate the council meeting."

"Take as long as you need," Kael said.

After Nina left, Kael turned to me with an expression that was part apology, part resignation. "We should probably check on Ivory ourselves. Make sure she has everything she needs."

Of course we should. Of course our first act as newly bonded mates wouldn't be time alone together but visiting the woman who'd been hurt protecting our ceremony. I pushed down my disappointment and nodded.

"That's a good idea," I said, meaning it even as part of me mourned the loss of what I'd hoped this morning would be.

The walk to the clinic was quiet, both of us lost in our own thoughts. Through the bond, I felt Kael's anxiety building with each step closer to where Ivory lay. His worry for his childhood friend, his guilt over her injuries, his desperate need to see for himself that she would be okay.

The clinic was calm when we arrived, the usual bustle of activity muted. Eliza met us at the entrance, her expression professional but tinged with concern.

"Alpha, Luna," she greeted us formally. "I assume you're here to check on Ivory?"

"How is she?" Kael asked immediately. "Any change in her condition?"

"She's stable. The swelling in her brain has started to go down, which is a good sign. I expect she'll regain consciousness within the next few hours." Eliza paused, her gaze moving between us. "Nina's with her now. She arrived about twenty minutes ago and hasn't left her side."

"Can we see her?" I asked.

Eliza nodded and led us through the clinic to a private room near the back. The door was partially open, and I could see Nina sitting beside the bed, holding Ivory's hand, her head bowed like she was praying or perhaps just too exhausted to hold it up anymore.

Ivory looked small in the clinic bed, her usual vibrant presence diminished by bandages and bruises. Her face was swollen, discolored, one eye completely shut from the swelling. Bandages wrapped around her head, and I could see the edges of healing marks where Eliza had worked to mend the worst of the damage.

This was what protection looked like. What sacrifice looked like. And I'd spent so much time being jealous of her instead of recognizing what she was willing to do for people she cared about.

We stepped inside quietly, not wanting to disturb Nina if she'd finally managed to doze off. But she looked up at our entrance, her expression haunted.

"She hasn't woken up yet," Nina said unnecessarily. "Eliza says she will soon, but—" Her voice cracked. "What if there's permanent damage? What if—"

"She's going to be fine," Kael said firmly, moving to stand on the other side of the bed. "Ivory's strong. Stubborn. She's survived worse than this."

"Has she?" Nina asked quietly. "Because I can't remember a time when she looked this broken."

We stood there in silence for a moment, the three of us watching Ivory's chest rise and fall with each breath. Then, as if summoned by our attention, her eyes began to flutter.

"Ivory?" Nina leaned forward immediately. "Can you hear me? It's Nina. You're in the clinic. You're safe."

Ivory's eyes opened—well, the one that could open. She blinked slowly, confusion evident in her expression as she tried to focus on the faces around her.

"Kael?" Her voice was barely a whisper, rough and pained. "Are you—did you—"

"I'm fine," Kael assured her quickly. "The bonding was completed before Damon could interfere. You did it, Ivory. You bought us enough time."

A small smile flickered across Ivory's battered face. "Good. That's—that's good." Her eye moved to Nina. "Stop looking at me like I'm dying. I've had worse injuries from failed herb experiments."

"That's a lie," Nina said, though relief flooded her expression. "You've never looked this bad from a herb experiment."

"Well, maybe if you'd stop nagging me, I'd heal faster. All that negative energy is probably slowing down my recovery." Despite the pain she must have been in, Ivory's tone carried a hint of her usual sass. "You're going to give yourself gray hairs worrying like this."

"Too late," Nina muttered, but she was smiling through tears now. "I'm pretty sure I grew at least five this morning."

Eliza bustled over, checking Ivory's vital signs and asking questions about her pain levels and whether she remembered what happened. Ivory answered everything clearly, proving that despite the physical damage, her mind was intact.

"You're lucky," Eliza said bluntly. "Another few inches and that impact could have killed you. As it is, you're going to have one hell of a headache for the next few weeks."

"Worth it," Ivory said, her gaze moving to Kael again. "You shifted back. After the fight. I was worried—"

"The curse is broken," Kael confirmed. "Thanks to your treatment. To everything you've done for me over the past three years. Ivory, I can never repay—"

"Don't," Ivory interrupted, wincing at the effort of speaking forcefully. "Don't make this into some debt. I did what I did because you're my friend. Because you deserved to be free. That's all."

Through our bond, I felt Kael's emotions—gratitude, affection, relief so strong it was almost overwhelming. And underneath it all, that guilt that he hadn't been able to protect her from Damon's attack.

Ivory's eye found me then, and something unreadable flickered in her expression. "Luna Aria. I hope the ceremony was everything you hoped it would be, despite the interruption."

"Thanks to you," I said, meaning it. "Ivory, what you did—setting up two ceremony sites, leading Damon astray, putting yourself in danger like that—I don't know how to thank you."

"You don't need to thank me," Ivory said, her tone pleasant but with something underneath that I couldn't quite identify. "I did what was necessary to protect my Alpha and my pack. That's what pack members do for each other."

There was something in the way she said it, something that felt like a subtle reminder that she'd been pack longer, that her loyalty ran deeper, that she belonged here in ways I didn't yet. But maybe I was being oversensitive, reading hostility where there was none.

"Could I—" Ivory's voice was weaker now, exhaustion clearly catching up to her. "Could I speak with Aria alone for a moment? There's something I need to say."

Kael and Nina exchanged glances, clearly uncertain. But Eliza nodded.

"Just a few minutes. She needs to rest, and too many visitors will exhaust her."

Kael looked at me, a question in his eyes. I nodded, trying to project confidence I didn't entirely feel. Whatever Ivory wanted to say, I could handle it.

Nina and Kael left reluctantly, Eliza following them to give us privacy. The door closed with a soft click, leaving Ivory and me alone in the clinical room.

For a long moment, neither of us spoke. Ivory studied me with her one good eye, her expression unreadable despite the bruising and swelling.

"I want to be very clear about something," she finally said, her voice low but firm. "I didn't do what I did for you."