Mated To My Mate's Worst Enemy Chapter 57

ARIA

"I told you what you wanted to hear," Ivory interrupted calmly. "Because you and your wolves were on our borders making threats. Because you were unstable and dangerous and needed to be managed. I'm a healer, Alpha Cross, not a warrior. I don't fight with claws and teeth. I fight with herbs and words and strategy. And my strategy was to keep you away from that ceremony long enough for it to be completed."

"By lying," Damon spat.

"By protecting," Ivory corrected. "Something you seem to have forgotten how to do, given that you imprisoned your own Luna and mate when they tried to stop you from this foolishness."

Another murmur ran through the chamber, louder this time. The imprisonment of Luna Margaret and Sera had clearly become widely known, and it wasn't painting Damon in a favorable light.

"My actions regarding my Luna and mate are internal Blackwood business," Damon said, his voice rising. "They have nothing to do with—"

"They have everything to do with this," Alpha Morrison interrupted. "They demonstrate a pattern of unstable behavior, of disregarding pack law and boundaries, of using violence and imprisonment to get what you want. The council cannot ignore that pattern when determining how to address your actions here."

Damon's expression turned desperate. "I love Aria. Everything I did, I did because I love her. Because I finally realized what I'd been too blind to see for years. Is that really so terrible? Is wanting to be with your true mate really worthy of all this condemnation?"

"Your true mate?" I heard myself say, my voice cutting through the chamber. "Damon, I am not your true mate. I was convenient. I was devoted. I was there when you needed an ego boost or emotional support. But I was never your mate, true or otherwise. You made that abundantly clear when you chose Sera."

"I made a mistake," Damon said, his eyes pleading. "I admit that. I was young and stupid and I chose wrong. But Aria, that doesn't mean we can't fix this. That doesn't mean we can't be together now."

"You imprisoned two women," I said, standing up despite Kael's hand on my arm trying to hold me back. "You stormed a sacred ceremony with armed wolves. You assaulted someone who was trying to protect her pack. You threatened war if you didn't get what you wanted. Damon, those aren't the actions of someone who loves me. Those are the actions of someone who's obsessed with winning, with not losing, with controlling situations and people until they bend to your will."

"That's not fair," Damon protested. "You don't understand the pressure I've been under. The pack expectations, the political situations, the constant judgment. I've been trying to do what's right for everyone, and it's driven me to desperate measures."

"Desperate measures that hurt innocent people," Kael said, his voice hard. "Desperate measures that violated pack law and sacred traditions. Desperate measures that have brought us all here to decide whether you're fit to continue as an Alpha."

"You would say that," Damon sneered, some of his desperation giving way to anger. "You finally got what you wanted—a mate, your curse broken, your humanity restored. But let's be honest about why Aria chose you, shall we? She didn't choose you because she loves you. She chose you because she was running away from me, from Blackwood, from the pain of rejection. You're her rebound, Kael. Her consolation prize. And sooner or later, she's going to realize that and come back to where she really belongs."

Through our bond, I felt Kael's flash of hurt, of doubt, of fear that maybe Damon was right. And something inside me snapped.

"No," I said firmly, my voice ringing through the chamber. "You're wrong. About all of it. Yes, I was hurt when you rejected me. Yes, I was angry and lost and trying to figure out who I was without you. But Damon, I didn't choose Kael because I was running from you. I chose him because he treated me with respect. Because he gave me space to heal instead of demanding my immediate devotion. Because he asked what I wanted instead of telling me what I should want. Because he's been honest with me about what this bonding is—a partnership we're building together, not some desperate grab for control disguised as love."

I moved away from the table, walking toward where Damon stood in his chains. Kael made a move to follow me, to protect me, but Nina put a hand on his arm to stop him. This was something I needed to do alone.

"You want to know why I'm not coming back to you?" I said, stopping a few feet from Damon. "It's not because of anything Kael did or didn't do. It's because of who you've become. Or maybe who you always were, and I was too blind to see it. You don't love me, Damon. You love the idea of me—the devoted omega who worshipped you, who never questioned you, who made you feel powerful and wanted. But the moment I started making choices for myself, the moment I stopped being that convenient source of validation, you turned violent and controlling."

"That's not true," Damon said, but his voice lacked conviction. "I do love you. I just—I just can't stand the thought of you with him. Can't stand that you chose someone else."

"Exactly," I said quietly. "You can't stand that I chose. Not that I chose Kael specifically, but that I made a choice at all. That I exercised my own agency instead of waiting around for you to decide I was worth your attention. That's not love, Damon. That's ownership. And I'm done being owned by anyone."

Silence fell over the chamber. Damon stared at me, something breaking in his expression—maybe the last vestige of hope that I would somehow save him from this.

"The council has heard enough," Alpha Morrison said, his voice formal. "We will now deliberate on the appropriate consequences for Alpha Cross's actions. The defendant will be removed while we discuss."