Chapter 192

Chapter 192

ARIA

སཊྛི 15 p>

Finished

I needed air. Needed space. Needed anywhere that wasnt the council chamber where I’d just confessed all my inadequacies to beings who could destroy my life with a single judgment.

I walked through the pack house without destination, just moving, trying to outpace the anxiety that was threatening to overwhelm me. Kael had gone to deal with some urgent matter that Jordan had needed him for-always something, always pack business that couldn’t wait-and I was grateful for the solitude even as it left me alone with my spiraling thoughts.

The corridors were busy with late afternoon activity. Park members going about their routines, though everyone moved with heightened awareness of the elders’ presence. Conversations were quieter. Behavior more careful. Everyone conscious that they might be observed, that anything they did could be part of the

assessment.

I passed through the main common area, intending to head outside to the gardens where I might find some peace. But as I approached the doorway, I heard voices a group of male pack members standing in one of the alcoves, talking with the kind of animated enthusiasm that suggested they’d forgotten to care about being overheard.

“I’m telling you, they have to announce it,” one of them was saying. “It’s tradition. When the Ghost Council visits, they host the annual Ghost Hunt. It’s been eight years-we’re due p>

“You just want an excuse to drink and gamble on the outcomes,” another voice replied with amusement.

“Well, yeah, that too. But come on-the Ghost Hunt is legendary. Ten teams, week-long competition, the whole pack involved. Last time was incredible. I was just a kid, but I still remember how intense it got toward the finals p>

I slowed my steps, curiosity overriding my intention to leave. Ghost Hunt? I’d never heard of this. Never seen it mentioned in any of the pack records I’d reviewed. What kind of event required the elders’ presence

to authorize?

“The champions were Alpha Kael and Ivory, weren’t the?” a third voice asked. “Back when Kael was just heir apparent, before his curse p>

“Yeah,” the first voice confirmed. “Absolute dominance. They won every single round. It wasn’t even close. Everyone else was competing for second place because those two were on another level entirely p>

“Ivory the Huntress,” someone else said, and I heard genuine reverence in his tone. “We only get to see her like that during the Hunt. The rest of the time she’s Ivory the Healer-all professional and buttoned-up and untouchable. But during the Hunt? She’s in her element Completely different person p>

“You mean you get to see her in that outfit,” another voice teased. “That’s what you really miss. Admit it p>

Laughter rippled through the group. “Okay, fine, yes. The outfit is… I mean, have you seen the way she dresses normally? Always covered. Always professional. Medical robes and practical clothes that show absolutely nothing. But the Hunt outfit? Holy gods p>

“Short skirt that barely maintains modesty,” someone contributed appreciatively. “Stops right at her thighs. Shows off her legs and the way she moves p>

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Chapter 192

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“Sleeveless top,” another added. “Tight crop that shows her midriff. You can actually see her body instead of it being hidden under layers of healer propriety p>

“And the weapons,” a voice said almost reverently. “The ow, the knives, the way she handles them like extensions of her own body. Ivory in warrior mode is sinful. Genuinely sinful. I swear half the unmated males were using her as jerk-off material for weeks after the last Hunt p>

More laughter. Crude agreement. The kind of locker-room talk that men engaged in when they thought no women were listening. When they forgot to be politically correct or appropriately respectful.

“Do you think they’ll compete together this year?” someone asked, the question cutting through the humor. “Kael and Ivory. Now that Luna Aria is in the picture. Would that be… appropriate p>

The pause that followed was weighted with implications With awareness that the dynamic had changed. That what had been simple eight years ago was now complicated by my presence, by bonds that hadn’t existed before, by relationships that made everything more fraught.

“I don’t know,” the first voice admitted. “The Hunt requires two-person teams. Alpha and Luna traditionally compete together if the Luna is capable. But p>

“But everyone knows Aria isn’t Ivory,” someone finished bluntly. “No offense to the Luna, but Ivory is literally legendary as a huntress. She and Kael were unbeatable. Aria probably can’t even track properly, let alone compete at that level p>

“So Kael either has to compete with his mate and probably lose because she’s inadequate,” another voice said, laying out the political nightmare with brutal clarity. “Or he has to choose Ivory as his partner, which makes a statement about who he actually values more. Either way, it’s going to be uncomfortable p>

“Remember that one round?” someone said, and I heard the grin in his voice. “The overnight survival challenge in the deep forest. Kael and Ivory were the last team to emerge the next morning. Technically they lost that round because they weren’t first to the checkpoint p>

“But everyone with a nose knew what they’d been doing instead of racing to the finish,” another voice added with crude appreciation. “The scent of sex was all over both of them. Impossible to miss p>

“Ivory was walking like she’d been thoroughly used,” someone else contributed. “Limping slightly, moving carefully. Kael was supporting her, helping her along. They tried to play it off like she’d slipped and rolled down a hill during the night, torn something that needed medical attention p>

“Which was technically true,” another voice interjected. She had torn something. Just not from falling down a hill p>

Raucous laughter. The kind that came from shared knowledge of something scandalous and entertaining. From remembering a moment that had become pack legend.

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