Rejected and Claimed by her Alpha Triplets

Chapter 327- the walls

327

 ~Rowan’s POV

I looked over at Kael. His face was pale, sweat tracing down his temple. The pain of rejection hadn’t been kind to either of us, and it showed in every breath we took. But still, I couldn’t just sit there anymore, doing nothing. Damon needed us.

"Kael," I said quietly, my voice raspy from sleepless nights. "We can’t keep sitting here. We have to do something."

He turned his head slightly toward me, eyes dull with exhaustion. "Do what, Rowan? We’ve tried everything."

I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to stand even though my legs trembled. "We have to her how sorry we are and that we mean it. We’ll be at the entrance when Damon brings her back. She needs to see that we’re sorry, that we’re not the same anymore."

Kael stared at me for a long moment before groaning softly and pushing himself up with effort. "You think that will work?"

I nodded, steadying him when he almost fell. "It’s worth trying. We can’t just let Damon face her alone. If she sees all of us together, sincere, humble, maybe she’ll listen."

He sighed deeply, his voice cracking. "Alright. Let’s go then."

It took both of us almost ten minutes just to walk from the chamber to the grand hall. Every step hurt, but I refused to stop. The guards at the door looked at us with pity, but none dared to speak. We made our way to the entrance and stood there, side by side, trying to look strong even though our bodies felt like they could give out any second.

Hours passed.

The sun moved higher in the sky, then started to sink again. Still no sign of Damon, or Lisa.

Kael shifted weakly beside me. "It’s been three hours," he murmured. "What if she refused to come back?"

I swallowed hard, my chest tight. "She can’t hate us that much... can she?"

He didn’t answer, and the silence between us was louder than any words could be.

Then, finally, footsteps.

We both turned at once, our eyes lighting up for a moment, but my heart dropped when I saw Damon walking toward us alone.

"Where is she?" I asked quickly, hope flickering in my chest before dying just as fast.

Damon didn’t answer right away. His shoulders slumped, and his face looked drawn, the kind of tired that no amount of rest could fix. He walked past us slowly and dropped onto one of the seats near the grand hall, his elbows resting on his knees.

"She didn’t want to see me," he said quietly, not meeting our eyes. "She told the guard to tell me she didn’t want to meet me."

The air seemed to still. For a moment, I couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak. The words echoed in my head, sharp and cold.

Kael’s hand, which had been gripping the side of the chair for balance, dropped weakly to his side. "She said that?" he whispered, his voice trembling slightly.

Damon nodded once, slowly. He didn’t even try to defend her, or himself. He just stared at the floor, jaw clenched.

I swallowed hard, feeling something twist painfully in my chest. "After everything we’ve done, she still..." I stopped there. The rest of the words refused to come out. I didn’t need to say them anyway, we all knew what I meant.

Kael lowered his head, letting out a shaky sigh. "Then we’ll go ourselves," he muttered after a moment, his voice breaking a little.

Damon’s head shot up, eyes wide. "No," he said firmly. "You’re both barely standing. You can’t even hold your strength for long. I’ll try again tomorrow."

Kael shook his head, stubborn as always. "You tried today. She wouldn’t see you. Maybe she’ll listen to us instead."

"She won’t," Damon said softly. "Not now."

I ran a hand through my hair, pacing a few steps before stopping again. My throat burned with frustration. "We can’t just sit here doing nothing, Damon! She’s out there, thinking we don’t care..."

"She knows we care," he cut in quietly. "But caring doesn’t erase what we did."

"No," I said firmly, even though my voice came out weak. "You don’t understand what the bond feels like right now, Damon. It’s eating us alive. Every second she stays away, it gets worse. I can’t just wait anymore."

Kael nodded in agreement, his hand gripping the armrest for support. "He’s right. If she truly rejected us, we’re dying slowly from it. You might be stronger, Damon, but for us, one more day feels like a year."

Damon looked torn, running a hand through his hair. "I understand," he said finally, his tone softer. "But you won’t die if you wait just one more day. Let me talk to her again first. Please."

I looked at Kael, then back at Damon. His eyes were full of pain and worry, and I knew he was just trying to protect us. Still, the ache in my chest burned worse than ever.

"Alright," I murmured at last. "One more day."

But deep down, I knew I couldn’t wait that long.

Kael leaned back weakly against the pillar beside the grand hall entrance, his breathing heavy. I could see how pale he looked, the rejection bond was slowly eating away at both of us. The silence between us stretched, filled only by the soft rustle of the wind and the faint chirping of birds far away.

I glanced at him and forced a small smile. "You know," I said, my voice rough but calm, "since we’re already out here... maybe we should just enjoy the fresh air a bit. It’s been a while since we’ve been outside."

Kael gave me a tired side glance, then let out a faint chuckle. "You and your strange ideas," he muttered, shaking his head slightly.

I laughed quietly, sinking onto the steps. "Come on. When was the last time we sat like this, without guards, without stress, just breathing?"

He hesitated, then slowly lowered himself beside me. "Probably before everything went to hell," he said softly.

"Exactly," I replied, looking out toward the open courtyard.

Damon nodded and we went quiet after that. The world around us felt peaceful, too peaceful, almost mocking. The flowers in the courtyard swayed softly, the scent of wet earth lingering in the air. I leaned back on my hands and looked up at the sky, watching the faint clouds drift lazily.

"Feels good though," I murmured. "To just breathe again."

Kael and Damon hummed in agreement, eyes half-closed. "Yeah. For once, it doesn’t feel like the walls are closing in."

I exhaled slowly, watching the sunlight spill across the marble floors. "No matter what happens," I said quietly, "I just hope she’s happy."

Kael turned his head slightly, his voice barely a whisper. "Even if it’s not with us?"

I hesitated for a long moment before answering, "Even then."