CHAPTER 100: 100 - IS YOU

100

~Rowan’s POV

The morning light slipped through the tall palace windows, warm but faint. I sat on the edge of my bed, still half in sleep, while the maids moved quietly around me. They were quick with their hands, laying out my clothes, polishing my boots, adjusting the cuffs of my shirt. Damon and Kael were also in their corners of the room, each being fussed over by a different set of maids.

I glanced toward the far side, expecting to see Lisa somewhere, either with my clothes or listening to some quiet instructions. But she wasn’t there. Not even her voice.

I frowned and turned to one of the maids folding my jacket.

"Where’s Lisa?" I asked casually, though a pinch of worry was already starting in my chest.

The maids froze for a second, their eyes darting to each other like they weren’t sure if they should speak. One of them, braver than the rest, stepped forward.

"My lord... it’s been a while since she reported to work," she said quietly. "She is not in the palace."

I blinked, then felt my irritation flare.

"What do you mean she’s not in the palace?" I asked, my tone rising. "When did she leave? And why wasn’t I informed?"

The maid lowered her head. "We... we don’t know the exact time, my lord. But it seems she left last week."

"Last week?!" My voice came out louder than I intended, and Kael, who had been letting another maid fix his cuffs, turned sharply toward me.

"What’s going on?" Kael asked, frowning.

Before I could answer, Damon’s voice came, low, calm, but with a softness that immediately put me on edge.

"I gave her permission," he said.

I turned to look at him so fast my neck almost snapped. "You what?"

Damon didn’t even flinch. He was sitting on his bed, letting the maids adjust his collar, his eyes calm and steady. "I told her she could go see her father," he said simply.

For a moment, Kael and I just stared at him. The room felt too quiet except for the faint sound of the maids shifting uncomfortably.

Everything inside me went cold, then hot with anger. "You what?"

Kael stopped fixing his sleeves and stared at Damon like he’d grown two heads. "You did what without talking to us first?"

Damon finally looked up at us. "Her father is sick. She wanted to see him. I told her she could go."

I took a step toward him, my hands curling into fists. "You’re joking, right? You let her walk out of here alone?"

"She’s not alone," Damon said quickly. "I asked two guards to follow her."

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. My chest felt tight. "Two guards?!" I snapped. "You wasted our men on her? For what?"

Kael’s voice was sharp. "Do you even hear yourself, Damon? You let her, our so-called mate, go out into the world without us, without telling us, and then you send guards to protect her? Do you realize how insane that sounds?"

Damon’s jaw tightened. "She’s still our mate, whether you like it or not. She’s human. She can’t protect herself. I’m not going to let something happen to her."

I laughed bitterly, the sound coming out harsher than I intended. "You think I care if something happens to her? She doesn’t belong here, Damon! We agreed on that a hundred times."

"She’s not like us," Kael said, his voice cold. "She’s weak. Human. And you’re out here playing knight in shining armor."

Damon’s eyes darkened, and I could see the frustration in his face. "I’m not playing anything. I’m just making sure she’s safe."

"She doesn’t matter!" I shot back. "Why can’t you get that through your head? We didn’t choose her. We don’t want her."

"She’s still ours," Damon said stubbornly. "I don’t care if you want her or not..."

"Well, I do care," I cut him off. "Because every time you go out of your way for her, you’re making it harder for her to leave. And that’s what we want, her gone."

Kael nodded sharply. "Exactly. The longer you keep treating her like she belongs here, the more she’s going to think she does. And then what? She’ll cling to us like some desperate human girl?"

Damon’s voice rose. "She’s not desperate! She just..."

"She is desperate," I snapped. "You don’t see it because you’re too busy... what? Getting to know her? Feeling sorry for her? Whatever it is, it’s pathetic, Damon."

The maids looked terrified, their hands frozen mid-task. I waved them out. "Get out. All of you. Now."

They scurried away, leaving the three of us alone. The silence felt heavy, charged with anger.

I stepped closer to Damon until I was right in front of him. "You don’t make decisions like that without talking to us. We’re supposed to act together. Always. And instead, you go behind our backs for her? A human who shouldn’t even be here?"

Damon glared at me but didn’t back down. "I didn’t go behind your backs. I chose because it was the right thing to do."

"The right thing for her, maybe," I said, my voice low and cold. "Not for us. Not for this pack."

Kael folded his arms, his tone sharp and mocking. "Do you think she’d do the same for you, Damon? If you were the one stuck somewhere you didn’t belong, do you think she’d send guards to protect you? No. She’d probably run."

"You don’t know that," Damon muttered.

"I do," Kael said flatly. "Humans always look out for themselves first."

I shook my head, disgusted. "And even if she wouldn’t, it doesn’t matter. She’s not worth protecting."

"She is to me," Damon said quietly.

I froze for half a second, then laughed once in disbelief. "You’re unbelievable. You’ve started to care about her. But you told us that you are just having fun with her!"

Damon’s eyes flicked away. "Maybe I have."

Kael stepped forward now, his voice like steel. "That’s your mistake, Damon. You’re letting emotions get in the way of logic. She’s our mate by the Moon Goddess’s joke, nothing more. She can’t give us strength, she can’t help lead the pack, she can’t even defend herself. And you’re out here acting like she’s the most important person in the world."

"I’m acting like she’s a person," Damon shot back. "And maybe if you two stopped treating her like trash for five minutes, you’d see she’s more than you think."

I felt my temper snap. "No, Damon. I see exactly what she is. And so does Kael. The only one blind here is you."

The air between us was tense, almost buzzing. Kael’s expression was icy, mine was burning with anger, and Damon looked ready to fight both of us if he had to.