Mated to alpha triplets at all-boys school Chapter 263

Ashley pov

I feel like the world is pressing down on me as I walk back to the camp. The trees are huge and thick, and the shadows are getting longer as the sun starts to set. 

I know the others are here, I can hear them talking and moving around, but it all feels so far away. I don’t feel like I belong here, I’m the outsider they don’t want to let in. 

Maybe that’s for the better. Maybe I should stay away, on the sidelines, and watch them from afar?

My heart is heavy, and my mind is racing. I keep hearing the bears’ voices in my head. I keep wondering if they hate me. 

What if I’m the reason everything is messed up? What if it’s all my fault? The guilt feels like it’s choking me, and I can’t get rid of it.

“Hey,” Greg says. His voice pulls me out of my thoughts, and I look up. He’s standing beside me, his face is serious, but there’s a softness in his eyes that makes me want to hide my feelings. 

I can’t. I need to know the truth. “Do- do the bears hate me?”

Greg looks at me, surprised at first, then a little worried. He steps closer, but it doesn’t help. It doesn’t make the pressure in my chest go away. 

“No,” he whispers, as if he is scared that someone might overhear him. “They don’t hate you, Ash. You know that.”

I shake my head. I’m not sure why I’m asking, but I have to. “I don’t know, Greg. They all look at me like I’m a problem. Like I’m the reason they’re all in this mess.”

Greg looks at me like he’s about to say something, but I can’t stop blabbing. I need to get it all out. I need him to understand. “I’m the reason we’re all stuck. I shouldn’t have run. I should’ve stayed with Kaiden. I-”

“Ashley,” Greg cuts me off, his voice sharper and a lot louder than earlier. “Stop it. You didn’t ask for any of this.”

“But I could have made things better. If I’d just stayed, maybe Kaiden wouldn’t become so oddly obsessed with the idea of dragging me back to the territory. Maybe the bears wouldn’t be stuck like this. If I had just made the right choice-”

“Ash.” Greg steps closer and puts a hand on my shoulder. It’s gentle, but his voice is firm, making him sound like a parent who is about to scold a child. “This isn’t your fault. You didn’t cause any of this. You can’t blame yourself.”

I pull away from him, my hands shaking. It feels like my chest is going to burst. “But I did cause it, Greg! I didn’t do enough, and now I’m living on the run, hiding from everything and everyone. And so are you guys. It’s all because of me.”

Greg’s eyes soften, but he doesn’t let go of me. He stands there, quiet for a moment. I can’t even look at him. I’m too scared to hear what he’ll say, because I know it won’t fix anything. It won’t make me feel better. But then, before I know it, everything spills out of me.

“I- Kaiden rejected me. He told me he didn’t want me. After that, he banished me from his pack so I ran and hid away. It was stupid, reckless of me, but I hoped that finally life would get better. Spoiler alert, it didn’t. And to make matters worse, I had no idea I was supposed to accept the rejection to break the bond. It’s still there, but to complicate my life even more, the Moon Goddess sends me another challenge. I find out that I have second-chance mates, but they don’t even know. They don’t feel it. They have their own lives. Their own pack. And Kaiden won’t let me move on. He won’t let me do anything. I just feel… stuck. I’m stuck between everything, and I just keep messing up. Everything is falling apart, Greg. And I’m the reason for all of it. I’ve ruined everything. I just - maybe I should go back to Kaiden. Maybe if I do, he’ll stop haunting me. Maybe he’ll stop hurting everyone.”

I’m crying now, my face hot with shame. I wipe my eyes quickly, but I can’t stop. It all hurts too much.

Greg doesn’t say anything at first. He just stands there, looking at me. Then, he takes a deep breath and steps closer again, his hand gently gripping my shoulder. “Ash, no.”

“But I-” I try to protest, but Greg shakes his head.

“No,” he repeats, his voice a little stronger this time. “You can’t just go back to Kaiden. That won’t fix anything. You can’t just go back to someone who doesn’t want you. You’re not a mistake, Ash. You’re not a burden. You’re not responsible for everything that’s happened.”

I open my mouth to argue, but nothing comes out. I don’t know how to explain how heavy all of this feels and how to make him understand. 

“I just,” I whisper, my voice breaking. “I don’t know what to do anymore. I’ve made everything worse. I’ve ruined everything.”

Greg steps even closer, and this time, he doesn’t look like he’s about to let go. His hand stays on my shoulder, warm and grounding. “You didn’t ruin anything. You didn’t cause this, Ash. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I can’t breathe without feeling guilt eating at me, Greg. I don’t know how to fix this.”

“You don’t have to fix anything,” Greg says softly. “You don’t have to do it alone. We’re a family, Ash. We’re here. You’re not on your own in this. Whatever happens, we’ll get through it together.”

I feel a little something inside me stir at his words. It’s not enough to take away the pain, but it’s something. It’s like a tiny crack in the weight I’ve been carrying around. “But I don’t know how to be okay, I’ve never been truly okay and I don’t know if I ever will be.”

Greg looks at me, his gaze softening once again. “You don’t have to be okay right now. You just have to keep going. And we’ll be here with you. Every step of the way. I can’t stress this enough - you don’t have to do this alone.”

I don’t know if I believe him completely. But at least, I’m not as alone as I thought. And that thought? It’s enough to give me a little hope.