A Mate To Three Alpha Heirs novel Chapter 44

{Elira}

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As we walked, Cambria lowered her voice slightly. “Always keep your locker locked,” she warned. “The pranks here can get… creative. And excessive, especially when someone makes you a target.”

I stopped walking, her words catching in my chest. “Pranks?” My voice came out thin. “Are you saying there’s… bullying? Here in ESA?”

Cambria paused too, then tilted her head as if surprised by the question.

“Have you ever seen any school or organization without any bullying?” she asked, her tone softer, almost apologetic.

Her answer stunned me.

I had expected her to reassure me that ESA was above that. That in a place so prestigious, so respected, no one would bother to stoop that low. But instead, she confirmed what I feared.

A cold knot tightened in my chest. Regina’s face flashed in my mind, then Lady Maren’s, and finally Luna Gwenith’s sharp, cutting words that still echoed inside my head.

I had come to ESA for a fresh start, to finally live and study in peace… but what if that peace didn’t exist?

Cambria tugged lightly on my arm, urging me to walk faster. “Come on,” she said, her tone still gentle but firm. “We’ve only got ten minutes left before orientation starts.”

I hurried along, but my thoughts tangled painfully. Maybe I was naïve to think anywhere could be safe for someone like me. And if I ended up being a target again… I wasn’t sure I had the strength to survive it one more time.

Cambria kept talking as we walked, telling me more about the rules and regulations — most of which, she said, would be covered during orientation anyway.

Her voice was calm, measured, and almost comforting. I listened, or tried to, but my mind kept spiralling.

Finally, we reached the orientation hall. The building wasn’t large, since only about a hundred of us had made it through the supplementary exam, as Rennon had explained.

Cambria leaned closer, her ponytail swaying gently. “When the orientation is over, come back through the back door,” she told me, nodding toward a side corridor.

“I will wait there to take you to meet your class teacher. We’re not in the same class, so I won’t be able to walk in with you.”

I nodded, swallowing the small ache of disappointment. I have gotten so used to Cambria’s steady presence in just one morning, and now I would have to face the rest of the day on my own.

I stepped inside the hall.

The room was already alive with quiet chatter, uniforms crisp and new, nerves hanging in the air like an unspoken mist.

My eyes darted around until I found an empty seat toward the back. I slipped into it quickly, settling between two boys who barely spared me a glance.

Two minutes later, the whispers died away as a group of adults entered and climbed the small stage at the front of the room.

A tall, elegant woman with silver hair pinned into a graceful updo stepped forward to the microphone.

“Good morning,” she began, her voice as smooth and cold as marble. “I am the Vice Chancellor of Elite Supernatural Academy.”

Polite applause rippled through the hall.

She welcomed us, congratulating us on earning our places here, and then gestured behind her, introducing several department heads and senior faculty members.

My eyes instinctively searched for Lennon and Rennon, but neither of them was there. Maybe they were teaching already, I reasoned… but I still felt a pang of disappointment.

Somehow, just seeing them there would have made me feel safer.

Regina.

My breath caught in my throat, and for a second, I forgot how to breathe at all.

She looked just as perfect as always: her long, dark hair falling smoothly over her shoulders, her uniform immaculate.

And as her gaze swept across the room, it landed on me. Her lips curved into a small, satisfied, almost taunting smile.

A cold wave rolled through me. Of course, she was part of the Student Council. Of course, my cousin — the girl who had nearly destroyed me more times than I could count—would also hold power here.

And the brothers never mentioned it to me.

My fingers curled into tight fists on my lap, nails biting into my palms.

’Just don’t let her see you shake,’ I told myself.

But inside, my hope for a fresh start felt like it was cracking before the first day had truly begun.

Regina’s gaze lingered on me, as if silently reminding me of every cruel word, every burn, every slap she’d ever given.

Then her eyes flicked away, her expression smoothing back into the polite mask she wore for everyone else.

My heart hammered painfully in my chest. I forced my gaze away from her, staring down at the polished wooden desk in front of me.

I wasn’t sure if things had just gotten worse… but a part of me was afraid that they had.

And I didn’t know how to survive it.