A Mate To Three Alpha Heirs novel Chapter 73

{Elira}

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I hesitated for half a beat. “Just… had something to do.”

Nari smirked from her corner. “What, like secretly meeting your boyfriend?”

I blinked at her, caught off-guard. “What? No.”

But as soon as I denied it, I dipped my brows, a different perspective registering in my head.

Wait a minute. Rennon is my mate. Should he or not count as my boyfriend?

“Uh-huh.” She placed her phone beside her on the bed. “I mean, a mysterious little getaway during lunch and now you’re walking in here with some mysterious white box. Suspicious, if you ask me.”

“Speaking of,” Juniper chimed in, this time looking directly at me, “What is in that box, Elira?”

I glanced down at it, the neat white square still in my hand. “Macarons,” I said simply. “Do any of you want one?”

That got their attention.

In a matter of seconds, all four of them were out of their beds or seats, crowding around like birds that had spotted a slice of bread.

I chuckled softly despite myself and opened the lid, revealing the soft pastels inside—pinks, greens, yellows, and purples.

“I call pink,” Nari said instantly, snatching it up before anyone could argue.

“I didn’t even know ESA sold these,” Juniper muttered, selecting a pale green one and giving it a cautious sniff before taking a bite.

“They don’t,” Nari said, already halfway through hers. “At least not in the cafeteria. They didn’t serve this today either.” She turned to me, eyes sharp with suspicion. “So where’d you get it?”

I froze.

I hadn’t expected that question. Telling them Rennon gave it to me felt… complicated. And awkward.

Thankfully, Cambria stepped in with a graceful save. “Does it matter?” she said coolly, biting into her own macaron. “Just enjoy it, Nari. Not everything has to be interrogated.”

Nari rolled her eyes but didn’t argue. She just took another bite, mumbled something under her breath, and wandered back to her bed.

I exhaled softly and made my way to my own bunk, setting my backpack down with a little thud. I sat down, slowly unlacing my shoes, and peeled off my socks, neatly setting them beside the bed.

My feet ached from all the walking—and from all the thinking.

I reached for my backpack and began pulling out my books, one after the other, stacking them beside me in preparation for tomorrow’s reading.

But as I tugged on my notebook, something else slipped out and landed softly on the floor. The red envelope.

My stomach gave a small lurch.

Nari’s reflexes were as sharp as ever. She darted forward from her bed, snatching it off the ground before I could reach for it.

“Now this,” she said, waving the envelope lightly, “is giving secret admirer energy. Where’d you get it?”

I frowned. “It was stuck to my locker this morning.”

Juniper tilted her head. “On the outside?”

I nodded.

“That means whoever left it couldn’t access your locker. They usually put these inside. That’s how they work—whoever it is must not have had your code.”

I blinked, confused. “They?”

That was it.

No explanation. No reason. Not even a hint at what this was about.

When I finished, I looked up. A strange silence hung in the air—like everyone was waiting for someone else to speak first.

It was Juniper who broke the silence. Her brows were drawn tightly together, her voice low. “That’s… weird. They didn’t even say why you were invited.”

“It’s a little suspicious,” Cambria added gently.

“Sketchy,” Nari muttered. “The Student Council doesn’t just randomly invite students, especially Omegas. You definitely caught their attention.”

Juniper folded her arms across her chest. “And that’s not necessarily a good thing.”

Tamryn had been silent the whole time. But now, she stepped back toward her bed, her tone quiet but firm.

“Be careful, Elira. Seriously.” She didn’t elaborate—she just sat down, eyes steady on mine for a second longer before she looked away.

I gulped. The words were starting to pile up in my head—invited, attention, suspicious, careful.

My fingers tightened slightly on the edge of the letter, creasing the paper.

Cambria stepped closer and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. “It will be fine,” she said with a calm smile. “Don’t let them scare you.”

Then she added, casting a quick look at the others. “No need to jump to conclusions.”

But I still stared down at the letter, something unsettling twisting in my gut. Something about this wasn’t right.

“I have a question,” I said finally, raising my gaze to meet theirs again.