A Mate To Three Alpha Heirs-Chapter 73: No Explanation, No Reason

{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?"

Cambria stood from her chair and walked over, her brows drawn together. She reached for the envelope in Nari’s hand. "Let me see."

Nari hesitated, then handed it over.

Cambria turned the red envelope in her hand, eyes narrowing slightly before she gave a small nod. "This is from the Student Council," she said. "It’s the same kind of envelope they use for official invites."

"What?" I sat up straighter. "Are you serious?"

"Dead serious," Cambria replied, handing it back to me gently. "You got invited. Question is—why?"

As I stared down at the red envelope in my hands, the weight of four expectant gazes pressed down on me like a blanket.

I hadn’t even opened it yet, and already I felt like something irreversible had begun.

Nari, of course, couldn’t help herself. "Well? Are you going to open it, or are we just going to stand here admiring the colour?"

I glanced up at her, then at the others. They were all gathered around me, waiting.

A beat passed before I finally slipped a finger beneath the flap and tore it open. The envelope made that light, crisp sound—like something delicate being broken.

Inside was a single sheet of paper, folded cleanly. I pulled it out and unfolded it slowly.

Just as my eyes skimmed the first line, Nari interrupted again. "No secrets, Elira. Read it out loud."

I hesitated for a second, then I started reading aloud.

’Dear Ms. Elira Shaw,

You are formally invited to the Student Council Office on Sunday at 12:00 PM. Please make yourself available and arrive on time.

Signed,

The Student Council.’

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.