<h4>Chapter 94: My Mates vs My Roommates</h4>


    <strong><i>{Elira}</i></strong>


    ~**^**~


    I bit back a smile. If it had been anyone else but Lennon, that desk would have been cleared faster than the wind.


    I’vee to understand that Zenon loved his brothers and could tolerate a lot from them. But somewhere deep in my silly mind, I, for a moment, wondered how would he would react if I was the one.


    I bet his res would have shut me dead by now.


    Still holding the yearbook Rennon had handed me moments earlier, I turned toward him. "What happens now with the missing yearbook from the Archive?"


    Rennon’s expression was calm, but his reply held a flicker of steel. "I will still find it. I’m not letting it go."


    Before I could ask another question, my phone chimed — a sharp note that pulled me back into the moment.


    I checked the screen. It was a private message from Tamryn.


    <i>[Don’t bete. I already cleared my study table.]</i>


    My heart skipped. I immediately checked the time — and winced. I had only thirty minutes left before my math lesson.


    "Sorry," I said quickly, rising to my feet, "I need to head back."


    Rennon looked up, surprised. "Where are you going?"


    "My dorm," I replied. "Tamryn’s waiting for me. She’s tutoring me in math this evening."


    Lennon chuckled from behind a pile of chicken and pasta. "You’re abandoning your mates to hang out with your roommates?"


    He raised a brow. "Are we not treating you well enough, Miss Elira?"


    I froze. Heat flooded my cheeks. My heart suddenly felt two sizesrger — and heavier. Why did that sound like a real question?


    I nced nervously at Zenon, who was staring at me — openly, unreadably. The air grew thicker with that silence of his, the kind that made my throat itch to say something just to fill it.


    Then, I caught Rennon looking at me, too. And Lennon — well, his grin had faded into something quieter, something curious.


    They were all... waiting—waiting for some sort of real exnation.


    I cleared my throat. "It’s... It’s not like that. I just— Tamryn agreed to help me, and I really don’t want to waste her time. Plus, math is one of my weakest subjects right now."


    Zenon finally turned his eyes away.


    Rennon nodded, understanding. "That’s reasonable."


    Lennon, however, wasn’t finished. "At least take some food with you. I ordered extra for your sake."


    "I appreciate it," I said. "But there’s a ban on outside food in the dorm. I don’t want to get in trouble."


    Lennon didn’t even flinch. He was already loading up one of the containers with portions from each dish — fried chicken, a scoop of pasta, some sd, even a little corn dog nestled like a prize at the bottom.


    "Sometimes, rules are meant to be broken," he said as he popped the lid on with ir.


    Of course, I wasn’t surprised by that answer. It was his ssic style.


    Still, I hesitated. "But if I get caught, I will be punished... And I don’t want that."


    Lennon was grinning. "It will be worth it." Though he said that, I already knew he didn’t mean it.


    I turned to Rennon for backup, my eyes silently asking the question I didn’t voice.


    He smiled faintly and said, "Take it. You won’t be caught.


    A breath of relief escaped my lips faster than I was expecting.


    If Rennon said so, then I believed him. I wasn’t foolish enough to ignore the fact that he could see slivers of the future—just enough to matter.


    Lennon smirked. "So, Rennon’s your special advisor now?"


    I didn’t answer or bother exining, and neither did Rennon. The silence was mutual, a quiet agreement that didn’t need exining.


    Lennon reached for my backpack. "Let me pack it in."


    I handed it over, watching as he carefully lowered the takeout container into the centerpartment of my backpack like it was a relic of great value. Then he zipped it shut with care, and helped me sling it gently over my shoulder.


    "Now," he said, his voice turning mock-serious, "don’t jog, don’t dance, don’t sneeze too hard — or the lid will fly off and turn your textbooks into an oil painting."


    "I will be careful," I promised, a smallugh slipping through my nerves. I didn’t think I had anything to be worried about since I always walked steadily.


    Just as I turned to leave, Zenon’s voice cut through the air like amand.


    "Leave the yearbook."


    I blinked, hand tightening around it reflexively. "What?"


    Lennon raised a brow, snapping his gaze to him. "Why?"


    Zenon’s tone didn’t change. "So, no one mistakes it for a missing Archive item. And I don’t want it damaged."


    His gaze flicked to me, impassive and unreadable. "If you want to look through it at any time,e to my office. But check with me first to confirm I’m here."


    I hesitated. I wanted to keep it. But Zenon’s logic made sense — and deep down, I didn’t want to risk losing it or scratching it.


    So, I nodded reluctantly and ced the yearbook gently on the corner of his desk.


    "Thank you," I said, ncing at each of them. "For... all of this. For today."


    Rennon gave me a slight nod. "Of course."


    Lennon leaned back in his chair and gave me a yful wave. "Elira don’t forget, don’t let the pasta spill."


    I rolled my eyes at that, but couldn’t help the smile tugging at my lips as I turned and made my way to the door, backpack secure and heart full ofplicated thoughts.


    I stepped out of the office, strangely, deeply grateful — for the unexpected threads that today had pulled loose.


    Because somewhere inside those connections, between mothers, ssmates, and secrets buried in dusty yearbooks, I felt I was getting closer to another truth only Alpha Cyprus would be able to help me with.


    But would he be willing to tell me everything he knew about my mother’s time in ESA?


    I would have entirely relied on Uncle Marc for more information, but he probably wouldn’t know as much as the Alpha did.