Chapter 131: Guilt Gnawed at Me_A Mate To Three Alpha Heirs

<h4>Chapter 131: Guilt Gnawed at Me</h4>

 {Elira}

 ~**^**~

 Kaelis moved with measured grace, her every step calcted, deliberate, as though the whole cafeteria was her court and we were mere subjects expected to bow our heads.

 Her entourage mirrored her energy, each one scanning the room, drinking in the silent fear they created.

 My chest tightened as my gaze, almost against my will, rose to meet theirs one by one.

 Nyra’s sharp eyes glinted, daring me to falter. Soraya’s lips curved in a faint smirk that didn’t reach her eyes. Thorne’s expression was cold, unreadable, like carved stone. Caleb held a flirt smile.

 And then there was Regina.

 Her stare lingered longer than the others, sharp and personal, as though she wasn’t just another Student Council member doing her part in this performance.

 No, hers cut deeper. Something about it was familiar in the worst way, like ws raking over old wounds.

 She held it for a second too long, and though her face betrayed nothing, the intensity in her eyes told me there was more than simple duty behind her gaze.

 She was my cousin after all, I knew her too well.

 My throat went dry, but I forced myself to look away, refusing to give her the satisfaction of seeing me unsettled by their presence.

 Kaelis finally swept her head, chin lifted, and the group turned as one, exiting as swiftly as they hade. N

 They hadn’t uttered a word or made any announcement. They had only left behind a shadow in their wake.

 The cafeteria seemed to exhale all at once, voices tentatively rising again, chairs scraping the floor, but the tension still clung to the air.

 Nari scoffed, leaning back in her chair with a dramatic roll of her eyes. "Well, that was pathetic. They really had nothing better to do than storm into our cafeteria and breathe the same air as us? Princess Kaelis and her little flock of sheep."

 Juniper rested her chin on her palm, her voice quieter but curious as her gaze turned to me. "Elira, why was Regina Shaw looking at you like that? Like she has some kind of separate grudge against you?"

 I froze. The question cut sharp and direct, leaving me scrambling for the right words. My pulse quickened, and beneath the table, my hands curled into fists.

 I let Juniper’s question hung in the air, for a few moment before I forced myself to unclench my hands beneath the table.

 "I don’t know," I said carefully, keeping my tone even. "Maybe she just... doesn’t like me. Some people pick targets for no reason."

 Nari snorted, stabbing at her food with her fork. "Of course she doesn’t like you. You make her look like the useless brat she is. You stood up after their pathetic punishment and came out even stronger. People like her can’t stand that."

 Cambria tilted her head, studying me closely. Her eyes were softer than Juniper’s, but searching all the same. "Still, the way she looked at you wasn’t the same as the others. It felt... personal."

 My throat tightened. I shrugged lightly, trying to shake off the tension. "Then maybe it is personal. Maybe she just doesn’t like the sight of me."

 "Good," Nari muttered, leaning forward. "Because the feeling is mutual."

 Her words broke the weight of the moment, pulling augh from Juniper and even a small smile from Cambria.

 Tamryn, who had been silently watching the whole time, finally added in her dry tone, "Well, if she tries anything again, she will regret it."

 Theirughter rose and fell around me, light and carefree, but my chest tightened instead of loosening.

 I kept my smile in ce, pushing food around on my tray so they wouldn’t notice how little I was eating.

 Because the truth gnawed at me. I had lied. Not in the way of telling a story, but by omission and by turning away from what they deserved to know.

 Juniper had looked right at me, expecting something real, and I had deflected.

 ’If they knew Regina was my cousin, would they look at me differently? Would they see me as tainted?’

 Just then, my wolf’s voice stirred softly in my mind, cutting through the noise of the cafeteria. "Elira."

 I straightened a little, pressing my fork down into the scrambled eggs. "Selene," I whispered inside.

 Her tone was low, steady, the way it always was when she wanted me to listen carefully. "Do you truly see them as your friends?"

 The question startled me. I nced at Cambria, Nari, Juniper and Tamryn once more. Then I answered her question without hesitation. "Yes. I do."

 "Then why are you afraid to let them see the whole of you?" Selene pressed, not usingly, just probing gently. "A bond cannot deepen if you keep walls up. They have shown you loyalty, stood beside you, even risked punishment for you. Do you think they would abandon you so easily?"

 My throat tightened. I lowered my gaze, watching crumbs fall as Nari dramatically waved her fork while retelling one of her blog’s funniestments.

 Cambriaughed softly, Juniper leaned in, and even Tamryn’s lips curved at the corner.

 "I don’t want to lose them," I admitted.

 Selene’s voice softened. "And you won’t. Trust is a risk, Elira. But sometimes the greatest strength you can show is not in fighting alone, but in letting others fight with you."

 Selene’s voice faded, but her words clung to me like dew, heavy and shining in the back of my mind.

 Trust is a risk.

 I swallowed, still staring at my tray when Nari’s voice shot across the table. "Elira! You’re not even listening, are you?"

 My head jerked up, eyes wide. "I—I am."

 Juniper smirked knowingly. "Really? Then what did Nari just say?"

 Heat rose in my cheeks. My silence gave me away, and the girls burst intoughter, the kind that filled the space and smoothed over my guilt like warm honey.

 Nari leaned forward, wagging her fork at me. "I was saying that one of thements on my blog literally asked if the cafeteria food is enchanted to make us sleepy in ss, because how else can you exin Professor Zenon’s lectures?"

 Cambria hid her smile behind her ss of juice, while Tamryn gave the smallest chuckle.

 I let out a smallugh too, shaking my head. "That’s terrible."

 "Terribly urate," Juniper corrected, earning another wave ofughter.

 The sound wrapped around me, pulling me back from the edges of my own thoughts. I smiled faintly, softer this time, and let myselfugh with them while thinking of myself as just a girl at breakfast with her friends, even if my heart carried more than I could share.

 ---

 The hallway buzzed with the usual Monday chatter as my friends and I made our way into the locker room. We each peeled off toward our rows, trading quick smiles and waves before parting.

 "See you at lunch," Cambria called over her shoulder.

 "Don’t bete," Nari added with her usual grin.

 I nodded, slipping to my own locker. The cool metal creaked faintly as I spun the lock open, trading the weight of my backpack for just what I needed—today’s textbook and my notebook for Combat Tactics & Pack Defense.

 The door clicked shut just as a sharp trill cut through the noise. It came from my phone.

 I nced at the screen, expecting maybe one of my friends had already forgotten something. But instead, a string of numbers stared back at me—unsaved, unrecognizable.

 My brows furrowed. Unknown numbers rarely meant anything good.

 For a heartbeat, I considered answering. But time pressed at me; my first lecture wasn’t one I could risk beingte to. With a small shake of my head, I slipped the phone back into my pocket.

 ’I will call back after ss, I promised myself.

 The moment I stepped into the ssroom, the air shifted.

 Dozens of eyes tracked me at once. Some curious. Some sharp. A few filled with whispers that darted from desk to desk like sparks on dry leaves.

 I didn’t need to ask why. Everyone had seen the new Moon’s Whisper post. Everyone had heard the announcement this morning. And everyone had watched the Student Council walk into the first-years’ cafeteria like wolves circling meat.

 Of course, now I was the meat.

 I kept my chin up and pretended not to notice, heading straight for my seat at the back. I settled into the chair with deliberate calm and set my books down on my desk.

 ’Ignore them. Just focus.’

 Minutes dragged, conversations hushed, then picked up again in bursts. The clock ticked too loudly.

 And then, the door opened. The usual chatter stilled at once, every head turning.

 And to my surprise, Rennon stepped inside.

 He had never taught us Combat Tactics & Pack Defense before. This was a first.

 Rennon carried himself with that calm steadiness he always had, setting a neat stack of notes on the desk at the front.

 Then his gaze swept briefly across the ss, patient butmanding enough to silence thest of the whispers.

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Chapter 131: Guilt Gnawed at Me