A Mate To Three Alpha Heirs novel Chapter 188

{Elira}

~**^**~

Juniper leaned on my bunk, grinning. “Oh, it’s official now. You are ESA’s favourite headline.”

Their laughter and excitement, warm and chaotic, filled the room, but beneath it, I felt something else coil deep in my chest.

Pride. And worry.

Because whoever was behind the gossip blog had just thrown me into the spotlight even harder, and directly under the Student Council’s glare.

Still, hearing the joy in my friends’ voices made it hard to care.

Tamryn yawned, still grinning. “Well, Miss Omega Miracle, try to sleep tonight. Tomorrow, the whole school will still probably be talking about you.”

Juniper laughed. “And if the Student Council tries anything, maybe Moon’s Whisper will fully write about them next.”

That thought made me laugh, too. “Let’s hope they do.”

We turned off the lights soon after, the dorm falling into sleepy silence. But long after my friends’ breaths evened out, I lay awake staring at the faint glow of my phone under the pillow.

The title still stared back at me. ’The Omega Miracle.’

It didn’t feel like a taunt anymore.

***

{Regina}

~**^**~

The air in the Student Council office was thick enough to choke on.

Morning light spilt through the long glass windows, soft and golden, but it did nothing to ease the tension hanging between us.

Every one of us sat stiff, silent, and avoiding eye contact with the person at the centre of the storm.

Princess Kaelis.

She sat behind her desk, posture sharp, jaw clenched so tightly that the muscle in her cheek twitched.

Her phone lay face down beside a pile of unopened folders, but she didn’t need to look at it again. Everyone in the room had seen it.

Moon’s Whisper’s newest article had spread like wildfire across the school before breakfast.

“The Omega Miracle strikes again — and maybe the Student Council should be less concerned about gossip and more about honor.”

I had read it before coming here. Twice.

The first time with mild annoyance. The second time with cold panic.

Kaelis hadn’t said a word for the last three minutes. That was what made it worse.

Soraya sat beside me, her leg bouncing under the table. Caleb and Thorne exchanged silent looks. Even Nyra, who usually had sharp comments, sat biting her lip.

Finally, Kaelis moved. Her manicured fingers drummed once against the wood. Then she rose, calm and lethal.

“Does anyone,” she began softly, too softly, “want to explain how my name—our name, ended up being dragged into an anonymous blog post?”

No one answered. Even breathing felt dangerous.

Then, she smiled the kind of smile that meant she was past patience. “No one? Not one of you?”

Soraya cleared her throat first, voice faltering. “P-Princess, maybe it’s just speculation. You know how these blogs twist things for attention.”

Kaelis’s eyes slid toward her. “Speculation doesn’t start itself, Soraya. Someone lit this fire.”

My pulse hammered, but I kept my face carefully composed—not too defensive, not too calm.

Kaelis was scanning the room, reading every twitch, every glance. When her eyes locked on me, it felt like being pinned beneath sunlight too sharp to breathe under.

“Regina.” Her voice was silk-thin and sharp as glass. “You’ve been unusually quiet.”

I forced myself to look up, managing a measured, respectful tone. “There isn’t much to say. I only saw the article this morning, like everyone else.”

Her gaze didn’t waver. “And you expect me to believe that?”

A slow silence spread through the room. I could feel every pair of eyes shift toward me.

Inside, I was already calculating Kaelis’s temper, the way her hands gripped the edge of the desk, how close she was to summoning an inquiry.

If she sent someone digging, it wouldn’t take long to find out that I had links to the rumour that had spread about Elira, and that I had spoken to one of the Professors about that matter.

I had been careful, but not invisible. I drew a slow breath, deciding exactly how much truth could be used to protect the rest of it.

“Princess,” I began quietly, “if you’re referring to the rumour about the acu-point technique, I had no hands in it, but I did speak to one of the professors about banning it.”

Soraya’s head snapped toward me, and Nyra gasped.

Kaelis might be furious now, but she had just handed me the perfect task, and the freedom to pursue it however I pleased.

Find Moon’s Whisper and s it.

And if, along the way, Elira Shaw’s shining little miracle started to crumble… well, that would just be collateral advantage.

***

{Elira}

~**^**~

The Sunday morning sun spilt warm gold over ESA’s gates as we stepped out, laughter spilling behind us like windchimes.

The breeze was clean and alive—perfect for the kind of day we had promised ourselves all week.

Tamryn had been the one to plan it. “You need to build stamina,” she had said early this morning, pointing at me like a general giving orders. “And hiking is the best way to do it. Combat training and hiking are practically cousins.”

So here we were—five girls in matching denim jeans, though each of us had chosen a different top.

Tamryn wore a sleeveless black one that made her look like a fitness instructor.

Cambria had gone with a soft lilac crop hoodie.

Nari’s bright yellow shirt screamed sunshine and chaos, and Juniper had picked a white tee with WOLVES DON’T QUIT printed across the chest.

And me, I had just gone for a plain navy blue shirt that didn’t attract attention.

We were barely ten minutes into the trail before Nari started complaining.

“My legs already hate me,” she groaned, pushing up the sleeves of her yellow shirt. “Who even wakes up this early on a Sunday for exercise?”

Tamryn, leading us up the narrow dirt path, didn’t even turn around. “People who don’t want to lose their next fight.”

Nari shot me a look. “See? She means you.”

I chuckled. “I figured that much.”

Cambria laughed softly, adjusting the small backpack slung over her shoulder. “To be fair, Tamryn’s right. The hiking will help with your endurance, Elira. It’s not every day you get tossed around by someone twice your size and still walk away a winner.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me.” I groaned, rubbing the back of my neck. “Every time I blink, I still see Darren’s face.”

“That’s because he nearly used your head as a drum,” Juniper teased, grinning.