A Mate To Three Alpha Heirs
Chapter 42: School Guardian

Chapter 42: School Guardian

{Elira}

~**^**~

My breath caught. I couldn’t help worrying—what if he crashed?

What if something terrible happens?

I quickly glanced at Zenon, but he keeps his gaze on the road, the curve of his jaw unmoved.

He didn’t seem in the least bit bothered.

Through the side mirror, I spotted Rennon’s black Mercedes following behind, not too close, not too far, but just like a quiet guard in the distance.

And in that moment, it struck me: here I am, heading to my first day at ESA in an envoy, guarded on the road by the triplet Alpha brothers themselves.

The thought lit a small, stubborn warmth inside me—one even Luna Gwenith’s words couldn’t quite smother.

---

As Zenon drove through the grand gates of Elite Supernatural Academy, nerves replaced the brief pride I felt.

I saw the sprawling green lawns, the elegant white-stone buildings with high windows and ironwork balconies, and students in sharp uniforms moving across the courtyards like chess pieces.

At last—I’m here. Not as a visitor, but as a student.

Zenon pulled into a reserved space in the staff lot and turned off the engine. For a breath, there was silence. Then he turned to me, his cold gaze steady.

"You’re about to find out what the four walls of ESA are really made of," he says, his tone unreadable.

I couldn’t tell if he’s warning me, mocking me, or... preparing me.

Then, almost like an afterthought, he adds, "Remember this: you’re not defined by what others think you are. Only you get to tell them who you really are."

He didn’t look at me, but his voice, though cold, carries something sharper than steel—a quiet insistence.

"And let my words live rent-free in your head. Because I’m not repeating them."

My eyes widened, realization cutting through my nerves. He heard.

Seven nights ago—when Luna Gwenith cornered me in my room and called me worthless—he must have heard. He might have heard me cry, too.

Gosh! He was outside my room. But what for?

Something tight and painful bloomed in my chest, and for the first time, my fear of Zenon shifted—into something closer to silent gratitude.

---

Zenon walkd me into the administrative wing, his long strides forcing me to hurry to keep up.

Outside an office marked Student Admissions, he stopped.

"Your guardian will meet you here," he said curtly, then turned to leave.

"Thank you... for bringing me," I murmur, my voice smaller than I meant.

Again, he didn’t reply. His back moved away down the hall, tall and unbending.

I had thought Zenon would be directly in charge of helping me complete my student profile.

But his actions of escorting me here, made me wonder why he had offered to take me to school today seven days ago, when his friendlier brothers could have done it.

Inside, I found other new students in the same fresh uniforms. A few looked up, some with curiosity, some indifference.

I handed over my documents, registered my fingerprints and signed where I was told.

My new student ID card slid across the desk to me, along with a rectangular meal ticket and a name tag: Elira Shaw.

My name—bold and real in shiny letters.

As I left the office, a girl in the same uniform approached me, her black high ponytail swaying behind her.

"Hi! Elira, right?" she asked, glancing at my name tag already fixed at the left upper side of my jacket, before meeting my gaze with a smile.

Then she reached a hand out. "I’m Cambria. I volunteered to be a guardian today, and they assigned me to you."

For a heartbeat, I froze. Since my parents died, it’s been so long since anyone approached me first with kindness that I almost forgot how to respond.

I forced my hand to move. "Nice... to meet you," I said softly.

---

Cambria walked beside me, explaining the school rules in a lively voice that made it feel like she was talking to a friend rather than lecturing.

"No phones during lectures or training, or in assemblies," she saud counting on her fingers. "No drinking, no smoking anywhere on school grounds. You can’t skip classes unless you’re actually ill—and the clinic is strict, so no pretending."

I nodded, trying to keep up, gripping my bag’s strap as we stepped out into the open corridor lined with marble pillars.

She gestured across the courtyard. "The cafeteria serves three meals a day—only the best stuff, by the way. And you will need your meal ticket every time. Do you have it?"

"I... have it," I said, remembering how carefully I had tucked it into my backpack next to my student ID as soon as they were handed to me.

"Good," she beamed. "You can’t have any meals at the cafeteria if you lose it. Unless you ask a friend, and that person decides to use theirs to feed you."

Her words made me realize how important the meal ticket was, and I silently vowed to guard it like treasure.

I couldn’t imagine starving in a school like ESA. That would bring back horrible memories.

We crossed the courtyard to a wide building with arched windows.

"This is the first-year dorm," Cambria explained. "Each year’s students have their own building. Second years are over there—and the third years, the scariest ones, are in that building near the east wall."

A question gnawed at the back of my head, then I let my curiosity get the better of me.

"What year are you?" I inquired, finding my voice.

She flashed her badge at me: Cambria S. "I am a first year like you."

My gaze widened.

How was that possible for my fellow first year student to know so much about ESA?

Then she smiled and quickly clarified, "The only difference, is that I’m a Merit student."

I relaxed, having understood the situation.

Cambria was my peer—yet confident and at ease, like she’s been here for years.

Maybe that’s why she volunteered as a guardian, I think. Or maybe... she’s just kind.

Either way, the warmth in her smile made me very comfortable with her.

At least, I didn’t have a mean student for a guardian on my first day of school.

For now, this first day felt a little less terrifying.

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