{Elira}
~**^**~
The infirmary slled of herbs and clean linen.
It was quiet in the way only healing places were—soft footsteps, low voices, the faint hum of magic woven into the walls. When I woke properly this ti, it wasn’t to blinding light or pain pounding behind my eyes.
It was to laughter.
"Careful," Cambria said warmly. "If I peel this too fast, she’ll scold when she’s stronger."
"I would never," I murmured, a smile tugging at my lips.
Four familiar faces swam into my vision, and for a mont my chest tightened so hard it almost hurt.
They were here.
I hadn’t realized how afraid I’d been of waking up alone until that mont.
Nari was perched on the edge of a chair, practically vibrating with energy. Juniper sat at my feet, her hands warm as she gently massaged my ankles. Tamryn occupied the corner chair with a book open on her lap, pretending to read while glancing up every few seconds. Cambria stood beside my bed, peeling an apple with careful, deliberate motions, as if it were sothing precious.
"You scared us," Nari blurted out. "Do you know how long they didn’t let us see you? We were banned like criminals."
I blinked. "Banned?"
Juniper nodded, her fingers never stopping. "While you were unconscious. Healers’ orders."
"I was in a coma longer than I thought," I whispered.
Cambria’s eyes softened. "We tried every day."
Sothing warm settled in my chest. I lay there quietly, listening—Nari filling the room with noise, Tamryn occasionally correcting her, Juniper grounding everything with her calm presence.
Nari launched straight into it. "Anyway, Regina got destroyed. Publicly. Completely. Expelled. Records wiped. The King got involved. Lady Maren fainted—actually fainted. It was glorious."
I closed my eyes briefly.
Not out of guilt.
Out of relief.
"If I hadn’t been saved in ti..." My voice trailed off.
Cambria stopped peeling the apple. "You don’t need to finish that sentence."
I nodded. I felt satisfied—not because Regina fell, but because I lived.
A comfortable silence followed.
Then Cambria cleared her throat.
"So," she said, far too casually, "the triplet professors."
I opened one eye. "What about them?"
"They were... troubled," she said carefully. "When you collapsed."
Nari snorted. "Troubled? They were feral."
Juniper humd thoughtfully. "It was strange."
Tamryn finally lowered her book. "Everyone else was forbidden from entering. But those three?" She raised a brow. "They went in and out like the infirmary belonged to them."
Cambria nodded. "Barking orders at healers. Arguing about treatnts. Sitting by your bed for hours."
My lips curved into a small smile.
My heart felt full—and suddenly heavy.
"I think," I said softly, "it’s ti I told you sothing."
They all went quiet.
I swallowed. "Zenon. Lennon. Rennon." I took a steady breath. "They’re my fated mates."
Silence followed.
Absolute, stunned silence.
Then—
"WHAT?!" Nari scread.
Tamryn lunged across the space and clamped a hand over her mouth. "Lower. Your. Voice."
Nari’s eyes were wild above Tamryn’s fingers.
Juniper stared at like I’d just rewritten the laws of existence. Cambria’s mouth opened, closed, then she slowly sat down.
"All three?" Juniper asked at last.
I nodded.
Nari yanked Tamryn’s hand away. "Do you know how unfair that is? Three handso, powerful professors and you don’t even have to choose?"
"Nari," Cambria warned.
"I said what I said."
I laughed—weak, but real.
Shock gave way to awe, then to happiness.
"That explains everything," Tamryn muttered. "The protectiveness. The panic."
Juniper smiled softly. "You’re safe with them."
I was.
We talked for a long while—about fate, bonds, how strange and overwhelming it all felt. About how terrifying and wonderful life could be.
Then Juniper tilted her head. "Too bad you’re being discharged this afternoon."
My smile faltered. "Discharged?"
"And leaving ESA," she added gently.
The room filled with groans.
"We’ll miss you," Cambria said.
"We’re visiting," Nari declared. "No argunts."
"I’m not disappearing," I reminded them. "I’m just going ho to recuperate."
Cambria finished slicing the apple and fed a piece. It tasted sweet.
"And you’re banned from using your supernatural abilities," she added firmly.
I nodded. "Healers’ orders."
Tamryn stood. "Co on, chatterbox. We’re packing her things."
Nari frowned. "Why ?"
"So your mouth can rest," Tamryn replied calmly, "and Elira can."
She grabbed Nari’s hand and dragged her out of the room.
Their laughter faded down the corridor.
I leaned back against the pillows, my heart full, and the apple sweet on my tongue.
---
A Few hours later, the healer signed the final clearance, and just like that, it was over.
I was discharged.
Before I could even process it, the triplets were already there—too close, too solid, too warm for my fragile heart to handle calmly.
Zenon didn’t say a word. He simply stepped forward, slid one arm beneath my knees and the other behind my back, and lifted as though I weighed nothing at all.
I gasped softly in surprise. "Zenon—"
"I’ve got you," he said quietly.
That was all. No sharp tone, no cold distance. Just certainty.
My arms instinctively curled against his chest, and I beca acutely aware of his warmth, his steady breathing, the way his hold never once tightened too much or loosened too little.
He carried to the wheelchair and lowered gently, with a care that made sothing ache behind my ribs.
I liked this version of him, and I liked it far too much.
Lennon flashed a grin and took over, hands firm on the wheelchair handles. "VIP escort," he said lightly. "Try not to get used to it."
I stifled a chuckle.
Rennon walked beside us, quiet and watchful, his presence grounding in a way I had co to rely on without realizing it.
As we moved through the infirmary corridors, students and healers paused, eyes following us.
I felt exposed, but also protected, wrapped in the unspoken shield the triplets ford around .
Outside, sunlight spilt across the stone steps. And there they were. Cambria, Tamryn, Juniper, and Nari stood beside Zenon’s black jeep, waiting.
The mont they saw , they rushed forward carefully, but with emotion spilling out of them anyway.
Nari hugged first, arms tight. "You better co back fast," she said, voice wavering. "Because I’m not done bragging about you yet."
Cambria held my hands next, her thumbs brushing over my knuckles. "Eat properly. Rest. Heal."
Juniper smiled softly. "We will visit soon."
Tamryn nodded. "And don’t you dare push yourself."
My throat closed. For a mont, I thought I might cry.
Instead, I smiled brightly, grateful, but still aching. "I will be back," I promised. "I swear it."
They stepped back slowly, still reluctant, still watching like they wanted to morize the sight.
Zenon opened the back passenger door of the jeep.
Rennon stepped in smoothly, lifting from the wheelchair as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
He settled into the seat, adjusted the cushion behind my back, and then carefully fastened the seatbelt.
His smile was gentle. "Comfortable?"
I nodded. "Yes. Thank you."
Lennon folded the wheelchair and placed it neatly in the trunk alongside my things, then shut it with a soft thud.
Rennon climbed in beside .
Zenon took the driver’s seat while Lennon slid into the front passenger side. Then the engine purred to life.
As the jeep pulled away from ESA’s gates, I turned and waved through the window. My friends waved back, all four figures growing smaller with every passing second.
’I will recover quickly,’ I vowed silently. ’And I will co back.’
At the sa ti, Selene stirred within , her voice low and fierce.
"ESA has not seen all that you are yet," she said. "Let them wait. When you return, you will not just be a survivor, you will be a force. The most important wolf alive."
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