Elian's POV
*****
[Welcome to the Omega Ascension System]
He blinked repeatedly, trying to understand if he was imagining things. He'd just heard a mechanical voice speak in his head, talking about an... Omega System?
"Omega Ascension...?" He repeated, furrowing his eyebrows into a deep frown. "Did the moon goddess sending me back in time alter my brain in some weird way or—"
[Shame on you for doubting the abilities of the moon goddess. I don't even know what she saw in you to gift me to you.]
Elian paused, his thoughts drowning and disappearing amid the sound of the people laughing, cheering, eating, and dancing. Soft music was being played, but it was a contrast to the chaos in his mind.
Why the heck was there a voice in his head taunting him with the sassiness of a teenage girl?
"Hey, you!" A sharp female voice cut through his reverie like an icy blade, causing a shiver to run down his spine.
Elian turned his head to the source of the voice only to spot Estella, the empire's most beautiful she wolf, and sister of the Beta, walking toward him with a sneer.
Her blonde hair bounced behind her, heavy makeup creased her face, and she wore a beautiful blue form-fitting velvet gown that trailed behind her.
It was a pity that all that beauty and makeup didn't extend to her heart.
"What the heck do you think you're doing? Did anyone tell you anything about taking a break?" She asked when she got in front of him, placing her hands on her waist.
Elian parted his lips but no words came out of his mouth. That's because he remembers how this interaction went in his last life.
He would tell her that he was only standing to "observe" the event while relaxing... And she would pull at his ear, scolding him like a child and shoving him to go attend to the people in need of drinks.
Now that he was given a second chance, he decided that keeping silent and just quietly walking away from her would help him out of a similar situation.
But then...
Smack!
A hot slap landed on his face from Estella just when he bowed quietly and was about to walk away. His face stung and his head swerved to the side as he gritted his teeth from the pain.
[Ou, I hate her already.]
That voice in his head spoke again, sounding oddly mechanical but also carrying a sass that could only be found in sentient life.
Estella proceeded to grab his arm with her vise-like grip and pulled him toward her, forcing him to look into her piercing hazel eyes.
"Have you lost your mind, Omega?" She asked coldly, glaring at him. "Do you perhaps have a death wish?"
Elian trembled with anger simmering underneath his skin but he held it in and forced a smile on his face as he shook his head.
"N–No, ma'am. I realized my mistake and was trying to get back to work like you said." He muttered, but then his voice dropped lower, giving the allusion of concern. "Or, did you want to tell me something else?"
Estella ground her jaw and parted her lips when suddenly, a deep voice interrupted.
"Estella, don't make a scene. Alpha Prince Lucian wouldn't find it pleasing."
Elian recognized that voice almost instantly and froze as his gaze flitted to its source.
Walking toward them was a handsome man in his mid-twenties with beautiful golden eyes and tousled copper-brown hair. He had a muscular build and stood at over six feet tall, wearing regal silver armor.
Beta Axel Thorne...
Elian gulped when he saw him, especially when he got a whiff of his irresistible and manly cologne and pheromones.
Shit, he didn't have to be in such proximity with him in his previous life.
"Brother, don't mind this pathetic Omega." Estella spat, finally releasing Elian from her grip. "He's so useless. He's been standing here most of the night while his—"
"Estella." Beta Axel blurted calmly, his tone a bit sterner now.
Estella blinked at him at first before she harrumphed, glancing at Elian before walking away.
Elian felt like cursing out loud when the Beta suddenly cleared his throat, drawing his attention to him.
"Let's get moving, yeah? Folks around here tend to notice the quiet ones." He winked at him, patting him on the shoulder and staring at him for a second too long before walking away.
Elian stood there, speechless and gawking at nothing for several seconds. The smoking hot Beta had not only winked at him but touched him.
He actually touched him!
Elian has had the biggest crush on the Beta for years but could only watch him from the shadows. Now, after his rebirth, he managed to interact with him.
"Did the moon goddess bless me with luck as compensation for my cruel death last time?" He asked himself as he shook his head and grabbed a tray filled with glasses of wine from a passing servant, smiling at her before he walked with them to a table.
[The only "luck" you have is me, fruit cake.]
Elian stumbled when that mechanical voice echoed in his mind again, causing him to trip and then fall, crashing on the marble floor and breaking the glasses.
"Fuck..." He cursed through clenched jaw as people sitting on the tables around him gasped.
Elian felt like sinking into the ground as he quickly crawled to his knees, struggling to pick up the broken pieces and place them on the tray before Estella, or worse, saw his pitiful state.
Could there be anything worse than encountering Estella in this situation?
"So clumsy and weak." One man spat.
"I wonder how his parents feel. Birthing such a weak Omega must be the biggest shame." A woman who was probably years past her menopause added.
"You don't know him? I heard he was adopted into the palace by the Alpha King when he was a child. As a servant, of course."
"As if he'll ever have a place on this planet outside of being a lowly servant."
Elian gritted his teeth, trying his best to ignore all these remarks. He's heard them thousands of times already in his past life.
"It's all your fault, you bitch." He spat at the mechanical voice in his head after successfully picking up most of the glasses and getting on his feet with the tray.
"I know you can hear me. I don't know what or who you are but you better stop—"
[I already told you, feather toes. I'm the Omega Ascension System. Goddess, you're so daft!]
Elian didn't know whether to laugh or cry as he walked to a corner and dropped the tray on a table where used plates were kept.
At this same moment, the music in the hall died down and the people had stopped talking, bringing decorum. The lights died down as well... Leaving only a stage light up ahead.
Elian stared at the stage, pursing his lips.
Sitting on thrones on the stage was the royal family, composed of the Alpha King, his wife, the Luna Queen, their daughter, and of course... The prince of all douchebags himself.
Alpha Prince Lucian.
Lucian sat there with a bored and stoic expression, staring down at the audience with well-hidden disdain. It was clear that he couldn't care less about the ceremony.
"Greetings, people of Lunaria!" A voice thundered around the giant hall.
Due to the size of the empire, not all werewolves could attend the mating ball. Only the most desperate without a mate attend from far and wide, the ones who've been unfortunate in their search for a mate for years and hope to find them here.
Mated wolves don't attend.
"To kick start the mating ceremony, just like it's done every year, the prince and princess will engage in the ritual to find their mates first." The voice from before belonged to a man in his sixties, wearing a flowy silver-white robe.
The empire's spiritual leader.
He stretched out his arms as Lucian and his sister, Aurora, stepped forward from their seats, staring down at the audience who remained silent.
At the same moment that this was happening, Elian decided to engage in a conversation with the system.
"Are you the so-called gift that the moon goddess gave to me? Because if you are, I see no use for a voice without a body insulting me in my mind." He whispered.
The system's response was sharp.
[Honey, I've not given you one insult throughout the unfortunate two minutes that I've known you. I'm here to point out your flaws and mean no harm.]
Elian's eyelids twitched.
Meanwhile, the spiritual leader brought out a glowing moonstone and raised it above his head.
"By the power of the moon goddess, I bless you tonight to find your mates. I bless your wolves to seek them with ease if they're within the crowd right now."
Elian paused before he cursed. "Shit. If things go the same as my last life, Lucian is going to fish me out as his mate."
That was the moment that everything went to shit. The rejection, the public disbelief that Lucian would be mated to an Omega... And also the part where he was poisoned, of course.
[Things are going to go very differently with me around. If you complete the missions I give you, of course.]
What the heck was this system talking about now?
"Mate!" Aurora beamed with a smile as she pointed at a man in the audience, a bluish projection of a wolf howling behind her as the people cheered and clapped.
Meanwhile, Lucian was busy scanning his gaze through the audience, his eyes distant as he searched for his mate.
[I'll give you an explanation of all you need to know about this system in due time. But right now...]
Suddenly, Lucian's gaze locked on Elian and his eyes widened. So many emotions flashed through his eyes... Shock, confusion, disbelief... Then anger.
Elian could feel the pull of the mate bond activating at that moment as the projection of a silver wolf howled behind Lucian who stood there like a statue.
But the most confusing thing happened after that.
Another wolf howled from the audience, causing all eyes to turn to its source.
When Elian saw who it was, his eyes widened.
Beta Axel...
He had the projection of a white wolf howling behind him, and the projection was staring directly at Elian.
"What?!" Someone yelled out.
"This can't be."
"The Omega is mated to the Alpha prince and the Beta?!"
Even Elian was left speechless as he blinked with bewilderment.
Two mates?!
"You!" Lucian suddenly pointed at him and to his surprise, he got down from the stage and walked toward him, navigating his way through the crowd.
"This... this didn't happen in my past life," Elian muttered with a gulp, a cold shiver running down his spine.