CHAPTER 74: _BETTER A BETA’S PET THAN A SNAKE’S MEAL

Elian’s POV

*****

[Status update: It’s been ten minutes and the host still hasn’t thought of a way to find out who Estella was talking to.]

"Shut it." Elian groaned, subconsciously tightening his grip on the heat Suppression Pill in his hand before keeping it in his pocket. "Ugh, at this point the only thing I can think about doing is going back to my room."

He was walking through the main lobby on the ground floor of the palace, occasionally glancing at the crystal chandeliers on the high ceilings and trying hard to ignore the people in the place.

The main lobby was where those in the palace for one reason or another gathered, whether they were acquainted with the royal family or were here for business.

Meaning it was crawling with stinky rich people, many of whom stared at him with disdain or judgment.

For the goddess’s sake, doesn’t it ever end?

[You’re thinking about going back to your room when you have less than 40 hours to complete the mission AND have till the next full glow tonight before Estella does whatever she has planned...]

Elian sighed, finally reaching one of the Ascension platform doors.

[I must say, your laziness is impressive.]

He gritted his teeth. "Laziness or not knowing what to do? I’ve got nothing, okay? What do you want me to do, spy on her?"

He didn’t realise he was saying all that out loud until he caught a few people glancing at him from the corner of his eye.

[Well, damn... Someone’s a little too riled up.]

Elian groaned, clicking a button on the platform. When the doors opened however, a familiar silvery voice spoke up from behind him.

"Spy on who?"

Elian’s heart jumped into his throat, his limbs freezing with dread.

He didn’t even need to look back to know who that was.

[Warning: Mission objective heading toward host. Initiate operation: "deny, deflect and disappear".]

Gods...

"I believe I was talking to someone." The voice sounded sharper now, the clicking of high heels stopping just a few meters behind him.

Elian drew in a deep breath, his fists clenching until his nails almost dug into his skin. He turned around, his eyes locking on her.

Estella Thorne.

"And I believe I’m not wearing a badge that reads: ’Estella’s bitch’. So why should I answer you?" Elian asked with a sarcastic tone, his eyes trailing from her face to her feet.

Her expression was cold as she took a single step forward but Elian didn’t back down, even though he knew he didn’t stand a chance even with his strength Ascension pills.

[But you have me to cheer you on... From all the way here.]

"You’ve grown guts," Estella said with a slow nod, the smile on her lips widening. But it wasn’t a friendly smile.

It was the kind of smile you’d give someone you knew damn well you were about to ruin.

Elian swallowed hard but didn’t let his unease show, keeping his head high. "No. I just simply no longer have to be your lap dog."

She tilted her head. "Oh, right. But you’re very content with being my brother’s. Beta Axel."

Elian’s lips twitched, but he didn’t give her the satisfaction of reacting. "Better a Beta’s pet than a snake’s meal."

Her smirk faltered for just a breath before sliding back into place. "Cute. But you should really watch that tongue, Elian. Some people in this palace still believe in cutting it out."

[I unfortunately doubt she’s bluffing.]

Elian narrowed his eyes. "I’ll take my chances."

He stepped into the Ascension platform, hoping to shut the door on this conversation but Estella’s manicured hand shot forward, blocking the panel.

"Where are you going in such a rush?" She asked, tone sweet enough to rot teeth.

"Somewhere you’re not," he said flatly.

[Bold. Stupid, but bold.]

Her gaze sharpened, studying him like she was peeling back layers in search of something.... weakness, fear, maybe both.

Then she finally spoke. "You’ve been sniffing around lately. Poking your nose where it doesn’t belong. Careful, Elian. You might dig up something you weren’t supposed to."

"Is that a threat?"

"It’s a warning. I’m feeling generous." She let the panel go and stepped back, the click of her heels echoing like a countdown.

Elian pressed the button again, doors closing on her perfect smirk. As the platform hummed to life, he exhaled.

[Good news: you’re alive. Bad news: you’re now on her list. That list is shorter than the lifespan of people on it.]

"Thanks for the pep talk," Elian muttered.

.

.

The platform stopped on the floor where the palace’s large garden room was, and Elian stepped out into the crisp air.

He didn’t know why he came here—maybe the open space, maybe the fact that it was usually quiet. But today, the far side of the garden wasn’t quiet.

Low voices drifted between the hedges. One was Estella’s, clear and sharp even when hushed.

[Well, she got here pretty quickly...]

Elian froze, ducking behind a marble column as her voice carried over the faint rustle of wind.

"...I told you it will be handled by the next full glow. You assured me there’d be no complications."

He craned his neck, peering through a gap in the hedge. She was standing by the reflecting pool, her head tilted slightly, like she was listening to someone only she could hear.

Those earrings, which also doubled as communication devices, were glinting under the bright light of the garden room.

"I don’t care if it’s risky," Estella continued, her voice dropping lower. "You know what’s at stake if this fails."

There was a pause. She tapped the earring once, listening again.

Elian’s heart kicked up. Every instinct screamed at him to get closer. To hear more.

He crept along the edge of the column, moving slowly, keeping his footsteps masked by the fountain’s trickle. The garden’s scent could almost hide him from a wolf’s senses.

Almost.

"I’ll send you the final confirmation before I leave the palace tonight," she said finally. "Make sure he doesn’t suspect a thing."

[He? Oh, this just got spicy.]

Her hand brushed the earring, and the faint shimmer around it dimmed.

Elian ducked back just in time as she turned. She didn’t see him—her gaze was fixed ahead as she walked toward the exit.

He waited until her footsteps faded before stepping out, his heart thudding.

[Okay. You heard enough to confirm she’s up to something shady. But ’he’ could be anyone. Axel... Lucian... The gardener.]

"The gardener’s too wholesome for this crap," Elian whispered.

Still... he needed more than a half-heard conversation.

His chance came sooner than expected.

As Estella disappeared, something small and metallic clinked onto the stone path where she’d stood.

Elian’s eyes widened. It was one of the earrings.

[No way. No. Freaking. Way. This is the part in the story where the idiot picks up the cursed object and... oh, you’re already walking toward it. Great.]

He crouched, his fingers hovering over the cool, rune-etched crystal.

The moment he touched it, a faint shimmer pulsed along its surface.

And then...

A man’s voice spilt into his mind, urgent and low. "Estella? Are you there? We need to adjust the plan—"

Elian’s breath caught.

[Oh... you are so dead.]

The voice continued, unaware it wasn’t Estella on the other end. "I just got word that the Alpha prince might be onto us. If you can’t secure the omega tonight, we move to phase two. And you know what that means."

Static flared, then silence.

Elian’s stomach turned ice-cold. He almost couldn’t believe it.

[Reminder: that omega is you.]