Xander hurried to his parked car in the underground packing lot of the apartment complex, unable to hold himself together. He thought he'd be fine seeing her again after waking up from that nightmare.
But he had been wrong. So wrong.
It took everything inside of him not to leap up from that couch and pull her into his arms the moment he saw her. Her sweet mint scent gently caressing his nose, making him want to bury his nose into the nook of her neck.
Everything he had prepared to tell her when they met again had gone with the wind. He couldn't stand being in the same room as her. His heart both ached and desired her.
So instead, he made the air between them awkward, even bringing up bad memories for Elise. This was not how he planned things when he rushed back to the city.
"Fuck!" Xander cursed aloud, slamming his fist on the steering wheel.
His jaw ached, wanting to mark her as his and almost did if not for that faint pinewood scent lingering on her body. A sign Dante had gotten to her first like in the past. Jealousy gripped him tightly.
When he had woken up last night from that long, lonely nightmare, his first instinct was to rush to find Elise. After all, fate had given him a second chance and this time he wasn't going to let her suffer like the past.
Holding her bloody, broken body after she had saved him and those other three alphas was something he'd never forget. Especially after he realized how he destroyed everything good between them.
Because he was too blind to see how she was being used as a pawn and wasn't after him for power. He listened to everyone, but her and made her life miserable.
Xander wasn't going to make the same mistake and planned to get her away from her god awful family. Yet it seemed in this life too Dante had found her first.
That too had stopped him from going with his plan. He needed to know if Dante went after her because he too had regressed or was it like in the past where their meeting was an accident.
If it was the latter then he was going to keep the other three alphas away from her. Hell, he'd keep Elise to himself if it wasn't for the fact the Omega Agency required omegas to take multiple alphas since there weren't enough omegas for every alpha.
It was a way to level out the playing field for weaker alphas who'd then never get a chance.
Of course, if the others regressed, they were bound to go after Elise like him. They had all been filled with regret after she died, hating how much they treated her because of misunderstandings.
Xander wouldn't be able to stop them from going after Elise if they did, not when their influence was equal to his. They'd just end up destroying each other. Instead it was better if he joined hands with them.
But before he could reach out to the others and forge some kind of alliance, he had to learn how to control himself. He was barely able to keep his instincts at bay when he saw her.
If they had been alone like Elise's mother had suggested, he doubted he'd be able to talk to her. That's why he had run off before he did something stupid.
He couldn't make any more mistakes.
Sighing in frustration, Xander knew he had to meet up with the other three and see if they too had regressed. Then he'd figure out a plan. Something that he could keep to this time.
Xander pulled out his phone, quickly messaging his manager to schedule a meeting with the other three alphas. He wasn't sure if this would work, but hopefully they'd accept him reaching out to them.
Otherwise this plan was a bust.
***
Elise stared at the notes app on her phone, pleased to have gotten all the plot points she recalled down. The story might be changing, but it was still a good idea for her to jot down as much as possible while the story was still fresh on her mind.
Now that she had gotten everything she remembered written down, Elise locked her phone and turned her attention to the system notification she had received early.
Xander's heart meter increasing by five.
She wasn't sure how exactly that had happened. Was it because they were childhood friends and not seeing her with another alpha removed that whole misunderstanding? It was best if she questioned the system.
"System, what is the heart meter?" Elise asked in a low tone.
She wasn't sure if someone was eavesdropping on her considering how the staff acted towards the original owner. It was best if she kept them from suspecting anything.
[The heart meter indicates how much affection a love interest has towards you. Mission will be completed when all four male lead heart meters are at 100 points]
Elise pursed her lips. So then, she had increased Xander's affection somehow despite their awkward reunion. Guess her theory with the misunderstanding stuff was plausible.
Of course, if it was true that would make things easy for her. She knew the events that caused the misunderstandings and could easily avoid them. Those hundred points would be easy and she would have completed the mission.
The question then was what to do after the mission was over. She definitely did not want to stick around with the male leads any longer than necessary.
But there was another part of her that did n't want to return to that miserable life of hers on Earth. If only she had isekai'd to another world with more wholesome characters.
She could've been living the dream.
No point in crying over spilt milk though. Elise sighed to herself. Better to just get this all over with. The sooner the better.
She sat up on her bed when there was a sudden knock on her door. A female voice then called out, "Miss Elise, your father is looking for you."
"Coming!" Elise yelled back, almost groaning.
She really wasn't going to get a break. Slipping her phone into the pocket of her pants, Elise headed out of her room, wondering what the original owner's father wanted now.