Omega: Reborn Without Becoming Innocent

CHAPTER ELEVEN

LOCATION: BLOOD MOON PACK

NYRA OF BLOOD MOON PACK

"Consummation date?"

Nyra whispered the words to herself as she opened her eyes. She snorted, a bitter sound that echoed off the cold walls of her small, shadowed room. She looked around the cramped space, wondering if there was ever a day when she had a real consummation date with Derula. There had been no elders, no joy, and no holy preparation. There was only Derula, who nearly forced himself into her before he could bond her, before he could even mark her as his mate.

She could remember it vividly, the memory playing out like a recurring nightmare. "I can't wait, Nyra. I just can't wait to have you in my arms," he had told her. And he had her, despite all her pain. He had her so roughly that she felt like a piece of glass being shattered, but at the time, she thought that was just him being gentle. She had lied to herself, thinking that was him being careful with her. It was her first time; it was supposed to hurt, right?

Even when a part of her soul didn't accept that logic, she suppressed it. If it was going to make Derula happy, then she convinced herself she was fine. Even when she wasn't fine for days afterward. Derula is a Lycan, and his power cannot be compared to ordinary alpha energies. She felt her own body burning up as if she were being eaten alive for days after that night. And he didn't stop sleeping with her then. He didn't stop wanting her, and she felt like her whole life was being drained away, drop by drop, each time he slept with her.

So, having a dream about a consummation date being fixed for her... maybe her subconscious had not yet gotten the hang of her reality at the moment. Perhaps her mind was trying to invent a version of her life where she was actually cherished.

She reached up to her neck, her fingers trembling as they searched for the bright red mark that had always existed there. It was gone. It was no longer there, no longer existing, just like she no longer existed to anyone in this kingdom. She was a ghost in her own home.

She was no longer the queen. She was no longer anything but a wasted omega who was lesser than a slave in the palace. All of a sudden, her door was thrown open with a violent bang. Eidlene walked in, looking bright and triumphant, accompanied by a group of servants. They were Nyra's servants once, but now they belonged to Eidlene.

"Why are you still sleeping until this time? You must really think you are the queen, right?" Eidlene started, snorting as she looked around the small space. She plucked at her nose, her face twisting in disgust. "You don't even air your room... God... you are worse than a slave in this house. I wonder why Derula is insisting on keeping you here. I wish I knew the reason, but if you are going to still be in this palace, you must earn your keep."

Nyra sat on the edge of the bed, her body feeling heavy and disconnected. She didn't know how she was supposed to react to that. She didn't know how she was supposed to respond to a new power that was not hers anymore.

"You don't know how to bow?" a servant yelled. The girl moved over Nyra’s head, forcing her down and pressing her face toward the floor. "This is how you bow down when your queen is speaking to you."

Nyra's head remained bowed against the cold wood. Her hands clutched the sides of her dress. Was she fighting off shame or embarrassment? She didn't know anymore. But those hot tears clinging to the corners of her eyes were unmistakably painful, begging to be shed.

"You clean my room from today henceforth," Eidlene said, "And you start now! I want every inch of my new room wiped out."

The new room? Nyra knew exactly what she meant. That was Nyra's old room... the one reserved for a queen.

"I want the scent of the old Queen gone from that room," Eidlene continued. "Clear out every space until there is nothing left but the scent of me and my unborn child." She said the last part clutching her stomach shamelessly, and Nyra dared not look up to see the pride in her eyes.

"You need to get going. The queen has spoken," one of her favorite servants said, her voice cold, acting as if she had never known Nyra at all.

Nyra scurried out of the room, her heart leaping in and out of her chest. She walked past an array of judgmental eyes. She could feel them watching her hair, her stained clothes, her shuffling gait, and her defeated stance. Then came the whispers. They followed her like a swarm of insects.

Was Eidlene the kind of queen they wanted? The kind they could embrace with no prejudice? Nyra wondered what kind of queen she had been all this time. No... she wondered what she had actually given to the kingdom and what they had given her in return. She realized the answer as she opened the large oak doors of her old room, now Eidlene’s. The cool air of her own lingering scent filtered into her nose. Every bit of her was in this room, but that was the only thing this kingdom had ever given her. It was a title she gave herself and nothing more. She was never an action. She just existed, for no one... not even for herself.

And why was she realizing it now? Why was that dream about a consummation making her realize all that she had allowed to be taken from her? How was it that her dreams lived a better life than her reality? In her dreams, there was luxury, and she was more outspoken than she could ever be in her real life. Even her dreams were mocking her, day after day, screaming at her about the choices she could have made if she had only chosen differently.

She stepped into the room and began the work. She dusted the furniture, she cleaned the windows, and she washed the floors. All the things she had never done throughout her time as a queen, she was doing them all now with a feverish desperation. She worked until her vision blurred and her legs gave out. She passed out on the floor, her cheek pressed against the stone she had just scrubbed.

A loud whoosh of cold water spreading over her jolted her awake. The shock almost choked her to death instead of bringing her back to life. She sprang up, gasping for air, to see Eidlene standing over her with an empty bucket. Eidlene flung the bucket at her almost immediately, the metal clattering loudly against the floor.

"I asked you to clean up my room and not sleep!! How dare you try to sleep in the chambers of the queen!!!"

"I am so sorry, my queen..." Nyra mumbled. She lowered her head, feeling horribly queasy. Her head was spinning, and she didn't feel fit enough to stand on her feet.

"Sorry? You are sorry? Sounds like you are being arrogant and disrespectful to me as your queen. Get me a whip!!" Eidlene yelled.

One of the maids ran out of the room instantly, and Nyra panicked. The word whip echoed in her ears, terrifying and sharp. Her eyes cleared out immediately and her knees hit the floor. She bowed her head as low as it would go.

"I am sorry. This will never happen again. Pardon your servant, for I know nothing..."

Eidlene didn't wait for her to finish. She stepped forward and kicked Nyra hard in her stomach. Nyra fell flat to her side, the air escaping her lungs in a pained wheeze. She curled into a ball, clutching her midsection as the room spun.

"Get the whip and have her stand on her feet!" Eidlene screamed at the returning maid. "I need to teach her a lesson... especially a thorough lesson on how to be a queen!!!”