Omega: Reborn Without Becoming Innocent

CHAPTER TWO

NYRA

Shock didn’t come when Derula rejected me.

It didn’t come when my body hit the ground and the world cracked open.

It came now.

Derula stood at the doorway.

Not sprawled. Not shaken. Not guilty.

Standing straight. Head bowed. Perfectly obedient.

My fingers curled into the sheets. What is going on?

For years, I had begged for that posture—for that reverence. I had torn myself apart trying to earn it.

And now he offered it to another king.

Lucien felt him before he spoke.

His body shifted, subtle and lethal. A predator acknowledging an intruder. His gaze slid over Derula slowly, unhurried, stripping him of rank, pride, and relevance in a single sweep.

“What is it this time?” Lucien asked. His voice was calm. Too calm.

The sight made my chest ache.

For years, I had begged to see that look directed at me.

Lucien noticed him immediately.

His body shifted subtly—like a predator acknowledging another presence. His eyes swept over Derula slowly, measuring, calculating, dismissing.

“What is it this time?” Lucien asked coolly. “I’m not going anywhere. My wife needs me.”

My wife.

The words struck harder than the fall ever had.

Needs me?

My mind reeled.

Moments ago, I had been drowning in pain, my body burning, my lungs screaming. I remembered darkness. Fear. Death.

Now I was lying in a grand room filled with power, being claimed—so effortlessly—as the wife of the Lycan King of the Rangers Pack.

Had I woken up in the wrong universe?

Had death rerouted me somewhere I didn’t belong?

“The Blue Moon Pack wishes to make peace with—” Derula began.

Something felt wrong.

I stared harder at him.

The voice… the stance… the presence.

That wasn’t him.

It looked like Derula—down to the sharp jaw, the familiar eyes, the same broad shoulders that once felt like home.

But it wasn’t him.

The realization sent a chill racing down my spine.

Lucien’s lips curved slowly, dangerously.

“Peace?” he repeated, his voice dropping into a low growl. “Lycan King Derula wants peace with me?”

The air thickened.

I had seen that look before—from a distance. In council chambers. Through glass walls during meetings where kings measured power instead of words.

That bloodthirsty stare had once terrified the entire Blue Moon Pack.

Yet when Lucien turned toward me—

It vanished.

His gaze softened instantly, as though violence did not exist where I was concerned.

“I want every part of her checked,” he commanded.

Doctors immediately straightened.

Lucien stepped closer to me, lowering himself beside the bed. His large hand enveloped mine, warm, grounding, possessive.

“I’ll be right back,” he said softly. “I need to deal with that little scrawny king.”

He leaned in.

His lips brushed my cheek.

I sucked in a sharp breath, frozen in shock.

“Don’t wait up for me,” he murmured. “I love you.”

Love me?

The word echoed violently in my head.

Before I could react, he stood and left, alphas following behind him like shadows.

The door closed.

Silence descended.

My heart pounded so loudly I was certain someone could hear it.

What was going on?

How did I get here?

How was I married to Lucien—married—without a single memory of it?

I forced myself out of the bed, my legs trembling as they touched the floor. The room was enormous—dark marble, gold accents, symbols carved into stone walls that screamed authority.

Then I saw it.

A portrait.

My breath caught painfully in my throat.

Lucien stood beside me in the painting, one arm wrapped around my waist, the other resting possessively on my hip. I was smiling—soft, genuine, unafraid.

But it was his expression that unsettled me.

He was looking at me like I was sacred.

Like I was something worth destroying the world for.

I staggered back.

No.

This couldn’t be real.

I needed answers—now.

The man who looked like Derula entered again and bowed. “The king asked me to inform you that his meeting may take longer than expected. You shouldn’t wait for him.”

What was I supposed to say?

What would a queen say?

“O… okay,” I managed.

He turned to leave.

“Wait.”

He stopped.

I gathered the hem of my long nightdress and walked closer. “Do you know who I am?”

His brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“When,” I asked carefully, “did I marry King Lucien?”

He stared at me.

Long. Hard.

Then he turned and walked out without answering.

Panic bloomed.

Moments later, the doors burst open.

Doctors flooded the room.

“Examine her again,” the look-alike ordered sharply.

Before I could protest, I was pushed back onto the bed.

Needles pierced my skin.

Lights burned into my eyes.

“Move your fingers.”

“Open your mouth.”

“Follow the light.”

I felt like a test subject.

“Do you recognize him?” one doctor asked, pointing to the man standing at the foot of the bed.

I stared.

All I saw was Derula’s face.

And anger surged violently through me.

“I don’t know him.”

The room froze.

“You don’t know me?” the man demanded. “I’m your brother.”

Brother?

“I’m Derreck,” he continued. “Your twin brother.”

The world tilted.

“I… I…” My voice collapsed.

I had been an orphan my entire life.

No parents.

No siblings.

No one—except Derula.

“I think the queen has suffered memory loss,” a doctor said cautiously.

Derreck pulled out a gun instantly.

My breath hitched.

“This does not leave this room,” he warned coldly. “Did you hear me?”

The doctors nodded frantically.

Derreck lowered the gun. “Can you cure her?”

“We’re not sure,” one doctor said nervously. “The fall—”

Fall?

“What fall?” I wanted to scream.

“Wherever she fell from was extremely high. The impact likely affected her hippocampus. We’ll need time to determine if—”

“CURE HER!” Derreck roared.

The room shook.

“Get out!”

The doctors fled.

Derreck turned on me, rage blazing in his eyes. He grabbed my collar, yanking me close.

“You expect me to believe you don’t remember?” he snarled.

My heart raced.

“After haunting me our entire lives, you suddenly forget?”

Haunting?

“You’re afraid Merida will take your place,” he continued bitterly. “Your marriage contract with Lucien will end soon anyway. Whether you pretend or not, you won’t stay queen for long.”

Contract marriage?

To Lucien?

My head throbbed violently.

“What,” I forced out, “is going on?”

Derreck released me abruptly, stepping back as though touching me disgusted him.

“You’ll remember soon enough,” he said coldly. “And when you do, you’ll regret ever waking up.”

The door slammed shut.

I collapsed onto the bed, shaking.

Just who will explain what's going on in three words!!

Am I dead or am I alive?!!!