Omega's Rebirth-Chapter 872: Resist ()

Neveah woke with a terrible ache in her skull. A distant ringing sound echoed in her head and her temple pulsed like it had a heartbeat of its own.

’Where am I?’ She wondered,

She tried to think but only succeeded in aggravating the ache in her skull.

Her mind was slow and foggy, her thoughts fragmented, and it took a moment of painful concentration for her awareness to finally return.

The moon ceremony. The failed assassination attempt. Lado. The dagger... and blood. A lot of it...most of which had been hers.

A grunt of pain escaped her as her eyes fluttered open to find Colleen staring down at her, brows furrowed in concern.

"Veah? Have you come to?" She asked,

Neveah nodded slowly. The ache in her temple was particularly bothersome. She attempted to lift a hand to rub her temple but a searing pain in her wrist prevented her.

"Don’t move just yet." Colleen reprimanded, "You lost a lot of blood. You’re still very weak and you haven’t fully healed."

Neveah complied, letting her hand drop back to her side. Instead, she let her eyes roam her suspiciously familiar surroundings,

Colleen trailed her gaze and was quick to explain, "The moon ceremony was suspended. Alessio brought you back to the Eclipse Palace."

It only made sense seeing as she was back in her room in the Eclipse Palace, with the pastel coloured walls and overpriced furniture. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Neveah pursed her lips. "Then..." She tried to say but her voice was hoarse and cracked.

"Right. Water." Colleen quickly got up to her feet, moving busily across the room. She returned only a moment later with a glass of water which she handed to Neveah.

Neveah took the glass with her good hand. Sitting up with Colleen’s assistance. She brought the glass to her lips, grateful for the moisture soothing her parched throat.

She gulped down the contents of the glass, breaking into a coughing fit afterwards.

Colleen rubbed a hand down her back in a soothing gesture, taking the empty glass from her hands.

"How do you feel now?" She asked, "Any better? Do I need to bring someone in? I mean... it’s only Karan allowed to tend to you, but it’s better than nothing." Colleen turned to head to the door but Neveah stopped her.

"No... don’t bring anyone in." She shook her head slightly, leaning against the headboard of her bed.

"Why are you here then?" Neveah asked, "Where’s Dane and Vincent? Are they here too?"

Colleen’s face fell at Neveah’s question, and she nodded slowly. "Dane and Vincent... they’ve been imprisoned."

It didn’t surprise Neveah to know Alessio still didn’t let the Eclipse Hunt wolves off.

"How long have I been out?" Neveah asked with a frown.

"Eight days including today." Colleen replied. "Most of it was spent on the trip back to the palace. We’ve only been here for three days."

Eight days... she’d been unconscious for eight days. That was enough time for the worst to have happened.

She hadn’t accounted for this when she’d made that split second decision to slit her own wrist and corner Alessio with her life.

Neveah wasn’t proud of her choice. It wasn’t like her life was something to just throw away so easily.

But in that moment, she’d done what she had to. It was a gamble. She could have just as easily never seen the light of day again.

There was no absolute certainty that Alessio would choose to save her life. She’d bet everything on the slim chance that she was worth more to him alive than dead.

Now, Neveah guessed she truly was. The realisation hadn’t come cheap.

"And you travelled all this way with us?" Neveah asked, her frown deepening.

"All the Eclipse Alphas accompanied Alessio back." Colleen explained,

"The moon ceremony was suspended, wasn’t it? Why would they come here?" Neveah asked,

"It’s because Lucas’s judgement was set to hold after the moon ceremony. And Alessio still intends to carry it out." She revealed in a grim tone.

Neveah raised a brow. "Lucas...as in Lucas Varleston?"

Colleen nodded grimly. "He’s been on the death row since his pack was taken over. But they kept him alive, I’m guessing as a lure for Meira...and us as well."

"They probably hoped we would attempt to break him out of prison and then we would all be tagged criminals of the law."

"The first public execution since Alessio became King will be held in a few days. Lucas will be beheaded."

"Dane and Vincent..." Colleen’s voice cracked, "They’re to be executed too."

Neveah bit down on her bottom lip. She hadn’t expected hurting herself would prevent Alessio from getting rid of the Eclipse Hunt. But in that moment, she’d only had the choice to delay the inevitable in hopes of buying time.

She ended up spending the time she had bought unconscious.

"If it hasn’t happened yet, then there’s still time to make a change." Neveah finally said, her voice solemn.

Colleen quickly shook her head. "I was only allowed to nurse you back to health because Dane pleaded for myself and our children to be spared. Alessio agreed on the condition that I make sure you recover smoothly."

"He said you won’t tolerate anyone else."

Alessio wasn’t wrong about that. Had she woken up to any other face but Colleen’s, she wouldn’t have been this calm.

"The conniving bastard." Neveah murmured beneath her breath.

"Then tell me, how was I saved?" Neveah asked immediately. "Did Karan..." She trailed off.

She didn’t feel much different than she had before. But it was inarguably a fact that she’d survived such grave blood loss despite her wolf being suppressed.

She’d never fully been a human and had retained some of her advantages. But healing... Neveah had long noticed she didn’t have that like the guards around the palace did.

She’d cut herself a few times to confirm that she healed slowly. Not as slowly as a human, but slowly enough that slashing her wrist so deeply would definitely have killed her if her wolf wasn’t restored.

"I’m not sure." Colleen admitted. "I overheard Karan saying your wolf is still too weak and even if she’s restored, it’ll take some time before you feel her."

"Then...my memories..." Neveah trailed off. The answer was already apparent.

"They will return." Colleen reassured. "But your wolf needs time to heal first, after being suppressed for so long. Once she establishes communication with you again, your memories will return as well."

Neveah wasn’t certain if Colleen really meant those words or she was saying that only to comfort her, but she believed it.

"We have to find a way without my wolf then." Neveah decided, shifting to get off the bed.

Colleen quickly shook her head. "Veah... what can you do in this state? You’re barely conscious yourself"

"I want nothing more than for Dane and Vincent to be safe..." Colleen’s voice cracked and she drew in a sharp breath to maintain her composure.

"But I don’t want you to think it’s okay to risk yourself repeatedly. That’s not what I want... it’s not what Dane or Vincent wants either."

"We need you to be safe, Veah. You’re the only hope the Eclipse Domain has to stand up against Alessio. Compared to us... your life is far more precious."

Neveah stared at Colleen blankly. As much as she was touched by her tender words, she didn’t appreciate the comparison.

"No one’s life is more precious than the other. If people like Dane and Vincent are allowed to be made an example of, who do you think will dare oppose Alessio again?"

"This is more than just their lives, Colleen. Alessio is making a statement. And if you trust that I’m the only one who can oppose him, then you must also trust that I know when to bend and when to resist." Neveah’s gaze was firm.

"I didn’t slash my own wrist out of personal attachments. I barely remember any of you were a part of my life at some point."

"I did it because I know Alessio. And this...is the time to resist." She made it clear.

"If you let Dane and Vincent become sacrifices like Alpha Varleston was, there will be no recovering from this. It’s equivalent to surrender."

"Alessio wins... it’s that simple."

Colleen winced visibly, shaking her head. "I... I don’t want to back down. I know it’s selfish of me but..." Her voice trembled,

"I don’t want to live in a world without Dane. And Vincent... he’s just a child. I’ve raised him since our parents were killed by rogues, and I brought him with me when I wed Dane..."

"Everyone says I’ve been more than a sister to him. But the truth is... Vincent is the one who takes care of me." She sobbed quietly, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"He’s lived his entire life for me. And then for my husband. And then for our children... he’s never had a chance to live, for him..."

"I don’t want that taken away from him. I don’t..." Her shoulders trembled as she sobbed. "But what can we do?"

Neveah watched her, a complicated feeling in her heart. "Before the day of the execution, Vincent, Dane, Lucas and his wife... we’ll break them out."