Rebirth Of The Lost Heiress

Chapter2

BRIELLE

The crowd erupted into laughter as I walked away from Adrian.

"She’s playing hard to get. Classic move!" someone shouted.

"She's just trying to get Adrian’s attention," another person added. "It’s so obvious."

"Did you see her face? She thinks she's so clever, but Adrian will never fall for that childish trick,” Marcus said.

"This is embarrassing," Sarah whispered loudly to her friends. "She's disgracing the Alpha lineage. What a joke!"

"She’s so pathetic," someone else snickered.

I kept walking, not bothering to turn around. Let them think whatever they wanted. In my past life, I would have stopped to defend myself and explain that I wasn't playing games. But now? I couldn't care less what these idiots thought.

"Brielle!" Adrian called out behind me. His voice still sounded arrogant. "You can't just walk away from me! This conversation isn't over!"

I didn't even slow down. If anything, I walked even faster. I didn’t even bother looking back. Adrian didn’t deserve another second of my time.

"She'll be back," I heard him tell the crowd confidently. "She always comes back. She's just throwing a tantrum because I didn't give her what she wanted."

The laughter followed me as I left the Academy. All I wanted now was to see my family. Now that I’d been reborn, my father was still alive and strong, my mother hadn't been driven insane by grief yet, and my little brother could still speak and laugh.

I missed them so much it hurt.

The path to my pack's territory was quiet except for the sound of my footsteps on fallen leaves. The forest stretched out in front of me. It was quiet and peaceful, nothing like the chaos I just left behind.

This place always made me feel safe, but today something felt different.

I took a deep breath in. And then, it started.

A burning feeling started to spread through my chest, then it made its way down my spine. My legs weakened, and I fell to my knees.

I knew this feeling. It was my heat. My body was going into heat.

No. Not now. Not here.

But I remembered something. In my past life, this had happened right after the confession scene. I'd gone into heat in front of everyone, stripped off my clothes, and thrown myself at Adrian like some desperate animal. He had pushed me away in disgust, and the whole Academy had watched me humiliate myself.

Lucy had been there, of course. Sweet, innocent Lucy had offered to help take me to the nurse's office. But she was the one who drugged me in the first place. She had slipped something into my water during lunch, timing it perfectly to ruin my confession and make me look pathetic.

The heat was getting worse already. My breathing was shallow, my vision was blurry, and every cell in my body kept screaming for relief. I stumbled deeper into the forest, away from where someone might find me.

I needed to get out of sight. I crawled behind some bushes as I tried to calm the fire burning inside me.

That's when I saw him.

A man lay on the forest floor. He was unconscious and bleeding. His silver hair glowed under the sunlight, even though it was stained with blood.

Even in my state, I recognized him immediately. It was Ryder. Adrian's uncle. The Alpha King.

Memories flooded back. In my past life, I'd heard the rumors later.

On this exact day, Ryder had been poisoned by political enemies during a meeting. He had barely escaped with his life, and then he had collapsed in the woods where no one could find him. The poison had nearly killed him, and when he was finally found hours later, he had been in critical condition.

That event pushed Adrian into the spotlight for a while because he had been named as Ryder’s likely successor.

But Ryder wouldn’t die now. He would survive. And I had a feeling I would be the reason.

My body was still on fire, but I forced myself to crawl toward him. His breathing was shallow and his pulse was weak. His chest rose and fell weakly. His face was pale.

I felt his forehead. It was burning.

He didn’t have much time.

My own body was begging for relief. The heat was driving me crazy, making me sweat, ache, and almost lose control.

"Damn it," I muttered as I tried to focus.

Despite the heat clouding my mind, I knew what I had to do.

So I tore a strip from my shirt and wrapped it around the wound on his side. Then I tore another strip from my inner dress to stop the bleeding on his arm.

My hands were shaking really badly from the heat, but I still forced myself to focus.

Ryder's breathing deepened, and some color returned to his face. But the effort left me completely drained, and the heat was worse than ever.

He was unconscious and helpless. And I was burning.

In my past life, I'd been weak and naive. I’d always put others before myself. But I had died because of that, and I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.

I needed relief, and he was here. He was unconscious. He would never know. I just needed his body as a channel to vent my heat away.

"Consider this payment for saving your life," I whispered.

I kissed his neck, inhaling his scent. My body moved on its own, as it was desperate for relief. His muscles were tense, but he didn’t wake up.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered again, trembling. “I just… I need this.”

When it was over, I felt human again. Ryder was still unconscious, but his breathing was steady and he didn’t look as pale as he had before.

Suddenly, I heard voices in the distance. A voice was calling out orders to search the whole forest.

"Find him! The Alpha King has to be here somewhere!"

I gathered my torn clothes and disappeared deep into the woods.

Let them find him now. Let them think they were the heroes who saved him.

I had bigger things to worry about.

RYDER

I opened my eyes to harsh white lights and the smell of antiseptic. I was in a hospital room, surrounded by my guards and my personal doctor.

"Your Majesty," Dr. Harrison said. I could hear the relief in his voice. "You're awake. How do you feel?"

I tried to sit up, but then I couldn’t because of the pain in my head. "What happened?"

"You were poisoned during the meeting. We found you in the woods, but someone had already treated you. If they hadn't..." Dr. Harrison shook his head. "The poison would have killed you within hours."

I looked down at my bandages. They weren't medical gauze. They were made from torn fabric. It was a woman's shirt, by the looks of it.

I brought the fabric to my nose and inhaled it.

The scent was soft, delicate, and familiar.

Her.

I didn’t know who she was, but I remembered her. The warmth of her body. The heat of her breath. Her fingers, trembling as they touched me.

I remembered her lips brushing a part of my body.

“Who bandaged me?” I asked. My voice was rough.

“We don’t know,” the doctor said. “But whoever it was… they saved your life. Adrian and his men found you already treated and stable."

My Beta, Nathan, entered the room, grinning. “So… you finally got overpowered by a woman. I never thought I’d live to see the day.”

I glared at him. “It’s not funny.”

“She patched you up using her own clothes,” he said, smirking. “Maybe she liked what she saw.”

I clenched my fists. I didn’t find it funny. This wasn’t a game.

She had appeared out of nowhere, treated me, then disappeared before anyone arrived. And the way my body reacted…

I wasn’t sure if I should be angry or intrigued.

“She knew I was poisoned. That’s not normal,” I said sharply. “She didn’t ask for help or stay behind. What kind of person just walks away after saving the Alpha King?”

Nathan tilted his head. “A smart one?”

I didn’t laugh. My expression darkened. “Find her,” I ordered coldly.

"Alpha?"

"Find the woman who saved me. Now." My voice had the authority of someone who had never been disobeyed. "I want to know who she is, why she was there, and what she wants."

Dr. Harrison looked concerned. "Alpha, shouldn't we be grateful—"

"She appeared right after I was poisoned," I cut him off. "She treated me without asking for payment or recognition, and then she disappeared before help arrived. That's not normal. It’s suspicious."

I stood up, ignoring the way my head was spinning. "She saved my life, then took advantage of me while I was helpless. I want answers."

And when I found her, I was going to get them.

I looked down at the torn piece of clothing still tied around my arm. My fingers brushed the edge of it slowly.

Who are you?

Why did you help me?

And why can’t I stop thinking about you?