Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 115

Chapter 115

Natalia

“Max? Jane? Can you come say hi to Mommy?”

Grace’s hair filled my laptop screen as she turned away to call for the twins. I heard small voices in the background, but when Grace moved the camera, I saw only the back of Jane’s head as she disappeared around a

corner.

“They’re still upset,” Grace said softly, turning the camera back to her face. “I’ve tried explaining that it’s just temporary, but…”

“Let me try,” I said, swallowing the lump in my throat. “Max? Jane? Loves, please come talk to Mommy. I miss you both so much.”

Silence.

“They can hear you;” Grace sighed. “They’re just…‘

“Being stubborn,” I finished for her. “Like their father.”

The words slipped out before I could stop them, and I immediately regretted it. Grace’s eyebrows shot up, thankfully she didn’t comment.

but

Truthfully, I was just on edge. I’d never been separated from the twins this long before. Knowing they were refusing to even speak to me hurt more than I’d expected, even if I knew it was just a phase.

“How are they otherwise?” I asked. “Are they eating? Sleeping okay?”

“They’re fine,” Grace said. “Perfectly healthy. We’ve been going on walks, playing games. Jane’s found a friend -the neighbor’s daughter. And Max has been drawing a lot.”

“That’s good,” I said, forcing a smile. “And… has anything else happened I should know about?”

Grace glanced over her shoulder, then lowered her voice. “Actually, yes. We had a bit of a… situation the other day when we were leaving Ashmoor. I haven’t had a chance to tell you since we’ve been settling in, but I think you should know.”

My heart skipped a beat. “What kind of situation?”

“We ran into Andrei while he was visiting Ashmoor.”

My blood ran cold. “What happened?”

“Nothing serious,” Grace assured me quickly. “I was getting the twins ready to leave, and Jane ran off. Max went after her, of course. I found them talking to Andrei. Well, Jane was talking to him, at least.”

“Oh, Goddess.”

“It’s fine,” Grace said. “He just looked a bit confused and asked if I was their mother. I said yes. He didn’t seem suspicious at all. We left right after that and haven’t had any trouble. I’ve instructed the guards to let me know if they see anyone from Moonshadow approaching the property.”

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425 Bonus

I closed my eyes, relieved. “Thank you, Grace. For thinking so fast.”

“Of course,” she said with a small smile. “That’s what you pay me for, right?”

We chatted for a few more minutes, but the twins never came to talk to me. As we were wrapping up, Grace promised to try again tomorrow, and I reluctantly ended the call.

After we hung up, I sat there staring at the blank screen, thinking about the close call with Andrei. Had he recognized the twins after all? Was that why he’d been so… physical with me in the training ring? Was he trying to get more information?

I couldn’t help but feel relieved that I’d started taking the contraceptive after all. Hopefully this should distance us enough to keep him from finding out more information. Although I would likely have to keep the twins at the cottage for longer than expected, which didn’t exactly fill me with joy.

Just then, a knock at the door startled me from my thoughts. Damon poked his head in, his expression carefully neutral He hadn’t spoken to me much since our argument yesterday.

“They’re here,” he said. “Andrei and Lilith. For the meeting about inter–pack relations.” He raised an eyebrow, noticing my puzzled expression. “Did you forget?”

Shit. I had forgotten. “No, of course not. I’ll be right down.”

Damon disappeared without another word, and I quickly checked my reflection in the mirror. I looked tired—I couldn’t tell if that was from the contraceptive or the fact that I’d hardly slept all night, or if the contraceptive had caused the lack of sleep–but presentable. Taking a deep breath, I headed downstairs.

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