Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 127

Damon & Natalia

Damon

I practically had to drag Natalia inside the pack house. By the time we were inside, she was scratching at my arm in an attempt to break free, and was on the verge of biting me.

When I turned to look at her, I was struck by what I saw. Natalia looked completely out of it; her eyes were wild and unfocused, pupils practically drinking up the entirety of her irises, hair falling into her face, chest heaving.

“Let me go!” she snarled. “I need to go back!”

“You know I can’t do that.”

She bared her fangs, snapping at the arm that was holding her. Her canines managed to nick my bicep before I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her against me, pinning her arms to her sides.

“Let me GO!” She thrashed against me, clawing desperately at my arm. “My mate! I need my mate!”

“Natalia, stop! This isn’t you. It’s the full moon.”

But she was beyond reason. Her wolf had taken over completely, driven mad by the pull of the moon and her mate bond with Andrei. Attempting to suppress that bond had only made it worse. I gritted my teeth against the stinging pain her claws had left and held her fast.

“Please,” she sobbed, still struggling, although some of the fight was dying out of her. “Please, it hurts. It hurts so much.”

My heart clenched at the pain in her voice. For the first time, I truly understood what she’d been going through all these years. It wasn’t just about wanting Andrei. It was about needing him, like air, like water, like life itself.

The mate bond wasn’t something that could be ignored or pushed aside. It was primal, essential, written into the very core of our beings. And Natalia had been fighting it for five long years.

No wonder she’d been tempted to take that contraceptive, even knowing the risks. No wonder she’d fallen into Andrei’s arms at the banquet. It wasn’t weakness; it was an impossible battle against her own nature.

“I know,” I whispered, loosening my hold just enough to stroke her hair. “I know it hurts.”

Gradually, her struggles weakened. The fire in her eyes dimmed, replaced by a profound exhaustion. She sagged against me, her body trembling with silent sobs.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled against my shirt. “I’m so sorry, Damon.”

“Shh. It’s okay.” I guided her to the couch, sitting down and pulling her into my lap like a child. “Just breathe.”

I held her there, rocking gently, as the minutes stretched into hours. Eventually, her breathing evened out, and her head grew heavy against my shoulder. She’d fallen asleep.

Looking down at her face, still wet with tears, I felt an ache in my chest that had nothing to do with the scratches she’d left on me. I’d been so selfish, expecting her to just get over Andrei because it was convenient

for me.

1/3

+25 Banus

Because I wanted her for myself.

All the while, I had ignored her pain, treated her like a prize to be won and locked in a glass case rather than a person with her own needs and wants and skeletons in her closet.

I carried her upstairs to her bedroom, tucking her into bed. As I watched her sleep, still softly sniffling even in her unconscious state, I made a decision.

I couldn’t be what Natalia truly needed–her mate. I knew, now, that that was never going to be in the cards for us. I knew that she would never yearn for me the same way she yearned for my brother.

But I could still care for her. Still be there for her when she needed me. And I could at least give her something that might ease her pain, even if just for a while.

Natalia

I woke to sunlight streaming through the curtains, a headache pounding behind my eyes, and a mouth so dry it felt like I hadn’t had a sip of water in days. I groaned, my entire body aching as I reached up to push a strand of hair out of my face.

What the fuck happened last night…?

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