Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 152

It was past midnight when I heard a soft knock at the door. expected it to be Damon or one of the servants coming to check on me, but it was Andrei’s muffled voice that I heard through the door. “Natalia? Are you awake?”

For a moment, I considered pretending I was asleep. Andre was staying in the barracks, too exhausted from three days of searching for me to make the drive back to Moonshadow. He wasn’t supposed to come to this part of the house, but he had anyway.

Because, just like me, he couldn’t sleep either. And I knew why.

“Come in,” I finally said, surreptitiously reaching beneath my pillow and grabbing the knife I had slipped there earlier. I held it beneath the blankets… just in case.

He entered quietly, closing the door behind him. In the lamplight, I could see the cuts and bruises from the fight, the exhaustion in his eyes.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Better. Tired, but better.”

He nodded, then sat in the same chair Damon had occupied earlier. For a moment, neither of us spoke.

“Those children,” he finally said. “Max and Jane. I saw them that day at the pack house, and again when they came to get help. They have my eyes.”

I bit my tongue, forcing myself to meet his gaze. “They have green eyes. So do you. So does Damon.”

“That’s not what I mean, and you know it. They called him Uncle Damon.‘

“”

My heart was racing, but I kept my expression neutral. “Uncle Damon is just a joke between us. The twins love their father.”

Andrei’s jaw tightened. “So you’re saying their father is Damon.”

“Yes.” The lie tasted bitter on my tongue. “I know what you’re thinking, but you’re wrong. I did have the abortion, Andrei. Just like I told you. But after the accident, after I recovered… Damon and I grew close. One thing led to another.”

“You fell in love with my brother.”

“I did.” Another lie, but this one came easier. “And we had the twins together.”

Andrei was quiet for a long time, his hands clenched in his lap. When he finally spoke, his voice was strained.

“I still feel… connected to them somehow. I know they’re not mine, but…” He looked up at me. “Could I spend some time with them? Get to know them? They could use an uncle.”

The request caught me off guard, causing my fingers to slacken around the knife. I didn’t expect him to accept it so easily and simply focus on what the twins needed, not what he wanted.

“Andrei…”

“I want to be a part of their lives. The children I never gott have.”

I stared at him, surprised by the longing I saw in his eyes. Wasn’t he trying for a child with Lilith, anyway? But he was looking at me like the twins were the only chance he would ever have at a family, and it made my heart stutter.

Still, the more time he spent with the twins, the more likely he was to figure out the truth. But what choice did I have? He already knew they existed, and I couldn’t keep sending them away. After that whole ordeal, I wanted all of us safe in Ashmoor, not separated in some cottage.

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Chapter

“I’ll think about it,” I finally muttered.

Relief flickered across his face. “Thank you.”

+25 Bonus

After he left, I lay awake staring at the ceiling. Tomorrow, would have to talk to the twins about potentially spending time with Andrei. I wasn’t sure how that conversation would go.

The next morning, I found Max and Jane in the kitchen with Grace, eating pancakes. They looked up when I entered, syrup coating their faces.

“Mommy!” Jane beamed. “Nanny Grace made animal shaped pancakes!”

“I can see that.” I poured myself coffee and sat down with them. “Can we talk for a minute?”

They exchanged glances, but both nodded in tandem. Grace sensing the tension, quickly made an excuse and slipped out of the room.

“Remember the man who looks like Uncle Damon?” I asked softly.

“Yes,” Max grunted, stabbing forcefully at his pancake.

“His name is Andrei. He’s Uncle Damon’s brother. And he… he’d like to spend some time with you. Get to know you better.”

Jane’s face lit up. “Really? That would be fun! He seemed nice.”

But Max’s scowl deepened. “No.”

“Max-”

“He’s not a good person, Mommy.” Max crossed his arms, looking remarkably like Andrei when he was being stubborn. “I don’t like him.”

“Why not, sweetheart?”

“I just don’t. He feels… wrong.”

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