Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 205

Chapter 205

Natalia

+25 Bonus

The forest air was cool against my skin, a light breeze rustling through the leaves overhead. Andrei and I had been hiking in silence for some time now, but it was an unexpectedly comfortable sor

The kind of silence we’d never experienced before.

nce.

Last time we did this, tensions had been thick enough to cut with a knife. As I watched Andrei walk ahead of me now, muscular legs pulling him up the mountainside with ease, I couldn’t help but recall how I’d once been frightened that he might push me off a cliff, even with guards to keep me safe.

“Remember the last time we did this?” I blurted out.

A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he glanced back at me. “You mean when you hated my guts.”

“Hate is a strong word…”

“You hated me. You also thought I was a murderer. And I won’t lie; you were so annoying that day that I did consider it for a moment.”

I laughed, and the sound surprised me. When was the last time I’d laughed like that? Free and genuine, without anything holding me back? “Well, I wasn’t the one who hired a rogue to sneak into our pack house and pull Damon away.”

“You have to admit that it was a brilliant idea.” Andrei’s grin widened. “You know, I said I did it to test your security, but really I think I just wanted an excuse to spend time with you without him around.”

Heat bloomed in my chest at his admission. Back then, I’d been so focused on protecting myself and the twins that I’d missed all the signs. The way he’d looked at me, the brief moments of flirtatiousness, the lingering touches.

I was just a fool.

“You could have just asked.”

“Would you have said yes?”

I considered that for a moment. “Probably not.”

“Exactly.”

We continued walking quietly for a while, checking the border markers and scanning for any signs of rogue activity. Everything looked normal–no strange scents, no disturbed vegetation, no tracks that didn’t belong to any local animals.

“What was it like?” Andrei asked suddenly. “Raising the twins on your own.”

The question caught me off guard. I’d been expecting it eventually, but it still made my heart thump wildly for a moment. “I had Damon.”

Andrei’s eyes darkened slightly, not out of hatred for his brother, but because we both knew that wasn’t what he meant.”

I sighed. “Hard. Really fucking hard, especially in the beginning. Jane was colicky until she was eight months old, and Max went through this phase where he would only sleep if I sang to him.”

Andrei chuckled. “What did you sing?”

1/2

Chapter 205

+25 Bonus

“Old lullabies. Some folk songs. Whatever worked.” I smiled at the memory. “There were nights when I was so exhausted I could barely stand, but I’d be there at three in the morning singing the same song over and over just to get him to go back to sleep.”

“You did it all by yourself.”

was so traumatized I was

going. “There were times

“Not entirely. Damon helped a lot. But yeah, most of it was just me–mostly afraid to let anyone else be alone with them.” I suddenly felt too vul.rable, when I didn’t think I could do it. When I was so scared I was going to fuck them up somehow.”

“You didn’t.”

“How do you know? You’ve only known them for a few months.‘

“Because they’re confident and happy and kind. Because Jane is often the only one smiling in the room. Because Max looks out for his sister even when he’s scared himself. Kids don’t turn out like that unless they feel safe and loved.”

My throat tightened, and I had to look away before I started crying. “It wasn’t all hard. They were… they are the best parts of my life. Watching them take their first steps, hearing them say ‘Mama‘ for the first time, seeing them discover new things…” I trailed off. “I just wish you could have been there for all of it.”

“So do I.”

The guilt came rushing over me at full speed. Five years of birthdays and scraped knees and bedtime stories. Five years of firsts that he’d never get back, all because I was too afraid to find out the truth.

“I used to have nightmares,” I said quietly. “About the accident, about the rogues who tried to finish the job. For the first year after the twins were born, I barely slept. I’d wake up in a panic thinking someone had gotten into the house, that they were going to hurt the babies.”

Andrei’s jaw tightened. “I’m sorry you went through that alone.”