Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 206

Chapter 206

“Damon was good about it. He never made me feel like I was being paranoid or irrational. He just made sure the house was secure and that I felt safe.” I dragged my lower lip through my teeth. “The nightmares stopped eventually, but I still check the locks twice before bed.”

“You did what you had to do to survive.”

We stood there for a moment, looking out over the landscape belov

apparently we had at some point during our conversation. Then Andrei remo blanket.

d we’d stop walking, but

ckpack and withdrew a

“What’s that?” I asked as he spread the blanket on the ground, then reached into his bag and pulled out a few tupperware containers.

“Lunch.”

I stared at him. “You packed us a picnic?”

“Don’t sound so surprised. I’m capable of planning ahead.”

Despite myself, I started laughing. “You are full of surprises.”

We settled onto the blanket, which Andrei had positioned perfectly so we could still see the view below–rolling hills, mountains in the distance, a serene lake in the valley. He’d brought sandwiches, apples, chips, and bottles of water. Nothing fancy, but it felt perfect.

I stretched out on the blanket and looked up at the canopy of leaves above us. Between the branches, I could see patches of blue sky dotted with white clouds.

“That one looks like a rabbit,” I said, pointing.

Andrei lay down beside me, close enough that I could feel the warmth of his body. This time, I didn’t pull away. Where?”

“There.” I scooched a little closer so that our bodies were pressed against one another, still pointing. “See the ears?”

“I see it.” He was quiet for a moment, although I felt his fingers brush against my hip as he lifted his hand to point at another. “That one looks like Jane when she’s pouting.”

I followed his finger and burst out laughing again. “Oh my Goddess, it does.”

“(

For a little while, we just lay there pointing out cloud shapes and sharing stories about the twins. Andrei told me about the first time Jane had called him Daddy, how it had nearly brought him to his knees. I told him about Max’s obsession with dinosaurs when he was three, how he’d insisted on wearing his T–rex costume everywhere we went for two months straight.

“I feel like we’re doing this backwards,” I eventually said.

“What do you mean?”

I turned onto my side to face him. “This. Getting to know each other, talking about our lives, having picnics in the woods. We got married because we were mates, not because we were in love. We never had this part.”

Understanding flickered across his face. “Oh. You mean the dating part.”

“Yeah. I went from being a terrified eighteen–year–old to being a Luna. I never got to… I don’t know, go on dinner

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Chapter 206

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dates or hold hands at the movies or any of those normal things that couples do.”

Andrei was quiet for a long moment, studying my face. “Do you want that? li w… if we tried again?”

The question made my heart race. “I think I do. I know it sounds stupid, considering we have two kids together and we’re both adults, but I feel like I missed out on something important. I want to know what it’s like to choose someone because I want to be with them, not because biology says I should

When I finished speaking, my face warmed with embarrassment. I suddenl expected Andrei to laugh at me or call the idea stupid.

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