Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 238

Chapter 238

Natalia

The meal began simply enough, with Alexander asking basic questions about my life in foster care and how I’d ended up in Ashmoor. I found myself eager to share, hungry for any connection to the family I’d never known I

had.

“You were named Lila,” Alexander said, cutting into his roast. “After your mother’s grandmother.”

Lila. It felt strange to hear the name I was supposed to have but never did. I preferred Natalia, though.

“What was she like? My mother?” I asked.

Alexander’s expression softened. “Beautiful. Fierce. She had your stubborn streak.” He gestured to a portrait on the far wall. “That’s her over there.”

I turned to look and felt my breath catch. The woman in the painting could have been me with different hair. She was stunning, though, far more beautiful than I ever saw myself.

“She died when you were two months old,” Alexander continued. “Complications from the birth. If she’d lived, she never would have let anyone take you.” His face turned wistful, then bitter. “It’s my fault that you were taken.”

David stiffened. “Father-”

“Don’t blame yourself, darling.” The woman sitting across from me cleared her throat. She was elegant, probably in her fifties, with silver hair and cold blue eyes. “He always does this. Focusing on the past rather than the present.”

Alexander nodded. “How rude of me. Natalia, this is my wife, Helena. Your stepmother.”

Helena nodded politely, but I could tell she wasn’t thrilled about my sudden appearance. And who could blame her? A missing daughter from a past wife that her husband was clearly still hung up over? “Welcome home.”

“And this is Celeste, your sister.” Alexander gestured to a younger woman who looked to be around my age. She had her mother’s coloring and the same cool expression.

“Half–sister,” Celeste corrected. She didn’t seem any more excited about me than her mother did.

“And her fiance, Karl,” Alexander added, indicating the man beside her.

Karl, a tall and handsome man who couldn’t have been older than me, wearing glasses with his hair slightly tousled, flashed me a wide smile. “Nice to meet you,” he said, then lifted his fork. “Actually, I was hoping to ask

“Not now, Karl,” Helena hissed, causing the male to drop his hand, cheeks reddening.

Before I could ask what that was about, Helena took a sip of her wine and said, “So you’ve been living as a rogue all these years.”

“I’m not a rogue. I’ve been a part of Moonshadow pack since I was a child, and now Ashmoor.”

David frowned. “So you were once a member of Moonshadow, and now you’re a member of Ashmoor?” He

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turned to Andrei. “Which pack are you the Alpha of?”

“Moonshadow,” Andrei replied curtly. “And my brother, Damon, is the Alpha of Ashmoor.”

David glanced at me. “And you are his Luna?”

“Technically… I’m Damon’s Luna.”

The table went silent. Even Alexander stopped cutting his meat. I suppressed a groan, knowing that the complicated situation we’d found ourselves in probably wasn’t the most ideal topic for a first dinner, but it had just slipped out.

“It’s a long story,” I blurted out.

No one else pressed the matter after that, although I caught my father and David glancing at my neck–where there was no mating mark on display–more than once.

As the meal continued, I learned about pack traditions, about the compound we were in, about relatives I’d never known existed. Helena and Celeste contributed little to the conversation, mostly whispering to each other when they thought no one was looking.

But other than that, the meal was… nice. It was interesting to learn more about the pack I was born into, and to get to know the men who were my remaining family.

I wished I could have met my mother, of course. Her portrait kept staring at me all through the dinner, a glimmer of what I could have sworn was amusement in her eyes.

Would she have laughed at the situation? Would she have made witty remarks whenever my father and David commented on my lack of a mating mark?

I liked to imagine that she would have.

“Perhaps Andrei would be more comfortable in the guest quarters,” Helena suggested as dessert was served.” Since he’ll presumably be returning to his pack soon.”

“I’m staying as long as Natalia stays,” Andrei said firmly.

“Which won’t be long,” I added quickly. “Just until Max is better.‘

>>

Alexander set down his fork. “Actually, we were hoping you’d consider staying longer. Permanently, even.”

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