Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 255

Chapter 255

Natalia

The next morning, I didn’t expect Karl to show up at training. After the way he reacted when I suggested the idea, I assumed that he wasn’t even remotely interested.

That was why, as I tangled on the ground with David, I was so surprised by Karl’s sudden entrance that I lost focus and let David pin me down mid–fight.

“Natalia!” David was out of breath from our tussle with his arm now locked firmly around my neck. “What are you doing? If I were a rogue, you would be dead.”

“Sorry, David. I think that was my fault.”

David looked up to see what I had seen: Karl standing at the edge of the sparring ring, dressed not in his usual scholarly attire but a loose and flowing pair of pants and wraparound top. He still had a few books tucked under his arm, though.

“Oh. Karl.” David untangled himself from me and stood, helping me to my feet. “What are you doing here?”

I dusted myself off. “I invited him to join us last night. Didn’t think he would actually come.”

David arched a brow. “Is that so? Karl, are you finally interested in training?”

The tips of Karl’s ears flushed a shade of red that I could only describe as crimson, and he scratched the back of his neck. “Well, I… I figured it wouldn’t hurt to observe for a bit.”

“Observe,” David snorted, nudging me with his elbow. “This guy. Running around treating life like one of his books.”

“Hey, I’m just glad he’s here at all,” I replied with a grin. “Thank you for coming, Karl. It’s good to see you.‘

Karl’s face flushed a little more, and he averted his gaze to his feet.

ܙܙ

After that, David and I returned to our sparring in the center of the ring while Karl took a seat nearby and watched. On a few occasions, I even caught him taking notes in his notebook. Not quite the same as actively participating, but knowing him and his special ability, it was probably more effective than one would expect.

“That move you just did,” he asked at one point, tapping his chin with his pencil, “what’s it called?”

“This one?” David spun behind me, pinned my arms behind my back, then swept my legs out from under me and sent me crashing to the ground. The breath knocked out of me in a rush, and my shoulder joints barked from the sudden pressure of the hold.

“Glad to be your guinea pig,” I groaned.

Karl nodded. “There’s no name for it as far as I’m aware,” David said, chuckling. He tilted his head. “But I can show you the moves, if you want to try it for yourself.”

Karl’s eyes went as wide as saucers. “I… I don’t know about that… It looks complicated.‘

“How about something a little easier?” I asked as I climbed back to my feet. “Karl, you can spar with me for a few minutes. Just some basic self–defense moves.”

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Karl looked uncertain, but didn’t protest too much when I grabbed his hand and pulled him into the ring. First, I showed him how to widen his stance and lower his center of gravity, making it more difficult for someone to knock him down. Then, I showed him how to block hits with his forearms and how to twist away from a few basic holds.

Soon enough, Karl was laughing with me as I walked him through a series of basic kicks and punches.

“Left arm, Karl,” I giggled, shaking my head. “Nope. That’s still your right. Left arm.”

“Oh. Right,” Karl swung his right arm for a third time, and I nearly burst out laughing.

“I thought you were supposed to be the smart one,” I teased. “But you can’t seem to tell right from left!”

Karl’s cheeks flushed, but he was grinning. “The Moon Goddess took away my directional abilities because she knew I would be too dangerous.”

I snorted, causing Karl’s smile to widen even more. His bruise had healed overnight thanks to the healers, lending his face to an innocent, happy expression. I liked seeing him like this; it was a far cry from the hunched, fearful look of a man who lived under the shadow of his abuser.

Finally, the session came to an end. “Thank you for this,” Karl said, wiping the fine sheen of sweat from his forehead. “It was more invigorating than I expected.”

“You did well for your first time.” David clapped him on the shoulder so hard that Karl began to cough, and I cringed. “You’ll come back soon?” David asked hopefully.

Karl shrugged. “I’ll consider it. If nothing else, I had fun spending time with you.” He was speaking to both of us, but he was really looking at me.

As Karl walked away, David lifted his brows and folded his arms, watching his fading form with interest. “He likes you,” he pointed out.

“I like him, too. It’s nice to have a friend here.”

“No. I mean he likes you.” David turned to me. “It’s not too late, you know. He and Celeste aren’t officially wed. He was supposed to be your betrothed before…” David shook his head ruefully. “I’m just saying that things can be arranged, even if you already have pups-”

“How many times do I have to tell you and Alexander to stop meddling?” I snapped, finally losing my cool. I whirled on my brother and flashed my fangs. “I’m with Andrei, whether either of you like it or not. And even if I wasn’t, I still wouldn’t be okay with being forced into an arranged marriage.”

David held his hands up in surrender. “I’m only trying to help—”

“Well stop helping. I’m not interested.”

I didn’t give David a chance to respond. Just left him standing there, baffled, and stormed off to my room.

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