Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 260

Chapter 260

“It’s… not good,” he admitted. “A large pack of rogues breached the border and killed several of our people.”

My heart stuttered. “Civilians?”

“No. Not civilians. Thank the Goddess. But it could have been, if our warriors hadn’t arrived in time. I’m afraid that the rogues are gathering their forces and might launch an even bigger attack.”

I recalled what David had told me about the rogues and relayed it to Andrei. His expression turned more grim the more he listened. When I was finished, he was leaning forward, bracing his elbows on his knees with that look on his face that indicated he was in the midst of deep thought.

Finally, he admitted, “We took one rogue prisoner. He claimed to recognize Lilith.”

“Lilith.” I frowned, trying to ignore the way my stomach flipped just at the mention of her name. “Was he in the camp that took her all those years ago?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. But the way he spoke about her made it seem like she knew something. Like maybe… Maybe she wasn’t just a prisoner there.”

“Do you think she was in cahoots with them?”

“At some point, possibly. Maybe more recently than we would like,” Andrei replied.

My throat bobbed as the implications washed over me. Lilith had spent years in a rogue encampment, allegedly held prisoner and tortured the entire time. Maybe she wasn’t completely telling the truth about her imprisonment.

“Anyway,” Andrei went on, “I’m currently trying to get information out of her. If she knows anything, she’s doing a very good job of keeping it hidden.”

I nodded. These things took time. And if Lilith had kept her secrets for this long, then she certainly wouldn’t crack after less than a week of interrogation.

“In the meantime,” Andrei added, “Damon and I are increasing our border forces. If there’s a larger attack coming, we might need to recruit more warriors.”

Suddenly, a thought struck me. “David and Alexander think my latent ability might be combat–based.” I turned toward Andrei. “If you were to mark me-”

My words cut off as I saw Andrei’s eyes widen. My face instantly turned red, and I immediately regretted saying anything. “Nevermind. I shouldn’t have—”

“Do you want me to mark you, Natalia?” Andrei’s voice was soft. I felt his fingers lace with mine. When I looked over at him, his eyes were boring into me.

“I…” I swallowed, staring at our joined hands for a moment before finally nodding. “Yes. I… I think I do. I love you, Andrei, and I’m upset that we haven’t marked each other.”

Andrei’s hand tightened around mine. “I’ll mark you tonight, if that’s what you want. I wish I had done it ago-

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years

25 Bonus

“No.” I blurted out the word with such intensity that it embarrassed me. Unbidden, I thought back to our initial wedding, when I had been nothing more than an afterthought in the wake of Lilith’s disappearance.

“I want… A real wedding,” I admitted, suddenly feeling silly for saying it at all. “I know it’s frivolous, but I want to wear a beautiful dress and have all of my friends there and… I want to do it right.”

“Then we’ll do it right.” Andrei leaned closer and caught my face in his hands, forcing me to look at him.” Whatever you want, Natalia, I want it, too. And it’s not frivolous. It’s beautiful. You’re beautiful.”

I couldn’t help the tears that sprang to my eyes. I felt foolish for even wanting it, especially when, for all I knew, my latent abilities might be beneficial to helping us stave off the rogues–but I also knew that this was right. This was what I wanted.

Finally, I managed a watery smile and turned my head to kiss Andrei’s palm. “Thank you for understanding.”

“None necessary. I should have done it this way a long, long time ago.” Grinning, Andrei pulled back and stood, clapping to get the kids‘ attention. “Time for bed, children. Mommy and Daddy have some catching up to do.”

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