Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 272

Chapter 272

Natalia’s POV

Karl had just helped me to my feet, both of us laughing and breathless, when a scream cut through the music. Immediately after that came another, then another, until the air was filled with the sounds of panic. People began to surge forward then, jostling me on other sides.

I whipped my head around and saw them.

Three rogues were moving through the crowd like a trio of wolves terrorizing a flock of sheep. I recognized one immediately as the prisoner we’d taken last night–how the hell had they escaped from the cells?

Before I could process what was happening, one of the rogues had cornered a group of elderly pack members near the food stalls. Another was advancing on a family with small children. The third-

My heart stopped. The third, the one we’d captured last night, was heading straight for where Jane and Max were playing with the other kids.

I sprinted across the plaza without hesitation, shoving people out of my way as I ran. Behind me, I could hear Karl shouting something, but I couldn’t make out the words over the chaos. I vaulted over a food stand, not caring that I knocked a pile of oranges over on my way.

The rogue was closing in on the children. Jane had Max’s wheelchair turned around and was trying to push him away, but she was moving too slowly. Max was crying.

“Jane!” I screamed. “Get behind me!”

The rogue heard my shout and turned toward me instead. His eyes narrowed, then widened faintly, and his lips curled into a smirking sneer.

“Well, well,” he growled. “If it isn’t the little princess who killed my friend.”

I recalled the rogue. I’d slipped into his tent earlier and taken out one of the two rogues who were inside before David insisted on keeping this one prisoner so we had someone to ask questions to.

“Your friend?” I tilted my head. “You mean your bunkmate who was going to slaughter everyone in this pack with you?”

My words seemed to strike a chord. The rogue snarled and lunged at me.

I dodged to the right, but he was faster than I expected. His claws raked across my ribs, tearing through my clothes and into the skin beneath. Pain exploded through my side like I’d been burned by the hottest fires of hell.

I stumbled, but didn’t fall. Training with David had taught me how to stay on my feet even when hurt. The rogue was already turning for another attack.

This time, I was ready. When he charged, I dropped low and swept his legs out from under him. He crashed to the cobblestones with a grunt, blood splattering as he cracked his nose on the rocks.

But he recovered quickly. Too quickly.

He rolled and came up swinging, catching me across the face with the back of his hand. My head snapped to the

Chapter 272

+25 Bonus

side, stars exploding across my vision. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth.

“Stupid bitch,” he snarled. “Should have stayed home with your fancy clothes and cushy life. The woods are no place for a princess.”

I spat blood at his feet. “Quit talking and fight me, coward.” Truthfully, I just wanted to keep him distracted so the children could run.

He roared and launched himself at me again. This time I wasn’t fast enough to get out of the way completely. His weight slammed into me, sending us both tumbling to the ground.

His hands closed around my throat.

I clawed at his fingers, trying to pry them loose, but his grip was like iron. Black spots started dancing at the edges of my vision. My lungs burned. My throat ached. One more push, and he would-

Then, suddenly, the weight was gone. The hands around my throat disappeared.

I gasped and rolled over, sucking in desperate lungfuls of air. Through my watering eyes, I saw Andrei standing over the rogue’s unconscious form with knuckles that were smeared with blood. Blood that definitely wasn’t his

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