Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 277

Chapter 277

Natalia’s POV

Celeste’s face went bright red, am trembling with rage. Interestingly, the arm she was raising to hit Karl–and now me, if she decided to go through with it was the very same arm that she had been clutching earlier that day, covered in blood.

Now it looked completely fine. There wasn’t so much as a bandage around it. But I didn’t think much of it; the healers had probably worked their magic on her. My own injuries, which were more serious, were nearly fully healed already.

“Get out,” Celeste finally hissed through gritted teeth. “This is none of your business.”

“I know it’s not my business, but I’m not walking away from an obvious abusive situation.” I stayed exactly where I was, keeping myself between her and Karl.

Celeste let out a bitter laugh and lowered her arm. “I know what you’re trying to do.”

“What am I trying to do, Celeste?”

“No need to play stupid with me, Natalia. I know your type.” Celeste’s eyes flashed dangerously. “Kissing him, pretending to be his friend, ‘accidentally‘ stumbling into him at the festival… You think you’ll win him over, but at the end of the day, he’s mine.”

I blinked incredulously. “You think I’m trying to steal Karl?” I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped me. “How many times do I have to tell you that I’m not interested in another man? Just because you’re insecure and jealous doesn’t mean everyone is trying to take Karl from you.”

She waved her hand dismissively. “I don’t care what lies you tell yourself. But I’m warning you right now–stay away from what’s mine. You’ll regret it if you don’t.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“Not a threat. A promise.” Celeste’s smile was cold and ugly. “You have no idea what I’m capable of.”

With that, she pushed past me and stormed out of the room, slamming the door so hard behind her that the whole wall shook in its wake.

For a moment I could only stand there and stare. What she was capable of? The woman couldn’t fight to save her life–she’d been injured during the rogue attack simply for being there. Did she actually think she could scare me with her empty threats?

“Natalia,” Karl said softly from behind me. “Thank you.”

Pulled from my thoughts, I turned to look at him. The red mark on his face was already starting to fade, but his eyes were watery. I immediately rushed over to him and took his shoulders in my hands, turning him this way and that to check for other injuries.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

Karl nodded, then shook his head, then sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe. No.”

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Chapter 277

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“That’s not much of an answer,” I said, stepping back.”

He managed a weak smile at that. “Sorry. I’m just… I don’t know what to do anymore.”

I walked over to the chair near the window and sat down. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Karl was quiet for a long moment, staring out at the plaza below. Finally, he said, “She’s right, you know. About us.”

My stomach dropped. “Karl-”

“Not about you ‘stealing‘ me away,” he said quickly. “But about it changing things. The kiss… it did change things for me.”

“How?”

“Because for just a moment, I remembered what it felt like to be treated gently. To be touched by someone who wasn’t angry at me or disappointed in me or trying to hurt me.” Karl turned to look at me. “I know you thought I was Andrei. I know it didn’t mean anything to you. But it meant something to me.”

I felt awful. I’d been so worried about how the kiss might affect things between Andrei and me that I hadn’t really thought about how it might affect Karl.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I never meant to complicate things for you.”

“You didn’t complicate anything. You just… you made me realize how bad things really are with Celeste. The argument tonight started because I told her I’m unhappy. That I want things to change between us.”

“What did you tell her exactly?”

“That I don’t want to get married if this is how we’re going to treat each other. That I’m tired of walking on eggshells all the time, tired of being afraid to say the wrong thing.” Karl looked up at me. “And she immediately assumed it was because of you. That you’d somehow turned me against her.”

“But it wasn’t because of me.”

“No. It was because of her. Because she’s been like this for years, and I’ve just been too scared to admit it.” Karl’s shoulders sagged. “I want to break up with her, Natalia. I want out of this engagement.”

I quirked an eyebrow. “Then do it.”

“It’s not that simple. Our families have been planning this for years. There are contracts, agreements—”

“Screw the contracts,” I said firmly. “Karl, she hits you. Regularly. That’s not something you have to put up with just because your parents signed some papers.”

“I know that now.” He looked down at his hands for a moment, then up at me again. His eyes were still watery, but he was smiling faintly. “Seeing you and Andrei together, seeing how he treats you… it made me realize what I’m missing.”

I felt a pang at the mention of Andrei. I missed him so much it was almost physical pain. But I kept calm, if only for Karl, who needed calmness right now.

“You deserve to be happy,” I told him, reaching over to give his hand a squeeze. “You deserve someone who

Critter 277

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doesn’t hurt you, who doesn’t make you afraid to speak your mind.”

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