Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 281

Chapter 281

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“No, I don’t think I am. I walked in on her about to slap him across the face the other night. And I’ve seen her do it before. Don’t act like you’ve never noticed the bruises, Helena.”

Helena rolled her eyes. “Of course I have. But young couples often have… passionate disagreements.”

“Passionate disagreements don’t leave handprints on people’s faces,” I pointed out.

Helena was quiet for a moment, studying me. “Even if what you’re saying is true, it’s really none of your business, is it?” she finally asked. “You’ve been in Bloodmoon for barely two weeks. You don’t understand how things work here.”

I felt my jaw clench. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that meddling in other people’s arranged marriages rarely ends well around here. Especially for outsiders.” Helena’s smile was cold. “I’d hate for you to make enemies unnecessarily.”

“Is that a threat?”

“Consider it… friendly advice.”

I almost laughed at that. I supposed the apple didn’t fall far from the tree, did it? “Friendly advice. Right.” I took a step closer to her. “Well, here’s some friendly advice for you. Karl was supposed to be my betrothed before I went missing. And I’m Alexander’s daughter. His real daughter. If your precious Celeste is going to abuse someone who was meant to be mine, then I think I have every right to step in.”

Helena’s nostrils flared. “Your betrothed? You can’t be serious. He was your betrothed for no more than a few short weeks.”

“It doesn’t matter. He was still mine once, and furthermore, he’s my friend now. So maybe you should worry less about me meddling and more about teaching your daughter not to hit people. Unless you want me to get my father involved?”

“You won’t breathe a word of this to my husband.” Helena’s mask was starting to slip, and I could see the real anger underneath. She was furious. Her fists were shaking as if she wanted to hit me right now.

I stared at those shaking fists with a curious feeling in my chest. Perhaps Celeste didn’t learn to hit people from nowhere. Perhaps mommy dearest had been the one to guide her hand.

“You think because Alexander claims you’re his daughter, that gives you some kind of authority here?” she bit out. “You’re nothing but an orphan who got lucky enough to crawl back home. You don’t understand the first thing about pack politics or arranged marriages or-”

“Mommy!” Jane’s voice cut through Helena’s rant. “Look what we made!”

I turned to see both twins holding up a lopsided flower crown made of red and yellow petals. Jane was grinning proudly while Max waved from his wheelchair. It seemed that Max had given up his protests and was actually enjoying himself.

“It’s beautiful,” I called back to them, grinning. Then I looked at Helena, who was still standing there with her mouth pressed into a tight line, and dropped my smile.

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“You know what? You’re right about one thing,” I said. “I don’t understand how things work around here. Where I come from, we don’t let people abuse their partners just because their families signed some papers. We actually give a damn about treating each other with respect.”

“Oh, please. As if you, the unmarked woman with two children and no marriage to speak of, knows the first thing about respect.”

I lifted my chin. “So ‘respect‘ is how you wormed your way into my father’s bed, then, after his wife passed away?”

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