Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 291

Chapter 291

Natalia’s POV

I spent the rest of the morning in bed, sipping water and trying to keep down some dry toast that one of the kitchen staff had brought me. The nausea came and went in waves, but I figured it was just a stomach bug making its rounds through the compound. There was no point in bothering the healers when they were already busy with Max.

By midday, I felt well enough to leave my room. Jane was with David for an afternoon lesson in history, which left me with some rare free time. I wandered through the compound until I found myself in the library, as usual.

I browsed the shelves for a while before pulling out a thick book about the northern territories. The book was old, the pages yellowed and crinkled with age, but the hand–drawn illustrations were still beautiful I got comfortable in one of the chairs near a window and began to read.

Most of the content was about trade routes and pack histories, but one chapter caught my attention. It described the far northern mountains–the ones beyond the Thornwood, where no one ever set foot.

It was the same place that Andrei described in his letter.

There was nothing particularly of use to us written about the mountains–just old stories about the region. Wives‘ tales and folklore about all kinds of impish little creatures and dragons and other things that likely hadn’t existed for millennia, if ever. But according to the text, one of the mountains was fabled to be filled with rubies.

The book called the mountain the Red Peak, and claimed that ancient wolves used to mine the rubies and trade them across the territories. But over time, the mountains became too dangerous to access. Harsh winters, unstable terrain, and even an erupting nearby volcano had made the mountains uninhabitable and untraversable.

I turned the page and found an illustration of a ruby the size of a fist, supposedly pulled from the mountains centuries ago. The artist had rendered it in such detail that I could almost see the facets catching the light.

“Interesting choice of reading material.”

I looked up to find Karl standing a few feet away, holding a stack of books in his arms. He gestured to the chair across from me. “Mind if I sit?”

“Go ahead.” I closed the book partway and set it on my lap. “Do you know anything about this mountain? The Red Peak?”

Karl’s face brightened as he set his books down on the table between us. “Actually, I do. I’ve read everything in this library about it at least twice. Fascinating place, really. The rubies aren’t just valuable–they’re supposed to have special properties.”

“Special how?”

“The ancient texts claim they can enhance a wolf’s natural abilities. Make them stronger, faster, more powerful.” Karl beamed, his eyes lighting up in that way they only did when he was talking about something that excited him. “Of course, it’s just legend. But wouldn’t that be something?”

I glanced back down at the illustration in my book. Rubies that could make a wolf more powerful… “Yes,” I said,

smiling faintly. “It would be something indeed.”

“It’s probably for the best that it’s just a story, though,” Karl said. “Imagine what our world would look like fa magical artifact like that got into the wrong person’s hands. A weapon of mass destruction!”

Before I could respond, I heard footsteps approaching. I looked up to find Celeste standing at the entrance to the row of books with her hands clasped in front of her. She was wearing a deep red dress, and her ruby earrings caught the afternoon light streaming through the windows.

“Natalia,” she said quietly. “Could I speak with you? In private?”

Karl immediately stood up and gathered his books, cheeks flushing, “I’ll leave you two alone.”

I wanted to protest, but he was already walking away, disappearing between the bookshelves before I could stop him. I turned back to Celeste, who was still standing nearby.

“What do you want?” I asked, making no effort to hide my distrust.

“To apologize.” Celeste took a few steps forward, then stopped. “For everything. The way I’ve treated you since you arrived. The things I said. The way I’ve acted.”

I studied her face, looking for any sign that this was some kind of trick. But she looked genuine. Her eyes were slightly red, like she’d been crying, and her hands were trembling.

“You should be apologizing to Karl,” I bit out. “Not me.”

“I plan to apologize to him, too,” she said softly. “Once things cool off a bit between us. I’ve been acting exactly like my mother.”

I didn’t say anything, although my brows shot up.

“My mother has always been hard on me,” Celeste said quietly. “She had very specific expectations for what I was supposed to be. How I was supposed to act. And when I didn’t meet those expectations, she would…” She touched her cheek briefly. “She would make sure I understood my mistakes.”

My jaw clenched. I’d suspected Helena was abusive based on how I’d seen her interact with Celeste, but hearing it confirmed still made my stomach churn. The typical cycle of abuse; no wonder Celeste hit Karl. Not that it justified it, of course.

“I thought that was normal,” Celeste whispered into the silence. “I thought that was how you showed someone you cared about them. By pushing them to be better. By correcting them when they failed.”

“By hitting them,” I said flatly, folding my arms.

“Yes.” Celeste’s lower lip trembled. “I know it’s wrong. I know that now. Karl made me see that I was doing to him what my parents did to me. I was continuing the cycle.”

I wanted to stay angry at her. Part of me still was. But hearing her talk about her childhood, about the abuse she’d suffered, made it harder to hold onto that anger.

“I’m trying to be better,” Celeste continued. “And I wanted to apologize to you for all the trouble I’ve caused.” She took another step closer. “I know you probably don’t believe me. I wouldn’t believe me either. But I mean it. I want to change.”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify