Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 330

Chapter 330

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Natalia’s POV

The small family dining room was filled with pink and blue balloons and streamers. A banner that read “Congrats, Mom and Dad!” hung from the rafters, and the table was laden with all kinds of foods–saucy pasta dishes, fresh bread, even a cake.

And Grace was standing at the center of it all with a shit–eating grin stretched across her face. I didn’t even know she was capable of smiling that wide. If she was, I’d certainly never seen it.

“What’s all this?” I asked, stepping into the room and looking around. The Omega had told me there was an incident–not a party. My heart was still thudding from the leftover effects of my worry,

“It’s a baby shower,” Grace said. “I know you said it wasn’t the right time, but I decided that was bullshit. Sure, the world is looking a little bleak right now, but that doesn’t mean our personal lives have to be bleak too. Damon and I are getting married. You and Andrei are having another baby. These are good things, Natalia. They’re worth celebrating.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. She was right, of course; perhaps I’d been too harsh on myself, and on her, when she had mentioned throwing a baby shower the other night. I supposed I’d been so focused on making sure that everyone else was happy that I didn’t stop to consider my own happiness. Maybe having a little pocket of happiness amongst all the darkness was okay, and necessary, for that matter.

“So you planned all of this behind my back?” I finally asked.

“Damn right I did. I had help, of course.” Grace grinned and nodded toward the corner where Damon had just entered the room. He was clearly trying to look innocent, taking a sudden interest in the wallpaper. “Someone had to keep you busy while I set everything up.”

“So that’s why you were sitting out front,” I accused, pointing at him, although I was laughing. “You weren’t sunning yourself. You were trying to keep me from getting inside!”

Damon shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish smile. “It worked, didn’t it?”

“And where was Andrei during all this?” I asked, looking around. I didn’t see him–it was just me, Grace, Karl, Mila, and a few other pack members.

“Helping me get all your favorite foods,” he said proudly, emerging through the doorway with another tray of food in his hands–this time it was a platter of a very specific type of honey cookies that I had always loved, as if the cake currently sitting on the table wasn’t enough. My mouth watered instantly.

But it wasn’t just my mouth; I felt my eyes start to water, too, which was probably mostly because of the hormones, but I couldn’t help it. I was deeply touched by everyone going to such efforts to make me happy.

“Well,” I said, sniffling, “we should eat, then. Before all this food gets cold.”

Grace beamed. “Okay, but you have to save the cookies for dessert!”

The dinner that followed was probably one of the best meals I’d had in months. Not just because of the food, although Andrei hadn’t been kidding about getting all my favorites. It was the company. The conversation. The way everyone at the table seemed determined to forget about rogues and wars and conspiracies for a few hours. Karl sat between Max and Jane, patiently answering their questions about Bloodmoon customs. Mila and several of the other pack women peppered me with advice about pregnancy and childbirth, most of it contradictory but all of it well–meaning. Damon regaled everyone with increasingly embellished stories about his heroic recovery from

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Chapter 380

his axe wound.

And Andrei… Andrei barely took his eyes off me the entire meal. Every time I caught him looking, he would just smile that soft, tender smile that made my stomach flutter in ways that had nothing to do with morning sickness

“So have you thought about names yet?” Mila asked over dessert.

“I think it’s a little early for that,” I said as I grabbed another honey cookie–I’d already had two with my tea, but I decided to indulge tonight. “I’m barely two months along, and I won’t know the gender for a long while yet.”

“It’s never too early,” Grace protested, “I already have a list of names for when Damon and I have kids.”

“Kids? Plural? And you have a list?” Damon raised an eyebrow. “Since when?”

“Since always. I’ve been adding to it for years.”

“Should I be concerned about what’s on this list?”

Grace popped a bite of cake into her mouth. “I didn’t put any of my exes‘ names on there, if it’s any consolation,” she said, although the nudge she gave me with her knee under the table indicated that that was a lie.

“Well, if it’s a boy, you could name him after me,” Damon suggested to me, puffing his chest out. “Damon Junior has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”

“Absolutely not,” I said immediately around a mouthful of cookie. “This world does not need two of you.”

“Ouch. My ego may never recover.”

“Your ego will be fine,” Andrei said dryly from over his glass of wine.

The banter continued through dessert and into the evening. Eventually, people started moving from the dining tables to the sitting area near the fireplace, where someone had pulled out a deck of cards. The twins, exhausted from the excitement, curled up on a blanket near the hearth and fell asleep while the adults continued talking and playing games.

I found myself on one of the sofas with Grace and Mila, listening to Grace describe her wedding plans. They were keeping it simple, she explained, just close friends and family. Maybe a ceremony in the garden if the weather held up.

“What about you?” Grace asked, nudging me with her elbow. “Any wedding plans in your future?”

“What makes you think that?”

She shrugged and exchanged a conspiratorial look with Mila. “I’m just saying, if someone were to hypothetically propose soon, would you hypothetically say yes?”

I felt my cheeks heat up. “Hypothetically, that’s none of your business.”

“That’s not a no,” Mila pointed out.

“It’s not a yes either.”

“But it’s not a no,” Grace repeated, grinning.

I was about to tell them both to mind their own business when I realized that Andrei, speaking of the devil, was no longer in the room. I looked around, scanning the faces by the fireplace, but he was definitely gone.

Curious, I checked the kitchen first, then his study, then the library. Finally, I tried the back terrace. The door was

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