Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 374

Chapter 374

Dan’s face reddened. “Well, that’s just one board

I grabbed another and did the same. It pulled free with little effort, and I tossed both at his feet. Behind him, I swore I could see Ellen hiding a snort behind her mitten.

“Well… Fine,” Dan said, snatching up the boards. “We’ll reinforce this section. But I assure you, our work isn’t usually like this! Our workers must have been lazy here.”

“Lazy, huh?” I glanced around at the laborers in the camp, noticing their tired eyes, the way they were shivering in the cold. “Are you feeding your workers enough? They can’t work if they’re hungry and exhausted. I’d recommend preparing something high in calories and volume–rice and stew, perhaps.”

Dan snorted and nudged his Beta with his elbow. “Of course the woman would think about feeding the masses,” he chortled.

“Excuse me?”

Dan shrugged. “You’re here pretending to play the role of an Alpha, and yet you’re here, asking about rice and stew. If you’re so concerned, then why not prepare it yourself? You seem to be an expert on the matter of the kitchen.”

Ellen gasped. I lifted my eyebrows. “Say that again.”

Dan frowned. “What?”

“Say it again,” I said coolly, folding my arms. “Usually, if someone really means something and isn’t just talking out of their ass, they’ll be willing to say it twice.”

Dan hesitated, mouth opening and closing wordlessly. His chin wobbled, cheeks reddening, and I knew my point had been made.

“Feed your workers, and make sure this wall is constructed properly,” I said. My voice was deadly calm. “Let’s move onto the next checkpoint.”

I wasn’t sure if my statement really struck a chord in Dan, but to his credit, he didn’t make any more snide comments for the rest of the afternoon. By the time we had patrolled all of the checkpoints, the sun was reaching its zenith; I wanted to get home to the twins in time for dinner, so I bid my goodbyes and headed back to my car.

Just as I was climbing into the driver’s seat, Ellen came jogging up to the car, gesturing for me to roll down the window. I did, and she reached in, pressing something into my hands. A thermos filled with what smelled like

cider.

“What’s this for?” I asked, confused.

She smiled at me. “It’s rare to see anyone give Dan a taste of his own medicine these days. I’ll admit, since I took him back after the cheating, I fell back into my old ways. But seeing you today… I just want you to know how grateful I am to see a woman standing up for what she believes in and not letting someone like him walk all over her.”

I smiled faintly and squeezed her hand. “You can do better, you know,” I said softly.

Her face fell. “I know. But…”

“It’s not always that simple,” I finished for her. “I get it. Just… look out for yourself first, okay? I see the way he talks over you when he’s around. I see you get quiet. The conversation we had while we were waiting for him-

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“It was nice,” Ellen said with a sad smile. “And we accomplished much, even without the men around.”

“Precisely.” I grinned and thanked her for the cider, then left. As I drove home, I sipped it occasionally, savoring the heat and spice. Suffice to say, more than the cider warmed my chest that day.

But when I arrived back at Moonshadow, that warmth turned into ice once more. A scout was waiting for me from Andrei’s party, out of breath and wide–eyed.

“What is it?” I asked without preamble, climbing out of the car.

The scout looked like he was about to collapse. I could tell immediately that he had run all this way, and my heart plummeted before he even said the words.

“We were ambushed.”

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