Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 385

Natalia’s POV

The numbness felt like a mercy.

I couldn’t feel anything. No anger. No grief. There was only hollowness and hunger, like a pit had opened up inside of me. I wanted to gorge myself on pain, but I would get none. The pit only widened with each breath.

Dead. Andrei and Damon were, more likely than not, dead.

Grace was still on the floor, sobbing into her hands. The crowd had begun to disperse, leaving us to our grief. I looked around, looked for guidance, but there was no one left. Just me.

Someone needed to take charge. Someone needed to keep the pack from falling apart.

That someone had to be me.

I reached down and placed my hand on Grace’s shoulder. She flinched at my touch, then looked up at me with red- rimmed eyes.

“Get up,” I said quietly.

“Natalia, I can’t—”

“You can. We both can. We have to.” I lifted my hand, displaying the wedding ring. We were leaders of our packs now. The only ones left, most likely. We couldn’t afford to wallow.

Grace’s face crumpled, but she nodded and let me help her to her feet. She swayed, and I steadied her, my own knees threatening to buckle.

I turned to Mila, who had been standing nearby with her arms crossed and her jaw set. She looked like she wanted to say something, but I shook my head.

“Prepare two pyres,” I said. My throat felt so tight that the words had to scrape their way out. “We’ll hold the funeral at sunset.”

Mila hesitated. “Luna, we don’t have their bodies-”

“Empty pyres, then.” I lifted my chin. “They deserve the honor regardless.”

She nodded and left without another word. I watched her go, then forced myself to keep moving. One foot in front of the other. There was still so much to do–wounded to tend to, supplies to inventory, the wall to reinforce.

I threw myself into the work, let it consume every waking moment so I wouldn’t have to think about the gaping hole in my chest where my mate bond should have been warm.

The twins stayed close to me all day. They didn’t ask about their father. Maybe they already knew. Maybe they could sense it in the air, that suffocating weight of loss.

I couldn’t bring myself to tell them. Not yet.

By the time sunset approached, the pyres were ready. Two towering structures of wood and kindling stood in the center of the lawn, empty and waiting. The pack gathered around them, and I stood at the front with Grace beside

1. me.

She hadn’t stopped crying all day, but her tears were silent now, just wet tracks down her cheeks. I wanted to cry too. Wanted to scream and rage and collapse. But I didn’t. I couldn’t.

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The knife at my hip pulsed with that unending hunger. It wanted blood. Vengeance. I could feel its desire coiling through my veins and settling into my bones. Goddess, I was so fucking hungry, but I couldn’t eat.

I stepped forward, and the crowd fell silent. Every eye was on me, waiting. Hoping for something–comfort, maybe. Reassurance that everything would be okay. I wasn’t sure I could give them that, not really, but I tried

anyway.

“We gather here to honor two warriors,” I began, and my voice sounded faraway to my own ears. “Alpha Andrei of Moonshadow and Alpha Damon of Ashmoor. Brothers. Leaders. Mates.”

My throat bobbed, and the first tears threatened to spill, but I forced myself to continue.

“They went into the Thornwood knowing the danger. Knowing they might not return. But they went anyway, because that’s what leaders do. They put their packs first. They fought to maintain peace in our land. Even if they died doing it, they did not fail–they held back the wave with their very ives. Now, it’s our job to carry the torch.” Grace made a small, broken sound beside me. I reached out and squeezed her hand.

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