Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 390

Natalia’s POV

Our allies had arrived in Moonshadow by the following morning.

Aspen. Oakshield. Green Ridge. Anyone who would hear our pleas had come for the meeting–and far more than I expected. Catherine and her husband brought multiple of their best warriors when they heard the news. Green Ridge arrived with a small caravan of laborers to assist us with rebuilding.

Luna Ellen came alone, her husband nowhere to be found, but her car was packed with food and supplies to share and she was genuinely smiling for the first time since I’d met her.

Once everyone had arrived, we arranged the meeting to be held in what remained of the great hall. The air was filled with the sounds of voices and hammering as our workers rebuilt the broken walls, but it would have to do. The study was far too small to hold everyone and everywhere else was too damaged.

Right off the bat, Andrei explained everything that had happened to our allies. He told them about the battle, the rubies, about Celeste and Helena and what else we now knew about the rogue king. Most of all, he told them about Helena’s plans with the ruby that could age people in the blink of an eye.

This time, there was no question of whether it was real or not. The proof of what that ruby could do was already in Andrei’s silvery hair, in the newly formed wrinkles around his eyes, the spots on the backs of his hands. The more he explained, the paler our allies grew. The room fell silent for a long time after Andrei finished his speech.

Finally, Catherine lifted her hand. “Aspen will march with you,” she said firmly.

Her husband whipped his head toward her. “Perhaps we shouldn’t be so hasty, Cat-”

“Moonshadow and Ashmoor already sacrificed so much in the last battle!” she protested, gesturing around us–at the crumbling house, at Andrei’s aged face, at Damon’s empty chair. “Besides, who knows what will happen to us if this so–called ‘Winter King‘ isn’t stopped? We must act quickly and aggressively.”

Ellen nodded firmly. “I agree with Luna Catherine. Personally, I would rather not face the hordes of ruby–wielding warriors, but it has to be done–otherwise we’ll face them in our homes when they come for the territories, which is much worse than the battlefield.”

“Yes, but I would also rather not age twenty years in the blink of an eye,” Alpha Darrick pointed out, causing his wife’s lips to curve with a wry humor, although she smacked him on the shoulder to shut him up. Andrei’s jaw. tightened, but I patted his hand, silently reassuring him.

“When do you plan to march?” Catherine asked.

Andrei consulted his Beta for a moment, then replied, “We should leave for Bloodmoon tomorrow. Then recoup there for a couple of days, join up with what remains of their forces, and march north.”

Ellen wrinkled her nose. “Do you think they will fight with us? After what you just told everyone, I’m not sure if I’d trust those warriors at our side.”

“By the time I left Bloodmoon, they were under Celeste’s command,” Andrei replied, glancing at me. “They were previously under mind control via ruby. A ruby which was quickly destroyed after the battle.”

David, who, for the first time in days, could finally join in on the conversation, added in a rough voice, “ Bloodmoon warriors are terribly proud. They’ll no doubt be pissed after what happened. They’ll want revenge.”

I clutched my brother’s hand under the table, offering what little support I could. He was still weak after what happened, but he was himself again. That was all that mattered.

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Chapter 390

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The other Alphas and Lunas exchanged hushed whispers. Finally, Derrick cleared his throat and said, “Very well. But if I march to Bloodmoon and find the forces to be less than satisfactory, I’m turning my men around.”

Luna Meg nodded. “Same with Green Ridge. I’ll also expect an arsenal of these ruby weapons to give to my warriors.”

“There will be plenty to go around, I’m sure,” Andrei replied. “Enough for the top warriors, at least. Natalia has offered to help train them during our brief stay in Bloodmoon.”

I sat up a little straighter. “I believe this will give us an edge in the battle. The rogue king won’t be expecting us to wield these rubies.”

The meeting went on for some time after that, ensuring that every avenue was covered. The packs couldn’t be left undefended, of course, so we discussed moving civilians to safe zones and fortifying our defenses around those areas. We talked well into the evening, and only paused for dinner.

As Andrei, Grace, and I emerged from the great hall, we bumped into the twins, and Karl. Judging from the looks on their faces, they had heard everything. The twins immediately rushed over and threw their arms around our legs.

“You’re leaving?” Max asked. “Without us?”

Andrei nodded and dropped down to a crouch. “It’s safer for you here, buddy. You can stay with ”

“No!” Jane stomped her foot indignantly. “I’m not staying. If you make me stay, I’ll… I’ll run away!”

I exchanged a glance with Andrei. Karl cleared his throat. “If I may…” He stepped forward, and now, in the light, I could see the hollow look in his eyes. The fear and sadness swirling beneath it all. “I… I heard about Celeste.”

My heart sank for him. I hadn’t seen Celeste in the flesh, but Andrei’s description had been… visceral. It was already heartbreaking for me to see my mate having aged a few years overnight. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like for Karl.

“I want to go to her,” Karl said firmly and with more conviction than I had perhaps ever heard from him. “In fact, I’m not sure if I could accept it if you tried to force me to stay here.”

“No one is forcing you to stay,” I said gently. “If you want to come, you’re more than welcome.”

“But we hoped you might consider staying behind with the twins,” Andrei pointed out. “If you were to accept it

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“No!” Max and Jane cried out together. Max folded his arms across his chest and pouted in a way that made him look too much like me when I was being stubborn. “We’re not staying, either! You have to bring us!”

I opened my mouth to protest, but David suddenly cut in, “It might be safer to keep them close. Bloodmoon is well -protected and fortified. After all the recent attacks here, you might want to consider bringing them.”

Andrei and I looked at each other. Through the bond, I could feel the uncertainty emanating from both of us. I’d always thought of home as being the safest place for any of us; but home wasn’t Moonshadow. Home was with them. With my family.

Could I really bear to leave them behind? Could either of us bear it?

Andrei, sensing the decision in my eyes, sighed. “Fine. But just to Bloodmoon; no further.”

The twins squealed in excitement as if we were going off on a grand adventure and scurried off to pack their bags. Andrei and I exchanged another wary glance.

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Chapter 290

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I hoped that this decision wasn’t a mistake. But at the same time, I couldn’t help but feel a great sense of relief, knowing that my family would be sticking together this time around.

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