Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 404

Andrei’s POV

We made camp at the base of the mountain, keeping it well–hidden amongst the scrub and young trees. The mountain loomed overhead, its peak concealed by dark clouds of snow and ice roiling in the night sky.

Somewhere up there, amongst those whiteout conditions, was the Winter King’s stronghold. And somewhere in that stronghold… was my family. I was sure of it.

“Andrei, it could take hours for you to reach the stronghold,” Grace complained, gripping my arm tightly as I sorted through my supplies. I would only take the bare minimum, ensuring my pack was light and not cumbersome–a little food and water, some weapons, a small first aid kit. “And the terrain is treacherous for someone alone.”

“I’ll go in wolf form,” I replied curtly, shaking her hand off. “I’ll be fast and precise.”

“Andrei…”

My jaw clenched at Grace’s repeated attempts to stop me. Everyone else had tried this song and dance already and had given up. Grace was the only one who was even remotely as stubborn as I was, which was why she was still nagging me about it.

“Do you want me to find Damon, or not?” I asked, looking at her with a withering glare.

She pursed her lips. “Of course I do. I want you to find Natalia and the twins, too. But what then? Will you trek back down the mountain with them? With two adults who might be injured and two six year olds? In the dark, hiding from rogues, and battling the elements all at once?”

I cinched my pack with more force than necessary. “I just want to see if they’re there,” I replied, “and what the conditions in the stronghold are like. I’ll gather the necessary information and return, and if the winds of fortune allow me to return with my family, then I’ll take them with me when I descend.”

Grace sighed. “Sending a scout would be smarter, you know. Your place is here, with your army-

“That’s enough, Grace.” I shouldered my pack and turned to her with a cold, resolute expression on my face. ” I’m going, and that’s final. You’re in charge of Ashmoor and Moonshadow ‘s forces while I’m gone. Can I trust you to keep a level head, or should I ask someone else to handle Moonshadow in my stead?”

She hesitated. I could see the resignation beginning to form in her eyes, but she was still holding onto that damn

stubbornness.

“Don’t act like you wouldn’t do this in my place if you could,” I whispered.

Her face fell. She knew as well as I did that, while she was one of the best medics our packs had ever known, she was no warrior. And yet, even though that were the case, she would readily climb that mountain in search of Damon if I weren’t doing it myself. If the roles were reversed, she’d likely bite my hand off to get up there.

Finally, she nodded. “Fine. But if you don’t return by tomorrow at sunset, we’re assuming you’re dead and we’re marching.”

“I would expect no less.” I stepped out of the tent and into the cold air, then handed her my pack. She took it, shooting me one last disapproving glance, but didn’t argue as I shifted. Once I was ready, she used the special

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Chapter 404

+25 Bonus

straps to fit the pack to my wolf’s body, ensuring that I wouldn’t lose anything during my trek.

“Be safe,” she said, resting her palm on the expanse of fur between my eyes for a moment. I shut my eyes, pressing my forehead more firmly into her hand in response, and then she dropped her hand and stepped back.

I gave her and our other gathered allies one last nod before loping off into the darkness.

The trek wasn’t too terrible at first. The ground was cold but rocky, the rough terrain giving me plenty of grip with my paws. I hurried up a small trail that seemed to have been formed by the Winter King’s soldiers, although I kept just to the side of it in case I ran into any patrols.

I found no one. It seemed that the Winter King placed the utmost faith in the strategic position of his stronghold; no one would dare climb this mountain, so why waste the manpower on patrols? He likely assumed that the climb would kill most before they reached his stronghold, and then his militia could handle the rest.

It was about halfway up that the snow began. It was thin and powdery at first, but eventually grew icier and harsher as the runoff of a glacier hardened the surface. My paws slipped on the ice, forcing me to dig my claws in to stay upright, and I slid down a few times on one particularly vertical stretch of trail, sending rocks and chunks of ice cascading below me.

The trail eventually flattened out again, but it didn’t last long. Pitches of ice walls forced me to find alternative routes. The air grew frigid and the wind howled angrily. Snow and ice formed in my fur, my lashes, my whiskers.

Eventually, the slopes and inclines gave way to sheer cliffs. I had never been much afraid of heights, but this… this was something else. Balancing along precarious pathways, rocks and debris falling down into the abyss… It was terrifying.

I tried not to think about Natalia and the twins, frightened and cold up here. I tried not to consider the notion that any one of them may have already fallen over one of these ledges and dropped to their deaths.

I had to hope that they had made it to the stronghold. As if that were better than an icy, sudden death.

But the Winter King wanted them alive, right? That had to mean something. Perhaps they were still alive. It didn’t necessarily mean that they were still whole, but I tried not to plague my mind with all of the possibilities.

I must have trekked for hours and hours, up and up and up until the ground fell away completely. The world turned white as I ascended into that cloud of snow and mist; all I could see were the few feet in front of me. I focused on placing one paw in front of the other, keeping my head down and my body low. When the wind blew particularly hard, I had to press against the rocks, waiting for it to die down for fear of being knocked off balance and sent plunging below.

Finally, the pathway opened up. Not much, but enough that I could straighten my trembling legs and pick up my pace. It opened up further, and then I saw it a single shaft of yellow light piercing the darkness.

A door leading into a warm chamber built into the side of the mountain. An entrance to the Winter King’s stronghold.

But as I emerged from the shadows, I realized that I wasn’t alone. A single guard was standing by the door, smoking a pipe as he leaned against the stone wall.

The moment he saw me, he dropped his pipe and lifted his spear.

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