Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 413

Natalia’s POV

I waited by the window, staring out at the white expanse of snow and fog, The cold air bit at my face, but I didn’t close it. I needed to hear those howls the moment they came,

Minutes crawled by. Then an hour. Maybe more, I couldn’t tell anymore.

All the while, the twins continued to sleep. I checked on them every few minutes, pressing my hand to their chests to feel them breathing. They were warm. Safe. For now,

1 paced, Sat. Paced again. The explosive ruby burned in one pocket, the small dagger Andrei had given me tucked carefully into the other. My fingers kept drifting to both, checking to make sure they were still there.

What was taking so long? Had Andrel reached the base of the mountain? Had he gotten injured on the way down? Or had the Winter King found him before he could leave the palace?

My stomach twisted at the thought. If something had gone wrong, if Andrei was captured-

A knock at the door made me jump.

I cursed under my breath and shoved the explosive ruby deeper into my pocket, then smoothed down my skirt- I had carefully tucked the black robes somewhere safe and had changed into something befitting a future rogue queen–and hurried over to the door. I took a deep breath, schooling my face into calmness, then opened it.

The Winter King was standing there, smiling at me with that eerie smile that was never quite right. Too many teeth.

“My love. I hope I’m not disturbing you.”

“Not at all.” I forced myself to smile back at him. “I was just hoping you would come to see me.”

He glanced past me at the twins. “Still sleeping, I see. Good. They’ll need their rest for tomorrow.” His gaze returned to me. “I was thinking about our conversation at dinner. You expressed interest in my methods. In how I break those who resist.”

My throat went dry. “I did.”

“Would you like to see?” He offered his arm to me. “I have a prisoner in the interrogation room.”

I couldn’t refuse without raising suspicion. So although it turned my stomach, I smiled a little wider and forced out the words: “I’d like that very much.” I took his arm and let him lead me out of the room.

With a grin that was all teeth, he led me through the corridors and down those same stone steps that I’d taken to the cells before. Only this time, instead of leading me through the door that was guarded and led to the cells, he opened a door off to the side. I hadn’t noticed it before, but the scent of blood hit me like a wall as soon as I

entered.

In the center of the torchlit room was a chair, and strapped to that chair was a man I recognized.

Shit.

Thomas. One of Damon’s warriors. Young, maybe twenty–five. He must have tried to follow Damon here when

1/2

Damon had initially been taken.

7% Bonus

His face was already bruised and swollen. Blood dripped from his nose, his mouth. But his eyes were still defiant when they landed on me. They widened slightly when they saw me, and I wondered if he knew that the Winter King was wearing Damon’s face. Did he think that I was an imposter, too?

“Ah, you’re awake,” the King said cheerfully, “Good, I brought someone to watch,”

Thomas’s gaze flickered between us. I kept my expression blank, even as my heart screamed at me to do something. To free him. To kill the King right here and now. I could use the knife in my pocket, make it quick…

But I couldn’t. Not yet. Not until Andrei gave the signal.

I could only watch as the King moved to a table lined with tools. Knives, pliers, and other things I couldn’t name and didn’t want to. He picked up a blade. He turned it over in his hand, letting the torchlight catch the metal, then nodded to himself and moved over to Thomas.

The first time the blade bit into Thomas’s arm, it wasn’t too deep–not enough to draw blood, although enough to make him hiss through his teeth.

“Who is your true Alpha?” the King asked.

“Fuck you,” Thomas spat.

The King chuckled. “Admirable.” He cut again; this one was deeper and made Thomas’s jaw clench so hard that the tendons jutted out of his neck.

“You’re not my Alpha,” Thomas snarled. “I don’t know what the fuck you are, but you’re not Damon, and I’ll never bow to you.”

“Is that so?” Another cut. This time Thomas did cry out. It was only a short, sharp sound, but it made my stomach roil painfully. Still, I forced myself to watch. Forced myself to keep my face calm. The King glanced at me between cuts, like he was checking my reaction. Seeing if I was squeamish. If I was weak.

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