Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 430

Chapter 430

One moment, Andrei was standing before me, handsome and regal, even though his appearance had been stolen by this bastard. And the next…

It was a monster. A broken man with nearly translucent skin and crooked limbs and hatred in his eyes. A wet tongue darting out to taste his own blood off of cracked, thin lips.

The visage shifted constantly before me–one moment it was Andrei, the next it was the King’s true appearance, then back to Andrei. But one thing was clear: Andrei was escaping. The King couldn’t hold his appearance any longer, and right now, it seemed that he had no idea.

I forced my expression to remain calm. Willed my hands to stop shaking.

Slowly, I lowered the ruby and hung my head.

“You’re right,” I whispered. “I can’t… I can’t hurt my children.”

“Just as I thought.” The Winter King strode toward me on legs that were long and straight one moment, twisted and bent the next. He held his hand out, palm facing up, and smiled at me with crooked, rotting teeth. “Give me the ruby, my love. Let’s finish our ceremony in peace.”

I didn’t hand him the ruby.

My refusal seemed to anger him, but he inhaled deeply through his nostrils, then exhaled slowly. His breath smelled like rot, and when he smiled, the sight of those teeth again made me want to retch. He had kissed me with that mouth. Kissed me.

“I should have known you were too smart for that,” he whispered, chuckling in a deep timbre that sent a shiver scuttling down my spine. “Very well. Hold onto your ruby, if it makes you feel better. But we are finishing the ceremony.”

The King then reached out and grabbed my wrist to lead me back to his “priest.” I held my breath, trying not to show any reaction on my face. If Andrei was escaping, then only needed to stall–keep the King busy. Andrei would come, just like he always did. I just needed to keep the King from noticing that his favorite prisoner was free.

But just as the King turned to lead me away, he froze. His eyes became fixed on the glass case behind us, but this time, he wasn’t gazing upon the perfect creation within.

He was looking at his own reflection.

The calm mien twisted into something even uglier, something angrier. He snapped his head toward me, black eyes flashing furiously.

“How long?” he whispered. When I didn’t answer, his fingers tightened painfully around my wrist, jagged, yellowed nails digging into my skin. “How. Long?”

I swallowed hard, terrified, but calmly replied, “Long enough.”

The King’s teeth bared in a feral snarl. “Guards!” he shouted. “Catch the prisoner!”

One of the King’s rings glowed bright red as he barked his order, and as one, several of the creations in the cases began to move. The doors at the backs of the cases popped open, letting the creations stride out, weapons in hand,

“No!” I cried, tugging against the King’s grip. “Stop!”

But it was no use. The King had me now, his grip too tight and too powerful to get away, and no matter how deep I reached for my wolf’s strength, I found nothing. No pool of energy, no well of power. Just a tired, dazed wolf.

Chaker 490

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“As for you,” the King hissed, ignoring my protests, “I’ll be taking that.”

Before I could react, another ruby had flashed around his pinky finger and he had snatched the explosive stone from my hand. I gasped and lunged for it, but it was too late. He held it out of my reach and handed it to one of his passing creations. The soldier pocketed it and followed the others out of the room.

Suddenly, the door at the back of the case where the children were popped open. The King dragged me over, my kicks and screams and constant writhing completely unerring to him, and shoved me inside. I fell to my knees and scarcely had a chance to scramble back to my feet before the door had shut, casting me into silence.

The King was saying something to me on the other side of the glass, but I couldn’t hear him. All I could see were lips moving hatefully, rubies flashing like angry red sores on his fingers.

Then, with a hateful sneer, he turned, cape billowing behind him, and stormed out of the room behind his soldiers.

Chapter 431