Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 444

It must have been at least a full day when it finally happened. I gave one final push, clenching my teeth around a leather belt that the King had shoved into my mouth some time ago.

There was a gushing of water, a sensation of relief, and then the distinctive feeling of a little body slipping out between my thighs.

For a long moment, there was silence.

“My baby,” I croaked, my voice raw and hoarse from hours upon hours of screaming. “My baby…”

There were no cries.

I blinked, clearing the fog in my eyes to see the King with his back turned to me, hunched over something on the table. His hands and arms were moving frantically, and I tried to push myself up to get a better look, but my body was too weak. I fell right back down against the mattress.

“My baby,” I whispered. “Is it… alive?”

I squeezed my eyes shut and braced myself for the inevitable; I had come to terms with it during the agony of the labor. I had told myself over and over again that there was a very good chance my baby wouldn’t make it, and that, no matter how much it hurt, I had to keep my head clear and remain practical. I still had to get out of here; grief would have to wait.

But then, I heard it.

A soft cough. And then the shrill wailing of a newborn.

My eyes flew open. I jerked my head up, ignoring the way it made the room spin around me. The King turned back toward me, holding a naked, squirming little thing in his arms. He was grinning as if it were his baby. As if he had some kind of claim to my child.

“Congratulations,” he said, crossing over to me. “It’s a girl”

To my surprise, he laid the child down in my arms, directly against my chest. She was tiny and covered in blood and goop, but she was alive–crying, eyes squeezed tightly shut, little fists clenched, dark hair plastered to her shiny head.

My baby. My baby was alive. And whole. And fully formed.

I think I cried, although I couldn’t be sure. My mind was in too much of a haze. All I knew was that I clutched that baby and held her tight and refused to let go.

Somewhere through the haze in my mind, though, one thought pierced above the rest: I needed to get out. I had to leave this place with my baby. I had to find a way to escape before the King took her from me and aged her, turning her into the first soldier in his new army–or the first servant in his new palace.

My eyes flicked over to where the King was now standing. He had his back to me again, and was washing his hands in the bucket of water. His shirt was covered in sweat, plastered against his back so I could see the bones protruding from his twisted spine.

I swallowed hard. He must have heard the sound because he froze, then slowly looked up and over his shoulder.

“You sound worried, my love,” he said.

The term of endearment made my throat constrict, but I remained calm, still holding the squirming baby in my

arms.

“Don’t worry.” The King wiped his hands on a cloth and turned to me. “You have been through a lot; therefore,

*25 Bonus

I’ve decided not to age your little one. Not just yet, anyway

I couldn’t speak as he walked over to me, shoes clicking on the flagstones. He reached out as if to place a hand on my baby’s head. I wrenched her out of his way and growled deep in my throat with what strength I had left.

He pulled his hand back and tilted his head. His lips curved into that fucking smile again.

“You may hate me right now, but one day, I want you to remember my kindness in this moment,” he said. “I’m giving you time with your child–three days to enjoy her infancy. After that…”

He paused, reaching into his pocket to withdraw another ruby. The one I had seen before–the one that turned that crying infant into a fully–grown male before my eyes. The same ilk that had taken five years from Andrei and decades from Celeste and my father.

“They do grow up fast, don’t they?” he whispered, stroking his thumb across the stone.

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Chapter 445