Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 454

Chapter 454

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He knelt down and dipped his hand into the water, then lifted it to his face and inhaled deeply.

“I spent years here. Learning their secrets. Forging their gifts into weapons.” He stood and turned, scanning the darkness. “The demons told me about you, too. They said you would come. That you would be mine.”

My stomach turned. He was completely insane. Demons? Portals to Hell?

But then something clicked in my mind. The water. The heat. The sulphuric smell.

This wasn’t a portal to Hell. It was volcanic water–geothermal, heated by the mountain itself. The same heat that had forged all those rubies thousands of years ago. And the fumes rising from it were likely toxic.

The King had spent years down here, breathing in those fumes. That was why he’d gone mad. That was why his body had deteriorated. It wasn’t the rubies that had done this to him–it was the poison in the air.

“Come out, my love,” the King said softly. “I promise I won’t hurt you. I know you’re frightened, but there’s no need to be. This is where we belong. Together.”

I stayed perfectly still. My baby started to fuss, making small sounds of distress. I pressed my hand over her mouth gently, trying to quiet her.

But it was too late. The King’s head snapped in my direction.

“Ah. There you are.”

He moved faster than I expected. Before I could run, he was on me, grabbing my arm and yanking me out from behind the rocks. I stumbled and nearly fell, clutching my baby desperately.

“Let me go!” I screamed.

“You tried to kill me,” he hissed. His free hand went to the back of his head, where blood was matted in what little hair he had left. “You ungrateful little-”

He reached for my baby. I tried to twist away, but he was too strong. He tore her from my arms, and she immediately started screaming.

“No!” I lunged for her, but he held her out over the water by her swaddle.

My blood turned to ice.

“If you disobey me again,” he said quietly, “I will drop her. Do you understand?”

“Please.” The word came out as a sob. “Please don’t. I’ll do anything. Just don’t hurt her.”

“Anything?” He pulled her back slightly, but didn’t hand her to me. “Will you be my Queen? Will you stop fighting me?”

“Yes.” Tears streamed down my face. “Yes, I’ll be your Queen. I won’t fight anymore. Just please, please don’t hurt her.”

He studied me for a long moment. Then he smiled. “Good.”

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Chapter 454

+25 Bonus

But he still didn’t give her back. He just stood there, holding my screaming baby, and I realized with growing horror that this was it. This was my life now. Trapped in this underground palace with a madman who thought he was speaking to demons.

My daughter would grow up here. In the darkness. Breathing in poison. Until she went mad too, or until her body failed her.

I couldn’t let that happen.

“But… Please,” I said again, trying to keep my voice steady, “if you want me to be your Queen–if you want me

–

to obey you then let me take her away. Let me take her somewhere safe, somewhere far from here. I’ll come back. I promise I’ll come back. Just don’t make her live here. Don’t subject her to this life.”

The King’s smile faded. “You want to leave?”

“Not forever. Just long enough to bring her somewhere safe. And then I’ll come back to you. I’ll be yours. Forever. Just like you want.”

“No.” His voice was flat. Final. “You’re not leaving these caves. Neither of you are. This is your home now. The sooner you accept that, the better.”

He handed my baby back to me, and I clutched her to my chest. She was still crying, her little face red and wet with tears.

“Go back to your room,” he said. “And don’t try that again.”

He turned and started walking back toward the exit. I stood there for a moment, my mind racing. Then I glanced

down at the water.

There was a small glass vial lying near the edge–probably something the King or someone else had dropped at some point. They must have used the water in the process of enchanting the rubies; some kind of ritual, perhaps?

It didn’t matter. I snatched it up quickly, uncorked it, and dipped it into the water. The liquid was hot, nearly burning my fingers, but I managed to fill the vial before corking it again.

I slipped it into the folds of my nightgown just as the King turned back to look at me.

“Are you coming?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said. I walked toward him, my baby still crying in my arms, and the vial of poisoned water hidden against my skin.

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