Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 463

Chapter 463

Natalia’s POV

The moment I saw Andrei hanging there in that cage, limp and lifeless, I dropped to my knees. I didn’t care that my kneecaps barked with pain from the impact of the stone floor. Didn’t care if I scraped my skin until it bled or the fact that the scream that ripped from my throat was harsh enough to tear my esophagus open.

The King had Andrei Captive. In a cage like a fucking animal.

Again.

“Relax, my love. He’s alive, by my mercy.”

Fucking monster. He actually thought he was doing me a favor–as if hovering my husband, my mate, in a cage above this pool of briny, poisoned water was some kind of gift.

“Mercy?” I managed, clutching my child closer. “You call this mercy?”

“What else is it?” The King waved his hand again, and the cage began to descend once more with that awful rattling of the chains. It was slow and painstaking, but inch by inch, Andrei was lowered further toward the water. “I can tell how much you miss him, my love. The heart wants what it wants. That is why I’m giving you this chance to say goodbye–a chance for closure.”

“And then what? You think I’ll thank you for this?”

“Someday, yes. Once you fully understand the beautiful world we can create together. I know you said you saw it, but it takes time to completely get it. That time will come for you, just as it came for me. And this…” He turned to look up at Andrei. “This will be the moment you will cherish the most. The moment that your old life, drab and pointless and devoid of true meaning, was finally put behind you.”

I wanted to tell him that he was wrong. That he would never touch me. That I would kill myself before I loved

him

But no matter how much I tried, the words wouldn’t come. I just kept staring in horror at the sinking cage, and I, too, felt like I was sinking right along with Andrei.

He had come so far. He had nearly saved me. That sound we’d heard earlier–that was him, wasn’t it? And once again, this monster was trying to keep us apart.

I wouldn’t let him.

“Please,” I whispered.

The King looked at me. I could have sworn I saw a glimmer of intrigue in those beady eyes. “What did you say?”

I hated that I was doing this. Hated that I was lowering myself before him. But I did it anyway. I bent down, still clutching my baby, and pressed my forehead to the floor. “Please. Please, have mercy on Andrei. Don’t kill him like this.”

I expected the King to refuse, but when I looked up, I found that he had approached me, lips curving into that gleeful little smirk that I had come to know so well.

Chapter 463

+25 Bonus

Pride. That was always his greatest sin, wasn’t it? In this madman’s pit of hell, amongst the visions he had seen in these putrid waters, one always stood out above the rest. His ego. A vision of himself wearing a crown made of glass and lies.

“And if I show mercy,” he whispered, extending his boot, “what will you give me in return?”

As he spoke, he extended his boot further. The thought made me want to vomit again, but I leaned forward and pressed a kiss against the tip.

“I’ll do anything, my King, so long as you don’t lower him into the water. I can’t bear to see him suffer, to burn like that…”

The King looked at me for a long moment, tongue darting out to wet his lips. The cage was only a couple of feet above the water now, so close that I could hear the steam sizzling against the bottoms of Andrei’s feet.

But then the chains stopped rattling. The King crouched and gently took me by the forearm, helping me to my feet.

“Very well. I won’t kill him like this, as you said.” His lips brushed my ear as he spoke. I didn’t have the strength left to gag at the smell of his rotting breath. “I will give him a death with dignity. A warrior’s death.”

I pulled my head back. “But-”

“Did you think I would let him leave?” the King laughed. “Darling, he cannot walk out of here alive. Surely you know that.” He sighed and pressed his hand to my forehead. “You’re feverish. It must be clouding your judgment. Come. Let’s get you a bath and something to eat.”

I couldn’t resist as he guided me away. I didn’t have the strength.

The last I saw of Andrei was his head slowly lifting in that cage.

The King stayed true to his word. He fed me–a meal which I scarfed down in just a few bites, but it made me feel marginally better. He ran me a bath and found me something more comfortable to wear. Somehow, I managed to breastfeed my child.

Only then, once I had recovered somewhat–able to “witness the show“, he said–did he take me back to Andrei. The King wore armor now of gleaming silver plate. Surprisingly, there were no rubies in the armor and he’d removed his jewelry, although the sword at his hip had a rather large one gleaming in the hilt.

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