Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 476

Chapter 476

We sat like that for a while, neither of us speaking–just staring at the shattered ruby on the floor. The last one.

Finally, I stood.

“We’re leaving soon,” I said. “Will you be okay?”

“I’ll be fine. Karl and David are staying. The pack needs leadership, and I can still provide that, even if I look like a corpse.”

I almost hugged her, but I just… couldn’t. She probably wouldn’t want it, anyway.

When I left her chambers, I found Karl and David waiting in the hallway. They both looked exhausted. Karl’s eyes were red–rimmed, and David’s face was drawn and pale.

“How is she?” Karl whispered. “She won’t talk to me.”

“She’s… managing.” I glanced back at the closed door. “But she’ll be fine.”

Karl nodded like he’d expected that. “She’s stubborn. Always has been.”

David hugged me next. He held on a little longer than I expected, and when he pulled back, his eyes were shining. “I’m going to miss you, sister.”

“I’ll miss you too.” I swallowed hard. “But this isn’t goodbye forever. We’ll visit. Once things settle down.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

We left the building together and made our way to the courtyard. The wagons were loaded now, and people were saying their final goodbyes. I found Andrei near the front. Hope was strapped to his chest in a cloth sling Grace had made, and the sight made a smile crack across my face.

Jane and Max were already in one of the wagons, sitting beside Grace and Damon. Jane was bouncing excitedly, talking a mile a minute about going home. Max was quieter, but I could tell that he was glad we were leaving.

With a final wave to the people who were staying behind, we started moving.

The journey back was long. Two days of travel through the Thornwood. But the weather held, and there were no major rogue encounters, although there were a few small skirmishes that the warriors in the front handled easily. The closer we got to home, the more my chest tightened with anticipation. I wanted to see our territory again. Wanted to sleep in my own bed. Wanted things to feel normal, even though I knew they wouldn’t. Not for a long time, at least.

It was late afternoon when we finally crossed into our territory, I let out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding when I spotted the large, gnarled oak tree that sat between Ashmoor and Moonshadow.

But not all was glittering and gold. The forest was too quiet, and the closer we approached the main estate, the smell of smoke became stronger. Soon, I could see the plumes rising into the sky like candles freshly snuffed out.

The main town was in ruins. Buildings had been burned, their charred frames still standing in places but mostly crumbled. Debris littered the streets. And everywhere, there were signs of a fresh battle–scorch marks, broken weapons, dried blood staining the ground.

But there was movement. People walking between the buildings. Men and women carrying tools and wood to begin rebuilding. I even spotted some kids playing in a patch of dirt, kicking a ball around.

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Chapter 476

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Our home was in ruins, but it wasn’t all lost. The war couldn’t take everything. It couldn’t take hope. Andrei and I had learned that the moment we stumbled out of that cave, bruised and bloody but alive with our daughter in our

arms.

There was so much to do, of course. Homes to rebuild, crops to plant on fresh soil.

But the King was dead, and we were home.

In those moments, as I hopped down from the wagon with Hope in my arms and the twins on either side of me and my husband behind me, I wasn’t afraid at all.

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Chapter 477

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Chapter 477