Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 478

Mostly, I spent my days with Hope. Feeding her, changing her, rocking her when she cried. For the first time since she was born, I could actually be present with her. Not running from the King or fighting for my life or watching my father die. Just… being her mother.

She was getting bigger every day. Her eyes were still that dark green, but they were starting to focus more. She’d track my face when I talked to her. She didn’t smile often, but when she did, it was radiant and wide.

I loved her. Goddess, I loved her so much it hurt. But there were moments–usually late at night when everyone else was asleep–when I’d hold her and remember the King dangling her over that water. Remember the way she screamed. Remember how close I came to losing her.

Those moments made it hard to breathe.

I needed something to do. Something to focus on that wasn’t just replaying trauma in my head. So I decided to fix up a nursery for Hope. She’d been sleeping in our room in a bassinet, but she needed her own space. A room that was hers.

There was a small guest room that was mostly unused these days, just down the hall from our room and close to the twins‘ room. I spent a morning clearing it out and fixing anything that had gotten damaged during the war, and then I went looking for paint.

The pack had salvaged supplies from various places, and I found a few cans in one of the storage sheds. Most were browns and grays, practical colors for rebuilding. But tucked in the back was a small can of pale yellow. Sunny. Warm. Perfect.

I carried it back to the house along with brushes and rags. The twins were outside playing, and Andrei was off doing Alpha things. Hope was napping in her bassinet, so I had time.

I pried open the paint can and the smell hit me immediately in that strange but satisfying way. I poured some into a tray, dipped my brush, and started on the first wall.

The paint went on smooth and even. I worked in long strokes, covering the old gray plaster with bright yellow. It was satisfying in a way I hadn’t expected. Watching the room transform. Making something better instead of just surviving.

After finishing the first wall, I moved on to the second, then the third. My shoulders started to ache from holding the brush up, but I kept going. The repetitive motion was soothing. Dip, stroke, dip, stroke. Over and over until the gray was gone and only yellow remained.

By the time I finished the fourth wall, the first one was dry enough to add some little details. I found a smaller brush and mixed a little white paint into what was left of the yellow to make it lighter. Then, I started painting little stars along the top edge of the wall.

The stars led to clouds. Then I added a crescent moon in one corner. None of it was perfect, but it made me happy, and I knew Hope would love it.

Eventually, I lost track of time completely. The world narrowed down to just the brush in my hand and the wall in front of me. Everything else fell away, and for a while, I just felt… content.

I was adding tiny dots of white to make the stars sparkle when I felt a prickle on the back of my neck like someone was watching me. I turned and saw Andrei standing in the doorway, and I grinned, gesturing wide to show him my

progress.

“Well? What do you think?” I asked.

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Chapter 478

+25 Bonus

But the look on his face made my smile fade. He looked haunted, just like he had looked that night in Bloodmoon, when he had found me sleeping in the twins‘ bed.

He looked like he wasn’t here at all.