Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 500

Grace put her arm around my shoulders. “Natalia, he’s struggling. You know that. This isn’t about you.‘

“Then what’s it about? Because to me, it feels like my marriage is falling apart and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.” My eyes burned, but I refused to cry. I was so tired of crying.

I poured myself more wine. Grace didn’t try to stop me this time.

We sat there in silence for a while. I drank and stared at the fire and tried not to think about Andrei’s face when he’d kissed me. The way he’d looked at me like I was the only thing that mattered.

And then he had left.

“Luna Natalia?”

I looked up. A man was standing in front of me. He was probably in his late twenties, with dark hair and a friendly smile. One of the Bloodmoon refugees, I realized. I recognized him from the compound. He was one of David’s friends, although we had never spoken before. A Gamma.

“Yes?” I said.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but I wanted to introduce myself. I’m Isaac.” He held out his hand. “I came with the refugees from Bloodmoon. I just wanted to thank you for everything you’ve done for us. The food, the shelter, the warm welcome. It means a lot.”

I shook his hand. “You’re welcome. We’re all part of one pack now.” I tilted my head. “You’re David’s friend, right?”

He nodded. “We trained together when we were kids. The rest was kind of history. I would have stayed behind with him, but…” He shrugged, then gestured to the bench. “Mind if I sit? You look like you could use some

company.”

“Sure.” I scooted over to make room. In my drunken state, I didn’t think anything of it. He seemed nice. Friendly. And he had a familiar face that reminded me of my brother.

Isaac sat down, and I glanced at him. “So, why didn’t you stay with David?”

“I figured I should go with the refugees. Keep them safe, help them settle in. Besides, my mother is amongst them, and she’s getting on in years. I couldn’t let her go off on her own, and I felt it was too dangerous in the Thornwood to let her stay there.”

“Fair enough.”

“The festival was amazing, by the way,” he said, turning slightly to look at me. “You did a wonderful job organizing everything.”

“Thanks.” I took another drink. The world was starting to feel pleasantly fuzzy around the edges.

“Are you alright?” Isaac asked. “You seem upset.”

“I’m fine,” I lied.

“You don’t look fine.” He leaned a little closer. “Want to talk about it?”

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Chapter 500

+25 Bonus

Grace had gone to check on Damon, leaving me alone with Isaac. I should have told him no. Should have made up an excuse and left. But the wine had loosened my tongue, and I was tired of pretending everything was okay.

“It’s… My husband,” I said. “He’s been… distant lately. And tonight, we were supposed to…” I trailed off, realizing I probably shouldn’t be sharing this with a stranger.

Suddenly, I felt the back of my neck prickle, like I was being watched. Before I could look up, a strong arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me up off the bench. I gasped, stumbling, and looked up to see Andrei standing over me.

“Andrei!” I shoved at his chest. “Where did you go? You left me!”

He didn’t answer. He wasn’t even looking at me.

And that look in his eyes… It made my stomach drop.

Something was wrong. His eyes were empty. It was that same look I’d seen in the training arena when he’d had his hands around my throat. Except now there was something else there too. Something darker. Something that made my blood run cold.

It was beyond jealousy, beyond petty male rivalry.

It was murder.

He was staring at Isaac like he wanted to rip him apart.

“Get away from her,” he hissed.

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