Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 55

Andrei

“Natalia…”

My eyes flew open, startled awake by the sudden splash of icy water hitting my face. The shock jolted me upright in bed, droplets trickling down my neck and soaking the sheets beneath me.

In the dimness, Lilith loomed over me, her expression twisted with rage. Her hand trembled as she gripped an empty glass tightly.

“What the hell?” I growled, brushing water away from my face with the back of my hand. The clock on the nightstand glowed 3:17 AM. “Have you lost your mind?”

“Me?” Lilith’s voice quivered with anger. “I’m not the one crying out another woman’s name in my sleep!”

My stomach twisted painfully. Had I really spoken Natalia’s name aloud? The dream flooded back—the memory of her pressed against a tree in the forest, lips parted as I leaned in. How her hands had clutched at my shirt, the soft gasp she’d made when I kissed her.

And then those other sounds—intimate, vulnerable—the ones I hadn’t heard since we’d tied the knot.

I shook my head, trying to banish the image. “I didn’t—”

“Don’t lie to me,” Lilith snapped, flinging the glass against the wall where it shattered into countless shards. “After five years—five damn years—you’re still dreaming about her? Whispering her name in the dark?”

I pushed the blankets aside and rose, towering over her. “I can’t control what I dream about, Lilith.”

“But you can control who occupies your thoughts during the day.” She jabbed a finger into my chest, stoking the fire of my irritation. “And clearly, she’s always on your mind, isn’t she? Even after faking her death, aborting your child, making you grieve while she was with your brother?”

My jaw clenched tightly. The image of Natalia and Damon together—perhaps even at that very moment—made my wolf bristle with fury. Still, I kept my expression carefully neutral.

“She’s not on my mind like that.”

Lilith’s eyes narrowed, disbelief plain in her gaze. “You’re still in love with her. After everything she did to you, you still love her.”

Love. The word twisted uncomfortably inside my chest. I didn’t love Natalia—not anymore. How could I? She had betrayed me in the worst possible way, letting me believe she was dead for half a decade. She had terminated our unborn child, our future, just to start anew with my brother.

No, what I felt wasn’t love. It was a bitter cocktail of hatred, resentment, and a desperate need for answers.

“I don’t love her,” I said firmly. “I hate her—for lying, for making me mourn, for—”

“For being with Damon instead of you,” Lilith scoffed. “Tell me, if she came back right now and said she made a mistake, would you take her back? Would you cast me aside like I’m nothing?”

“No,” I said quickly. Perhaps too quickly.

Lilith sneered. “So that’s why you signed that ridiculous alliance contract.”

My eyebrows shot up in surprise. “The alliance? What does that have to do with anything?”

“Don’t play dumb,” she spat. “First, you chase after her at the hunt, kiss her in the forest, then let her manipulate you into an alliance. What’s next, Andrei?”

“You know that kiss wasn’t my choice. My wolf pushed me to it—for information. And the alliance was a strategic move, nothing more. It benefits both packs.”

Lilith rolled her eyes. “She’s using you. Can’t you see? Whatever game she’s playing, whatever secrets she’s hiding, this alliance just gives her easier access to mess with your head. Just like she did in the forest, making your wolf betray you.”

I shook my head and walked to the window, gazing out at the shadowy forest beyond. The truth was, I admired Natalia’s boldness in proposing the alliance. It was unexpected, clever, and strategically sound.

When I’d initially urged the other packs to pull out of talks with Ashmoor, I’d done so hoping to see Damon’s pack crumble under pressure. I wanted Natalia desperate, trapped with nowhere left to turn. Maybe then she would break and tell me everything.

But instead, she’d flipped the script, offering a solution that benefited us both and kept channels open. It was a move worthy of a true Luma.

“The alliance is advantageous,” I said after a moment, keeping my tone even. “With Moonshadow holding the north of Green Ridge and Ashmoor the south, we control the two most strategic positions. No pack would dare challenge that united front.”

“And that’s all it is? Just strategy?”

I hesitated. Of course, there was more. The alliance gave me a chance to uncover what was really going on between Natalia and Damon. Whether my brother had manipulated her into running away, whether she had truly aborted our child…

“Our first alliance meeting is Thursday,” I said, pouring myself a cup of coffee.

“You’re not going,” Lilith said firmly.

I raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“Send your Beta. You don’t need to attend personally.”

“I’m the Alpha,” I growled. “This alliance is important. I have to be there.”

Lilith slammed her cup down, coffee spilling over the rim. “So you can see her again? Moon over her like a lovesick pup?”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m making sure this alliance benefits our pack. As Alpha, that’s my responsibility.”

“I’m trying to protect you, Andrei.” Her voice softened, eyes glistening with unshed tears as she looked away. “I see the way you look at her. I know what she does to you.”

Her vulnerability stirred the familiar guilt in my chest—the same guilt that had made me let her off the hook after the hunting incident, even though I knew I shouldn’t have. I sighed and sat beside her, reaching out to take her hand gently.

“I appreciate your concern, Lilith. But you have to trust me.”

Slowly, she met my gaze. After a moment, she nodded, though doubt still lingered in her eyes. She left soon after, the soft fabric of her pink dress trailing behind her.

Alone, I sipped my coffee and reviewed the details of Thursday’s meeting. My pulse quickened at the thought of seeing Natalia again, watching her mind at work.

There was something captivating about how she’d handled pack politics lately—the years had sharpened her, made her more strategic, more brilliant.

Or maybe she had always been that way, I thought bitterly. Perhaps she was a schemer long before faking her death.

“You can deny it all you want,” my wolf whispered, “but we both know the truth. You want her back.”