Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 16

Chapter 16

“Stop this.”

Lilith.

She glided toward us from the edge of the bluff, a gray shawl wrapped tightly around her shoulders. “This isn’t helping.”

Her gaze flicked between us–two alphas barely restrained. Two men brought to the brink by the same woman.

Damon stepped back first, running a hand over his face. I didn’t move. Couldn’t.

Lilith placed a hand lightly on my arm. “Andrei, come away from this. Come back inside.”

I looked out toward the sea. The body had been taken away. The cooling unit closed. But its memory remained- seared into my mind like a second brand.

“I need to see it done,” I said.

She frowned. “See what done?”

“The funeral,” I whispered. “She deserves more than a cold metal box.”

She deserves the world I never gave her.

***

The pyre was built on Damon’s packlands, in the high clearing near the ridge where the mist rolled in low and thick and the trees stood in mourning.

There was no body to burn. Only the box. Her ring. Her scarf. A small bundle of lavender and cedar her favorite

scent.

The pack gathered quietly at the edge of the woods, heads bowed. Damon stood beside me, arms folded, jaw locked. Lilith was on my other side, a respectful distance back.

I stepped forward alone.

The flames caught slowly.

They licked at the corners of the wood, hungrily swallowing the kindling. I didn’t blink. I didn’t breathe.

When the smoke finally began to rise, I spoke.

“My Luna,” I said, voice trembling. “My mate.”

The words barely made it out of my mouth.

“She gave everything to this role. To me. Even when I gave her nothing in return.”

Silence.

Chapter 18

“I thought… I thought there’d be time,” I said, hating how pathetic it sounded. “Time to fix it. Time to make her see. I kept waiting for the right moment to tell her she mattered. But I was a coward.”

Wind stirred the flames, and I swallowed hard.

“She died thinking she was unloved. And that’s my fault.”

I stepped back, hands shaking.

Lilith moved beside me, sliding her hand into mine without asking.

“Andrei,” she said gently, “when you thought I had died, you were just as broken.”

I didn’t answer.

She stepped closer. “But I came back. I came back to you. We could still build a life together. Heal. Try again.

My stomach turned.

Before I could say anything, Damon barked a laugh from the other side of the pyre.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.‘

Lilith stiffened.

Damon came around the flames, eyes locked on me. “Now you mourn her? Now you cry and wail like she was your world?”

I frowned. “Watch yourself.”

“No,” he spat. “You don’t get to play grieving mate after what you put her through. She begged for scraps of affection for five years. You gave her duty. Expectation. A timeline. And then you handed her divorce papers like she was an employee being let go.”

“That’s not how it happened.”

“She signed those papers alone,” he growled. “With no one beside her. You didn’t fight. You didn’t chase her. You let her walk away.”

Lilith stepped in, tone cold and sharp. “She wanted the divorce, Damon. Don’t make him out to be the villain when she-”

“She wanted a man who gave a damn,” Damon snapped. “And when she didn’t get it, she left.‘

“And now she’s dead,” I said, cutting between them.

The words silenced both of them..

“She’s dead,” I repeated. “And it doesn’t matter who left who. It doesn’t matter what she wanted or what I failed to give. All that’s left is ash.”

Lilith touched my sleeve. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have come back. I made everything harder for you.”

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