Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 26

Chapter 26

It stung. Deeply.

But none of that mattered. The only thing that mattered was that Natalia was alive.

Lilith hadn’t stopped crying. Not when I’d pulled her from the pool. Not when she clung to my arm like her survival depended on it. Not even when we headed up to our rooms to retire for the night.

But her tears didn’t move me anymore.

When she finally knocked and stepped into my room, she was freshly dressed, hair towel–dried and braided down her back, face washed of makeup. A blank canvas.

She stood just inside the door, wringing her hands.

“I didn’t know she’d be here,” she said softly. “I swear, Andrei–I didn’t know.”

I looked at her, expression unreadable.

“Did she push you?”

Her lips parted. “What?”

“In the pool,” I said slowly. “Did Natalia push you?”

She hesitated.

Too long.

Then: “We struggled. It wasn’t… it wasn’t like that-

“So she didn’t.”

})

Lilith stepped closer. “She cornered me. She said things. I was defending myself.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

She faltered again. Her voice shrank. “No.”

Silence pulsed between us.

My voice was flat. “You lied.”

“I didn’t mean to-”

“You lied.”

Her composure began to crack. She looked away, her throat working. “You were looking at her like you’d never stopped. Like I’d never even existed.”

I didn’t answer that.

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Chapter 26

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Because it was true.

I sighed. I should be yelling at her for acting like a fool, but I didn’t have the energy.

“It’s no excuse,” I muttered instead. “You’re old enough to know better.”

Lilith had the decency to look abashed. She wrapped her arms around herself. “So what now? You abandon me? After everything we’ve been through?”

“We haven’t been through anything,” I said. “She has.”

She flinched like I’d slapped her.

I turned away before I said something crueler.

Lilith’s voice was faint. “I always knew… if she came back, I’d lose you.”

I didn’t respond.

Eventually, she slipped out without another word.

I stared at the door for a long time after it closed.

***

I stepped out onto the private balcony, the night wind cool against my damp collar. The scent of pine clung to the air, and somewhere below, wolves were still murmuring about the incident. About me. About her.

Carlos stood at the edge of the railing, arms crossed. He didn’t turn as I joined him, but I knew he’d been waiting.

The silence between us wasn’t uncomfortable. It never was. But tonight, it was taut with questions neither of us had spoken aloud—yet.

“I want to know everything,” I said quietly. “I want to know if she’s been hiding in Damon’s pack this whole time. I want to know what Damon is to her. I want to know…” My voice faltered.

The image of her surfaced again–dripping, furious, radiant. Alive.

“…I want to know about the child,” I finished.

The one she’d been carrying when she left.

The one I should’ve protected.

I stared out at the trees, the edges of my vision dimmed with memory and regret.

“I want it all,” I said. “Records. Testimonies. Anyone who’s crossed paths with her since she joined Ashmoor. I want names. Timelines. Everything Damon’s kept quiet.”

Carlos gave a slow nod, the kind that meant the gears were already turning. “You’ll have it.”

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