Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Natalia

The sun had already gone down by the time Damon and I pulled into our driveway. My legs felt heavy, and my heart even heavier after that confrontation with Andrei.

Damon put the car in park and turned to me. “Don’t beat yourself up,” he said gently, reaching across the console to lace his fingers with mine. “You did what you had to do.”

I let him hold my hand, but I looked away. “I just can’t shake the feeling that despite everything, telling him I had an abortion was… wrong.”

“You have to protect the twins. You know he’ll try to take them if he finds out about them.”

I sighed softly, knowing he was right. But the look on Andrei’s face when I had told him I’d had an abortion had taken me by surprise–his expression had crumpled in an instant, going from smug satisfaction to pain and shock.

I had expected him to be angry at the most, or maybe even relieved that he didn’t need to worry about his

Пр

namesake being taken from him. But he had looked genuinely hurt, like I had broken his heart.

Did Andrei really wish we’d had a family after all?

But regardless of the unknowns, Damon really was right. Max and Jane were my entire world; I couldn’t risk Andrei taking them from me. I especially couldn’t risk Lilith sinking her claws into them.

After taking a moment to gather my thoughts, I followed Damon into the house. It was quiet at this hour, the children already in bed. But I knew they would be awake anyway, waiting for us to come home, so I made my way upstairs to the twins‘ room to check on them.

“Ah, just as I suspected,” I cooed as I stepped into the room, folding my arms across my chest and smirking. “Still awake, even past your bedtime.”

I heard a gasp and a little giggle come from beneath the sheet that was propped up on the bottom bunk bed, illuminated by a flashlight. Jane threw the covers back, revealing herself and her brother sitting cross–legged with a picture book between them.

“Mommy!” Jane cried out, leaping up and practically launching herself into my arms. I caught her, laughing, and ruffled her hair. “We missed you!”

O

“I missed you too, baby,” I said between kisses. Once I had sufficiently smooched every inch of her sweet little face, I set her down and reached for Max.

D

Max was always the more serious of the two, and puffed his chest out as I approached, although I could see the way he was trying to suppress a grin. “I protected everyone while you were gone.”

“Is that so?” I gathered him into my arms and kissed the top of his head. “I can see you did a very good job. The house is still standing and your sister is in one piece.”

Max bristled at the praise, but then sniffed the air twice. When he pulled back to look at me, his nose was wrinkled like he had smelled something foul.

Chapter 30

+25 Bonus

“You smell funny.”

I frowned and instinctively sniffed my armpit. I had been traveling all day, so maybe I needed a shower–but I didn’t smell anything odd.

Except for…

His scent. Andrei’s. It lingered on my skin where he had touched me earlier, although it was faint.

“Oh,” I said, my pulse spiking slightly, “Mommy… met an old friend today.”

Max tilted his head, dark curls bobbing with the motion, and Jane furrowed her brow. “What sort of friend?” she asked. “Like Uncle Damon?”

I hesitated, chewing my lower lip, and considered how much to tell them. They were far too young to understand the extent of it, and I had always told them that they basically didn’t have a biological father–that Damon was their only true father figure now.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify