Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 44

hapter 44

The onlookers had gone quiet now, soft gasps and whispers rippling through the crowd. Lilith was as still as a statue, clutching Andrei’s shirt even tighter.

Andrei handed the cup to his Beta. “Have this tested immediately.” Then he raised his voice to address the crowd. “The feast is over. Everyone return to your vehicles. Do not drink anything else, and if you believe you may have been drugged, go straight to the medical tent–we may have a contamination issue.”

Protests rose from the crowd, but Andrei ignored them. He even ignored Lilith when she softly whined something into his ear that I couldn’t make out. “My Beta will be questioning anyone who had access to the drinks,” Andrei said firmly. “If you saw anything suspicious, speak up now.”

People began dispersing, although slowly, still craning their necks to see what would happen next. I moved to Damon’s side, letting him lean on me despite my injured leg. Even though he had been drugged, it didn’t seem to be as bad as the wolf in the

Woods, and he was still mostly lucid.

“I didn’t do it,” he mumbled against my shoulder. “Natalia, I swear I didn’t touch her.”

“I know,” I said softly. “I know you didn’t.”

Lilith had gone very quiet against Andrei’s chest. When I looked at her, she wasn’t crying anymore. Her face was pale, eyes darting between the cup in the Beta’s hands and the dispersing crowd.

“Take Damon to the medical tent,” Andrei ordered, turning to me. “They’ll need to flush the wolfsbane from his system before it does permanent damage.”

I nodded and took Damon’s hand, leading him away.

Lilith

Nothing was going according to plan today.

First, my carefully orchestrated hunt had failed spectacularly. I gave that idiot wolf Natalie’s scent to set off his wolf and led him directly to the wolfsbane. I’d thought her scent would lock him onto her and make him kill her, and it had nearly worked.

But then both Andrei and Damon had protected her. Working together like the brothers they’d never really been, united in their need to keep her safe. The sight had made my blood boil as I’d watched from the treeline.

When that hadn’t worked, I had moved on to my backup plan. Crushing wolfsbane into Damon’s water had been easy enough—everyone was distracted by the feast, the flowing alcohol, the general merriment. A smaller dose than what the feral wolf had taken, just enough to make him act inappropriately without making it too obvious.

The plan had been simple. Get him disoriented, lure him into the women’s bathroom, then goad him into assaulting me. His reputation would be ruined, his pack would be disgraced, and Natalia would be devastated. If I couldn’t kill her, then I could at least destroy her image. Maybe even convince her to end things herself someday once it got bad enough.

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Chapter 44

+25 Bonus

But I hadn’t counted on Natalia being so damn observant. Or on Andrei actually listening to her.

He’d chosen me, damn it. Five years ago, he’d chosen me over her. But the second she showed up again with her sob stories and her mysterious past, he couldn’t take his eyes off of

Aler

Even now, after I had thrown myself at him sobbing, he’d been more concerned with finding the truth than comforting me.

I stood near the dying bonfire, watching the last of the guests leave. My beautiful blue dress was ruined, the sleeve I’d carefully torn hanging limp. All that planning, all that careful manipulation, wasted.

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