Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 73

**He Knows the Door to My Soul and Who Forgot to Novel 73**

Damon

For the third time in a span of just fifteen minutes, I glanced at my watch, the ticking sound growing louder in my ears. Something felt amiss. Natalia had been away for far too long.

She had mentioned something about needing to use the restroom after our toast with Alpha David, but that was nearly half an hour ago. A knot of worry tightened in my stomach. Was she feeling unwell? If that were the case, I needed to get her home, and soon.

I politely excused myself from the elderly Alpha I had been conversing with, my eyes scanning the bustling ballroom filled with swirling skirts and the clinking of champagne glasses. Yet, amidst the joyous chaos, I couldn’t find her anywhere.

Maybe she was just caught up in a conversation with someone, I thought, trying to calm my rising anxiety. With deliberate steps, I navigated through the throng of guests, searching for the familiar cascade of her hair. She wasn’t at the bar, nor was she seated at any of the tables scattered around the room.

The packed dance floor made it difficult to distinguish individual faces, but I didn’t see her there either.

This was unusual. Natalia was not someone to drift away without a word, especially not in this place, a venue laden with memories she would rather forget.

Finally, I spotted the hallway that I believed led to the restrooms. I hadn’t spent much time in this house before, so my certainty was shaky, but I felt compelled to head in that direction, my eyes darting for any sign of her.

Just as I was about to step into the hallway, I heard a voice, smooth and taunting.

“Looking for something, brother?”

I turned slowly, my face a mask of neutrality, though anger simmered beneath the surface at the sound of that infuriating voice. Andrei stood a few feet away, a glass of whiskey held carelessly in one hand, an all-too-familiar smirk plastered across his face.

Even now, after we had signed our new alliance—an alliance that still left a sour taste in my mouth, although I had to give credit to Natalia for the cleverness of it—the mere sight of my brother sent my pulse racing with rage.

I wanted to rip him apart for what he had done to her. The car crash had been a traumatic ordeal, and then to send rogues to finish what he had started…

But amidst my anger, I couldn’t shake off the memory of his impassioned speech at her “funeral.” He had spoken of her as if he had genuinely cared for her.

As if he hadn’t been the one who had ordered her death.

“Have you seen Natalia?” I asked, turning fully to face him. “I haven’t seen her in half an hour, and I’m starting to worry that she might be unwell.”

Andrei blinked, his expression unreadable.

“You’re her ‘husband,’ at least for now. Shouldn’t you be able to use your mate bond to find her?” He tilted his head mockingly. “Oh, wait. You don’t have one. Because she doesn’t love you enough to mark you.”

My hands instinctively curled into fists at my sides. He was deliberately provoking me. I despised that it was working, but I maintained a calm facade, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing my anger.

“Our relationship is none of your concern,” I replied, my voice steady. “And besides, I would think you’d be more focused on keeping your own Luna in check. That little performance at the hunt was quite the spectacle.”

Andrei’s green eyes flashed with fury. “Lilith may have her flaws, but at least she’s not living a lie. At least she can use her real name in public.”

His words struck a nerve. Natalia—or Mira, as everyone here knew her—had sacrificed everything when she faked her death. Her identity, her past, everything she once held dear. It hadn’t been easy for her. She hadn’t chosen this path; she had been forced into it.

“She has her reasons,” I replied, my tone firm.

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