Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 8

NATALIA

I’d been injured before when my car fell from the cliff–cuts, bruises, and fractured rib–but something about this time felt different.

Pul

Maybe it was the way the pain lingered beneath my skin like a warning, a slow burn of vulnerability I couldn’t shake. Or maybe it was the gnawing weight in my chest, whispering that the man who might have ordered my death was the same one I once trusted to keep me safe.

Andrei.

I hadn’t spoken his name aloud since the crash, but it never left my thoughts. It clung to everything: the bruises on my ribs, the tremor in my hands, the way I jolted awake each night expecting another attack.

Damon had saved me. Damon had sheltered me. But I was no fool.

If Andrei truly believed I was a threat because of the child, because of the past he would not stop.

And hiding within Damon’s territory put him and his people directly in the line of fire.

Still, I couldn’t bring myself to leave.

Not yet.

The pregnancy had taken a toll on me. More than I’d expected.

4.4

The headaches were worse now, and so were the dizzy spells. My balance felt off. My appetite came and went. Some nights, I couldn’t sleep through the cramps that twisted through my lower back.

Damon’s doctor finally gave it to me straight.

“It’s the bloodline,” he said. “You’re an Omega carrying an Alpha’s heir. Your body isn’t designed for this kind of strain. It’s not impossible, but it is dangerous.”

Dangerous.

The word stayed with me. Echoed in my ears every time I felt a sharp pain or sat up too fast. Every time I reached for my stomach and wondered if the life inside me was struggling too.

Damon had tried to hide the concern in his eyes, but I saw it.

He didn’t say it, but I could feel his fear. Not just for me. For his pack.

They’d already had to clean up blood from the last attack. Damon had killed wolves who bore Andrei’s mark. That couldn’t be undone. War between packs wasn’t something to take lightly. And I was at the center of it.

I tried to keep my head down after that. Took my medication. Followed the doctor’s instructions. Kept my walks short, stayed inside when I felt too dizzy. Let myself rest, even when guilt gnawed at me for being a burden. But one afternoon, as I sat by the window watching a storm roll in over the distant ridge, a nurse I didn’t

Chapter 8

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recognize entered the room.

She was young, maybe a year or two younger than me. Blond hair tucked into a tight bun. Pale eyes that never quite met mine.

“Time to change the bandages,” she said curtly.

I frowned. “Where’s Roberta?”

“Busy,” the girl muttered, already reaching for my arm.

Her touch was too rough, impatient. She unwrapped the bandages carelessly, yanking the gauze like it offended her, then slammed a cold compress against my side with enough force to make me gasp.

I watched her hands–how they hesitated, then pressed harder. They didn’t move like a healer’s. They moved like someone trying to hurt without leaving a mark.

“What did you say your name was?” I asked, unease rising in my throat.

She didn’t answer right away. When she did, her tone was sharp and full of venom.

“I didn’t. But since you’re dying to know–I’m Grace.”

She looked straight at me now, and the loathing in her expression stripped away any pretense.

“And I think it’s time you left.”

I stilled. “You’re not a nurse.”

“No. I’m someone who actually belongs here.”

Panic curled in my chest. I knew what this was. Wolves who saw bloodlines as crowns. Wolves who thought I was a

stain.

“You’re one of Damon’s?” I said quietly.

“I was supposed to be his Luna,” she spat. “Until you showed up. Until he started hiding you like some precious secret. Like you mattered more than the rest of us.”

My breath caught.

“Don’t play the victim,” she snapped. “You’re putting all of us in danger. Andrei’s wolves are still looking for you. When they find you, do you think they’ll care who else gets caught in the fire?”

I gripped the chair beneath me. “What do you want from me?”

“I want you gone,” she growled. “You’ve caused enough damage.”

“But…I’m pregnant.”

She scoffed. “Then go back to your mate.”

The door swung open before I could speak.

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Damon stepped inside, a folder in one hand.

His eyes flicked from me to Grace, and something in him sharpened.

“What’s going on here?”

Grace straightened fast, schooling her face into something pure and wide–eyed. “Alpha-

I looked up at Damon, and couldn’t control the nervous look on my face.

Damon took one look at me and his jaw tensed. “Grace.”

She froze at the warning in his voice. “You’ve been warned before about interfering with guests under my protection.”

“She’s not a guest! She’s a liability! Don’t you see what’s happening? Andrei’s already sent people. He knows she’s pregnant. He knows she’s here. How long until he sends a real army?”

Silence stretched between us.

I felt like the air had been sucked from the room.

“He knows?” I said. “You said… you said he didn’t.”

Grace turned to me, triumphant nou

“Oh, he knows, His wolves are everywhere, and they’re not looking for a corpse. They’re looking for you. You think he’s going to let his ex–wife give birth to a rival heir outside the pack?”

I sank back into the pillows, numb.

I hadn’t even thought of that. I’d been thinking that he’d want to take the child away from me to live with him. That I’d lose my baby. That I’d lose the last tether between me and the man I had so once loved.

I hadn’t even considered that he might consider the child a threat. That it might be a future Alpha whose aim would be to one day take over Andrei’s pack.

Damon crossed the room, standing between me and Grace.

“Leave,” he said.

Grace stared at him like she’d been slapped. “You’re choosing her?”

“I’m choosing not to let you insult the Luna I protect.”

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