Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 541

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Chapter 541

By the time we finished the bottle, it was late.

“You should stay here tonight,” I said. “We can go to Bloodmoon together tomorrow.”

Karl hesitated. “I don’t want to impose-”

“You’re not. We have a guest room.”

“Alright. Thank you.”

I showed him upstairs and got him settled. When I came back down, Hope was standing in the hallway in her pajamas.

“Who is that man?” she asked. She was too young the last time she’d seen Karl to remember, as I hadn’t brought her to Bloodmoon yet.

“That’s Karl. He’s an old friend.”

“Is he staying here?”

“Just for tonight.”

Hope’s face scrunched up like she was about to cry. “Are you trying to replace Daddy?”

“Of course not, sweetheart.”

“You are! You’re trying to find a new daddy because you don’t think the old one is coming back! I hate you!” She turned and ran upstairs.

I stood there, stunned. Goddess, she had both Max’s stubborn streak and Jane’s fire. Like a little tornado of both of them.

Before I could follow her, Jane appeared in the doorway, holding a new book from the library in one hand and a half–eaten dinner roll in the other. Seemed she’d snagged the last one while we weren’t looking. “Want me to talk to her?”

“Would you mind?” I asked.

She shrugged and stuffed the roll into her mouth, then charged up the stairs. “Hope, you’re gonna get it!” she cried out, to which Hope responded with a shout that could have brought the walls down.

I rubbed my temples, suddenly feeling a migraine coming on. Once the house quieted again, I went to my bedroom and closed the door. For a long time, I sat on the edge of the bed and buried my face in my hands.

When I looked up, my eyes landed on the photo on my nightstand. It was of Andrei and me at a pack function from years ago, during that brief time we had together before everything went wrong.

We looked so happy. So young.

I picked up the photo and traced his face with my thumb. Five years. It had been five years since I’d seen that smile. Since I’d heard his laugh. Since I’d felt his arms around me.

The fifth anniversary was coming up. In just a few days, it would be exactly five years since he’d walked into that portal and

never came back.

Just then, there was a soft knock on my door.

“Come in,” I called out, sniffling and quickly wiping my eyes.

Max entered, closing the door behind him. He looked older in the dim light. More like Andrei every day. He paused, looking at me, then at the picture, then at me again. “Mom, can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

Chapter 541

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“Can I come with you to Bloodmoon?”

“You want to go to Auntie Celeste’s funeral?”

“Yes, that too, but can we go to the mountain? To where Dad disappeared?”

I froze. “Why…?”

“Because it’s almost the anniversary. And I just… I need to see it. I need to see where he was last.” Max’s jaw clenched as he looked away. “Maybe there are clues we missed.”

My heart broke a little more. Like me, Max never accepted that Andrei might be dead. Jane had come to terms with it long ago, always the more practical out of all of us, but Max and I were the same in that regard. Stubborn to a fault.

“Max, I’m not sure if that’s a good idea.”

“Please, Mom. I know it’s a lot to ask. But I need this.”

I sighed, thinking. Going back to that place didn’t exactly fill me with joy. I’d spent too many nights there, scouring those tunnels for clues, trying to figure out how to bring Andrei back. In the early days of his disappearance, I’d lived in a tent in that excavation camp, praying that Andrei would return.

He never had.

But seeing the hope on Max’s face made my resolve crumble. Even if there was nothing left but cobwebs and bad memories, it was still the fifth anniversary. The least we could do was make a pilgrimage. Maybe say a few words and leave a token of our love.

“Alright,” I said. “We’ll go to Bloodmoon for Celeste’s funeral. And then we’ll go to the mountain. Just you and me.”

Max’s eyes widened. “Really?”

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