Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 550

Natalia’s POV

We had just barely made it back to the Moonshadow border when one of the warriors came running, breathless and his face full of shock. I slowed the car to a stop and rolled down the window.

“Something wrong?” I asked, leaning out the window.

The warrior skidded to a halt next to the car, breathing heavily. His mouth opened and closed a few times as if he wasn’t sure how to begin.

“Spit it out,” I said. I was exhausted from everything, Max was knocked out cold in the back seat, and Karl was rubbing his temples. I wasn’t in the mood right now for nonsense.

The warrior took a deep breath. “We have a… situation.”

“What kind of situation?”

“You might want to park first.”

I furrowed my brow, but nodded and pulled through the gates. The Alpha house looked the same as I pulled up, golden light spilling out through the windows. I could see a group of people standing on the front porch with what looked like confusion on

their faces. Jane was amongst them.

When I got out of the car, I approached with quick strides. “What’s going on?”

Jane grabbed my arm. “It’s that jerk from the summit.”

“Which one?” I asked.

She just gave me a look, and my stomach dropped.

“Aurelius.” I looked around at the others. “What did he do?”

My Beta explained that Aurelius had shown up that morning, with a small retinue and no advance warning, and had walked himself into the pack house like he owned the place.

When the Beta tried to get rid of him, he sat his ass down in my office chair and refused to leave until I returned.

“Did anyone try physically removing him?” I asked.

The Beta looked pained. “We didn’t want to start something. He kept saying he just wanted to talk to you, and he wasn’t moving until he could. Given his reputation…”

I rubbed my face with one hand, then turned to the kids.

“Go to your rooms.”

“But-”

“We can spend time together later, once I’ve dealt with this,” I said firmly. Max looked like he wanted to argue, but lane grabbed him by the ear and dragged him away, much to his chagrin.

Once they were gone, I stormed down the hall to my office and kicked the door open.

Aurelius was indeed sitting right in my fucking chair

He had his feet up on my desk. He didn’t move them when I entered

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” I barked. I stormed across the room and roughly grabbed his boots, shoving them off my desk. Then, I grabbed the back of my chair and Upped it as hard as I could, making him hop to his feet “Ciel out!”

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Chapter 550

+25 Bonus

Aurelius didn’t leave. He glanced at Karl, who had followed me in and was now standing in the doorway, looking confused. I didn’t send him away just in case I needed the backup.

“Luna Natalia,” Aurelius finally said, turning back to me. “Did you have a good trip?”

“Get out of my house.”

“I just wanted to talk.”

“Then make an appointment, not just let yourself into my office,” I snarled.

“Your people wouldn’t arrange a meeting.” He shrugged. “So I had no choice but to improvise.”

I narrowed my eyes. “If you ever come anywhere near my pack again without an invitation, I’ll have you removed by whatever means are available to me. Are we clear?”

Something flickered in his eyes. He smiled. “Crystal clear.”

I looked at him warily. He wasn’t leaving despite my threats, which meant that he had something to say that was important enough to risk my wrath. I didn’t want to hear it, but if it would get him to leave me alone, then it seemed I had no choice but to let him say it.

“Well? What did you want?” I asked.

“I’ll be direct, since you seem to be so good at it,” he said. “Darkfang and Moonshadow are the two strongest packs in this region. Moonshadow has the numbers, the territory, and the best resource management I’ve seen in a long time. Darkfang has military strength, a strategic position, and trade connections that your pack currently doesn’t have access to. Separately, we’re both strong. Together, we’d be untouchable.”

I waited with my arms folded across my chest.

“I want to combine the packs,” he said. “Formally. A merger, with shared governance, pooled resources, and a unified leadership structure.”

“And by unified leadership structure, you mean…”

I had a feeling I already knew where this was going, but I wanted to hear him say it first before I freaked out.

“A contract marriage.” He said it plainly, without any of the posturing he’d used at the summit. “Not romantic, of course. l’ın not asking you to have feelings about it. It’s a political arrangement, same as half of the alliances the territories were built on. You’d keep your title and your authority over Moonshadow. I’d keep mine over Darkfang. We’d present a unified front and split the benefits accordingly.” He leaned closer. “And you won’t have to worry about your lack of an Alpha anymore.”

The office was quiet except for the sound of my blood rushing through my ears.

I suddenly became aware of Karl standing very still to my left.

“And if I decline,” I said, keeping my voice cool, “what will you do? Make your threats now, Aurelius. Go on.”

Aurelius’s lips twitched. “Then I will challenge you. Formally, by pack law, with full right of conquest.” He paused. “I’ll win, Natalia. You’re a good leader and a capable fighter, but I’m an Alpha male in his physical prime and you know how those matches go. I don’t want that outcome. I don’t think you do either.”

He wasn’t wrong, and the fact that he wasn’t wrong made it worse.

He was offering me a way to keep Moonshadow intact, to keep my children’s home and pack safe, to avoid a challenge I stood a genuine chance of losing. All it would cost was everything

For a moment, I thought about the three children down the hall, who trusted me to make the right decisions, who needed their mother whole and intact. I thought about the book tucked into the chest in my room. The map. The ruby

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Chapter 650

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And then I thought about Andrei.

My heart started to pound. If Andrei was still alive, if I could bring him back, then I wasn’t going to bring him back into a world in which he had to fight for his mate. Especially not against someone like Aurelius, who would just do everything in his power to take him down once and for all.

And if I did find Andrei, what sort of condition would he be in? Likely not in any condition to fight. Not for a long time, at least.

Suddenly, I had an idea. It was stupid and reckless and full of panic, but in that moment, it was all that came to mind. I did it before I could stop myself.

I walked over to Karl and grabbed his hand.

“I’m already in a relationship,” I said. “So I’m afraid I can’t accept your proposal.”

P

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