Reclaimed By My Alpha (Natalia and Andrei) novel Chapter 551

hapter 551

Natalia’s POV

Karl’s hand went rigid in mine.

I immediately regretted the claim I’d made, but it was too late to take it back now. I squeezed his hand once, which I hoped communicated that I was sorry, that I would fix this, and I just needed him to play along for a few more minutes.

He squeezed back, and I took that as a yes.

Aurelius looked between us with a raised brow.

“Is that so?”

“It is.” I held his gaze. “So I’m afraid your proposal, while flattering, isn’t going to work for me.”

“Hm.” He looked at Karl again. Karl looked back at him with complete calm, which was impressive, because I knew he was screaming on the inside. “How long?”

“Long enough,” I said.

Aurelius smiled wryly. “You’ll forgive me if I’m not entirely convinced.”

“I don’t particularly care if you’re convinced or not.”

He laughed at that, then reached out and picked up his jacket from the back of my chair.

“Here’s what I’ll do,” he said, straightening his collar. “I’ll give you thirty days. I expect a wedding invitation within that time frame.” He looked at me. “If I receive one, then I’ll take you at your word. A mated pair leading Moonshadow is a different arrangement entirely, and I’m a reasonable man. I won’t challenge a bonded Alpha pair.”

He paused. “But if I don’t receive one, I’ll assume this was a very creative attempt to buy time, and I’ll come back. And the offer won’t be on the table a second time.”

With that, he turned and strode out of the room. I didn’t move until I heard the front door close. Only then did I let go of Karl’s hand and sit down heavily in my chair.

Neither of us said anything for a moment.

Finally, I muttered, “I’m sorry. I panicked. It was the only thing I could think of.” I looked up at my friend. “I’m really sorry, Karl. You don’t have to get involved in this. I’ll handle it.”

“Thirty days isn’t a very long time to handle something like this,” Karl pointed out.

Thirty days. What could I do in thirty days…

Suddenly, I sat up straight. “Karl. I need to tell you something. I should have told you days ago, and I didn’t, and I’m sorry for

that too.”

He raised an eyebrow and waited.

I got up, grabbed my bag, and opened it. I pulled out the box and the grimoire, then placed both on my desk. Karl watched quietly as I opened the box, revealing the heart–shaped ruby.

“Celeste left me this,” I said, lifting it carefully out of the box. I handed him the letter. “And this letter explains why ”

Karl took the letter with a wary expression, but read it. He was quiet the whole time, taking his time to read. When he was finished, he stared at me like I’d gone mad. Or maybe like Celeste had gone mad. Maybe like all of us had gone mad

“She found all of this on her own?” he whispered, scratching his head. “And she didn’t tell

didn’t

ell me..”

Chapter 561

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