The Alpha's Luna in a Strange Land

CHAPTER 13 : NATASHA in Trouble

**NATASHA'S POV**

I made sure to stay in the shadows, with my hair tied up in a bun and covered by a black cap. It blended into the darkness, and my all-black attire made it easier for me to blend into the night as well. Years of being on the run had taught me to be quiet, sneaky, and agile.

When I arrived at the main center of Lord Alexander's kingdom, where there was a huge house that I assumed was the palace, I froze. There was a patrol of vampires moving around the house. Many of the lights were off, as it was still early in the morning.

Using my keen wolf eyes, I was able to see even in the darkness. I looked around and saw that there were many vampires. I counted the ones I could see; there were ten of them. Thankfully, there was enough darkness to cover me, and all I needed to do was remain silent and move cautiously. I noticed that the patrol worked in a sequence. If I moved when they did and stuck to the shadows, I knew I would be able to get past them.

The first vampire moved, and I moved with him, sticking to the path along the side of the house. I made sure to jump over any fallen twigs and stay in the scrubs to mask my scent.

When I finally passed the first vampire, I did the same for the second and the third, and now I was on to the last one. I could see the tree line in the distance. If I could get past him, I would be free. I moved along the shadows, making sure to stay hidden among the aromatic undergrowth to prevent them from easily smelling me. I stepped around one of the small bushes that decorated the surrounding area.

Unfortunately, my foot landed on a twig and it snapped. The vampire turned his head in my direction, and I froze. His eyes began to glow, indicating he was using his vampire senses to scan the area. Immediately, I hid myself to avoid being caught. If I were caught, all of my plans would be wasted. He scanned the area four more times but couldn't see me. When he was satisfied that there was no one present, he continued with his duties.

Feeling relieved, I emerged from my hiding place and continued my journey. I moved through the shadows, keeping my footsteps light. Thunder boomed in the distance, and my spirits lifted. Finally, the rain started to fall. I knew that the moon goddess was working in my favor to aid my escape. The rain would mask my scent from the patrol team, giving me enough time to make a swift getaway without being noticed. The thunder would cover the sound of my footsteps as I moved through the forest floor. I just needed to wait a little longer until the rain poured heavily enough to fully conceal my scent.

For now, I needed to remain where I was because if I tried to move, the vampires would immediately smell me. If there's anything my husband taught me before he died, it was that vampires have a strong sense of smell, enabling them to track scents. Although all entities possess the ability to smell, vampires have the strongest sense, followed by wolves and then nothing or should I say Humans. I waited for hours until the rain came down harder and the thunder grew angrier. I knew it was time to move.

I swiftly moved through the trees, keeping an eye out for the patrol vampires. There was something familiar about this area that I couldn't quite place my finger on.

Only when I saw a familiar tree and smelled my own scent did I realize that this was the location where I was previously captured by the vampire. This meant that the border was very close.

The closer I got to the end of Lord Alexander's territory, the heavier my heart felt and my wolf grew unhappier. I hated disappointing her, and hurting her was the last thing I wanted to do. However, I had made up my mind to accomplish this.

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**ALEXANDER'S POV***

The sound of thunder woke me up, and I stretched my arms and rubbed my sleepy eyes as I glanced at my bedside clock.

3:00 am.

The sun still had a long way to rise, and most of the kingdom wouldn't be waking up until at least 7:00 am. I considered laying my head back on the pillow to try and go back to sleep, but I couldn't. There was a pain in my chest that I couldn't pinpoint the cause of. I wasn't sick or ill, so this pain seemed strange.

I tried closing my eyes, thinking it might be stress from the daily run, but I knew that wasn't it. My heart was in deep pain, and I felt restless. This could only happen if a vampire's mate was in trouble.

"Is Cynthia in trouble?" I muttered to myself.

I shook my head. "No, she can't be in trouble because she was with her father. And even if she is in trouble, I wouldn't feel it because she's not my fated mate," I muttered, trying to convince myself.

"So what or who could this be?" I thought, feeling confused.

This early morning feeling was so strange to me because I had never felt this before. Eventually, I ignored the pain and laid back down.

"Natasha!" a voice inside me said.

I opened my eyes again. The voice sounded more real than my inner voice. It seemed as if the speaker was in my room. Her name echoed in my mind again. My heart started beating faster, as if confirming my suspicions. I looked at the clock again; it was now 3:34 am. She must be sleeping right now, and the last thing I wanted to do was disturb her rest. Her wolf needed this sleep to heal properly. I would speak to her in the morning. Whatever it was, it could wait until then.

Once again, I tried to close my eyes, but the voice kept disturbing me in my mind. The voice grew stronger every time I attempted to sleep. I couldn't shake the restlessness that overtook my heart.

"Alexander, help!" Her voice sounded so real in my head, as though she were right here.

I sat up, completely shaken. Something was wrong somewhere. I panicked, fearing that something had happened to Natasha. But how could that be? She was well-protected by my patrol team, so there was no way she could be in trouble.

I repeated this statement in my heart, trying to convince myself that she was okay and nothing was wrong, in order to stop myself from going to see her. However, the more I rejected the urge, the more I felt she needed my help.

Finally, I took a few calming breaths before leaving my room and heading down the hall to her door. I moved hastily and ended up in front of her door in less than a second, thanks to my vampire speed.

I knocked on her door and waited. Nothing. I knocked again, still no response. I repeated this process more than three times and still didn't receive a reply.

I wanted to turn back and leave, but something inside me told me to call out her name to confirm if she was really inside.

"Natasha?" I called from behind the door. "It's Alexander. I just wanted to check if you were okay."

I waited for her reply, but heard nothing. Perhaps she was sound asleep and it would be pointless to disturb her peaceful slumber.

I slowly opened the door, just in case she was in her room deep in sleep. The room was dark, but one thing stood out prominently - Natasha was not in her bed and the window was wide open.

"Damn it," I cursed, moving towards the window.

I closed my eyes and waited. Her scent naturally entered my nose, and then I leaned out of the window, catching the faintest hint of her. It was subtle, but it was there.

Had she been captured? Images of the wolves I had seen on Lord Cyrus' border flashed in my mind. Had they breached my land as well? That couldn't be possible, as my patrol vampires were active and wouldn't allow it to happen.

But hold on... Even Lord Cyrus had claimed that his patrol team was active and wouldn't let anyone breach their border, yet the wolves did so unnoticed by anyone but me. Did this mean they had done the same to my territory?

Even if they breached my border, it would be difficult for them to enter the palace and take Natasha away without being detected. In fact, it seemed impossible.

Had my patrol vampires been careless?

Someone would pay dearly for allowing wolves into my palace, if my suspicions of Natasha being taken were correct. For now, I needed to focus on finding my mate and bringing her back home.

I rushed out, not bothering to put on a shirt or even shoes. When I stormed out of the door, the guards stood at attention, sheltered under umbrellas as the rain poured.

"Lord," David, the head of the patrol team and the one who captured Natasha, greeted. "Is there something wrong?"

"Where is Natasha?"

"Lord, who is Natasha?" he asked, confusion written on his face.

"The girl in my house," I replied. "I need to find her now! She's missing."

"But that's not possible, we haven't seen anyone come in or out all night."

"Then either you're terrible at your job or a crippled woman outsmarted you," I seethed. "You're supposed to be some of my best protectors, yet you couldn't detain someone half your size?"

The men retreated as my vampire instincts urged me forward. I felt myself losing control of my mind. I needed to find her.

I took a calming breath and focused my energy on Natasha.

"I need 10 search parties. Each one will cover a different border. We need to find this woman, and we need to find her alive," I ordered.

I turned away from them and started heading towards the east border.

"Lord," David said from behind me. "What if we come across her kidnappers? What do you want us to do with them?"

I looked at David and replied, "Kill them."

Immediately, I took off, running at high speed with the aid of my vampire abilities. The only thing on my mind was Natasha and her safety.

I needed to call Lord Cyrus and the other lords to alert them and inform them, so they could close their borders until we found the wolves. Unfortunately, I had left my phone at the palace, so I continued my journey alone, filled with urgency and speed.