The Alpha's Luna in a Strange Land

CHAPTER 11: MY PLAN

***JORGE'S POV***

Jorge, come to my office immediately," Lord Alexander's voice echoed in my mind through the mind link.

"Okay," I muttered to myself as I moved away from my desk.

Lord Alexander was going to unleash his anger on me because of what I did to Natasha at the Healing Centre. Well, I had been waiting for that.

I walked through the hall towards Lord Alexander's office. The guards moved aside as I passed through the hall. I could feel their stares and hear their whispers.

I was a leader who was feared and not loved by the kingdom. Every vampire respected me because of that.

Many vampire leaders would wish to have the love of their people, but not me. I wanted everyone to fear and respect me. I didn't want love because love is for the weak and it is pointless. Every powerful and sensible vampire would want his people to fear him and not love him because fear brings obedience, and obedience means an efficient and effective kingdom.

My stupid Lord, on the other hand, disagrees with me. He sought the love of his people, which he believe will earn him respect. He said he wanted to serve others to be a great leader.

I disagree with him. Machiavelli once said that it is better to be feared than to be loved, if you can't have both of them.

I stood at his door, knocked thrice, and waited.

"Come in," I heard him say from the inside.

He looked up from his large desk and gestured for me to approach. I closed the door behind me, walked up to his desk, and sat in the chair. He stared at me for a moment and I could tell that something was bothering him. The way he stared at me, I knew he had something to say. He usually stared at me like that whenever he wanted to remind me of my place.

"What was that in the healing centre, Jorge?" he folded his hands, waiting for me to talk, but I remained quiet.

"Jorge, don't play dumb with me. What you did to Natasha was out of line. What is the reason for that?"

I wanted to say a lot but held my tongue. I knew Alexander for a long time, so I knew that whenever he is angry at you, talking to him will only make things worse. The best thing you can do is to keep quiet until he cools down a bit, then you can start talking.

"What are you thinking? The girl came to us barely weighing anything, her wolf holding on for dear life, and then you came along to terrorize her. You're lucky she didn't die from your harassment. You even wounded her in the process."

I sat in the chair silently as I allowed him to scold me. I bit down on my tongue to keep myself calm and avoid responding to him.

"Are you going to say anything?" I wanted to say a whole lot, but I knew it would only lead to more confrontation and neither of us needed that right now.

"I'm sorry, Lord. I was only trying to do my job, and it got a little out of hand. It won't happen again."

I was just lying so that he could close the topic. If I was given the opportunity to kill Natasha, I would do it without a second thought.

Lord Alexander used his hands to close his eyes. I was used to him by now, so I knew that what was bothering him was not related to me in any way.

I was willing to bet all my wealth that his frustrations had more to do with that girl than they did with me.

Normally, if I found a rogue wandering in our land, Lord Alexander would order me to make the rogue talk. I would torment the rogue until they talked, then we could pass judgment, but in the case of this girl, it was the opposite. Lord Alexander was protecting the girl and doing everything to make sure she was comfortable.

"Forgive me, Lord." This word pained me to say, but I had to. So I can accomplish my plans.

He sighed, "It's okay. Just stay out of her way and let her be."

"Yes, Lord."

"Good." He got up from his chair. "I'm moving out of the palace and going back to my house."

What?

Lord Alexander hated his home and this was absolutely the first time I heard him say that.

"Why, Lord?"

He shrugged. "I need a change of scenery, and Cynthia is coming in the next few days. I need to start preparing for her arrival."

I knew he was lying, but I didn't say anything further. Him moving out of the palace wasn't a major problem for me. The more distance between us, the better.

Lord Alexander walked out of his office and I followed behind him. We parted ways, he continued down the stairs, and I turned to go to my own room.

I walked back to my room with only one thing on my mind: Natasha. There was something not right about that girl. I couldn't guess what it was, but I knew she was a threat to my plan. I knew she was just lying about everything, and I knew Alexander knew about it. I needed to make a few calls, and I knew exactly who to start with.

I pulled out my phone and scrolled to the number I was looking for. He answered on the second ring.

"Alpha, how are you doing?"

**********

***ALEXANDER'S POV****

I walked through the door into the front hall, half-expecting to see Natasha waiting for me by the door. But I knew she was most likely resting.

I walked past the living room and found no one, then walked to the kitchen where I heard noises. But, when I rounded the corner to the kitchen, all I saw was the kitchen staff.

"Lord," they bowed their heads to greet me. I nodded and left them to their work.

Where was she?

I followed her scent until I reached a door that led to the guest room.

"Why has Desmond kept her here?" I thought.

This room is just the worst room in my house. It doesn't even have a toilet. I knocked on the door and waited for her reply, but didn't get one. I don't even know if she is sleeping or awake. Finally, I concluded in my mind to leave when I attempted to do so, I heard a voice from inside.

"Come in."

I opened the door and entered. I found her lying on the small bed. When she noticed it was me that entered, she sat up immediately.

"Lord Alexander," she greeted me.

"Please, call me Alexander," I said as I walked over to the bed.

"Isn't that a bit inappropriate, judging from the fact that I am low-ranked?"

"I think as my mate, you have the right to drop the title,"

I watched as she opened her mouth wide in shock.

"You knew?" Her blue eyes looked into mine as if she wanted me to say something.

"Of course I did."

I was a little surprised by how soft my voice sounded. I touched her face with my hands and brushed her hair away from her face.

She gasped, fixing her blue eyes on me. The world around us stood still and everything faded into the background, except for her. All I could see at that moment was her.

I looked down at her lips and then back into her eyes. I leaned in closer, feeling her warm breath. She closed her eyes, waiting for the moment when our lips would finally touch. I moved my face even closer, now seeing nothing but her pink lips waiting to be kissed. It was just a little push away from our lips finally meeting. My vampire was urging me to continue. Finally, my eyes fluttered closed.

"NO!" I pulled away from her and dropped my hands from her face.

Her eyes snapped open, and I could see the disappointment on her face.

Her face was filled with a lot of hurt, but it quickly faded away.

She finally pulled away from me. I wanted nothing more than to pull her closer and continue what I had started, but I restrained myself. It wouldn't be fair to deceive her with a dream that could never become a reality. After all, I was engaged to be married.

"I think I need to sleep some more," she said.

She was about to lie down, but I grabbed her shoulder. "You should lie down in one of the beds upstairs. They are far more comfortable than this," I suggested.

"I can't go upstairs," she explained. "Desmond said I shouldn't climb the stairs because I haven't fully healed yet."

"Who said you're going to climb the stairs?" I replied. "I'll carry you myself."

Her eyes widened. "No, that won't be necessary, Lord Alexander. I'm okay here."

But it was too late. I had already scooped her up into my arms, bridal-style, and started walking towards the stairs.

She didn't try to fight back or pull away from my hands. Instead, she relaxed her head on my chest and avoided eye contact with me.

I tightened my hold on her as I began to ascend the stairs. I couldn't help but gaze down at the woman in my arms, completely captivated by her beauty. At that moment, all I could think about was how perfect it felt to have Natasha in my embrace.

She fit just right, as though the space was specifically made for her. Being this close to her made all my worries and burdens disappear.

"Moon goddess," I thought. "What kind of absurd, teasing game are you playing on me?"

*****************

***NATASHA'S POV***

Lord Alexander took me to my New room and left.

I had almost kissed Lord Alexander. I couldn't get that off my mind.

I shouldn't have leaned in to kiss him, but I did. I hadn't intended to close my eyes while kissing him, but I did. I hadn't meant to desire his lips on mine, but I did. And then he rejected me. I have never been rejected like this, not even once in my life.

"f**k," I said as I got up and made my way to the window to take in the view.

The moon was high in the sky. I remembered my days in the forest as a lone wolf. I used to look at the darkened sky at night, searching for the brightest star.

I would sometimes tell myself that the stars were my parents, letting me know they were watching over me and guiding me from above. I knew it wasn't really them, but I liked to imagine it.

I heard a knock on my door and for a moment, I thought it was Lord Alexander but It wasn't him.

"Come inside," I called out, fixing my gaze on the door to see who it really was.

I was surprised to see the young girl from the healing center who had been mopping the floor and who Jorge had almost killed.

"I brought you some dinner because I think you must be hungry," she said, holding a plate of food in her hands.

"Thank you," I said with a smile on my face.

Since I arrived here, I hadn't had any real food. I was only fed through a feeding tube. So seeing this food made me happy because I was really famished.

The girl moved to set the tray by my bedside table and bowed her head at me. She then turned and headed towards the door.

"Wait," I called out to her. She turned and looked at me, waiting for me to say something.

"Can you tell me your name?" I asked.

"My name is Zoe."

"Zoe, I hadn't gotten the chance to thank you for how you did your best and stood up for me against Jorge, and I'm sorry you ended up hurt," I said as I moved towards her.

She seemed a bit taken aback by my words. "Ma'am, you don't have to thank me because I was only doing the right thing. Jorge is not a good or kind person, so I couldn't let him treat you like trash."

"Well, thank you for doing the right thing," I said as I took the tray from her. "Would you like to stay a little bit with me? I could use the company."

She looked scared. "Ma'am, I'm not sure if that's possible because I'm just a Maid. If anyone sees a low-ranked vampire like me with you, I may be punished. You are high-ranking, so we can't be together."

"What?!" I exclaimed in disbelief. "Are you serious? That has to be a joke."

Zoe looked up at me and shook her head. "Everybody in this kingdom doesn't associate with me because I'm a low-ranked vampire and because I'm one of the weakest vampires."

I went closer to her and put my hands on her shoulders. She was slightly shorter than me, and the innocence on her face made me want to protect her from the world.

"Well, I don't think you are a low-ranked vampire. I don't see you as the weakest either. In fact, you are my hero," I said.

I felt her shoulders sag slightly as relief washed over her.

"So, what do you say? Will you stay with me for a little while? You can tell me about your kingdom and about Lord Alexander."

Her face lit up with a smile, and she nodded. She moved to the edge of the bed and sat down while I went over to the plate she had set down for me. I lifted the lid off the bowl.

"Rice?" I was a little surprised.

She stood up quickly. "Ma'am, if you don't like it, I can go and prepare something else. I just thought you might like something light." She tried to reach for the plate of food, but I stopped her.

"Zoe, it's okay. I love it. Rice is actually one of my favorite foods, and it reminds me of my mom. She is really good at preparing rice. Please sit down and stop worrying."

"Ma'am, can I ask a question?"

"Yes, you can."

"How does your mom feel about your absence?"

I looked at her innocent face, trying not to sound offensive.

"Well, my mom is dead," I replied, feeling bad as the memory of that day struck my bleeding heart.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. I didn't mean to ask that question."

"It's okay, Zoe," I said, placing my hand across her shoulder to comfort her.

I tasted the first spoonful of rice and moaned at the delicious food. I hadn't had real food in a long time, I had gotten used to eating raw flesh in the forest. I continued eating the sweet meal as if it was going to run away. I slowed down when I felt Zoe's heavy gaze. I then turned my face to her.

"What?" I asked as I swallowed.

She averted her gaze from me quickly and started apologizing profusely.

"You don't have to apologize. I was only asking the question because of the way you are staring at me, like I ate a dog."

She shook her head and offered me a smile. "You're very beautiful, and I have never seen any vampire as beautiful as you. I also like your eyes. Which kingdom are you from?"

"Zoe, I'm not a vampire. I'm a wolf, and I lost my memory."

"I'm sorry to hear that," she said, feeling sad for my memory loss. "Can you tell me about the wolf kingdom?"

I would have fallen for her trick, but I didn't. Telling her about my pack would mean admitting that I wasn't suffering from any memory loss. "Zoe, I really can't remember."

"It's okay, ma'am."

The room became silent for a while before I began, "Are you going to tell me about this kingdom?"

"There's not much to say about this kingdom," she said.

"Then tell me about yourself," I replied.

I watched as her happy face saddened. "I lost my family during the war between the three entities, and Lord Alexander took me in. I was left with nothing and no one. Lord Alexander started taking care of me."

I felt sorry and shocked at the same time. I felt sorry for her for losing her parents, and I was shocked to hear that she was already born during the war that happened years ago.

"Zoe, I'm sorry to hear that. I also have a question," I said.

"What is your question?" she asked.

"The war between humans, wolves, and vampires happened many decades ago. So how is it possible for you to be born then?"

She laughed at my question. "I am 250 years old now."

"What?" I asked, shocked.

"Well, that's why we are called vampires. We are immortals and we hardly die or grow old," she said.

"Does that mean vampires don't die?" I asked.

"In normal circumstances, we don't die, but there are things that can kill us. Please don't ask me about that. Lord Alexander made a rule against us for revealing the vampire secret to a stranger."

"Does Lord Alexander treat you well?" I asked.

"Yes, he treats every member of this kingdom equally, no matter their rank. But he can't protect all the low rank from harassment that we sometimes get from the highly-ranked vampires, but he does his best," she said with a smile on her face.

Her words made my heart swell. From the kindness Alexander has shown me, I was sure he was not a cruel lord, and Zoe's words confirmed that. He is actually a good lord.

"So he is a good lord, then?"

"Yes ,he is," she said with a smile on her face. "We only pray that his lady also be as good and kind as he is."

My heart jumped.

I was meant to be his Lady, but I had no intention of staying here for long. A pang struck my heart as I tried to keep my emotions neutral.

"Well, I pray that for the sake of this kingdom..." She waved me off. "I forgot you are not a member of this Kingdom, so you wouldn't know. Lord Alexander has found his mate after so many years of searching. He is engaged to Cynthia, daughter of Lord Cyrus of the neighboring kingdom. They are getting married soon."

Her words felt like a sucker punch right to my gut.

Any dream or fantasy I had about Alexander and I had shattered into a million different pieces at that moment.

"He is engaged?"

I felt the bile rise in my throat. How could he be engaged to someone else when I was his mate?

My mind went to the very moment when we were about to kiss, and at the last moment when our lips were meant to touch, he pulled away. I know he didn't kiss me because he didn't feel anything. He felt something, but he didn't kiss me because he was already committed to another.

"Yes," Zoe replied with excitement. "Isn't it exciting? Rumor has it that Lord Cyrus has set out a huge amount of money so that his only daughter, Cynthia, will enjoy her big day."

I felt like I was struggling to breathe, but Zoe didn't seem to notice. She continued to talk about the wedding and how she wished she could have that kind of wedding herself.

"Natasha, are you okay?" Zoe looked at me concerned.

"I'm tired."

"Okay, I think it's time for me to leave so that you can get some rest," she said.

She helped me lie down and then collected my empty plate. She stared down at me with concern painted on her face.

"Is there anything I can get for you to help you feel better?" she asked.

I shook my head.

"But I did hear some good news. Lord Alexander has been asking Alphas about you in hopes of finding your pack. At least this means that you will be able to go back to your pack and that can help you get your memory back."

She thought the news she was giving me would make me feel better, but all it did was add more pain to the pain I was already feeling.

Zoe left my room with the plate, and I felt tears running down my cheeks.

He was engaged.

He was promised to another, and I had been a fool.

This was exactly what I was avoiding. My emotions had almost stopped my brain from working well.

Lord Alexander was taking to the Alpha's about me. It's just a matter of some time before he finally talks to Damien.

I stayed here for one too many nights. I should have left this kingdom the very first time I opened my eyes in the healing center. I only stayed to appease my wolf, and now, not only were we in more danger than ever before, but our heart had been broken.

I needed to leave, and I was going to do that tonight.