The Alpha's Luna in a Strange Land

CHAPTER 23 : FIRST ENCOUNTER

**NATASHA'S POV**

We walked through the healing center and headed towards the lord's wing. As we passed by, the nurses and other staff greeted Desmond and some even bowed their heads. This was strange, considering he wasn't ranked higher as a Vampire. He may have been the head Healer, but that didn't give him any real ranking in the vampire kingdom. Technically, he was just a Healer and nothing else.

"Why do some of them bow to you?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Some still believe that I should be second-in-command and not Jorge. Vampires in my bloodline have been second-in-command for decades. I was the first to break that chain. A lot of them believe that Jorge should not be Alexander's second-in-command and they believe I am the one fit for that. They don't agree with Lord Alexander's choice of second-in-command."

"Do you?"

He glanced at me. "It doesn't matter what I do or don't agree with. It's Lord Alexander's kingdom and he is my best friend. I support whatever decision he makes."

"I didn't ask that, Desmond. I asked if you agree with Jorge being the second-in-command."

He sighed. "No, I don't. Jorge is a great vampire and a strong warrior, but he doesn't have the qualities to be the second-in-command. He is the opposite of Alexander. Leadership isn't so black and white, and Jorge makes it that way. Jorge is meant to serve the kingdom and not the other way around."

I nodded, and couldn't have agreed more. Jorge was not the right person for the job, and I had only interacted with him a couple of times. From the time I spent with Desmond, I knew that he was born to lead. It was a shame that he chose to be a healer instead. If only he had been allowed to be both a healer and the second-in-command in the kingdom.

"How are you feeling, dear? Do you feel your wolf has regained her strength?"

"Yeah, all thanks to you."

He waved me off. "I was just doing my job. After all..."

He held the door to the elevator open for me. I walked into the mirrored elevator and stopped momentarily when I caught my reflection. I was stunned at the girl who was staring back at me.

I had seen my reflection on a few occasions now, and it still shocked me every time I saw my human face. Before I came here, the last time I saw my human face, it had been sunken and dark circles sat under my eyes. I looked like I was on the brink of death - and at that time, I was.

"Penny for your thoughts," Desmond asked.

I shook my head, shaking away the distant memory.

"It's nothing, just thinking about something," I brushed it off.

The elevator doors opened onto the third floor of the healing center. We walked down the hallway, passing by nurses and staff. Each of them greeted Desmond with bowed heads. Even without the title, they still admired and respected him.

As we drew closer and closer to the Lord's wing, my nerves picked up. I didn't know what to expect when I entered the room. Would Cynthia still be there? Would Alexander be angry with me? Would he reject me? If Cynthia was there, what would she think of me?

"Desmond, may I ask you something?"

"Okay."

"What do you think of Cynthia?"

He mused over my question for a few minutes.

"I only met her for a few minutes when she first came here. She seems... intense, but I guess her heart is in the right place because all she cared about was Alexander."

I felt pain in my heart. I didn't know that she was being so close to Alexander, but I couldn't do anything about it. Technically, he wasn't mine to be territorial over - she was his mate.

"Do you think she'll make a good Queen to Lord Alexander?" I didn't know why I was asking such a question, but I just had to.

He shrugged. "I don't know anything about her, but judging from the fact that she is the daughter of Lord Cyrus, she can make a good First Lady."

I nodded in understanding. The pain in my heart increased, and all I wanted now was for her to leave the White Vampires Kingdom now at once, or I do.

"And?" Desmond suddenly said, interrupting my thoughts.

"And what?" I asked, needing an answer from him.

"And also, I pray she doesn't behave like his father. Lord Cyrus brags a lot, and that is the problem he has. He is so pompous that he looks down on anyone. He feels his kingdom is the strongest, but obviously, his kingdom is the weakest. A nation which won just one war and can't stop talking about it after hundreds of years. But apart from the fact that her father is too pompous, I think she could make a good Queen"

I nodded, and we continued walking in silence. As we walked, a thought crossed my mind, "Should I run away from this kingdom to end this?"

My inner voice responded, reminding me, "You are abandoning your Kingdom."

It felt strange to think of Alexander's Kingdom as my own. They weren't mine because I wasn't going to mate with Lord Alexander, no matter how much my heart wanted to. I had no pack, as I hadn't had one since I was 20.

"But this could be our new home," my inner voice attempted to reassure me.

"Shut up," I gritted my teeth.

"I didn't say anything, dear," Desmond replied to my words, which I hadn't meant to speak out loud.

"No, sorry, I wasn't talking to you."

Desmond gave me a weird look but didn't say anything. We continued walking until we reached the door that led to the Alpha's wing. My heart pounded in my chest as we drew closer to the door. My palms felt sweaty, and my head started to feel light.

Finally, we stopped in front of the door. Desmond turned to me and said, "Okay, dear, here we are. Hopefully, he hasn't gone back to sleep. When I left, he was wide awake and anxious to see you. If you need me, I'll be down on the ICU floor."

I nodded, and he left me standing by the door. I didn't know how long I stood there. It could have been seconds or minutes. After giving myself a pep talk, I steeled my spine and opened the door.

The first thing I saw was a sleeping Lord Alexander. He looked so peaceful in his sleep, with a childlike innocence about him. He was hooked up to an IV, but there was no other machinery, which told me he was well on the mend. That eased some of my worries, and I felt a bit relieved. Seeing our mate up close brought a sense of peace within me that I couldn't put into words.

I closed the door quietly, careful not to wake him, and walked over to his bed. I stood there, staring at him for a moment. Even in his sleep, his beauty was still breathtaking. When he was like this, I could ogle at him shamelessly without fear of him catching me. His face was clean-shaven, which only added to his beauty.

I reached out my hand tentatively towards his chest, my fingertips just a whisker away from touching his face.

"Who the hell are you?" A feminine voice from behind me made me jump.

I turned around to see a beautiful woman coming out of the bathroom in the room. She was wearing a short red gown that clung to her body, along with towering heels that made her taller than she already was. She had brown hair, brown skin, and piercing black eyes. Even without knowing Cynthia in person, I knew this must be her. Her eyes narrowed as she focused on me.

"Are you deaf or stupid? What the f**k are you doing near him?" she spat.

I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat. I expected her to be here, but I hadn't expected to meet her like this. As far as first impressions went, this was falling dismally.

"I'm sorry. It's just that Alexander asked for me, and I thought he would be awake when I got here. I didn't think he would be sleeping," I replied, nervous.

"Lord," she corrected me, "you do not call Alexander by his name. You are nothing but a low-ranking vampire, and you are too low to have the privilege of calling him by his name."

Technically, I wasn't a low-ranking vampire, and I wasn't a vampire at all, so I decided to keep calm. I simply nodded and kept quiet. She didn't seem like the kind of person who took too kindly to people challenging her or talking back.

"Get the f**k away from him," she ordered.

She crossed the room to the bedside where I stood. I moved out of the way as she took my place beside my mate, Alexander. I felt my wolf snap at her for coming so close to our mate, but I managed to hold her back. Now was not the time for a little outburst.

Cynthia bent down and kissed Lord Alexander on his forehead. While her kissing would seem like a sweet gesture to anyone else, to me it felt like someone was piercing my heart with a kitchen knife.

Trying to overcome the anger that was burning inside me, I forced myself to stay calm. This whole situation was incredibly uncomfortable for me. I didn't want to be here.

Cynthia stood to her full height and looked at me with disdain.

"If you want to make yourself useful, then go and get me a bottle of wine. I like it chilled. I can't drink this local wine produced in this kingdom."

I wasn't a servant, but she didn't know that, and I wasn't about to correct her. I bit down my words and nodded.

I walked towards the door, practically fleeing the room. A few yards away, I doubled over and placed my hands on my knees. I released a shaky breath and tried to compose myself. It felt like my heart was breaking right in front of me, and I was powerless to stop it.