Mating the Female Alpha
Chapter 54 – Could I be the Luna Queen?

Bernice's POV

My heart was beating heavily in my chest as Landry laid his forehead against mine. His breath pattern matched mine and we both fought to catch our breaths. My body trembled as the climax took over; the heat in my features was finally simmering down. I no longer felt like I was on fire. My legs trembled as I lay against the tree, trying to maintain my stance.

Every time I looked at Landry, my heart would race even more. It would even skip a beat.

It scared me.

Landry looked at me admiringly and he seemed like he wanted to say something. But I couldn't let him.

"Get off me," I managed to say to him, hoping my voice didn't give away my emotions.

He looked startled for a moment as he stared around my serious face. I pushed him off, giving him a gentle nudge as I grabbed my clothes off the ground. They were ripped, but I could still put them on. They would cover only a little bit of my body though, but it was enough to get back to the palace without causing a scene.

As I slipped on my clothes, I could feel the intensity of his stares on the back of my head. I ignored it though.

We had bigger things to worry about right now.

"I appreciate you for helping me," I tell him, turning back to him once I was covered. "But we must focus on Tina right now. Her body was just found dead, and her family couldn't give a shit about it."

I could feel myself getting worked up again, I was furious that something like this happened under our noses.

Under my nose.

If I wasn't stuck in this palace, maybe I would have been able to stop this from happening. Maybe I would have been there; or sensed that something was wrong and could have stopped it.

Tucking himself back into his pants, he says, "You're right and I'm not taking this lightly. You shouldn't have come out here alone like that. Do you have any idea how dangerous and stupid that was?"

"I don't see you doing anything to avenge her death," I found myself shooting back to him. I wished I had kept my mouth shut but I saw the flash of fury that went through his eyes.

"I'm doing everything I can right now. I'm investigating her death because it had JUST happened. I'm not blindly going after the rogues before finding out who had done this," he said in return, narrowing his eyes at me. Despite the toughness in his tone, he managed to keep himself calm. "What you did was just stupid."

"So, now you're calling me stupid?"

"Your actions were stupid. You weren't thinking rationally. You were thinking with your emotions. That's what's going to get you killed."

"No, what's going to get me killed is the medication I've been taking to protect my pack," I hissed. "You promised I could die with dignity and not as a weak omega."

"This wouldn't have you dying with dignity, Bernice. This was a foolish move on your part."

He turned away and began walking in the opposite direction.

He was right. I was foolish. In more ways than he knew.

...

"Is it true?" Jessie cried as she ran into the living room. She had tears dripping off her long and dark lashes and her bottom lip was quivering as she sat beside me on the couch. Word had gotten around quickly, which was what Landry didn't want. "Is she really dead?"

"I'm afraid so," I say in return, staring down at my hands.

"I can't believe it..." she whispered. "It was only yesterday that she was in my palace. I can't believe she's gone..."

"It was a rogue attack," I tell her with a sigh. "Her body was completely mangled."

Jessie grimaced at the thought.

"How did her family take it?"

I rose my brows and looked at her.

"It wasn't them who had told you?"

Jessie shook her head.

"No, it was my maids," Jessie answered. "They are always gossiping. Some of them are close with Tina's maids. I think that's how they found the information."

"I see," I say, meeting her eyes. "Her family took it surprisingly different than I thought they would."

Jessie doesn't look surprised by this; she just nods and stares back down at her hands, tugging at her fingers.

"Tina always spoke highly of her father. But I think he cared more about power than he did Tina," Jessie says sadly. "You know it was his ideas that were planted in Tina's head that she was born to be a luna queen?"

"I didn't know that," I say in return, looking at her curiously. "Did he only have her so she can be the luna queen?"

"I think so," Jessie says with uncertainty. "He often says that Tina was born and bred to be the luna queen. So, it doesn't surprise me that he doesn't care too much about her death. Especially if he has other plans in play to get the power he seeks."

"What kind of plans?" I ask, raising my brows.

"Oh, that I'm not sure," she says with a headshake as if she was shaking the thought out of her mind. "But Landry has always been wary of them. As he should be. Everybody wants power and he's aware of that."

I say nothing.

"I'm going to be hosting the funeral for Tina," she continues, changing the subject. "The ceremony in her honor will be at my palace after the burial. I still can't believe she's gone... it doesn't seem real." "I will help however I can," I offer. "It's not like Landry is using me here."

"Thank you," she says in return. "I will take you up on that offer. There's a lot to do and not a lot of time. We wanted to bury her and have the ceremony tomorrow if possible. I'm going to have my chefs cook Tina's favorite foods. And I'll have a couple of my maids send out the invitations."

"That sounds nice, Jessie," I tell her. "What would you like me to do?"

"Word will get around the kingdom soon enough. When that happens, everybody will panic. Nobody expected Tina to be the next to die. I'm not sure Landry will be able to calm them himself."

"I see," I say, eyeing her carefully; I could tell there was something she was thinking.

"Landry will most likely be holding a press conference this evening as he often does when someone important dies in the kingdom. Often the kingdom will have questions and Landry must answer them considering he is their king. But I was thinking that it might be nice if they heard some endearing words from their future luna queen."

I rose my brows at her words, not sure what she meant.

"I don't understand," I say, narrowing my eyes at her. "I'm not the..."

"I know you say you aren't the future luna queen. But if things keep going with how they are with you and Landry, then your fate is unavoidable. You should get used to the idea, Bernice."

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"The kingdom should hear from you. It might calm them to know that you trust your Alpha," Jessie adds.

She might be right; but am I really what the kingdom needs?

Could I be the luna queen?