Second Chance for the Barren Luna (Talia and Jason) novel Chapter 392

Talia’s POV

Outside of the forest, I paced nonstop. Arya had howled an hour ago, but Nolan had still not returned. I reached out multiple times to Nolan and he never responded back. My mind raced. What if he’s hurt? What if something happened between them?

Minutes turned into hours, and the wait became unbearable. Arya had shifted, as the howl told us, but they should have returned by now. A newly shifted wolf couldn’t run for hours like this.

‘I can’t reach him,’ my wolf whined. My worry grew, especially thinking of him alone with another she-wolf.

My worry for Nolan mixed with frustration at not being able to help. Walden walked over. “Luna, please calm down. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down,” I growled. “They’ve been gone for hours. That’s not normal and you know it.”

Walden stepped closer and put his hand on my shoulder. He tried to reassure me, but his touch only made my wolf growl louder.

“The woods are safe. Arya is safe,” Walden said. “I checked her myself, especially after what happened with Maggie.” The memory of Maggie betraying the pack still haunted us all, a reminder of how quickly things could go wrong. “I was thorough, Luna.”

His words felt empty. I couldn’t shake the dread growing inside me.

“It wasn’t enough,” I said.

Tension hung between us, every word heavy with worry.

“What do you mean?” Walden asked.

“Just because she was checked doesn’t mean she’s safe for him,” I said. “I’m done waiting. I’m going to look for them myself.” Regret filled me. Nolan had a bad feeling about this, and I went along with it. I put the pack first. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I should have listened to myself.

Reluctantly, Walden relented. “We shouldn’t alert everyone. We don’t know what we’re walking into.”

“We?”

“I’m going with you,” Walden said.

“We’re all going,” Della said, walking up with Marco beside her.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

Della’s presence was both comforting and challenging. Her loyalty never wavered. “I told you I didn’t like this from the start. I wasn’t going to give you space, but I also wasn’t going to be far if you needed help, and clearly you do,” Della said. She walked over and pulled me into the hug that I realized that I really needed.

“We’re going to find them, Luna. We won’t stop until we do,” Marco reassured.

I nodded, and then we moved together into the forest, calling out, "Nolan! Arya!"

Branches scratched our arms as we moved forward, every sound louder because of our worry. Walden went ahead, tense and alert. Della followed, her hand near her weapon and her lips tight. I kept glancing over my shoulder, sure someone was watching us.

“Get your hands off me. You should respect your Luna,” Arya stated.

Della snarled and raised her fist to hit Arya, but Walden stepped in. He caught Della’s fist and said, “Stop! Let her speak.”

Della pushed Arya back and shoved Walden away from her. “You may like this little bitch, but I don’t. She hurt my Alpha. She has less than a minute to start making sense, or I’ll beat the truth out of her.”

“I saved him from her,” Arya said, pointing at me. She straightened her clothes and said, "I’m Nolan’s mate now."

“That’s it,” Della said and lunged for Arya, but Marco caught her by her waist. She held her in place as she flailed to get at Arya.

“Please, calm down first!” Marco urged.

My mind refused to make sense of Arya’s words. Mate bonds could not be forced or stolen. I stared at her in confusion.

“What are you talking about? You can’t be his mate. I’m his mate.”

The evidence was clear, and I couldn’t stand Arya’s nonsense anymore. But then she lifted her chin and revealed a mark on her neck, the exact same mark as mine.

“See?” Arya said. “Nolan marked me.”