Second Chance for the Barren Luna (Talia and Jason) novel Chapter 421

Arya’s POV

I cleaned the claw marks slowly, working carefully around the deepest one. Henry held still for me the whole time, only flinching when the antiseptic stung.

“Sorry,” I said.

“It’s fine,” Henry said, his jaw tight. “Keep going.”

I pressed the bandage over his skin and smoothed the tape across it.

“You look like something is on your mind,” Henry said.

“There is, actually,” I replied.

“Ask me anything,” Henry said.

“What you said to my brother. About the throne, about disrespecting the Alpha King and Talia,” I said, keeping my eyes on the tape. “Was any of it true?”

“All of it,” Henry answered.

“You’re certain?” I asked.

“I was in the room when it happened, Arya. I saw it myself,” Henry replied.

I sat down on the stool across from him. “Tell me what happened.”

“After the war, Solon didn’t recover as quickly as everyone hoped. The antidote cleared the toxin, but not before it damaged his organs and weakened his wolf. Recovery will take a long time,” Henry explained.

“I know about that,” I said.

“There was a meeting about it. Solon stood up in front of every Alpha and told them himself because he didn’t want them hearing it as a rumor. Then he asked if anyone objected to Nolan and Talia staying on to help him run things,” Henry continued.

“And Geoffrey objected?”

“Not exactly. He proposed replacing him as the Alpha King,” Henry said. “No one else was thinking about that, especially not Talia and Nolan.”

“Maybe he thought it needed saying if Solon really was that ill,” I said.

“That’s exactly how he framed it. But he’d already spoken to the other Alphas before that meeting, testing who might support removing Solon as Alpha King. By the time he proposed it, he already knew who would stand with him.”

“For him to be Alpha King?” I asked.

“Yes. I think he thought Solon would be against being replaced, but he wasn’t. When he agreed, he assumed Nolan would be selected and he had a plan to argue against Nolan, but Solon allowed a vote and the title ultimately went to Talia.”

“What did he do after that?” I asked.

“Nothing. He had no choice but to accept it. It would have been Talia even without the vote because she’s next in line by blood, but she proved herself with the other Alphas, so naturally she won the majority vote,” Henry explained.

I was stunned. This was not the Geoffrey I remembered. The Geoffrey I grew up with would have never done something so conniving. ‘He’s not lying,’ my wolf said, disappointing me even more.

“I find this all really hard to believe,” I admitted.

“Why?” Henry asked.

“Because of who he was,” I said. “He wasn’t like this before we were separated. He stood up for those who couldn’t defend themselves. He was my hero. I thought he died saving our parents and me.”

“Arya,” Henry said quietly.

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