Second Chance for the Barren Luna (Talia and Jason) novel Chapter 232

CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED & THIRTY TWO

Nolan’s POV

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When Talia and I arrived at the border, two of the three supply depots had already burned down. The ground around the depots was blackened and wet from the effort to put the fires out. Smoke still clung to the air in thin streaks, and the smell of burned grain and scorched wood was strong.

“This is awful. Who would have done this?” Talia muttered as she surveyed the damage.

Warriors moved through the burnt remains. They stepped over broken beams and collapsed shelving while they checked for anything that could still be salvaged. The third depot remained standing, but guards had formed a tight perimeter around it.

“Alpha,” Walden said as he approached us. There were ash smudges on his face and armor. “We put the fire out as fast as we could.”

“Did you catch who started it?” I asked.

Waldon frowned and said, “No. Whoever did it used the chaos to put out the fire as a means to escape.”

“Start an immediate investigation,” I ordered. “Right now.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

I turned to Maggie, who had followed us. She didn’t look guilty, so for now, I would assume she had nothing to do with this.

“Maggie, compile a full list of every warrior who worked on the wall today,” I ordered. “I want names, assignments, shift times, and where they were stationed. Once completed, give the list to Walden.”

“Yes, Alpha,” Maggie said quickly. “I will have it within the hour.”

I shifted my focus to Marco and Della.

“Marco, Della, confirm the whereabouts of those assigned to the training grounds,” I ordered. “I want to know who was present, who was absent, and where they were during the time the fire started.”

Marco nodded once. “Yes, Alpha.”

Della’s eyes narrowed at Maggie. She looked back at the burned depots and then she looked at me. It looked as if she wanted to say something, but she finally said, “We will get it done.”

“You will all report to me within an hour,” I commanded. “This needs to get resolved immediately. If someone is trying to sabotage us, we need to know as soon as possible.”

Maggie moved toward the path back to the pack house. Marco and Della headed toward the training grounds route, already speaking quietly as they planned how to confirm the information.

“What would you have me do, Alpha?” Walden asked.

“You will continue to monitor progress over the wall. We can’t let this distraction derail us,” I answered. “Talia and I will inspect the damage ourselves.”

“Yes, Alpha,” Walden answered.

Talia and I walked through what had been the first depot. The roof had collapsed inward, and the interior was a mess of charred timber and melted metal brackets. The storage racks had fallen, and what had not burned had been soaked beyond use Even the stone foundation had darkened where the heat had pressed into it for too long.

“How could a fire get so bad so fast without anyone noticing?” Talia asked quietly.

“And there’s no smell of gasoline or anything,” I added.

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The border was already difficult to resupply. Supplies had to travel far, and every trip required guards, planning, and timing. The wall construction had already stretched our distribution system. Two depots lost in one night meant we would need to reroute transport, push stock toward the third depot, and find temporary storage quickly.

An hour later, Maggie had returned with her report.

“Alpha, all wall construction warriors have been accounted for,” Maggie reported. “Walden had already verified every name. None of them were missing, and none of them left their posts without authorization.”

Marco and Della arrived next. Marco looked calm, but his eyes were more alert than usual, and Della still glared at Maggie.

“Training grounds are clear,” Marco said. “We confirmed the full roster. We didn’t find any discrepancies.”

Della added, “Nobody at the training grounds left their assigned areas during the time window.”

“So, we are nowhere close to finding out who caused this or what caused this,” I said angrily.

“Could rogues have done this?” Talia suggested.

Walden’s head turned toward her. “No,” he said sharply. “We would have smelled them from a mile away. On top of that, there were no rogue scenes in our vicinity. I already checked with our scouts.”

Talia brows furrowed and she nodded. She looked like she was doing the same thing I was doing. Talia was going through every possibility of what could have happened.

“This was not accidental,” I finally said. “I think we need to heavily consider that someone among the pack did this.”

Walden nodded. “I agree.”

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