Second Chance for the Barren Luna (Talia and Jason) novel Chapter 349

Talia’s POV

I rushed past Camilla and sprinted down the hallway.

“Talia, stop!” she called, but her voice was distant, drowned out by the images of Nolan bitten, his body twisting and changing into something wild and lost.

‘Enough,’ my wolf warned. ‘You’re letting fear take over again. He’s not lost to us.’

I made it to the infirmary and followed his scent to the room he was in. I froze when I saw him.

He lay there wrapped in blood-soaked bandages across his chest, arm, and shoulder. Nolan didn’t move, except for the slow rise and fall of his breathing.

"Nolan,” I said as I took his hand in both of mine. "It’s me, Talia. Please wake up.”

Nolan didn’t respond.

‘I can not reach him through the bond,’ my wolf whimpered.

I called his name again and again, desperate for any response, but he remained silent. Tears slid down my cheeks as dread twisted in my chest. What if something was terribly wrong? Was he trapped in pain, suffering as my father once had?

"He was not bitten."

Camilla came in behind me. I turned as she walked to the other side of the bed and looked down at him.

“But he’s not waking up. He…”

"Listen to me, child. Your mate was not bitten,” she repeated, cutting me off. “What you’re seeing is just the toll the fight took on him. His wolf has put his body into a deep rest to heal. He will wake up and come back to you.”

"You're certain he wasn't bitten?"

"I have never lied to you, child. I will not now,” Camilla responded.

“Then why does he look so terrible?” I asked.

“Because he was badly hurt. We’ve given him medicine to help his body heal faster and to ease his pain.” Her face softened as she looked at me.

“Stay with him. Keep your bond open and hold on to him. Even while he’s unconscious, he’ll feel you near, and that will help him come back. You being here is the best medicine we have.”

"Thank you for saving him. I don’t know how to repay you," I said, my voice shaking as I tried not to cry again.

“Repay me by staying calm, lest you wish to burn down my home with Moonfire. He will wake, child. Give him time,” Camilla responded before leaving the room.

"Tell me what happened to you,” I said.

"I was almost here when my tire blew. I barely managed to stop the car without crashing. When I got out, rogues swarmed me. They came out of the tree line all at once, dozens of them, mad ones, more than I've ever seen,” Nolan said.

“You went alone?” I asked.

"Of course not. You know I am not that reckless,” Nolan answered. “I went with my warriors. I lost all of them. They took bites that were meant for me. Then, I had to fight to put them out of their misery when they turned.”

He grimaced at the memory, and I knew some of them had been with him since he was young.“This is not your fault, Nolan,” I told him.

Nolan nodded and continued, “I held on until I got close enough to the Lost Woods, and then there was fire everywhere, and the rogues were reduced to ash. The last thing I remember is Camilla telling me to hold on."

“Could it have been a coincidence that they were there?”

“No, it couldn’t be a coincidence,” Nolan replied. “They knew exactly where I would be. Someone sent them there.”

Only one person could have known the road and the time, and could move that many mad rogues to the exact place where Nolan would be that morning.

"Morgana," I said.