Second Chance for the Barren Luna (Talia and Jason) novel Chapter 414

Talia’s POV

Part of me felt relieved. No matter how indifferent Henry looked, he still held her hand and stayed by her side. He wasn’t ready to give up on her, just because Geoffrey opposed their mate bond.

‘Perhaps he does care,’ my wolf mused.

‘Can you blame him for not being happy about his mate being related to Geoffrey? Henry has the decency to not air out his dirty laundry to make a point,’ I said.

But I could also tell where this was going. Tension was building fast between the two men, both staring each other down, and we were still right at the bar, in the middle of my birthday party. People were beginning to stare.

“Get your hand off my sister,” Geoffrey growled.

“Make me,” Henry responded firmly.

I stepped between them before things got out of hand.

“That’s enough, both of you,” I said, pulling Arya out of the middle. “Don’t make me command you both to behave.”

“As you wish, Alpha Queen,” Henry said, and Geoffrey scoffed, but did not move toward Henry.

“Arya needs time and space, and you’re not helping by arguing,” I scolded. “No one is deciding anything tonight. It’s my birthday, and I want at least an hour of peace before it ends. Go enjoy the party separately.”

Arya nodded quickly, looking relieved, her shoulders finally relaxing a little. “I do need time.”

“Here’s what I suggest. Geoffrey, Henry, both of you are staying at Bloodmoon for a week,” I said. “Arya gets time to figure out what she wants. At the end of the week, she decides.”

“There will be no arguments, no pressure, no trying to convince her, and no cornering her,” Nolan said. “Only one week.”

Henry gave a quick nod. Geoffrey just said, “Fine.” Neither of them looked happy, but I figured that was as fair as it was going to get.

People started having fun again as the party picked back up. Henry turned to Arya, took her hand, and kissed it.

“I look forward to getting to know you, Arya,” Henry said before leaving the bar. Arya stood there, blushing, and Della couldn’t help but giggle.

Geoffrey glared at Henry as he walked off. “Be safe, sister. We’ll talk in the morning,” he said before leaving the bar as well.

I leaned toward Della and lowered my voice. “Stick with Arya this week. Don’t crowd her, just keep an eye out. I don’t want Geoffrey cornering her and pressuring her all week.”

“Of course. You can count on me,” Della said.

“Okay, now, what about those shots?” I asked.

Arya shot me a look. “You can’t drink, Luna.”

“I know,” Nolan said, rubbing my back in slow circles.

“Then, what are we going to do about him?” I asked.

Nolan’s mouth tightened. “I’ll have Marco and Della keep an eye on him this week. Between the two of them, he won’t do anything we don’t know about.”

I let out a long breath. “Do you really think Geoffrey was surprised to see Arya?”

“Honestly? I do,” Nolan said. “I didn’t see his face when it happened, but from what you described, it sounds like he was really shocked.”

“So you don’t think he came because he knew she was here?”

“No. He looked off his game. Seeing her here completely threw him.”

“Then, what did he come here for? I don’t believe he came to celebrate my birthday.”

Nolan’s eyes hardened. “I agree. Finding Arya wasn’t part of his plan. It just changed it. Maybe even made it better for him.”

“So we don’t say anything,” I said. “We play along as if we believe him, and we watch what he does next.”