Second Chance for the Barren Luna (Talia and Jason) novel Chapter 60

Nolan’s POV

Talia and Jason were staring at me, waiting for an answer.

Honestly, I hadn’t expected the words to come out of my mouth either.

I hadn’t come here to interfere. When I first noticed Jason cornering Talia, I had no intention of stepping in. Watching and waiting was safer, but my wolf didn’t see it that way. He was pacing impatiently inside me.

‘Do something. Don’t let him touch what’s ours,’ he growled within me.

“She isn’t ours,” I responded. “This is none of our business.”

‘She is ours. She has always been. Another male’s hands on her is an insult,’ my wolf howled angrily.

Jason leaned closer, fingers clutching her collar. My wolf pushed hard inside me, and before I knew it, my feet were moving. Anger flared as I watched him pin her to the bench. That bastard was trying to forcibly mark her. Even if I hadn’t planned to mark Talia, I would never let another Alpha force himself on her.

The way Talia allowed me to put my jacket on her and how she kept it on made me feel good in a way that I hadn’t expected. Even with the charm on my chest, the instinctual need to protect her, and the need for her to allow me to, was still present.

‘Because she’s ours and this is our role as her mate and her Alpha,’ my wolf reminded me.

“What did you just say, Alpha Nolan?” Jason pressed.

“What if I am interested in her?” I sneered.

Jason blinked, startled, and then scrambled to hide his surprised expression. For a moment, he even looked fearful. He chuckled nervously and asked, “You’re joking, right?”

“Relax,” I said evenly, almost bored. “She looks like she’d make a good maid.”

My wolf bristled instantly. ‘You insult her to hide what she really means to us. You’re pathetic!’

I ignored him, but the desired effect was immediate. Jason’s shoulders dropped, and I could see the relief on his face. He stood, fixing his shirt.

“Of course, of course. She did manage Shadowclaw well when she was my Luna,” he said quickly, eager to seize the lifeline. “She kept the pack in order. Probably would make a fine maid.” His voice hardened at the end, reminding both of us of where he thought Talia belonged.

I could feel Talia stiffen, but I didn’t remove my hand from her back. Jason was still a threat to her until he left. “Your Luna? That’s how you talk about her now?”

Jason puffed his chest. “I can talk about her all I want to because she’s mine. She always was. If you want maids, I’ll send you ten better than her tomorrow.”

My wolf slammed against my ribs, teeth bared. ‘Kill him. Right here. Tear his throat out.’

I kept my face neutral. I could feel Talia’s angry eyes on me. I could tell she was barely keeping her composure.

“What if I tell Jason who you really are? I only need one sentence, and you’ll never get rid of him,” I explained.

Talia stepped toward me with her chin lifted. I could feel her Luna aura flaring. “Go ahead and try,” she said coldly. “But if you dare threaten Silverfang, I won’t let it slide.”

Then she turned and stormed down the path without looking back.

I stood where I was, the jacket still in my hand. My wolf growled, ‘We need to mark her. End this foolish game.’

“No,” I said under my breath. “I told you I refuse to be distracted. We are so close to our goal. I won’t let a little she-wolf ruin what I worked so hard to get due to instincts and hormones.”

I replayed the exchange out of habit. The maid line had served its purpose. It gave Jason a way to retreat without having to admit defeat. Men like him cling to a petty insult because it spares them from facing their own failures.

Jason praised Talia to convince himself he still held the higher ground. He held the delusion that he still had control. He offered ten maids just to flex. But in the end, like the coward he was, he obeyed my order instead of fighting. That was all I needed to see. He was still the obedient pup I needed him to be.

‘You insulted her to move him,’ my wolf said, unimpressed. ‘Saying the truth would make you vulnerable. You’re as delusional as him.’

Another set of footsteps approached from behind me. Marco stepped into the garden from the hedge path. His eyes scanned the scene. His eyes went to the clawed bench. Marco stopped a few paces away, reading the tension in my shoulders.

“What happened?” Marco asked.