Second Chance for the Barren Luna (Talia and Jason) novel Chapter 71

Talia’s POV

“Damn it!”

Nolan’s curse echoed in the cramped library. He shoved at the shelf again, but the panel didn’t budge. The jam was obvious now. Whatever mechanism kept the wall moving had slipped out of place.

“Slamming into it isn’t going to fix it,” I said.

“Do you have any other ideas?” Nolan snapped.

“Hey, don’t let me stop you. Keep trying to brute force it. I’m sure that will work,” I shrugged.

“Sarcasm isn’t becoming of you, Princess,” Nolan stated and turned his attention back on the shelf.

Nolan tried again, pressing against the crest with deliberate force, but the wood shuddered and locked with the same dull thud. He continued muttering curses under his voice.

I exhaled and turned away. “I’ll reach Solon.”

I opened the mindlink and reached out, but there was only silence. I tried again, but still nothing. I reached out to Della, but I was still met with silence.

“Nothing?” Nolan asked flatly.

“Nothing,” I admitted.

“Solon is out patrolling. He probably has up a mental block to focus,” Nolan suggested. It irritated me that he knew so much about how Silverfang operated.

Nolan’s frown deepened as his eyes glazed over for a second before saying, “Marco isn’t answering. What time is it?”

“I don’t know. There isn’t a clock in here,” I answered.

“You didn’t bring your phone?” Nolan asked.

“No. Why would I need it?” I replied as I rolled my eyes.

“What is the point of having a phone if you’re not going to have it on you?” Nolan snapped.

“I could ask you the same thing. I wasn’t expecting someone to be in the library,” I replied.

Nolan let out a frustrated sigh. He looked out of the small window of the library to see the full moon. “Great, it’s a full moon night. It must be midnight. Just our luck.”

On full moon nights our abilities as wolves became fickle. No one knew why but certain abilities worked better than others and clearly mindlinking had been negatively affected this full moon night.

So, neither of us had help coming.

“I guess we’re spending the night here then,” I said.

“You want to try getting down from the window?” Nolan suggested.

“At this height, the fall may actually kill me. No, thank you,” I said as I sat down at the table.

Nolan lingered by the exit before pulling a chair to a corner. He sat down and opened the record book I’d given him. His fingers flipped through the pages slowly before he looked at me.

My wolf hummed with her approval, ‘He smells delicious.’ I couldn’t help but agree.

I shook my head. No, we shouldn’t be thinking about him like that. This jerk was trying to pin a murder on my father.

I forced myself to stop looking at him. The full moon sat heavy in the sky. I stood up and walked over to the window to get fresh air. As soon as I stepped into the moonlight, my body reacted. I immediately felt a rush of heat.

I felt as if I was burning up. The cool air did nothing to relieve the heat building up in me. I slipped my shirt off but it didn’t help. I needed to take more clothes off.

“Why are you taking your clothes off? What’s wrong with you?” Nolan’s voice cut in, sharp with disbelief.

The sound of him made me pause, my fingers frozen at the button of my pants. “Nothing,” I lied. “I’m just… hot.”

Too hot. I could feel my wolf pacing, pressing against the fragile control I had left. What was happening to me? My body screamed for cool air. I quickly tore my pants off and hid it beneath me. The air hitting my legs helped only for a second.

I heard Nolan put the book down and walk over to me. “I’m fine,” I told him as I sat down on the ground hoping the cool stone would help. I closed my eyes trying to focus on my breathing that was now too quick.

“No, you’re not.” His voice was closer now, low but firm. “Open your eyes and look at me.”

I forced my eyes open. He was right there, crouched in front of me, studying my face. “Your pupils are dilated,” he muttered. Then his hand pressed against my forehead.

I flinched at the contact. His skin was so much cooler than mine and I leaned into his hand before I knew it. Nolan’s frown deepened.

“Damn it,” he breathed, rough with disbelief. His eyes locked on mine.

“You’re in heat.”