Second Chance for the Barren Luna (Talia and Jason) novel Chapter 423

Talia’s POV

I had barely gotten situated in my room to take a bath after dinner when the door to our room slammed open. Della was standing in the doorway, out of breath. I immediately tugged my shirt back on and asked, “What’s wrong?”

"Rogues attacked the eastern border,” she replied.

Nolan exited the bathroom, sleeves still rolled up, and asked, "How many?"

"Just a few. The patrol took care of it quickly." She leaned heavily against the doorframe, chest rising and falling, as she was trying to catch her breath. "But Walden got hurt. They used wolfsbane on him.”

"How long ago?" I asked as I put my shoes back on.

"Half an hour, maybe less. Marco's there with Walden now at the hospital,” Della explained.

We went straight there. My mind raced with questions, but I was relieved Walden was only poisoned with wolfsbane; it was still a dangerous and potent poison.

‘He is strong. He will survive this,’ my wolf reassured me.

Marco stood outside the operating room when we arrived. Della walked over to him, and Marco turned around to face us. Before I could ask for an update, Marco had already started talking.

“Walden is no longer poisoned. They were able to apply the antidote in time,” Marco said. “He has multiple injuries, and he hasn’t woken up yet.”

“Why would rogues do this?” I asked as I sat down. “Do you think these are rogues that were loyal to the Rogue King?”

“I don’t know. It was only six of them,” Marco answered.

“Six?” I repeated in surprise.

"I was surprised too. They didn’t stand a chance against a patrol, but they still attacked,” Marco said.

"It doesn’t add up," I said. "Why would rogues attack Bloodmoon? They know they can’t win. We’re the biggest, oldest pack in the area. We have more fighters at that border than anyone."

"They've never tried it before," Nolan added.

"That's what I thought,” Della said. "So I asked the patrol what actually happened out there. Every one of them said the same thing. The rogues didn't fight the patrol. They went around them. All of them went for Walden and nobody else."

A slow, creeping dread settled over me. Walden wasn't just another warrior. He was the Chief Warrior, the reason why the pack could sleep safely at night because security was his priority. If someone wanted him gone, they wanted to weaken Bloodmoon.

"All of them?” I repeated. “All of them went for Walden?”

"Every single one." Della’s jaw was tight. "None tried to get past the patrol. Nobody ran when things went bad." She paused. "Their knives were coated with wolfsbane. They kept stabbing him even after he was down, even after they were mortally wounded.”

I was horrified. Rogues didn’t act like that. This seemed like a hit job. “Someone told them to do it, and they were making sure they killed him,” I said.

"If the healers had been ten minutes slower, he would have."

Nolan turned around. "Rogues raid for food and they run when it costs them. They don't pick one man out of a patrol and focus all their efforts on him."

"Somebody told them who to kill and made sure they stayed on him until it was done."

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