CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED & FORTY
Talia’s POV
The group went silent. Solon’s voice came through the mind link.
‘Talia,’ he said. His tone was controlled but I could tell he was angry.’
‘Solon, what’s up?’ I responded.
‘This is not funny Talia. Nolan told me your injuries were not serious. He said you recovered quickly and that there was nothing to be concerned about,’ Solon said firmly.
‘I am fully recovered,’ I responded.
‘You know what I am asking you,’ Solon said.
I did not answer immediately. There was no point in lying to him. I already told the truth.
‘I asked him to keep the details from you,’ I admitted. ‘I did not want you to worry about something that was already resolved.’
There was a pause. I know it wasn’t for long, but it still made me anxious. ‘We will discuss that later,’ Solon finally said and closed the mind link.
‘I told you that you should’ve told him,’ my wolf huffed.
‘Telling me I told you so isn’t going to help the situation,’ I said before I returned my attention to the group in front of me.
“Is this the same mad rogue blood that drove Alpha Lake insane?” Colin asked.
I heard the name and glanced at Nolan without meaning to. He was standing still beside me with his expression unchanged, giving nothing away.
“Yes,” Nolan confirmed. “It is the same strain.”
Then, Alpha Landon laughed. Colin cut his eyes at him and demanded, “What is so funny?”
“This charade is hilarious to me,” Landon answered. “Alpha Lake’s madness has been exaggerated over the years. It was one isolated case. I am not going to commit my pack’s resources to building a wall over an urban legend.”
I felt Nolan’s anger through the mate bond. Before I could respond, Solon spoke up. “It seems that you still have not learned manners, Alpha Landon.”
“What did you say to me?” Landon asked, stepping toward Solon.
“You are standing here listening to the Luna of Bloodmoon tell you she was infected and nearly died, and your response is to call it an urban legend? That is shortsighted, Landon, and you know it,” Solon replied.
“That is enough,” I said, before Landon could respond. “I think you have misunderstood the purpose of today. No one is forcing this on anyone. We are only providing an option. Every pack here makes its own decisions.”
Landon still looked at me with disdain. “You are not providing options. If you truly meant the wall to be optional, you could have given everyone a list of the healing herbs that cured you. That is a simpler solution.
“Don’t you think Luna Talia would have provided them if it was that easy?” Leslie countered.
“No. She wants to force our hand because of her trauma,” Landon argued.
Leslie rolled her eyes. “They are difficult to source, time consuming to prepare, and we do not have an unlimited supply,” she explained. “I spent years building the supply that I have, and it is not something that can be replicated quickly or distributed at scale. More importantly, Luna Talia was only scratched and she nearly died. We have no confirmation that the herbs could have cured a direct infection from a bite.”
+25 Bonus
Landon looked at her with open contempt. “You are supposed to be the best healer in the region,” he said, “and you are telling us you are not sure your own herbs work. That is a remarkable thing to admit.”
Solon tensed beside Leslie. “Are you deaf?” Leslie growled. “That is not what I said.”
“Enough,” I said.
The word came out with the full weight of a Luna command behind it. It slammed into everyone, causing them to dip their heads in respect to me. Landon looked at me in surprise but quickly composed himself. It seemed that he had forgotten I was the daughter of the Alpha King and had the rank to make even with him, an Alpha, submit to me if I wanted.
‘Calm down, love,’ Nolan said through our mind link.
“Alpha Landon, I understand your concern. Lonefur is remote, but it is not as much of an advantage as you think,” Nolan stated. “If mad rogues come to your borders, the nearest pack capable of sending support is at least two days out. A wall would buy your pack time.”
Landon looked at him with a thin smile. “With respect, Alpha Nolan, I am not convinced you are offering an objective assessment here. It seems to me like you are here to support whatever your Luna decides, and that is not the same thing as giving sound advice.”
My wolf snarled, ‘Put him in his place or our mate may end up killing him!’
I interjected before Nolan did. “If mad rogues reached Lonefur’s borders tomorrow, what would you do? What is your plan right now, today, if that happens?”
Landon opened his mouth and then closed it. His confidence had faltered only slightly. He had not expected the question to be
turned back on him.
“This isn’t about me. This is about you two causing panic about this mad rogue legend,” Landon argued.
“It is the truth,” I snapped.
“Then, prove it. Inject someone with the infected blood,” Landon suggested. “Let every pack here witness what it does. If it is as dangerous as you say, we will all see it for ourselves. If what you say is true, I will return to my pack and begin construction of the wall immediately.”
I hesitated. I hated how Landon was going this far to try to prove we were overreacting. All he had to do was just say he wasn’t going to build the wall. There was no need to try to turn the rest of the packs against me which would lead to the other packs not respecting Bloodmoon.
“Why are you hesitating? This is a fair request. Or are you finally willing to admit you overreacted and lied about your kidnapping to save face?” Landon questioned.
“How dare you!” Nolan growled as he stepped forward.
I moved in front of Nolan to block him from doing something we would regret. He did not push past me. Nolan leaned into me, using my body to calm him. Landon was watching us as if he had already won.
I looked at his smug expression and smiled. “Fine. We’ll show you the proof.”
ATORIVIONE
