Eighth-Born Luna (Emily and Nathan) novel Chapter 119

Chapter 119

Emily’s POV

Declan stayed over me, his weight pinning me to the bed. He was breathing hard, and his dark eyes moved slowly from my face to my throat.

The mark on my neck pulsed.

The feeling of being owned made me sick. Declan gripped my jaw, forcing me to look at him.

“You have no idea how much I want you,” he whispered.

My heart hammered. For a moment, I thought he was going to finish the bond right then. But he suddenly stopped. He closed his eyes, his body going stiff like he was fighting himself.

Then, he pushed away. I watched him, shocked, as he stood up and ran a hand through his hair.

“No,” he said, sounding angry. He straightened his shirt. “I can wait.”

I stayed still on the bed, my chest heavy. “What?”

“If we finish the bond now, it might ruin the trials,” he said, his jaw tight. “I won’t waste your gifts just because I lost control for one night.”

The way he called my powers “gifts” made me shudder. He didn’t think they belonged to me; he thought they were ais.

He walked to the door and stopped. “When this is over,” he said quietly, “you’ll come to me on your own.”

Then he left. The doors slammed shut, and the room felt empty. I lay there for a long time before sitting up.

Then I remembered.

The trial. It was happening again tonight.

I looked out the window. Dark clouds moved over the mountains as the moon began to rise.

Then the rogue guards came for me and led me to the ritual grounds. I looked at the silver crystals around the platform. I wondered–were these the same as the ones I had stolen from the cave?

I lifted my gaze from the floor and locked eyes with him.

Declan sat on his throne, watching me. The rogues gathered around, waiting for the show. I knelt on a black fur

rug in the center of the circle.

The witch walked up and unlocked the collar around my neck. The moment it opened, a voice filled my head.

Emily.

Nyx. She was finally back.

“Nyx…” I whispered in my mind.

My wolf was full of energy. “I feel it,” she said. “This power is going to be strong. This is the one that will help us survive.”

Suddenly, the clouds moved. Moonlight hit the platform, and the crystals started to glow. A sharp pain shot through my head. The castle and the rogues disappeared, and everything went black.

I opened my eyes to the sharp smell of antiseptic.

White walls. Beeping machines. Moon Goddess… a hospital. For one terrifying second, I thought the nightmare was over and I was back to Nathan. Maybe the trials were finally over.

But then I noticed that nobody could see me. Doctors rushed past my body as if I weren’t there. Nurses walked straight through me, and my feet made no sound against the floor.

A cold chill spread through my chest. “What…” I whispered. My voice sounded strange, like it was coming from miles away.

Then I saw her. A young woman was sitting on a hospital bed in a pale blue gown. Her hands shook violently in her ap while a doctor stood in front of her.

“Luna… you only have one year to live,” the doctor said. She took off her glasses, unable to look the woman in he eye. “Your wolf has gone dormant.”

The girl froze. “My wolf… dormant? There must be some mistake.”

“I’m sorry,” the doctor said gently. “Extreme stress can cause this. Especially in unmated wolves… or those ejected by their fated mate for too long.”

My body jerked. Pain exploded through my skull. Before I knew what was happening, I was sitting in the chair. The chains locked around my wrists. The needles pressed into my scalp.

“No! No, no, no-”

Luna was now standing where I had been. She was outside the chair, watching me. Her soul had switched places with mine.

“You have to feel it,” she whispered sadly. “Otherwise, the wolf will never awaken. And you die”

The first needle sank into my skin, and the pain was everywhere. I screamed. It felt like my mind was being torn apart

The suffering was too much. Then, something inside me broke open.

A silver howl exploded from my soul. A thick mist poured from my chest, and the Alpha and the doctor jumped back. A massive, ghost–like silver wolf stepped out of my body. It had glowing white eyes.

The Phantom Wolf.

I was in two places at once. I felt the pain of the needles in the chair, but I also felt the cold, powerful freedom of the wolf standing beside me. It was watching. It was witnessing everything.

The Phantom Wolf let out a roar that shook the world.

Then, I snapped back to reality.

I didn’t open my eyes yet. I could still feel the second wolf, as if it had become a permanent part of me.

“The fifth trial is complete,” the witch said. She grabbed my arm, staring at the fifth white rune that had appeared in my skin.

I felt the silver collar click shut around my neck again. It blocked Nyx immediately, but it didn’t touch the ‘hantom Wolf. That was strange. Did I have a power now that the witch couldn’t control?

Jopened my eyes. The protective crystal ball above us was gone. I was wearing the collar, and Declan was holding he ruby dagger that was supposed to suppress my powers and keep me under his control.

But I could still feel the second wolf inside me, clear as day.