Eighth-Born Luna (Emily and Nathan) novel Chapter 22

Emily’s POV

Nathan’s gaze moved across the dining hall—slow, sharp, searching. Then his eyes found mine. And stopped.

The noise around me faded. For a second, it was only him. His golden-brown eyes held mine, and something passed between us. Something quiet. Something unfinished.

Then Stella slid her hand over his arm. Her fingers moved slowly up to his shoulder, soft and deliberate. She leaned close to his ear and whispered something I couldn’t hear.

Nathan didn’t look away from me at first. So Stella lifted her hand and brushed his jaw, turning his face toward her. Like she was reminding him where he was supposed to look.

Nyx growled inside my head. “Fake. She is such a fake. How does he not see through that bitch? Everything about her is a lie.”

I looked down at my plate before anyone could see my expression.

What had I expected? He had carried me out of a club. He had taken me to the lake to help me calm down. It was so humiliating that he had caught me in that state. I couldn’t even take care of myself, and he had to step in.

After breakfast, the hall exploded with excited whispers about training. The girls around me kept talking all at once.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Poppy said.

“My brother is going to lose his mind,” Jessie whispered, looking almost too pleased.

I turned to them slowly.

“I asked Kane last night,” I admitted.

They all looked at me.

I swallowed. “I asked him to train me. I told him I didn’t want to be helpless anymore.”

Jessie’s eyes went wide. “Emily.”

“I thought maybe he talked to Nathan or the Alpha King,” I said quickly. “Maybe that’s why they changed it.”

Jessie leaned across the table, her face suddenly bright with secrets. “Girls, you have no idea what happened last night.”

Tessa’s eyes sharpened. “What?”

“Not here.” Jessie glanced around the hall. “Poppy’s room. Now.”

We cleared our plates so fast that Dorothy shouted after us, “Don’t break anything.”

As we hurried down the hallway, someone stepped directly into my path.

Stella.

The conversation around us died instantly. She crossed her arms and looked me up and down slowly, her gaze lingering on my bruises. A satisfied smile touched her lips.

“Enjoy the attention while it lasts.”

I froze.

Stella tilted her head.

“Nathan gets bored quickly.” Her eyes glittered. “Trust me. I would know.”

Then she stepped around me and walked down the corridor like nothing had happened.

“Wow,” Poppy muttered behind me.

Tessa frowned.

Jessie rolled her eyes. “See? This is exactly why nobody likes her.”

A few minutes later, we were all crammed into the room I shared with Poppy. Jessie shut the door and turned around with the expression of someone who had been waiting all morning to explode.

“Okay,” she said. “So after we got back last night, my brother Blake showed up, commanded me to go straight to bed.”

Poppy snorted. “And naturally, you didn’t.”

“Obviously not.” Jessie looked offended. “There was shouting downstairs.”

Tessa leaned forward. “Who?”

“Nathan. Liam. Blake.”

I listened closely.

Jessie’s voice dropped into a dramatic whisper. “Nathan was furious. I mean, absolutely furious. He was yelling at Liam for taking us into the city after hearing that rogues were hunting Lunas.”

All the girls went silent. I felt my face go pale.

“So it’s true,” I whispered.

Jessie nodded.

“Then he turned on my brother and asked why Kane was the only one from our pack, while the others were from Marcus’s pack. Blake said he would accept the punishment.”

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