Eighth-Born Luna (Emily and Nathan) novel Chapter 45

Emily’s POV

I stood in the bathroom, shivering in the cool morning air. I just wanted to wash my face, but my hand–still heavily bandaged from yesterday–kept getting in the way.

I tried to be careful, but as I leaned over the sink, I accidentally knocked the faucet, splashing water all over my

gauze.

“Damn it,” I muttered. Knowing the damp fabric would only irritate the burn, I sighed and began to unwrap it, racing myself to see the raw, blistered skin underneath.

I stopped dead.

My hand was perfectly smooth. There was no sign of a burn, no redness. It was as if the injury had never happened.

I waved my hand and stared at it.

“This is odd, Nyx,” I thought. “Have you ever seen me heal this fast?”

“It must be the bond,” she replied.

“But he hasn’t accepted me.”

I walked to the packhouse, my thoughts spinning. I had barely stepped into the kitchen when someone shouted,

‘DO YOU ALREADY KNOW?!”

I froze in the doorway. “Know what?”

There was a moment of noise, and then Jessie, Tessa and Poppy started talking over each other.

“She doesn’t know!”

“Emily?! Really?!”

“This is too much, even for him!”

I blinked. “Can someone explain?”

The girls looked at each other, eyes wide with excitement.

“There’s a ceremony coming up,” Tessa blurted out. “The Council is bringing all the Alphas here to do it at once.

Every one of them will claim their mate. It’s quick and official.”

I frowned. “And that involves me how?”

They stared at me, surprised at first, then with pity.

“Emily…” Jessie narrowed her eyes. “Don’t tell me he hasn’t told you.”

5:28 pm

I kept my face calm..“Told me what?”

“That you’re walking with Alpha Nathan at the ceremony!” jessie waved a hand. “We thought you two handled t… You know, last night.”

“Right!” Poppy added. “We figured he was finally making his move. We expected you to be glowing today.”

I stood there. “He didn’t say anything.”

“Oh,” Tessa whispered. “That’s awkward.”

“If the Alpha even planned on telling me,” I thought. “Maybe he chose someone else.”

I managed a smile. “It’s fine.” *

I turned to the table and grabbed a knife.

“Emily,” Poppy called out.

I kept moving, but she grabbed my arm. “Why is your hand bare? Your burn-” She flipped my hand over and rasped. “That’s impossible. I saw it yesterday.”

“Saw what?” the other girls asked.

“My hand… it was a second–degree burn,” I muttered, keeping my voice low. “It just… healed.”

I turned back to the vegetables and focused on chopping. My hands moved automatically. The girls stayed quiet,

out the tension hung in the air.

Emily.”

I turned around.

Owen leaned against the doorframe, looking relaxed and confident. “Are you busy?”

“Yes,” I replied, trying to sound serious. “I’m saving the pack from starvation.”

He chuckled. “Great. Then you have ten minutes. You’re coming with me.”

“Is that an order?” I teased.

He laughed, running a hand through his hair. “Almost. How about a picnic? I know a perfect spot by the river. We

an take our coffee there.”

I let out a small huff, but I couldn’t help smiling. “Sounds tempting.”

“Maybe don’t go into the woods with a stranger,” Nyx cautioned.

“Let’s take the girls,” I said. “And you can bring some of your friends. To keep it fair.”

Owen rolled his eyes but nodded. “You just ruined my plan, but fine.”

5:29 pm

PPP

An hour later, we sat by the water. The sun was shining, and everyone’s laughter made the afternoon feel perfect.

“Officially,” Owen said, stretching out on the grass beside me, “this is the best kitchen escape ever.”

“I agree.”

“I’ve been waiting for this,” he said, looking at me. “For you to stop looking through me.”

“I wasn’t looking through you.”

“Sure,” he smiled. “You were just pretending I didn’t exist. There’s a difference.”

I laughed, and the tight feeling in my chest faded. He reached over and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. It felt natural, like he belonged there. I froze, but didn’t move away

“See?” he whispered. “Progress.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” I replied.

“Never,” he smirked. “I’m just counting the small wins.”

The wind moved through the tall grass, and the girls‘ laughter in the distance felt far away, like it was from

another world.

“Okay,” Owen said, turning to me. “Truth time. What do you do when you aren’t busy saving the pack from a

hunger strike?”

I raised an eyebrow. “That’s a high–stakes job, for your information.”

“I’m sure. But what else? Who is Emily when she’s not in the kitchen?”

I shrugged. “Mostly just reading light romances,” Meredyth’s books flashing through my mind. “Training hard, trying to be stronger. Nothing special.”

“Nothing special?” He huffed. “You just described the things that make you, you, Emily.”

I looked at him, caught off guard. “You’re surprisingly good at compliments.”

“I’m good at a lot of things,” he said, tilting his head. “You just never gave me the chance to show you before.”

I rolled my eyes, but a small smile crept onto my face.

“And you?” I asked.

“I’m mostly on patrol,” he said, leaning back. “Boundaries, scouting… the ‘fun‘ part of pack life.”

“Fun?”

“Sure. Sometimes someone tries to kill us – it keeps things exciting.”

5:29 pm PPP

“How inspiring.”

“At least I’m honest,” he grinned. “I also train the younger wolves. When they aren’t trying to tear each other’s throats out, it’s decent work.”

“So you’re the patient type.”

“I’m pretending,” he said with a straight face. “In reality, I’m screaming on the inside the whole time.”

I laughed, the sound coming out bright and clear. “can believe that.”

He fell quiet for a moment, his eyes studying me in a way that made my skin tingle.

“What if there was no pack?” he asked. “If you could go anywhere, do anything… what would it be?”

I looked out at the river and watched the water flow over the stones.

“I don’t know,” I said. “Something quiet. Somewhere, I don’t have to watch my back. Somewhere I can just… be.”

“You don’t look like someone who wants a quiet life.”

“That’s because I’ve never had one.”

He nodded, his playfulness replaced by something sincere. “Then you deserve to find it,” he said, his voice a soft

>romise.

He was the first to break the gaze, looking toward the horizon.

“My turn. If I could leave? I’d travel. I want to see a world where nobody knows who I am. No ranks, no expectations. Just a stranger in a new human city.”

“That doesn’t sound like the Owen I know.”

“You don’t know me half as well as you think,” he said, a playful gint in his eyes.

“Maybe not.”

The space between us felt warmer. He lay back on the grass and put his hands behind his head.

“But? Right now… I’m exactly where I want to be.”

‘Really?”

He turned his head, and his eyes met mine with an intensity that made it hard for me to breathe.

“Yes. I’m glad I got to have this moment with you. Before…well, you know.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t you know?” He looked at me closely. “Soon, you’ll be his.”

5:29 pm

His words sounded casual, but they hurt. Everyone seemed so sure. I looked at the water. Everyone except Nathan. He hadn’t said anything.

Before I could pull away, Owen gently took my hand.

“You still haven’t told me how your hand healed so fast,” he said.

“I have no idea,” I admitted, meeting his eyes.

He lifted my hand to his lips. Suddenly, I felt uneasy he was crossing a line. I pulled my hand back quickly. I

wanted a friend, not someone trying to win me over.

“Your wolf doesn’t like me much, does she?” Owen whispered, sensing the shift.

“Not really,” I said.

“What’s her name?”

‘Nyx.”

“Nyx, believe me,” Owen said to the empty air, “I would make her happy.”

“I’m waiting for my mate until he officially rejects us,” Nyx growled in my head. I let out an involuntary, low

umble.

Owen raised his hands in surrender. When the sun started to set behind the trees, turning the grass golden, he

¡poke again.

“How about a quick run in our wolf forms?”

“Sounds good,” the guys agreed.

Jessie couldn’t stop glancing at Kane. Tessa and Poppy looked ready to go, too.

“You in?” Owen asked me.

I hesitated, the memory of that cliff flashing in my mind. But I was with my friends. What could go wrong?

“Sure,” I agreed.

We left our clothes in the bushes. I heard bones snapping as the girls shifted first.

“Nyx, please, make it quick,” I prayed.

“It’ll be fine,” my wolf promised.

I braced for the usual pain, but there was only a brief flicker of numbness. When I opened my eyes, I was looking at the world from down low.

“Nyx, I can’t believe it!” I yipped with excitement.

5:29 pm

“Neither can I.” she replied.

Joined the others, and I could see the awe on their faces. I stood out, a flash of white against their earthier colors. Owen was deep brown, Kane was sleek gray, and Poppy, Jess, and Tessa all had light coats, each a different shade of sandy blonde

It was the same color I saw right before I was pushed off the cliff.

Maybe there were more wolves in the pack with coats like that than I had noticed before.

“If Stella hadn’t ‘accidentally‘ spilled wine all over our dresses that day,” Nyx muttered, her voice heavy with ¡arcasm, “we wouldn’t have been late. We would have run with the rest of the pack, and we would have known the rariety of wolf colors in the pack.”

I felt the same regret. “It doesn’t matter now. Let’s just catch up.”