Eighth-Born Luna (Emily and Nathan) novel Chapter 67

I carried her through the woods like she was made of glass. Every step back to my house felt like a dream.

The guards didn’t dare speak. They didn’t even breathe as I passed. All I could hear was the beat of her heart.

I pushed the door to her room open with my shoulder.

Carefully–so carefully–I laid her on the silk sheets. My hands hovered over her for a second. I was afraid that if I

et go, she would vanish into thin air.

She didn’t. Her chest rose and fell. Slow. Steady.

Alive.

I sank into the chair beside her bed. I buried my face in my hands, my fingers tangling in my hair. I should have

elt relief. I should have felt like I won.

But I felt like ice. I didn’t deserve to be the one sitting here.

Not after what I did.

Because somewhere, deep down, I understand… someone had paid the price for this.

My jaw tightened. I didn’t want to think about the Moirai. I didn’t want to remember their cruel, knowing smiles. They said I had already chosen.

Bullshit. I would never-

The door creaked.

A doctor, Reed, stepped in. He was hesitant. Smart man. He could feel the tension in the room. He could feel the volf inside me, barely holding back.

“Alpha… I need to examine her,” he whispered.

I didn’t answer. I didn’t move.

He stepped closer anyway. Brave, or maybe just stupid. He checked her pulse, her eyes, and her breathing. Slowly,

is brows pulled together in a frown.

“That’s… impossible,” he muttered.

My head snapped up. “What?”

“There’s no trauma,” he said, looking confused. “No internal damage. No signs of… anything. It’s like she was never touched. Like she was never hurt at all.”

Relief flashed through me. The Fates had cleaned her soul. But then the doctor spoke again.

“I’ll need to run a full exam. We should move her to the medical wing. I need to check for… possible assault.”

-My mind flashed back to that place. Emily was on the cold dirt. A rogue’s hands on her skin. Her body was

unmoving.

In a heartbeat, I was on my feet. My wolf, Asher, surged to the surface, his golden eyes burning through mine.

“What did you just say?” I growled. The sound vibrated the windows in their frames.

“Alpha, I’m obligated to check-”

“Obligated?” My Alpha aura exploded into the room, heavy and suffocating. “You think I’ll let you touch her? You hink you’re moving her anywhere? After what she’s been through?”

“She could have been violated!” he insisted, his voice shaking. “I have to know if—”

“No.” I stepped between him and the bed. I was ready to tear the throat out of anyone who tried to lay a hand on

ier.

And then-

“Stop.” The voice was weak. Faint. But it was the only sound in the world that mattered.

I turned so fast I almost stumbled.

Emily was looking at us. Her eyes were clear… she was awake.

“She’s conscious,” the doctor said, his voice full of relief. He leaned over her, his eyes clinical and cold. “Emily, I need to ask you–do you remember anything? Did the rogue touch you? Did he… violate you?”

My entire body went rigid.

This was it. The answer that would either calm my wolf or turn me into a monster.

Emily looked at me for a heartbeat. Her eyes were wide and searching. Then, she looked back at the doctor.

“He didn’t,” she said. Her voice was quiet, but it didn’t shake.

The tension didn’t leave my muscles. It stayed there, coiling like a snake.

“How can you be sure?” the doctor pressed, leaning closer. “You were unconscious for a long time. The trauma night have-”

“I know,” she interrupted.

Simple. Certain. There was something in her voice–a strange, ancient power–that made even my wolf, Asher, go silent.

The doctor opened his mouth to argue again. Big mistake.

tearing through his coat, and dragged him toward the

door.

“Alpha–he gasped, his feet shuffling against the floor.

“If she said no,” I growled, shoving him qut into the hallway, “then it’s no.”

The door slammed shut.

Silence. I stood there for a second, my chest heaving, trying to pull my Alpha aura back under control. When I finally turned back to her, my heart felt like it was being squeezed.

She looked so small. Too small for that massive bed. But her eyes… they were different. They were deeper, like she had seen something on the other side that she couldn’t explain.

I moved back to the chair slowly, my footsteps heavy.

“What do you remember?” I asked. My voice was a rough whisper.

She frowned, her gaze drifting toward the window. “Not much… I was… somewhere else. It was dark.”

She looked back at me, her eyes shimmering. “I was talking to Nyx,” she whispered. “Even with the aconite in my blood… I could still feel her. I could still hear my wolf.”

That shouldn’t be possible. Aconite–wolfsbane–is a death sentence for our kind. It’s meant to sever the bond, to drown the wolf in pain until there is nothing left but a screaming human.

But she…

“You stayed connected?” I asked softly, leaning in.

She nodded faintly.

A slow, shaky exhale left me. I reached out, my thumb brushing over her knuckles.

“You have no idea how rare that is, Emily,” I said, my voice thick with a sudden, fierce pride. “You’re not just a survivor. You’re a miracle.”

r

My eyes locked on hers, burning with a truth I could no longer hide.

“You have no idea what you are, Emily, and how beautiful you are,” I said quietly.

I wasn’t just saying it to be kind. I knew it in my soul. Every instinct I had as an Alpha was screaming that she was more than she seemed.

“I know more than I should from the witch,” I said. And not enough at the same time.” She told me finally everything,” I added.

A flicker of fear crossed her beautiful, pale face.

“Hey,” I said, softening my tone. I leaned forward until I was in her space. “You’re safe here. With me.”

Iwave

won’t let anyone take you,” I leaned my hand on her. “Not Priestesses. Not my father. No one.”

Instead of relaxing, her eyes widened. It wasn’t the fear of a victim–it was the fear of a secret being exposed.

“…Do Priestesses know?” she whispered. “About me? About what am I?”

I wanted to protect her from the truth, but an Alpha doesn’t lie to his mate.

“…Yes.”

Her breath hitched, her small hand clutching the blanket.

“One of the High Priestesses helped bring you back,” I added. “So yeah… they know. They’re watching.”

A heavy, suffocating silence fell between us. In that silence, the memory of the Moirai returned. I could still hear he snap of the thread. I could still feel the cold weight of the sacrifice I hadn’t seen. A sharp pain stabbed at my

heart.

I looked away, staring at the dark shadows in the corner of the room. Don’t think about it. Don’t let her see the

:ost.

“…What will we do now?” she asked quietly.

“Now?” I said, standing up. I smoothed my shirt and forced a smirk onto my face, trying to be the man she needed.

“Now, you eat.”

As if on cue, her stomach betrayed her. It let out a loud, very ungraceful growl.

I laughed, the sound rough and genuine. “Yeah. That bad, huh?”

Emily covered her face with her hands, a weak but beautiful laugh bubbling out of her. “Stop… It’s embarrassing.”

I stepped closer. Without thinking, I reached out and placed my hand lightly over her steinath. I could feel her varmth through the fabric. I could feel her heartbeat.

Alive. Safe. Mine.

“I’ll make you something,” I said, my voice turning thick and low. “A thick piece of lamb. Roasted potatoes. My nother’s special sauce…”

Her stomach growled even louder this time. She laughed harder, her eyes finally sparkling again.

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