Eighth-Born Luna (Emily and Nathan) novel Chapter 73

I was on my tenth lap, and my lungs felt like they were filled with acid. Every step sent a dull throb through my calves, but I kept my pace. I didn’t want to stop.

I rounded the corner of the track, pushing for more speed, and slammed straight into a wall of solid muscle.

I stumbled back, my boots sliding in the dirt, but Nathan didn’t even move. It was like running into a mountain. Before I could fall, his hand shot out, gripping my elbow to steady me.

“Giving up already?” he asked.

I wiped sweat from my forehead and forced a jagged laugh. “Not even close.”

His lips quirked into a small smirk, but it didn’t reach his eyes. They stayed sharp, focused on something I couldn’t see. “That’s enough for today.”

I pulled my arm back, frowning. “What? Why?”

“My father called,” he said. His voice dropped, turning hard and icy. “It’s urgent.”

The playfulness was gone. “Then go. Don’t let me keep you.”

He didn’t move right away. He lingered, his gaze searching my face for a long second, as if he was memorizing the

way I looked in the sunlight.

Then, he let go. He turned and disappeared toward the main house without looking back.

I stood in the center of the training field.

My skin was cooling down, and the ache in my muscles started to settle. The house was right there, inviting and warm. I could go inside, take a shower, and collapse onto the bed.

Instead, I turned and started walking in the opposite direction.

r

Jessie’s house was bright, filled with the smell of laundry and the sound of a radio playing somewhere in the back. barely had time to knock before the door swung open.

“Emily!” Jessie grabbed my arm and yanked me inside. “You’re alive!” she laughed, looking me up and down. “I honestly thought Nathan had run you into the ground by now.”

“Hilarious,” I muttered, letting myself sink into the soft cushions of her sofa. My muscles felt like lead.

“Want something cold?”

Everything.”

ad with ice and something citrus.

5:56 pm

jessie sat down next to me, her eyes dancing with mischief. “How is it…again being alive?”

I rolled my eyes at the ceiling. It’s complicated.”

“That’s a very polite way of putting it,” she chuckled.

The front door creaked open again. “Did miss the good stuff?”

Poppy walked in, kicking off her shoes and jumping onto the couch on my other side.

“We’re talking about her new life with Alpha,” Jessie said, leaning in.

“Oh, perfect timing,” Poppy grinned.

I groaned, burying my face in my hands. “Please, don’t start.”

“Too late,” they said together, their voices perfectly synced.

We all broke into a laugh, and for a small window of time, the world felt regular again.

“Anyway,” I said, turning to Jessie. “You and Kane? He’s your mate?”

Her expression softened, the teasing light in her eyes turning into something warm and distant. “It was at that

arty. My eighteenth birthday. It wasn’t a thought,” she said, shaking her head slowly. “It was a pull. Like my wolf inally recognized someone it had been waiting for.”

Poppy let out a small snort, though her eyes were kind./It’s like getting hit by lightning. But, you know, the kind hat doesn’t kill you.”

I looked at her, knowing exactly what she meant. I’d felt that same pull–maybe even stronger–the very first

noment I laid eyes on Nathan.

“What about you?” I asked, looking at Poppy.

A faint pink color crept up her neck. “Marcus came to the hospital. He was there to check on you.”

I sat up a little straighter, ignoring the ache in my ribs. “And?”

“And his wolf caught my scent,” she said, shrugging like she was trying to act casual, though her fingers were wisting a loose thread on the cushion. “It happened instantly.”

A dry laugh bubbled up in my chest, though it hurt my ribs. “So, I’m literally on my deathbed, and I’m still playing natchmaker? I should start charging a commission.”

“Looks like it,” Jessie joked, giving me a playful nudge.

Owen: Hey. How are you doing?

A beat passed, and then a second message popped up.

5:56 pm

Owen. It’s been a while since I heard from you. I’m starting to worry.

-A sharp pang twisted in my gut. I stared at the words until they blurred, then flipped the phone over, hiding the screen against the wood

“Is that Owen?” Poppy’s voice was soft, the teasing gone.

I gave a small nod.

“What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. The weight of the choice felt like a physical pressure on my chest.

Jessie looked at me, her face grim. “He was losing his mind, Emily.”

“Nathan didn’t even let him inside the hospital,” Poppy added, leaning in.

I looked up, my heart thumping. “What? Why?”

“He had Owen locked up in a different wing under guard,” she said. “Nathan knew that if he saw Owen near you, e’d lose control. He would’ve killed him just for breathing your air.”

The room grew heavy. I looked at my phone, lying face down and dark, thinking about the two men standing on >pposite sides of a door I had closed.

My choice was clear, it always had been. But the realization that I was about to crush Owen’s world made me feel ick to my stomach.

“Everything is… a disaster right now,” I said, staring into my glass. “Nathan is here. We’re trying to… figure out

vhat this is. Between us.”

“And what about Stella?” Jessie asked, her voice dropping.

“Gone,” I replied. “She vanished. Tessa too.”

The girls exchanged a look. It was that heavy kind of look that said they knew more than they were letting on.

“Are you scared?” Jessie asked.

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