Eighth-Born Luna (Emily and Nathan) novel Chapter 81

Nathan’s POV

I carried Emily into the next room, my knuckles white from how hard I was gripping her. I felt like if I let go for even a second, she would slip through my fingers and disappear forever.

Her blood was everywhere. It stained my hands and soaked into the fabric of my shirt. The sharp, copper scent of it filled my lungs, making my head spin.

Asher was pacing violently inside my mind, his claws shredding my peace of mind.

“We failed her again,” he growled, his voice heavy with a pain I couldn’t ignore. “She’s broken because of us. We don’t deserve her.”

“I know,” I muttered, my voice raw and breaking.

I pushed the door open with my shoulder and laid her on the bed. The moment I let go, I froze.

The wounds on her body were almost gone.

The deep cuts on her stomach were almost gone. The jagged marks were now just faint lines on her skin.

“I’ve seen a lot in my time,” Doctor Reed whispered, his face pale as he hovered over her. The nurse beside him looked just as stunned. “But this kind of regeneration… it’s impossible.”

Her eyes fluttered open. Thank the Goddess. Relief slammed into me so hard my knees nearly gave out. She looked completely drained, but she was alive.

“How?” I rasped, my voice sounding like a growl. “Emily, how are you healing so fast?”

“I think…” she whispered, her voice barely a thread. “That’s part of it.”

I sank into the chair beside her bed, my eyes locked on the fading marks on her skin. “Part of what?”

Emily swallowed, her throat moving slowly. “The gifts.”

The room felt silent. I frowned, my heart thudding against my ribs. “What gifts?”

She looked down at the glowing rune on her arm. The white light was softer now, but still there. “The Luna bloodline.”

A cold chill crawled down my spine.

“There are eight abilities,” she said quietly. “Passed down through the women in my family. From Luna to Luna.”

Asher went completely still inside me.

Emily took a shaky breath. “This was the first one.”

“Healing,” I said immediately.

She nodded.

I turned to the doctor, my gaze sharpening. “Leave us. Now,” I ordered. My voice carried the full weight of my Alpha authority.

Doctor Reed didn’t argue. He and the nurse hurried out, the door clicking shut behind them.

Then, she told me everything.

She talked about the frozen forest and the dying Alpha. She told me about the ancient Luna and the choice she had to make. She described the agony and the terrible price of the trade.

“You took her wounds into yourself,” I said quietly.

Emily looked away, her gaze landing on the sterile white wall. “That’s what healing is.”

No. That wasn’t healing. That was a sacrifice. It was a dangerous game of life and death, and she had jumped right into the middle of it.

I rubbed a hand over my face, trying to process it all. “The powers awakened because your moon cycle started,” I muttered.

Emily gave a weak, tired frown. “I don’t know. The Goddess didn’t exactly leave an instruction manual.”

I looked up sharply, my pulse quickening. “The Goddess?”

Emily blinked, her eyes clearing for a second.

Then Emily realized what she had just said. Her eyes widened slightly. “Oh… right.”

I couldn’t look away from her. “You spoke to the Moon Goddess?”

“Kind of.”

“Emily,” I said, the words feeling heavy in my mouth. I was trying to make sense of it, but nothing made sense anymore. “Only high priestesses communicate directly with her. It’s not… it doesn’t just happen.”

She made a small, frustrated face. “Well… apparently she talks to me too.”

I just stared. She was beautiful, terrifying, and completely impossible. The girl I once thought needed constant protection had just walked into a room full of blood, taken death into her own lungs, and pulled my mother back from the edge.

And now she was casually telling me she was on speaking terms with the Goddess. What was she becoming?

Asher’s voice rumbled with a fierce, possessive pride inside my head. “She’s our Luna.”

Emily’s attention shifted toward the door. “How’s Meredyth?”

I looked down at my boots. “She’s alive.”

Emily’s shoulders dropped. “I want to see her.”

“No.”

Her head snapped back to me. “No?”

“You almost died ten minutes ago, Emily.”

“I’m fine.”

“Your heart stopped. You stopped breathing.”

Mother looked fragile against the white pillows, but her eyes were open. When she saw me and Liam, something inside her seemed to break. Tears filled her eyes, and I moved to her side immediately.

“Mother,” I said, my voice low. “What happened out there?”

Her breath hitched. “They knew exactly where we would be.”

A cold, dark feeling spread through my veins.

“The rogues attacked the convoy,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “It wasn’t random. They were waiting for us.”

Liam cursed under his breath. Mother stared at the wall, her eyes vacant, like she was still seeing the attack.

“They dragged us from the cars.” Her voice cracked. “Your father fought them. Goddess. He fought all of them.” Her hands shook against the hospital blanket. “He kept trying to get to me. He wouldn’t stop.”

I clenched my fists until my nails drew blood from my palms.

“They tore his throat open,” she whispered. “He died right there.”

Emily let out a sharp, pained breath beside me.

The chair beside me cracked beneath my hand. Wood splintered across the floor.

My wolf slammed against my skin so violently my vision blurred gold for a second.

I wanted blood. Rogue blood. I wanted every last one of them dead.

Emily grabbed my arm instantly.

“Nathan.”

Her voice was the only thing keeping me human.

Mother covered her mouth, her body finally racking with sobs. “The guards pulled me away before the rogues could kill me too.”

Liam’s face had gone completely white, his features turning to stone. Then, in a voice that was far too quiet, he asked:

“Where is Father’s body?”

Mother covered her mouth with trembling hands.

“They took him,” Mother sobbed.

Silence.

Then Liam whispered:

“They’re going to make a trophy out of the Alpha King.”