Eighth-Born Luna (Emily and Nathan) novel Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Emily’s POV

“Nathan, did you suddenly decide to go swimming?” Marcus crossed his arms, teasing the most dangerous Alpha here.

Nathan’s face turned cold and angry. He held me tighter.

“Another word, Marcus, and you’ll be feeding the fish at the bottom of this lake.”

Marcus, however, looked completely delighted by the threat.

“Good. Nice to see you’re in a better mood.”

Jessie jumped out of the next SUV.

“Emily!”

Tessa followed close behind.

“Emily, are you okay?”

I blinked at them from Nathan’s arms, my mind still foggy with exhaustion.

“I… think so.”

Relief showed on both their faces.

Nathan stepped out of the freezing water, his movements radiating pure, predatory danger. I held onto his wet shirt. As soon as his boots reached the shore, he set me down gently.

Then he turned to Liam and Marcus.

“What the hell were you thinking?” Nathan growled.

The air seemed tense with his Alpha presence.

“You took three defenseless girls into the human city.”

He took another step and was almost face-to-face with Liam.

“You disappeared for hours.”

He turned quickly to Marcus.

“You, Marcus! I expected this stupidity from Liam, not from you. You’re the one who said the rogues had become more dangerous.”

Marcus’s expression darkened.

“Nathan, I—”

“Enough.”

Nathan’s eyes swept across the lake, taking in the wide-open shoreline, the parked vehicles, and the girls.

“We’re exposed out here. If rogues attack now, we’re sitting ducks.”

He pointed toward the vehicles.

“Everyone back in the SUVs. Move.”

That got everyone moving. Doors slammed, and engines fired back up.

I headed for the second SUV to ride with the girls.

“Emily, you’re coming with me,” he commanded, holding the front passenger door open.

The girls stared at me.

“Get in, right now. We have a lot to talk about,” he said, his voice full of Alpha authority.

My feet moved without thinking. I climbed in, the leather seats cold against my damp skin.

Before Nathan could close the door, Liam showed up at the window.

“I’ll ride with you guys,” Liam said, clearly realizing that leaving me alone with an angry Nathan wasn’t a good idea.

Nathan glared at him.

“No.”

Liam blinked.

“No?”

“No.”

Nathan snapped, his expression completely serious.

“You’re riding with the girls. Watch their backs.”

Nathan shut my door hard. A moment later, he got behind the wheel. The engine started, and the SUV shot forward so fast it pressed me into the seat.

I glanced nervously into the side mirror. The rest of our massive convoy was already moving. Blake’s SUV and Marcus’s cars immediately fell into line behind us, while the heavy security escorts framed our perimeter.

Inside the car, the air felt heavy. Only the engine’s hum and my uneven breathing filled the silence.

At least, until Nathan lost his patience.

“What were you thinking?” Nathan finally asked.

His voice wasn’t loud this time. Somehow, that was worse.

I looked away.

“I wasn’t alone.”

“You left pack territory.”

His grip tightened on the steering wheel.

“Emily, rogues aren’t random drifters anymore. They’re organized. They hunt.”

“We had guards.”

“Not enough.”

The words came out sharp.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Then Nathan grabbed his leather jacket from the center console and dropped it onto my lap.

“Cover yourself. You’re freezing.”

“No, thanks. I’m fine,” I muttered.

“I wasn’t asking.”

He gave me a warning look, his eyes glowing with dangerous Alpha gold.

“Your wet clothes are driving my wolf crazy.”

Unwillingly, I pulled the jacket over my legs.

And then I saw it.

The dark hole in the mountain.

The tunnel.

Black.

Deep.

Terrifying.

My breath stopped.

“No…” I whispered.

“What?” Nathan asked.

But the car was already inside.

Darkness swallowed us.

And then, the memories swallowed me.

I wasn’t in the SUV anymore.

I was a little girl again, squeezed in the back seat between my mother and father.

FLASHBACK

It was a dark night.

The smell of my mother’s perfume was in the air.

We were laughing.

Then—the tunnel.

Everything happened in flashes.

A light, too bright.

The sound of screaming tires.

The horrible, metallic screech of metal bending and breaking.

The world spun.

Upside down.

Right side up.

Then a bone-breaking crunch.

And…

silence.

The smell of smoke and burning oil.

I tried to reach for my mom’s hand, but she didn’t move.

Her fingers were cold.

“Mom?”

My voice was young and broken.

No answer.

“Dad?”

I called for him, but there was no answer.

Just the sound of something dripping and the cold wind blowing through the broken glass.

I saw shadows moving outside.

Something with glowing red eyes watching us die.

PRESENT DAY

“EMILY!”

I jerked awake, grabbing the seat.

I couldn’t breathe.

Met sooner.

A huge tree crashed down in front of us, blocking the road.

It cut us off from the lead guard car, which had just managed to pass and stopped about twenty feet ahead.

Nathan didn’t hesitate.

He shifted into reverse, threw his arm over the back of my seat, and began driving backward as fast as he could.

Behind us, the next car—the one with Marcus, Liam, and the girls—was also backing up, trying to escape.

His arm was right next to my face.

I could see the muscles tensing under his white shirt and smell his intoxicating scent.

It made my head spin.

Maybe I hit my head too hard, I thought, because suddenly all I wanted was to be closer to him.

We had only moved a few yards when a second tree crashed down right behind Marcus’s car.

It was a perfect trap.

The trees had cut us and the girls off from the rest of the convoy’s escort guards.

Nathan turned to me quickly.

“It’s a trap. We’re cut off.”

“But who could set this up?” I asked, my voice shaking but firm.

His gaze darkened.

“Rogues.”

“Here?” I gasped.

“In pack territory?”

“Now they don’t care about borders. Everything changed since they started hunting for…”

He stopped.

“Hunting for who? For Alphas?” I asked.

But Nathan didn’t answer.

He looked at the rearview mirror, checking the car behind us.

“Here’s the plan,” he said.

“You stay in the car. Keep the doors locked. I’m going out to help them.”

“No!”

I grabbed his arm, my fingers digging into it.

“Don’t go. You’re the Alpha. You’re the one they want!”

His eyes held too many secrets as he looked at me.

“Maybe this time, I’m not the one they’re looking for, Emily.”

“What do you mean?”

He sighed, leaning his head back against the headrest for a split second.

He didn’t want to tell me, but he had to.

“Two days ago, we learned they are hunting for a specific female.”

“They are looking for the next Luna.”

The air left my lungs.

“But… I’m nothing to the pack. I’m not the next Luna. You’re going to reject me…”

“But I haven’t done it yet,” he growled.

His thumb brushed my cheek.

The movement was too soft for someone like him.

“And until I do… you’re still mine to protect.”

His voice dropped lower, vibrating in the small space of the car.

Mine.

The word settled deep in my chest.

It felt warm, but also terrifying.

Panic washed over me.

He grabbed my face in his large hands, forcing me to look at him.

“Emily, focus!” he commanded.

He was so close.

I could see the muscles flexing under his white shirt, still damp from the lake, and the rich scent of cedar and pine needles filled the air.

But then I looked past his shoulder, and a cold shiver ran down my spine.

I saw them.

Dozens of glowing red eyes appeared in the dark forest.

The rogues came out, surrounding us.