Eighth-Born Luna (Emily and Nathan) novel Chapter 21

Chapter 21

By the time we drove through the iron gates, the whole pack territory was awake.

Even though it was still dark, the yard was full of warriors. Some were running toward the training grounds. Others were climbing into black SUVs. Guards shouted orders near the border posts.

The rogue attack had shaken everyone. And maybe it should have. If rogues were bold enough to set a trap this close to the Alpha King’s pack, then nowhere was truly safe anymore.

Kane stopped the SUV in front of the packhouse. His hands stayed on the steering wheel for a moment, and through the rearview mirror, I saw his tense face. He looked like a man awaiting punishment.

“Here we are,” he said quietly.

Behind us, the second SUV pulled up to the entrance. Through the window, I watched Jessie and Tessa get out of the car and wait for me by the packhouse entrance, but I stayed frozen in my seat.

My body hurt. My hands were scratched. My legs ached. But that wasn’t why I couldn’t move.

I was thinking about the forest. The rogues. The way they had dragged me out of the car and into the dark woods, while I couldn’t do a thing to protect myself.

Before I could lose my nerve, I spoke up.

“Kane?”

He looked at me in the mirror. “Yes?”

My fingers tightened around the edge of the seat. “I want you to train me.”

He blinked. “What?”

I forced the words out before fear could stop me.

“I want to learn how to defend myself. Today proved something.” I leaned in a little closer. “Liam mentioned you’re one of the best warriors in the pack. If anyone can teach me, it’s you.”

My voice shook, but I didn’t stop. “I’m weak. I don’t know how to fight. I don’t want to be helpless anymore.”

Kane turned in his seat slowly. He just looked at me for a long moment.

I swallowed hard.

“Please,” I whispered. “Teach me how to fight.”

His expression softened, but then he sighed heavily.

“Emily… I’d help you if I could. But our pack doesn’t train females. It’s not how things are done here.”

I had expected that answer. My old pack had been the same. Girls cooked. Girls cleaned. Girls smiled. Girls stayed behind while men held weapons and made decisions. But I didn’t want to accept that anymore.

“Then make it private,” I said quickly. “Just a few lessons. Nothing official.”

Kane frowned. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

But he didn’t say no.

Nyx stirred inside my head. “Keep going.”

“Please. Just the basics. A few hours a week. Enough so I can run, block, hit back… anything.”

Kane looked away, rubbing a hand over his jaw. Then he sighed again.

“I can’t promise anything,” he said. “But I’ll speak to Alpha Nathan and Alpha King Garrett. If they approve it, I’ll train you myself.”

“Thank you,” I whispered.

Kane nodded once. “Don’t thank me yet.”

I finally opened the car door and stepped out. Jessie and Tessa walked up to me right away.

“Finally, you’re out,” Jessie said with a tired groan. “What a night. You guys do whatever you want, but I’m going home. I need to get in the shower and wash off this whole rogue encounter.” She looked at me and smiled faintly. “But I’m just glad we got to celebrate your birthday, Emily.”

“My birthday was last week,” I reminded her softly.

“Doesn’t matter,” Jessie shrugged.

Tessa nodded in agreement, looking over my messy clothes. “Emily, you look awful. You should be in bed.”

“That’s exactly where I’m going,” I said.

Jessie waved and headed home, while Tessa and I walked into the packhouse together.

She went up to the third floor, and I headed to my room on the second. A few minutes later, I was back in the room I shared with Poppy.

The moment she saw me, her eyes went wide.

“Oh my Moon Goddess, Emily.”

“I’m fine,” I said automatically.

“You are absolutely not fine.” She rushed toward me, her hands hovering like she didn’t know where to touch first. “You look like you fought a tree and lost.”

I almost smiled. “Technically, the tree attacked first.”

Poppy gave me a horrified look. “That is not funny.”

“It was a little funny.”

“No. Sit down.” She pointed at the bed. “I’m getting Doctor Reed.”

“It’s late,” I protested. “You worked in the clinic. Maybe you can just check me?”

Poppy’s face hardened in a way I didn’t expect. “I’m just an intern. I can check a fever. I can help with bandages. But those cuts need proper cleaning, and that side of yours looks bad.”

She grabbed her cardigan from the chair.

“Stay here. Don’t move.” Then she ran out before I could argue.

I sat on the edge of the bed and looked down at my hands. Small cuts covered my palms and knuckles. Dirt still clung to my nails. My dress was ruined. Nathan’s leather jacket, now dry enough to smell like cedar and pine, was folded carefully over my lap.

“You’re still mine to protect.” His voice echoed in my head, low and possessive. “Mine.”

The word should have scared me. Instead, it warmed something deep inside me. I hated that. I hated that one word from him could still make my heart forget every cruel thing he had said before.

The door opened, and Doctor Reed stepped inside with Poppy right behind him. He was calm, with tired eyes and a medical bag in one hand. The sharp scent of medicine followed him into the room, mixed with something clean and minty.

“Good evening, Emily,” he said gently. “May I sit?”

I nodded. He pulled a chair closer, opened his bag, and put on a pair of gloves.

“We’ve got to stop meeting like this, Emily,” Doctor Reed said with a small, sympathetic look. “I’m going to listen to your lungs first, then check for bruising and open wounds. After that, we’ll clean everything properly.”

“Okay,” I whispered.

He worked carefully. Poppy stayed beside him the whole time, handing him gauze, cotton, ointment, and clean tools. She looked pale every time he cleaned a deeper cut, but she didn’t leave.

The worst injuries were on my arms and legs. A few needed stitches. I bit my lip hard enough to taste blood, but I didn’t cry. Not once.

“I can do that.”

So I sat at the counter with a knife and a bowl, peeling apples while the kitchen slowly filled with more people.

At first, they looked at me with curiosity. Then someone asked if I had really been in the rogue attack. Someone else asked if Nathan had really carried me into a lake.

My face burned so hot I nearly dropped the knife. A few girls giggled. A young warrior choked on his drink.

Dorothy told everyone to stop gossiping and work faster, but even she looked like she was hiding a smile.

All that attention should have made me uncomfortable, but instead, it felt strange. Warm, even. Like I actually belonged here.

By breakfast, the dining hall was full. Tessa, Jessie, and Poppy sat beside me. The long tables were piled with plates, and everyone was eating while talking way too fast, still buzzing from last night.

Then the doors opened. The whole dining hall went quiet.

Alpha King Garrett entered with Luna Meredyth at his side. Everyone stood at once and bowed their heads. Garrett’s presence filled the room like a storm held behind glass. Controlled. Heavy. Impossible to ignore.

“Sit,” he commanded.

We sat. His eyes swept over the pack.

“As many of you already know, last night, rogues crossed into our territory and attacked a royal convoy.”

A wave of whispers moved through the hall. Garrett’s expression didn’t change.

“They came closer than they have ever dared before. That will not happen again.” His voice dropped lower. “From this day forward, border patrols will be doubled. All male warriors will report for additional training. No one leaves the pack without my direct permission.”

The hall went completely still.

“Rogues are no longer acting like scattered drifters. They are organized. They are watching. And they are hunting.”

A cold shiver ran through me. Hunting. Nathan’s words from last night came back to me. “They are looking for the next Luna.” My hands tightened in my lap.

Luna Meredyth stepped forward.

“And there is one more change,” she said. Every face turned to her. “Starting tomorrow, every female in this pack over the age of fifteen will begin defense training.”

For a stunned second, nobody moved. Then the female side of the hall erupted. Gasps. Whispers. Shocked laughter. A few girls applauded.

Meredyth’s smile grew soft but proud.

“I know this is not our tradition,” she continued. “But tradition means nothing if it leaves half our pack unable to protect themselves.”

My heart skipped a beat. Beside me, Poppy grabbed my arm. Jessie’s mouth fell open.

Tessa whispered, “No way.”

Alpha King Garrett nodded once. “Training starts tomorrow.”

The doors opened. Liam walked in, with Nathan right behind him and Stella at his side.

She was walking so close to him that her shoulder brushed his, her hand looped tightly, almost possessively, through his arm. She looked up at him, saying something with a low, private smile that made my chest tighten.

His expression was unreadable, but he didn’t pull away. He just let her hang on him.

An icy knot twisted in my stomach. He’d been in my room just hours ago, whispering how I’d scared him—and now, she was the one holding him.

As they reached the front of the room, Nathan stepped up beside his father, Alpha King Garrett. His dark eyes swept over the crowded tables, scanning the faces, until his gaze locked onto me.