The Banished Shy Luna Chapter 122

The storm hadn’t let up. If anything, it raged harder, like it wanted to see who would break first—me, or the world.

Toren didn’t speak. He just dropped Talon from his shoulders into the mud long enough to move faster than thought. His hand shot out, grabbing Douglas by the front of his shirt and hauling him forward so violently that water and earth sprayed in every direction.

“Are you fucking stupid?” Toren snarled, his voice low and shaking with fury. “You think you can kneel in front of my mate and claim to serve her? What about your pack, huh? The ones standing right behind you in the goddamn rain?”

Douglas didn’t flinch. Didn’t growl. Didn’t so much as blink.

“They will follow you from now on,” he said evenly.

Toren’s jaw flexed. “Bullshit.”

I didn’t buy it either. The wolves behind Douglas kept their heads bowed, but obedience didn’t equal loyalty—not in this world.

I stepped forward, my voice cutting through the storm. “Enough.”

Both men turned toward me. I could practically taste the tension between them, thick and metallic like blood.

“I’ll think about it,” I said tightly. “And get back to you, Douglas.”

He shook his head once, calm and immovable. “No. I refuse to leave your presence.”

I blinked. “Excuse me?”

Toren’s aura flared, so hot and heavy that even the rain hesitated. “You’re what?”

“I’ve pledged myself,” Douglas said simply. “Kill me if you want. But I won’t abandon my Luna.”

I sighed, dragging my hands through my soaked hair. “This day just keeps getting better.”

Toren’s growl vibrated through the ground. He looked like he was two seconds from ripping Douglas apart with his bare hands.

Behind him, Talon groaned from where he’d been dropped, his voice rasping but full of that dry humor that somehow survived even when he was half-dead.

“Can someone tell me why every time I almost die, the world decides to implode?”

I looked over my shoulder at him, shaking my head. “Because fate’s an asshole, apparently.”

It wasn’t funny, but laughter was better than screaming.

Toren muttered something under his breath—probably every curse word he knew—and lifted Talon back onto his back in one clean, practiced motion. Talon hissed but wrapped his arms weakly around Toren’s shoulders.

“Try not to bleed on my coat,” Toren gritted out.

“Try not to crush my ribs,” Talon shot back faintly.

“Boys,” I said, “we’re all wet and miserable—let’s save the flirting for later.”

Even Douglas’s mouth twitched. Just barely.

The walk back to the estate was long, cold, and silent—except for the rain and the occasional low hum of Toren’s mindlink. I could feel it through the bond, like a faint vibration against my chest. He was contacting Tyson, no doubt filling him in.

I didn’t need to hear it to know how that conversation was going.

*Toren: We have company.*

*Tyson: What kind of company?*

*Toren: The homicidal kind that just pledged himself to our Luna.*

*Tyson: …what the fuck?*

Yeah. I could practically hear it.

Douglas and his men followed behind us like wraiths, silent and obedient. Lucas, my mother, and my sister were nowhere in sight—probably too afraid or too humiliated to follow. Small blessings.

The path to the estate stretched long and dark, lined with wet pines that whispered like gossip. Every few minutes, I glanced back, half-expecting Douglas to vanish. He never did.

When the mansion finally came into view through the fog—stone and shadows and faint light in the windows—it felt like reaching the edge of a nightmare.

Toren’s shoulders were tight beneath Talon’s limp weight. His anger pulsed through the bond, hot and bitter.

I could feel every word he didn’t say.

When the silence finally broke, it was my voice that did it. “Why?” I asked, turning to Douglas. “Why are you doing this?”

He didn’t hesitate. “Because I meant what I said. I have no intention of hurting you.”

“That’s not what I asked,” I shot back. “You’re giving up your Alpha title, your territory, your entire damn life—to become a Gamma for someone you don’t even like. So why?”

His gaze met mine, unwavering. “You’re wrong. I do like you.”

Toren froze mid-step.

I blinked. “You what?”

Douglas’s expression didn’t change. “I like your strength. I like that even when the world was breaking you apart, you never stopped standing. That’s what separates you from the rest—from your sister, from your mother, from Lucas. They crumble when the world pushes.” He paused, his voice softening. “You push back.”

For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. There was no hidden motive in his tone—no mocking, no manipulation. Just quiet truth.

Toren’s fury rippled through the bond like wildfire. “You’re treading on dangerous ground, Douglas.”

Douglas looked at him calmly. “She asked why. I answered.”

He hesitated, then added—almost too casually—“And, for the record, I’ve always had a bit of a crush on her.”

The world stopped.

Even the rain seemed to hold its breath.

Toren’s voice dropped to something low and lethal. “Say that again.”

Douglas tilted his head. “I said—”

“Don’t.” I groaned, cutting him off before Toren could do something stupid like murder a newly pledged Gamma in his own front yard. “Please don’t. I don’t have the energy for this, or for Toren to commit homicide before I’ve had a shower.”

Behind us, Talon let out a weak laugh against Toren’s shoulder. “You have the weirdest fan club, Cupcake.”

“Yeah,” I muttered. “Apparently I collect emotionally damaged men the way other girls collect shoes.”

Toren growled, but there was a flicker of reluctant amusement behind it. “You’re not funny, Starlight.”

“Didn’t say I was,” I said, glancing back at Douglas. “Just honest.”

As we reached the estate gates, the rain finally softened into a mist. Toren’s anger still burned hot and heavy through our bond, but underneath it, I felt the sharp edge of something else. Worry. Fear.

Because whatever Douglas’s reasons were, whatever game this was—he’d just changed the balance of everything.

And for the first time that night, I wasn’t sure which scared me more:

That Douglas might be lying…

or that he wasn’t.