The Banished Shy Luna Chapter 132

The sky tore open.

The silver beam that had shot upward when the Council retreated didn’t fade—it pulsed, brighter, wider, until the entire forest glowed like moonlight trapped in fog. The sound it made wasn’t thunder; it was lower, steadier, a vibration that crawled through bone.

Toren’s command ripped through the link. “Warriors to posts! Trackers to the ridge!”

The yard exploded into motion. Wolves shifted mid-stride, claws tearing mud. Tyson grabbed my arm, pulling me back under the porch overhang as shadows darted across the treeline.

“What the hell is that?” I demanded.

Douglas, still bruised and half-healed, leaned against the doorframe, eyes fixed on the sky. “The Council’s marker,” he said, voice hoarse. “They’re calling reinforcements.”

Talon swore. “Reinforcements? You mean more guards?”

Douglas shook his head once. “Not guards. Enforcers.”

The word landed heavy. Everyone had heard of them—wolves trained to subdue other wolves, bound by oaths that made them half-machine in loyalty. The Council’s personal monsters.

Tyson bared his teeth. “Let them come.”

“No.” Toren’s voice cut through the rising adrenaline. “We don’t know how many. We defend first. We don’t lose anyone tonight.”

He began issuing orders, sharp and clipped. “Talon, double the western line. Tyson, get the Omegas and pups to the tunnels. Kira—” He stopped when he saw my expression.

“What?” I asked.

“You’re staying behind me.”

I arched a brow. “Cute. No.”

He sighed through his nose. “Starlight—”

“I said no.” My voice came out steadier than I felt. “They came for me. They’ll come again. I’m not hiding while everyone bleeds for my name.”

For once, no one argued.

The beacon’s hum deepened. The silver light spread across the clouds, forming a spiral that twisted above us like a cyclone made of moonlight.

Douglas pushed off the doorframe, chains clinking faintly. “It’s not just a call to arms,” he said. “It’s a trace.”

Toren frowned. “A what?”

“A trace spell,” Douglas explained. “The Council has a Seer—ancient, blind as stone but powerful. The beacon lets her find the source of the disturbance, the bloodline causing it. She’ll lock onto Kira’s energy and mark her. Once that happens, they’ll know exactly where she is. Forever.”

The pack stilled. Even the wind seemed to stop.

“So that’s what they meant when they said they’d be back,” Talon muttered.

Tyson ran a hand through his hair, pacing. “How do we stop it?”

Douglas hesitated. “You can’t stop it once it starts. You can only block the Seer’s reach—and there’s only one person alive who can do that safely.”

“Who?” I asked, though I already knew the answer from the look on his face.

Douglas’s jaw tightened. “Our father.”

My chest went cold. “Our father.” I repeated, sighing.

He nodded once. “He’s the only one who has access to the Council’s registry of bloodlines. He built the network the Seer uses to track power. If you want to disappear from it, he’s the only one who can cut you out.”

Toren’s hands curled into fists. “You’re saying we have to go to him?”

“I’m saying if you don’t, the Council will find her before sunrise,” Douglas said. “They don’t want her dead, not yet. They want her contained. Controlled.”

Tyson’s voice dropped to a dangerous growl. “Over my dead body.”

“That’s the plan they’re counting on,” Douglas shot back. “They’ll kill you all if it gets them a compliant Luna.”

Silence slammed down. The beacon above flared again, brighter, the hum now a steady, pulsing rhythm. It felt alive—like it was breathing with us.

I looked up at it and laughed softly, the sound raw. “So my father built the leash they plan to use on me. Guess the family business really is control.”

Talon gave a humorless chuckle. “Could’ve been worse. Could’ve been plumbing.”

Tyson snorted despite himself. “Yeah, that would’ve been tragic.”

The dark humor was the only thing keeping the edges from splitting.

Toren turned to Douglas. “How long until the Seer locks on?”

“Minutes. Maybe less.”

“Then we move,” Toren said immediately. “Tyson, rally the warriors. We fall back to the ridge. Talon—”

But Douglas shook his head. “No time. You’ll never outpace the trace. Once she marks the Luna, the only way to sever it is to confront it head-on.”

I met his eyes. “And how exactly do I do that?”

“You don’t,” he said. “He does.”

“Who?”

“Mason.”

I barked a laugh that tasted of blood. “Right. The man who abandoned me, funded the Council, and sent his sons to tear my life apart. Fantastic option.”

Douglas’s expression didn’t waver. “He didn’t send them, Kira. Lucas acted on his own. Father… doesn’t know you survived the alpha Gathering.”

The words hit like ice water. “He doesn’t know?”

“No,” Douglas said quietly. “But he will. The Seer reports to him directly. When she finds you, she’ll tell him who you are. And then he’ll come.”

Tyson’s jaw flexed. “To help her?”

Douglas looked away. “To decide whether she’s worth saving.”

The beacon pulsed again—once, twice—then split. Streams of silver light arced outward from the central column, streaking toward the forest like falling stars. The hum became a roar.

Toren’s eyes widened. “They’re here.”

Shapes began to emerge between the trees—silhouettes cloaked in silver armor, eyes glowing faintly blue. The Enforcers. Dozens of them.

Tyson drew his blade with a sound that cut the silence. “Well,” he muttered, “guess we get to test how fireproof the Council really is.”

Talon cracked his knuckles. “Finally, something simple.”

I stepped forward, the ground vibrating under my bare feet, the pack behind me shifting in sync. My power stirred, hot and bright, clawing to be let loose.

“Douglas,” I said, without looking at him. “When this is over, you’re going to tell me everything about Mason Peir. Every secret. Every lie.”

He swallowed hard. “You might not like what you hear.”

I smiled—a sharp, tired curve of lips. “I never do.”

The first Enforcer broke through the tree line. Silver light glinted off his armor as he raised a weapon etched with Council sigils.

“Luna Kira,” he called, voice amplified by magic. “By decree of the Council, you are hereby ordered to surrender.”

I lifted my chin, power already surging through the pack bond.