The Banished Shy Luna Chapter 134

The Elders retreated slowly, their steps cautious, faces pale beneath the glow of the dying beacon. Even as their Enforcers stumbled after them—broken, limping, dragging their wounded—I could smell their fear.

For a second, I thought it was over.

Then the air shifted. Something cold crawled down my spine. It felt wrong—too easy, too quiet.

“Toren,” I said softly. “Something’s not right.”

He turned toward me just as the ground tilted under my feet.“Kira!”

I didn’t even feel myself fall. One second I was standing, the next I was in his arms, the world spinning sideways. The edges of my vision blurred and the sound of the pack became distant, warped—like I was underwater.

Tyson was there a heartbeat later, his voice sharp. “What’s wrong with her? What happened?”

“Easy,” Toren growled, lowering me to the ground. “Starlight, look at me. Stay with me.”

I tried, but the world wouldn’t stop moving. My stomach twisted, my skin clammy and cold.

Douglas appeared at my side, a cloth in his hand. “Her nose,” he said tightly. “She’s bleeding.”

He pressed the cloth against my face and when he pulled it away, it was soaked through with red.

My voice came out a whisper. “That’s… not good.”

“Don’t talk,” Toren ordered, his tone sharp enough to cut. His eyes flicked up, scanning the treeline. “Tyson, Talon—on me.”

Tyson crouched, his hands trembling. “Why is she bleeding? She didn’t get hit. Did she get hit?”

Talon grabbed his shoulder, voice low but steady. “Calm down. Panicking won’t help her.”

“I’m not panicking!” Tyson snapped, eyes flashing. “She’s bleeding out of nowhere!”

Douglas wiped another streak from my face, his jaw tight. “It’s backlash. Her power wasn’t supposed to go that far.”

Toren’s growl rumbled through the clearing. “Then she needs to rest. We’re done here.”

He rose to his full height, power radiating off him like heat. His voice carried, the Alpha tone slicing through the chaos.“Everyone listen up!”

Every wolf, every warrior, every female froze mid-motion. Even the wind seemed to still.

Toren’s eyes burned gold. “We’re leaving. Now. Pack what you can carry, nothing else. If it doesn’t fit in your hands, it stays behind. Understood?”

A chorus of voices echoed back. “Yes, Alpha!”

He pointed at a group of warriors near the vehicles. “You four—drivers. Split into convoys of ten. No lights, no sound. You move when I say.”

“Alpha,” one of them asked hesitantly, “where are we going?”

“Checkpoint D,” Toren said without hesitation.

Tyson’s head whipped toward him. “You’re serious? That checkpoint?”

Toren met his gaze, voice like steel. “Deadly serious.”

Talon frowned. “That’s deep in the northern ridge. We’d have to go through neutral territory—”

“Then we move fast,” Toren snapped. “We don’t have the luxury of arguing.”

Tyson clenched his jaw. “What about the wounded?”

“Load them first,” Toren said, his tone softer but still firm. “Healer Seraphim meets us there. Tyson, get her on the link.”

Tyson hesitated. “You want me to contact her directly?”

Toren shot him a look that could have killed lesser men. “I want her there before we arrive. You can question my methods later.”

Tyson exhaled and nodded, already mind-linking.

Meanwhile, I tried to sit up, but the motion made the world tilt violently again. “I can walk,” I mumbled.

Toren crouched in front of me, his expression caught somewhere between worry and fury. “You can’t even see straight, Starlight.”

“I’m fine—”He cut me off, scooping me into his arms without another word. My protest died against his shoulder. His scent—pine, smoke, storm—was grounding and terrifying all at once.

He barked over his shoulder, “Talon, help the twins secure the perimeter. Douglas—”

Douglas straightened immediately. “What do you need?”

“Get in touch with Mason Peir,” Toren said, his tone low and deliberate.

“Now.”Douglas blinked. “You want me to call our father now?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have any idea what that means? The Council will know we reached out.”

Toren didn’t even flinch. “Good. Maybe they’ll think twice before they send more of their dogs.”

Douglas frowned, but the weight in Toren’s voice left no room for debate.

"Fine,” he said quietly. “I’ll reach out.”

Toren nodded, adjusting me in his arms as if I weighed nothing. “Tell him his daughter is done being a secret. And if he doesn’t want to lose both his sons, he’ll answer.”

Douglas stared for a moment, then gave a single, grim nod.

“Understood.”The pack moved like clockwork now. Warriors shifted to wolf form, Omegas guided the children, the twins ushered the wounded. Vehicles started to line the road, engines humming low.

I caught glimpses between the blur—Tyson arguing with a scout about routes, Talon barking orders to close the rear, Douglas pacing with a phone pressed to his ear, his expression hard.

Toren carried me through it all, his stride steady despite the chaos.“You should’ve told me it would take this kind of toll,” he muttered, mostly to himself.

“I didn’t know,” I whispered. “It’s never gone that far before.”

He glanced down at me, his eyes dark. “It shouldn’t have to. You don’t need to destroy yourself to protect us.”

I managed a faint smile. “It’s kind of my thing.”

He almost laughed, shaking his head. “You’re impossible.”

“And yet,” I murmured, “you’re still here.”

His grip tightened. “Always.”

We reached the lead vehicle just as Douglas returned, his expression grim.

“He answered,” he said.

Toren turned, his posture all Alpha command again. “And?”

“He’s coming,” Douglas said simply.

“He said to meet him halfway. He didn’t sound happy.”

Toren’s eyes narrowed. “He doesn’t have to be happy. He just has to listen.”

Tyson approached, wiping sweat from his forehead. “Seraphim’s confirmed. She’ll meet us at Checkpoint D.”

“Good.” Toren exhaled, looking out at the line of vehicles ready to move. “Everyone’s accounted for?”

“Everyone but a few scouts still sweeping the edge,” Talon said, jogging up. “They’ll follow.”

Toren nodded once, then turned toward the pack, his voice rising again.

“We move in five! Stay close, stay quiet. No one gets left behind.”

A unified shout answered him: “Yes, Alpha!”

The engines rumbled to life, the night vibrating with power and fear.

Toren climbed into the front passenger seat, cradling me in his lap as if letting go wasn’t an option. “Hang on, Starlight,” he murmured as the convoy began to roll. “You’re safe. I’ve got you.”