The Banished Shy Luna Chapter 144

The words kept ringing in my skull long after the healer hung up.

You’re pregnant.

I didn’t breathe.

I didn’t blink.

I couldn’t speak.

The car was still rolling down the dark road, but everything felt far away, muffled, like I was underwater and the world was happening above me.

“Kira?” Toren asked again, his voice tight.

“Kira, sweetheart—talk to us,” Talon whispered, brushing my knee.

Tyson grabbed my chin gently and turned my face toward him. “Moon? Hey—say something.”

But I couldn’t.

My throat refused to work.

My brain refused to form words.

My entire body locked down.

The SUV filled with static panic.

“Kira?!” Toren snapped louder.

Douglas leaned forward. “Is she hurt? Is she bleeding? Check her pulse—”

“She’s pale as hell,” Talon muttered.

Tyson’s hands shook as he scanned my face. “Breathe. Please breathe.”

Mason tensed, looking between us. “Someone tell me what the healer said—”

“She isn’t talking,” Toren growled. “She’s in shock.”

Marianne twisted in her seat, eyes wide. “Do I need to pull over?”

I opened my mouth—and nothing came out.

Tyson cursed. “Okay that’s it—Marianne, pull over, now.”

“Doing it!” she yelped, cutting across the empty road.

Shyanne flicked on the hazard lights as we rolled into a dimly lit gas station off the highway—one of those creepy, half-abandoned ones with one flickering bulb and a vending machine from the 90’s.

The moment the car stopped, I bolted.

“Kira!” all three mates shouted at once.

But I was already out the door, shoving it open so hard it bounced.

I half-stumbled, half-ran across the concrete, feet slapping the cold ground, vision swimming.

The gas station restroom door slammed against the wall as I shoved inside.

I didn’t even make it to the mirror before my stomach heaved.

I stumbled into a bathroom stall, barely getting the toilet lid up before I threw up so hard my ribs screamed.

The twins burst in behind me.

“Oh goddess—Kira!” Shyanne yelped, dropping to her knees beside me.

Marianne grabbed my hair, pulling it back gently. “It’s okay, honey. Get it out. We’re right here.”

I gagged again, hands gripping the toilet seat so hard my knuckles whitened.

Cold sweat dripped down my back.

My vision pulsed.

My whole body shook.

When it finally stopped, I slumped back, breathing in sharp, uneven bursts.

Shyanne rubbed my back in small, frantic circles. “Kira—talk to us. What happened?”

Marianne reached over and flushed the toilet, then handed me a wad of paper towels. “Was it the evolution? Or the Council? Or something you sensed?”

I didn’t answer.

Because I couldn’t.

Not yet.

I dragged myself to the sink, legs trembling. I splashed cold water on my face, but it didn’t stop the shaking.

The fluorescent light above me buzzed loudly.

Marianne leaned against the sink beside me.

“Kira,” she whispered. “You’re scaring us.”

Her brown eyes softened, warm with worry.

Shyanne squeezed my arm. “Just tell us what’s wrong. Please.”

I swallowed thickly, staring at my reflection.

My pupils were blown wide.

My skin pale.

My hands trembling.

Shyanne stepped closer. “Do we need to call the guys in here? Because they’re losing it in the car—”

“No,” I croaked.

My voice cracked, weak and rasped.

Marianne’s head tilted. “Are you sick? Dizzy? Lightheaded?”

I blinked hard, trying to steady my breathing.

She studied my face.

Then her eyes widened.

“Oh my gods,” she whispered.

Shyanne looked between us, confused. “What? What—Marianne, what?”

Marianne covered her mouth with both hands. “You’re— oh gods—Kira, you’re acting like you’re—”

She stopped.

Her eyes locked onto mine.

And everything inside her clicked.

“You’re pregnant,” she breathed.

The room spun.

Shyanne’s jaw dropped. “WHAT?!”

She slapped both hands over her mouth to muffle her squeal.

I didn’t say yes.

I didn’t nod.

I didn’t confirm anything.

I just stared.

And that was enough.

The twins grabbed each other’s arms, gasping like they’d just witnessed a divine revelation.

“Oh my GODS—” Shyanne whisper-shouted. “Kira, are you—Are you serious?”

Marianne whispered, “Who’s the father?”

I blinked.

Shyanne smacked her. “Marianne—they’re all the father!”

“Oh—right—yeah, dumb question,” Marianne muttered.

I laughed once—

A broken, breathless sound.

Shyanne cupped my face gently. “Kira, honey… the guys need to know.”

“No,” I whispered immediately.

They froze.

Shyanne blinked rapidly. “No? Why no?”

“Because…” My voice cracked again. “Because they’ll implode.”

Marianne nodded slowly. “Yes. Yes they will.”

Shyanne’s eyes widened with dawning horror. “Oh gods. Toren will start planning war strategies around your uterus.”

Marianne slapped her arm. “Don’t say uterus.”

“What? It’s true! And Tyson will kill everything that looks at her funny. And Talon will cry—no offense, Talon.”

Marianne snorted. “He’s not even here.”

Shyanne ignored her. “And those three together? Pregnant mate? They will go FERAL.”

She was not exaggerating.

I breathed in slowly, hands gripping the sink again.

“I need… I need a second,” I whispered. “Just one second to breathe before I tell them. Before everything changes.”

The twins exchanged a look—one full of understanding, fear, and loyalty.

Marianne squeezed my hand. “Then take your second, Luna.”

Shyanne nodded. “We’ll hold the door. You pull yourself together.”

I stared at my reflection again.

The trembling wasn’t stopping.

The fear wasn’t fading.

But beneath it—

Beneath the panic and shock—

There was a flicker of something else.

A heartbeat.

Not mine.

Not my wolves’.

Something new.

Something small.

Something ancient.

Something powerful.

I touched my stomach gently.

And whispered, “Everything will change.”

The door banged loudly.

Toren’s voice thundered from outside.

“KIRA! OPEN THIS DOOR NOW!”

And I flinched.

The healer’s voice echoed in my skull like a haunting.

*The baby’s heartbeat was strong.*

A baby.

A heartbeat.

Already formed.

Already alive.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

No.

No, I couldn’t think about that.

Not now.

Not when I didn’t feel pregnant.

Not when I felt nothing but anxiety twisting like a knife in my gut.

I wasn’t nauseous before.

I wasn’t dizzy.

I wasn’t tired.

This wasn’t pregnancy.

This was panic.

Trauma.

Fear.

Stress.

And yet—

*A heartbeat.*

I rubbed my shaking hands over my face, fighting the rising tide of emotion threatening to swallow me whole.

Toren’s voice boomed from outside the door, raw with panic.

“KIRA! OPEN THE DOOR NOW!”

I flinched.

Tyson snarled something violent in the background.

“She’s not answering—move—let me break it.”

Talon’s voice cracked.

“She’s in pain—Toren, let me in—”

Shyanne groaned. “Gods, they’re losing their minds.”

Marianne whispered, “You should open it. Before they pull the door off the wall.”

I took one more shaky breath, wiped my face, and pushed the door open—