The Banished Shy Luna Chapter 182

Talon’s hands splayed over my stomach, protective, terrified, reverent.

“Does it hurt? Are you lightheaded? Are you cramping?”

I shook my head.

“No. Nothing hurts. It just felt like… like a weight dropped.”

Tyson’s brows pinched. “Like they shifted position?”

“More like they—grew,” I whispered.

The twins made identical horrified sounds.

Mason sighed heavily. “Well. The doctor did warn you this pregnancy could go fast.”

“Fast,” Douglas echoed dryly, “not time-lapse speed.”

I pressed a hand harder against my belly, feeling the subtle pressure of life beneath my skin.

There were three heartbeats in there.

Three lives.

Three futures.

And now they were accelerating.

I swallowed thickly.

“Mason… is this normal? For wolves?”

“For a powerful Luna carrying multiple alphas’ children?” he said, wiping soot off his face.

“Kid, nothing about your existence is normal.”

Fantastic.

Tyson stepped close, cupping my cheek.

“Moonshine, look at me. Are you scared?”

I hesitated.

Then nodded.

Talon rose and wrapped an arm around me instantly.

“Hey. You don’t get scared alone, alright? We’re here.”

Toren kissed the top of my head. “We’ve got you.”

The twins nodded vigorously—even while still eyeing my stomach like it might start glowing or kicking doors down.

But the sweetness of the moment faded fast as another pulse of pain—no, not pain—pressure radiated down my spine.

Mason noticed.

“We need to move. Now.”

Douglas nodded, scanning the ground.

“Whatever killed the Elders might come back. And if other wolves are on the way—”

“We won’t be here when they arrive,” Toren finished.

Talon slid his hand into mine.

“Let’s get you out of here, Firefly.”

Tyson took my other side, voice hard and gentle all at once.

“We’ll figure out what’s happening with the babies later. But right now… we get you safe.”

I nodded, breath shaky, hand still resting over the new curve of my stomach.

“Okay… let’s go.”

And as we walked out of the ruins of the Council Chambers…

I couldn’t shake the feeling that something inside me had just woken up.

By the time we staggered out of the ruined Chamber and toward the stolen SUV, I felt another drop inside my stomach.

Not a kick.

Not a shift.

Not even the slow, rolling pressure from before.

This was a plunge.

I grabbed the side of the car with a sharp gasp.

Toren stopped instantly. “Starlight?”

But before I could answer—

PING.

The button on my pants shot off like a bullet.

Every head snapped toward me.

Talon swore so loudly a chunk of ceiling dust fell from the broken roof above us.

Tyson froze mid-step, jaw dropping.

The twins gasped in perfect horror-movie unison.

I pressed a hand to my abdomen, heart racing.

“…Oh, come on.”

Shyanne pointed at me, voice shaking. “Kira… your bump is bigger.”

Marianne nodded, pale. “As in… noticeably. Like… five minutes ago it wasn’t doing… that.”

Mason swiped a hand down his face. “Alright. No more discussion. No more detours. We go to one of those underground clinics. Now.”

I blinked at him. “You mean the illegal ones?”

“Yes,” Mason snapped. “Because the legal ones will have you reported to the nearest Elder, and all of those assholes are—well—dead now, but their enforcers aren’t.”

Douglas coughed. “Plus, the illegal ones don’t ask questions.”

The twins exchanged a look.

“Yeah,” Shyanne agreed quietly. “And we need to get there fast because she’s accelerating at the speed of light.”

“Love that for me,” I muttered, clutching my belly again as the pressure pulsed through me.

We got loaded into the SUV again—Tyson driving, Toren lying in the back with the twins checking him, Talon hovering like a stressed-out dad-to-be, and Douglas wedged on my other side with Mason right beside me.

Talon was still glaring at my stomach like he could intimidate the babies into slowing down.

But before Tyson could even shift the SUV into drive—

A man stepped out directly in front of the vehicle.

Just appeared.

Like he’d been waiting.

Tyson slammed the brake.

Talon had claws out instantly.

Toren forced himself upright.

Douglas tensed.

The twins ducked low like they were expecting gunfire.

Mason rolled the window down exactly one inch.

The man crouched and peered inside.

His gaze scanned all of us—

Talon, Toren, Tyson…

Then landed on Mason.

“What the hell happened with the Elders?” he demanded.

Mason stiffened. “Don’t have time for this, Knox.”

“Make time,” the man said sharply. “Everyone felt the shift.”

Mason’s jaw twitched, but he kept his voice even.

“My daughter is pregnant and she needs a doctor. Now.”

Knox glanced at me—

at my belly—

at how I was holding it—

and his eyes widened.

“Pregnant?” he murmured. “And… accelerating?”

I swallowed. “Apparently.”

His gaze softened—barely—but then hardened again with urgency.

“There’s a pack doctor in the treeline,” he said, pointing to the dark forest beyond the road. “A good one. She isn’t loyal to the Council. And she won’t report anything.”

Toren didn’t even wait.

He jumped out of the SUV so fast the door bounced.

Tyson followed before the door could close.

Talon went next, already halfway shifting out of sheer protective rage.

The three of them surrounded Knox in a tight triangle a few paces away—talking fast, voices low but intense. Their power simmered in the air.

Knox looked shocked at something Talon said.

His gaze snapped back to me through the windshield.

Shock.

Recognition.

Something close to… fear?

But he recovered quickly, nodding once, sharply.

Then he gestured to the treeline.

A figure moved between the trees—fast and sure-footed.

A woman.

A werewolf.

Short, curly black hair pulled into a messy bun.

Apron full of herbs and vials.

Hands already glowing faintly with diagnostic magic.

She jogged toward us, eyes fixed on me like she could sense the babies from fifty feet away.

“That’s the doctor,” Knox said. “Dr. Ellira Falk.”

She reached the SUV, breath trimming the cold night air, and pushed her glasses up with her knuckle.

Her gaze flicked over the group.

Over the vehicle.

Over the rubble in the distance.

Then her eyes locked onto my stomach.

And widened in alarm.

“Oh,” she breathed. “Oh, Moon save us, she’s not even stable—get her lying down now.”

The twins practically dove to make space.

Talon rushed back to me and scooped me out of the car like I weighed nothing.

“Easy,” Dr. Falk scolded as she followed him. “Don’t jostle her—she’s shifting too fast.”

“I’m not jostling her,” Talon growled, holding me tighter. “She’s fine.”

“She is emphatically not fine,” the doctor snapped. “She’s growing at a rate that—Good Goddess, how far along did you say she is?!”

I groaned. “I don’t even know anymore.”

Tyson rejoined us, face pale. “Just tell us she’s okay.”

The doctor pressed glowing hands to my belly.

Her eyes went huge.

Her breath caught.

“Oh… oh, sweet girl…” she whispered.

And my heart nearly stopped.

“What?” Talon demanded.

Her hands tightened on my stomach, magic pulsing deep.

Finally, she looked up—face pale, stunned, reverent.

“They’re not just growing fast,” she whispered.

“They’re… awakening.”