The Banished Shy Luna Chapter 51

The first thing I felt was warmth. The sheets tangled around me still held Toren’s scent—pine and smoke and something that was only him. I stretched lazily, sore but blissfully so, every inch of me humming with memory.

Then a low, feral growl shattered the calm.

My eyes snapped open.

Toren stood near the window, bare chest gleaming with the faint morning light. He had a phone pressed to his ear, his jaw rigid, his voice rough like stone grinding against stone.

“I don’t care what excuses you’ve scraped together, Jorn,” he snarled. “If your healers can’t even stabilize him, then tell me why the hell I keep letting your people set foot in my territory!”

The sound vibrated through me, cold and sharp. He yanked on a black shirt with his free hand, shoulders tense, the fabric stretching tight across his muscles.

“Yes, I heard you,” Toren snapped when the voice on the other end interrupted. “I don’t want excuses—I want answers. If one more elder from the mountain packs tells me to ‘wait and see,’ I’ll—” He broke off, growling deep, fangs flashing in the faint reflection of the window.

The growl rippled down my spine, not at me, but I felt it anyway.

Before I could move, the door swung open. A tall man stepped in—broad shouldered, close-cropped dark hair, dressed in black like Toren. He nodded toward me respectfully, but his eyes never lingered on my face. They dipped once and then fixed on the far wall.

Was that a beta thing? To never meet the Alpha’s mate’s eyes?

“Jake,” Toren barked, his voice a whip crack.

Jake—Beta, I realized—gave a short nod and closed the door behind him. He didn’t speak, didn’t ask. He just stood, hands clasped behind his back, gaze on the floor.

“I don’t care how rare it is!” Toren roared suddenly into the phone, pacing the length of the suite. “Don’t you dare tell me it’s fate or the moon’s will or any other coward’s excuse. He’s mine. My second. And if your so-called ‘bone doctor’ can’t do better than shrug, then I’ll burn your entire mountain range to ash before I bury him.”

The sound of his rage crackled through the room like a storm.

And then—CRACK.

He hurled the phone against the wall. The device splintered, shards scattering across the hardwood floor.

I startled, clutching the sheets to my chest. “Toren?” My voice came out small, fragile against the echo of his fury. “What’s wrong?”

His shoulders dropped, tension bleeding out in a single heavy sigh. He dragged a hand through his hair, then yanked on a pair of dark jeans and crossed the room to sit on the edge of the bed. The mattress dipped under his weight, but he didn’t look at me right away.

When he finally did, his eyes were haunted.

“One of my packmates is dying,” he said, voice low, stripped bare of the roar it carried seconds ago. “My second beta. He’s down the hall.” His hands clenched into fists on his thighs. “The best healer in the mountain packs—some bone doctor who’s supposed to work miracles—was here last night. And even he couldn’t help him.”

A sharp ache stabbed through my chest. His second beta. His family. I didn’t know the man, but something inside me—the same part that burned to protect Toren—twisted hard.

Protect him. Help him.

The feeling surged through me so strong it almost knocked me sideways. My fingers shot out and curled around Toren’s hand before I even realized I was moving.

“Let me see him.”

Toren blinked, his eyes snapping up to mine. “What?”

“Let me see him,” I repeated, firmer this time. I didn’t know why, didn’t know how, but something inside me screamed that I had to. That I needed to. “Please. Take me to him.”

For the first time since I’d met him, Toren looked genuinely startled. His mouth parted, no sound coming out. His gaze flicked to Jake, who shifted uncomfortably by the door.

“You don’t understand,” Toren said finally, shaking his head. “There’s nothing to be done. He’s already slipping. All we can do now is…” His jaw clenched tight. “…wait for him to die.”

“No.” My grip on his hand tightened. “No, I can’t just sit here and do nothing. I need to see him.”

His stare was heavy, searching me, trying to read what he didn’t understand. Behind him, Jake’s shoulders stiffened, his discomfort obvious.

“You want to see him?” Toren asked quietly, almost like he was afraid of my answer.

“Yes.”

The silence stretched.

Finally, Toren exhaled, sharp and resigned. “Fine.” He looked to Jake. “Step out. Give her a moment to get dressed.”

Jake bowed his head once in obedience before slipping silently out the door, leaving us alone again.

Toren turned back to me, eyes still storm-dark. “I don’t know what you think you’ll find in that room, Starlight. But if you want to see him…” His thumb brushed once across my knuckles. “…then you will.”

The moment Jake shut the door behind him, I scrambled out of bed, clutching the sheets around me until I spotted Toren’s shirt draped over the chair. I snatched it up, tugging it over my head. It hung long on me, the hem brushing halfway down my thighs. Still, it wasn’t enough.

I darted toward the dresser and found one of his boxers folded on top. My face flamed, but I yanked them on anyway. They sagged around my hips, far too big, but I didn’t care. At least I wasn’t walking down the hall naked.

Toren’s gaze followed me the whole time, smoldering but quiet. When I finally looked up, breathless, he spoke.

“We’ll make a stop today,” he said, his voice low, steady but threaded with something softer than I expected. “After we check out. I’ll see that you get clothes of your own.” His jaw flexed. “And when we’re safely home, I’ll order the rest. Everything you need. Everything you want.”

The way he said it—like a vow—made my chest tighten.

I nodded quickly, trying not to let my emotions choke me. “Okay.”

He stepped forward then, his hand curling around mine. His touch was firm, grounding, and when he tugged gently, I followed.