The Banished Shy Luna Chapter 81

The knocking came first—sharp, steady, and persistent.

My eyes cracked open to the dim glow of the bathroom light. My neck ached, my back was stiff, and for a second, I didn’t remember where I was. Then the cold porcelain pressed against my skin reminded me. The tub. I’d fallen asleep in the damn tub.

The knocking came again. Louder this time.

I didn’t move. I figured it was one of them—Toren, maybe, or Tyson, ready to lecture me again about disobedience or safety or whatever reason they used to justify treating me like I might break. I wasn’t ready for that. Not after last night.

Then I heard her voice.

“Kira, dear. It’s Elder Thora.”

I was on my feet instantly. My heart jumped into my throat as I yanked the door open. Elder Thora stood there, her expression calm but knowing.

She didn’t have to say anything. That look—the faint pity in her eyes, the way her lips pressed together—told me she already knew what had happened. She just wasn’t going to mention it. Not yet.

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” she said softly, folding her hands in front of her. “But there’s been a development. We’re about to begin Sarai’s interrogation. I wanted to know if you’d like to be there.”

My pulse quickened. “Yes,” I said immediately, maybe too quickly.

She nodded, her gaze flicking briefly to the robe I was wearing, “Then get dressed, dear. We don’t have much time.”

I turned toward the walk-in closet attached to the bathroom, grabbing the first clothes I could find—a pair of dark skinny jeans, a black lace tank, and the combat boots I’d worn on the trip here. I didn’t think twice about it. My body moved on instinct, too tired to care what I looked like.

It wasn’t until I stepped into the elevator beside Elder Thora that I caught my reflection in the brushed metal doors.

Maybe I hadn’t chosen—but my wolf had.

The jeans hugged my hips perfectly, the tanktop dipped just enough to show the marks still faintly visible along my collarbone, and the boots gave me just enough edge to look dangerous. My hair was a mess—tousled waves, half wild—but against the outfit, it looked intentional. Fierce. Untamed.

“Are you all right, child?” Elder Thora asked suddenly, her eyes softening.

I forced a smile. “I’m fine.”

She arched a silver brow. “You’re not. But we’ll talk about that later.”

The elevator hummed beneath our feet, but instead of stopping on the first floor, it kept going. One, two, then three levels lower.

Basement.

When the doors slid open, a rush of cold air met us—sterile, metallic, and thick with the faint hum of magic. The hallway stretched long and narrow, lined with reinforced steel doors. My wolf stirred uncomfortably.

At the end of the corridor, three doors waited. Elder Thora led me to the one on the left. When she opened it, I realized immediately—it wasn’t a room. It was an observation chamber.

A one-way mirror took up the far wall.

And on the other side… my mates.

Toren stood near the center, arms crossed, his expression unreadable but his aura crackling with restrained fury. Tyson paced behind him like a caged predator, while Talon leaned against the wall, jaw tight.

They weren’t alone. Two male Elders sat at a small metal table, both older and dressed in ceremonial black. In front of them, chained to the wall, was Sarai.

My stomach turned.

Her wrists were bound in silver cuffs that shimmered faintly with runic sigils, a single chain looped through a ring embedded in the concrete. Her hair was matted, her face pale, but her eyes—those soft brown eyes—still held defiance.

Elder Thora stepped up beside me. “They’ve been questioning her for nearly an hour. She hasn’t given them anything.”

I stared through the glass, uneasy. “What are they asking her?”

Thora’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Everything.”

I watched as one of the Elders spoke, his voice faintly audible through the enchantment woven into the mirror.

“Who ordered you to harm the Luna?”

Sarai lifted her chin weakly, her voice hoarse but steady. “I already told you. Alpha Lucas. He paid me to do it.”

“Where did you meet him? How did he contact you?”

“The market,” she answered. “Through a messenger. I didn’t see him myself.”

Toren took a step forward, his tone sharp. “You expect us to believe that? Lucas doesn’t use middlemen for this kind of thing. Not unless he’s testing loyalty.”

Sarai’s lip trembled, but she didn’t break. “I told you what I know.”

Tyson slammed a hand against the table, the sound echoing through the speakers. “You know more. Someone helped you get here.”

“I didn’t have help,” she snapped, her voice shaking. “I had orders.”

“From who?”

She hesitated. For a long moment, she just stared at the floor. Then, quietly: “I’ll only speak with her.”

My chest tightened.

Thora glanced sideways at me. “She’s said the same thing every time,” she murmured. “Every time she’s been asked, she refuses to elaborate unless you’re present.”

I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Sarai. Despite everything, there was something haunted in her expression—something that didn’t look like guilt. It looked like fear.

Elder Thora turned to me fully now. “Will you go inside?”

My gaze flicked to my mates again. Toren’s anger was still simmering just below the surface, Tyson’s impatience pulsed through the bond like static, and Talon’s worry lingered like a ghost.

“I’ll go,” I said slowly, “but I don’t think they’ll like it.”

A small, knowing smirk tugged at Thora’s mouth. “Oh, I’m sure they won’t. But leave that to me, dear. They forget sometimes who taught them how to command.”

That made me smile—just barely—but it faded when my eyes went back to Sarai’s trembling form.

Whatever she had to say, I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be easy to hear.

Tyson’s growl broke through the silence in the chamber, rough and full of impatience. “Enough of this. We’ve wasted an hour on her lies!” he barked, slamming his palm down on the metal table hard enough that the sound rattled through the mirror. “If she doesn’t start talking, I swear—”

Sarai’s voice cut him off, raw and trembling but laced with something fierce. “He’s coming!” she yelled, eyes wild, the silver chains clinking as she jerked against them. “You don’t understand—once he’s here, none of you can stop him.”

The room went still.

Her gaze snapped toward the mirror—toward me.

“Except her.”