The Banished Shy Luna Chapter 82

The air in the interrogation room was thick with tension.

The moment Elder Thora and I stepped through the door, three sets of eyes locked on us.

Toren’s head snapped up first, his golden gaze flashing. “Elder Thora,” he growled, his voice low and edged with disbelief. “Are you crazy? You can’t bring her in here!”

Elder Thora didn’t even flinch. She turned that razor-sharp stare on him, her tone cold enough to slice through steel. “Watch your tongue, Alpha Toren. She’s perfectly safe. Sarai can’t touch her. She’s chained, disarmed, and weakened. And besides…” Her eyes flicked between the three of them. “I have three strong Alpha males in this room who would die before letting harm come to her. Wouldn’t I?”

None of them answered, but their silence spoke volumes.

Talon’s jaw worked, his hands flexing at his sides. Tyson leaned back against the far wall, arms crossed tight, the muscle in his cheek ticking. Toren just glared, pacing the length of the room like a caged animal.

The air between us all felt charged, uneasy, the scent of dominance and restraint tangling thick in the space.

Then Sarai lifted her head.

Even chained to the wall, her lips curved in a small, almost knowing smile. “I knew you’d come.”

I ignored the chill that crawled down my spine. I wasn’t here for games. Not anymore.

“Cut the theatrics,” I said sharply, stepping closer. “How did Alpha Lucas reach out to you?”

Sarai’s smile faltered. She looked down, then up again, meeting my eyes. “He didn’t. Your twin did.”

The words hit harder than I expected. “Lyra?” I whispered, disbelief curdling in my stomach.

Sarai nodded. “She found me at the market on 5th Street. Two days ago.”

Behind me, I felt the sudden, synchronized shift of my mates—an instinctive reaction to my twin’s name.

“She offered me four hundred dollars in cash,” Sarai continued, “and a bottle of medicine for my mother. All I had to do was take pictures and eavesdrop. She said she needed information for ‘protection.’”

I felt my pulse spike. “What kind of information?”

“Your movements. Conversations. The layout of the rooms, who you were seen with. I took photos of all of you—outside your doors, in the hallways.” Her voice trembled, guilt flashing briefly across her face. “I even planted a listening device in your room so Alpha Lucas could hear everything.”

My stomach dropped. I heard the sharp, collective growl from behind me, the kind that made the walls vibrate. The energy in the room turned feral in an instant.

Toren’s growl deepened. “You what?”

Sarai flinched but didn’t break eye contact with me. “I didn’t have a choice.”

I forced myself to keep my tone even, though my heart was hammering. “Have you had any other contact with my sister or Lucas?”

For a long moment, she was silent. Then her shoulders slumped. “Yes,” she whispered. “The morning I tried to kill you.”

Elder Thora’s eyes narrowed. “What happened?”

Sarai looked up, eyes glistening. “He came to me. Lucas. In my room. I don’t know how he got in—one second I was alone, the next he was there.”

Talon stepped forward, his expression darkening. “And he gave you the gun?”

Sarai nodded, tears welling. “He said I needed to finish the job. He told me the bullets were laced with something special.”

Tyson’s voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. “What was it?”

“Mistletoe,” she said quietly.

The word hit like a physical blow. I gasped, my hand instinctively flying to my chest.

Mistletoe.

Deadly to shifters—more than silver, more than wolfsbane. If it entered the bloodstream, it paralyzed the body, shutting down healing and weakening the bond itself. It wasn’t meant to wound. It was meant to erase.

Elder Thora straightened, authority radiating off her in waves. “Guards!” she barked, her voice slicing through the tension. Two uniformed enforcers appeared at the door instantly. “Send a team of trackers and advisors to the Moonshade Pack house. Now. Sweep every inch of the property. I want Lucas’s scent, his trail—anything. Move!”

The guards bowed and sprinted off down the hall.

I barely noticed. My gaze was locked on Sarai, her face pale, her wrists bleeding faintly where the silver rubbed her skin raw.

My voice was low when I spoke again. “Earlier… you said he’s coming. Who’s he?”

Sarai laughed softly, but there was no joy in it—only exhaustion and something like dread. “You already know, don’t you?”

I didn’t answer.

Her smile widened, cracked and eerie. “You may not remember him, but you know him. The one Alpha Lucas goes to when things get rough. The one who doesn’t bother with chains or silver.”

Her voice dropped, almost reverent. “The Bringer of Death.”

My blood ran cold.

Toren went still. Tyson’s hands curled into fists. Talon took a step closer to me.

Sarai’s voice broke into a hysterical laugh. “He uses his bare hands to deal with traitors,” she said. “And in Alpha Lucas’s eyes, Kira…”

She tilted her head. “…you’re a traitor.”

The moment she said it, I knew. I didn’t need her to name him.

Alpha Douglas.

Lucas’s older brother. The one even the Council avoided. The monster who’d built a pack out of killers, exiles, and rogues. The one whose cruelty was legend.

I didn’t realize I’d taken a step back until my shoulders hit Toren’s chest. My stomach twisted, bile rising.

Sarai’s laughter cracked again, echoing in the small room. “He’s coming for you,” she whispered. “And when he does, he won’t stop until you’re in his hands. He’ll tear this world apart to punish you for what you’ve done.”

Her eyes flicked to me, glimmering with something strange—almost pity. “And when that happens… not even they will save you.”

I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think.

Without a word, I turned and walked out of the room, pushing past Elder Thora and into the corridor. My chest felt tight, my vision tunneling.

Talon was right behind me, calling my name. Tyson followed, his boots heavy on the tile. Toren’s presence pressed against my back like a shield. Elder Thora stayed at the door, her expression unreadable.

It was too much.

The lies. The fear. The prophecy that wasn’t mine but somehow belonged to me now.

They had the wrong sister.

The wrong Luna.

The wrong mate.

And if Sarai was right… it wouldn’t matter.

Because Alpha Douglas was coming.

And when he did—nothing would ever be the same.