The Banished Shy Luna Chapter 83

My chest hurt.

Not just from fear—but from everything. The room spun, and it was getting harder to breathe. The walls felt like they were closing in, pressing the air right out of me.

I couldn’t stop shaking.

Talon’s voice broke through first—soft, low, coaxing. “Kira, hey—hey, look at me, sweetheart. Deep breaths, okay? Just breathe with me.”

But Tyson’s voice was louder, rougher, all fire and fury. “I’ll kill him. I’ll kill that bastard myself! If he so much as comes near her—”

“Tyson, stop—” Talon’s tone was tight, strained, but Tyson wasn’t listening.

He took a step forward, his voice rising. “I’ll make him regret ever speaking her name! I’ll burn his entire pack to the ground if I have to!”

Their words blurred together—Talon pleading for calm, Tyson raging for revenge—and all of it was too much. My lungs seized, my heart hammering so violently I thought it might burst.

“Talon, she’s shaking,” Tyson snapped, but he didn’t stop talking, didn’t stop yelling.

“Both of you—” Toren’s voice cut through, low and warning, but they didn’t hear him.

I could feel everything through the bond—anger, fear, guilt, protectiveness—it all crashed into me like a wave, suffocating. I gasped, clutching my chest, vision tunneling.

And then Toren roared.

“ENOUGH!”

The sound shook the room, primal and commanding, vibrating through the air until every nerve in my body stilled. Even the fluorescent lights seemed to flicker.

Talon froze mid-breath. Tyson went rigid, fists still clenched.

Toren’s eyes glowed gold, bright and furious. “Out,” he said, voice low but lethal. “Both of you. Now.”

“Toren—” Tyson started, but Toren’s power slammed through the bond, dominance rolling off him like thunder.

“I said leave.” His tone dropped to a growl that left no room for argument. “Now.”

For a heartbeat, no one moved. Then, slowly, Tyson stepped back, jaw tight. Talon hesitated, eyes flicking between me and his brother, but he didn’t fight it.

They both left, silent now. The heavy metal door clicked shut behind them.

The silence that followed was deafening.

Toren exhaled once, long and rough, before turning to me. “Kira—”

“Don’t,” I gasped out, backing away, tears blurring my vision. “Don’t touch me.”

He froze, eyes narrowing. “Starlight—”

“You got the wrong sister,” I cried, the words tearing from me before I could stop them.

Toren’s brow furrowed. “What are you talking about?”

I wrapped my arms around myself, shaking harder now. “I saw it. I felt it—how all three of you reacted when Lyra’s name came up. I know she’s the one you really want. I know she’s the one who’s supposed to be here—not me.”

“Kira—”

“I ruin everything I touch,” I choked out. “I tear people apart, packs apart—look what I did to my own family! To my pack! I’m not a Luna. I’m a curse.”

Something in Toren snapped.

He closed the distance between us in three strides and backed me against the wall before I could move. His hand came up—wrapping gently, but firmly, around my throat. His grip wasn’t meant to hurt. It was grounding. His eyes burned, gold and unyielding.

“Listen to me,” he growled, his voice a mix of dominance and desperation. “You. Did. Nothing. Wrong.”

“Toren—”

“No.” His thumb pressed lightly against my pulse, feeling the frantic beat beneath it. “You fought for yourself. You escaped a pack that broke every law the Council ever made. They enslaved, they abused, they turned on their own kind. You didn’t destroy them—they destroyed themselves. The moment they betrayed the Council, they lost their pride. Their honor. You survived what they couldn’t, and that’s not a curse, Kira. That’s strength.”

He leaned in, pressing his forehead to mine. His breath was steady, warm. “You hear me?”

My tears fell faster, silent and hot.

His lips brushed my temple, soft as a sigh. “The reason we reacted to Lyra’s name wasn’t because we wanted her,” he said quietly. “It’s because we knew what her involvement meant for you. We knew it would tear you apart to hear it. We’re not angry at you. We’re terrified for you.”

A small, broken whimper escaped me. I didn’t mean for it to, but it slipped through anyway.

“I’m tearing everything apart,” I whispered, my voice barely there.

“No.” Toren’s lips traced the edge of my cheek, my jaw. “You’re holding it together.” He kissed me—slow, deep, lingering, pouring warmth where there had only been panic.

He pulled back just enough to look me in the eyes. “You saved Talon’s life, Starlight. You brought him back from the brink. And because of you, Tyson and I can stand in the same room without drawing blood. You did that. You fixed what everyone else gave up on.”

I blinked at him, my vision still blurry with tears. “But what about the pack? They only want to follow you.”

He chuckled softly, the sound rumbling in his chest. “That’s because of Tyson.”

I frowned, confused.

“They know him,” Toren explained. “They know what he’s done. The stories, the blood he’s spilled, the power he holds—it terrifies them. They follow me because they see me as the anchor, the balance between us all. But I knew that would happen before it ever did.”

He kissed me again, tender this time, his thumb brushing away the tears from my cheeks.

“All of this,” he whispered against my lips. “My pack standing united again. My brothers learning to breathe the same air without killing each other. It’s all because of you. You’re the reason we’re one again, Kira.”

He smiled faintly, the gold in his eyes softening. “You think you destroy everything you touch. But you don’t. You rebuild it.”

And before I could reply, before I could even process the warmth that spread through my chest, it hit me—sharp, searing pain right where my heart should’ve been.

It exploded outward like fire under my skin.

I gasped, my body arching forward, the world spinning violently as black dots clouded my vision.

“Toren—” I managed to whisper.

He caught me just as my knees gave out, his arms wrapping around me tight.

“Starlight,” he said, panic breaking through his calm for the first time. “Kira—stay with me—”

But I couldn’t.

The pain swallowed everything, and then there was nothing but darkness.