The Banished Shy Luna Chapter 86

Warmth.

That was the first thing I felt when I woke.

Soft, steady warmth pressed along my side, radiating through the sheets and into my skin. The faint rise and fall of another’s breathing. The low, rumbling sound of a soft snore.

I blinked my eyes open and smiled before I even saw him.

Talon.

He was curled against me, his face half-buried in the pillow, one arm draped over my waist protectively. A lock of his dark hair fell into his eyes, and with every quiet exhale, his nose brushed the back of my shoulder. He looked peaceful—so unlike the tense, guarded Beta I’d first met. His soft little snoozes made something deep in my chest ache in the best way.

Careful not to wake him, I shifted slightly, stretching my legs under the heavy sheets of the California king bed. The mattress was so large it could have held all of us comfortably, and yet somehow, with just the two of us, it still felt like the space was made for this—quiet mornings and fleeting moments of calm.

I glanced around the room, but Tyson and Toren were nowhere to be seen. Their scents lingered faintly in the air—one woodsy and grounding, the other sharp and clean—but the room itself was empty.

At least, I thought it was.

Then I heard them.

Their voices, faint but clear, like they were in the next room—and yet it was more than sound. It was connection. The bond humming between us like a line of light.

“…it’s the most insane feeling,” Toren was saying. His tone carried a rough awe I hadn’t heard before. “Powerful, too.”

Tyson’s low grunt followed. “How so?”

Toren hesitated, searching for words. “It’s her energy. The energy coming from her—it’s so pure, so intense. Like I’ll never run out of strength again. Like it’s in my blood now. My veins. My bones.”

He sounded… alive.

I could almost see him in my mind—the way he’d be standing, arms crossed, trying to make sense of something even he couldn’t control.

Tyson’s voice was more cautious. “So it’s real. The way they describe it. The true mate bond.”

“Oh, it’s real,” Toren said. “More real than I expected. When it snapped into place, it hurt like hell. I thought my chest was going to tear open. But then it settled. It was peaceful, clear. And right.”

His words made my heart stutter. I pressed my hand to my chest, feeling the faint echo of that moment—the silver thread, the warmth, the electricity.

Then Tyson asked, “Is she going to pass out every time it happens?”

Toren let out a breath that almost sounded like a laugh. “Elder Thora said it can happen when the bond’s strong enough. The subconscious and the wolf need to align. Until they do, the pain takes over. But once it’s done…” He trailed off. “It’s worth it.”

Before I could process that, a soft movement beside me pulled me back to the room.

Talon shifted, his arm tightening around my waist. He pressed a sleepy kiss against my shoulder, murmuring something I couldn’t quite catch. Then he stirred fully, blinking his eyes open. When he looked at me, the grogginess faded instantly.

He smiled—a small, drowsy curve of his lips that made him look younger. “You’re awake.”

“Yeah,” I said softly. “Didn’t mean to wake you.”

He shook his head and leaned in, brushing his lips against mine in a gentle, lingering kiss. It was unhurried—sweet, almost hesitant. When he pulled back, his gaze searched mine.

“You’re sure you’re okay?” he asked quietly. “Toren said what happened with the bond knocked you out cold.”

“I’m okay,” I said, and for the first time, I almost believed it.

Talon exhaled, the sound shaky with relief. Then his eyes softened, his thumb tracing idle circles over my hip. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

He hesitated. “What does it feel like? The bond. When it happens.”

I blinked, caught off guard. “You mean… what it felt like when mine and Toren’s connected?”

He nodded, looking almost nervous.

I stared at him for a moment, wondering how honest I should be. He was asking because he wanted to know what he might face next—but I didn’t want to scare him. I didn’t want to make him dread something that was meant to be beautiful.

Still… lying would be worse.

“It hurts,” I admitted softly. “At first. It’s like fire in your chest—burning so deep you can’t breathe. But then it snaps into place, and everything changes. It’s like lightning under your skin. Like your whole body becomes one with theirs. It’s not just physical—it’s… peace. Warmth. Clarity.”

Talon’s eyes darkened as he listened, his hand stilling against my hip.

“That’s what you felt with him?” he asked quietly.

“Yes.”

He didn’t move for a long moment. His breathing slowed, and when he finally spoke again, his voice was rougher, quieter. “I’m not sure if I can have that.”

The words hit like a crack of thunder—sudden and sharp.

I froze, staring at him, trying to understand. “What do you mean?”

But Talon didn’t answer.

“Talon,” I said again, softer this time, my voice barely above a whisper. “What do you mean by that?”

He didn’t answer.

I reached out, catching his chin in my hand and forcing him to look at me. His eyes were brimming with something I didn’t recognize at first—guilt, yes, but also fear. A deep, haunting kind of fear that made my stomach twist.

“Talon,” I pressed, my voice shaking now. “Talk to me.”

He opened his mouth once, then shut it again. Whatever words he wanted to say were fighting to stay buried.

And then the door opened.

Toren and Tyson stepped into the room mid-conversation, both still wearing that sharp-edged tension from the night before. But the moment they saw our faces—the heaviness in the air—they stopped.

“What’s going on?” Tyson asked carefully, glancing between us.

Talon’s hands clenched in the sheets. His jaw locked. For a second, I thought he wasn’t going to say it at all.

But then he did.

“There’s… another female,” he said quietly. “She claims she has a mate bond with me already.”