The Banished Shy Luna Chapter 99

By the time we pulled off the highway, it was close to one in the morning, and every nerve in my body felt like it was on fire from exhaustion. The twins were half-asleep in the back seat, Talon was muttering something about needing a chiropractor, and Tyson had been threatening to “yeet himself into the void” for the past thirty minutes.

Then the flickering red sign appeared out of the dark.

THE SLEEPY HOLLOW MOTEL.

It looked like a serial-killer hangout spot—paint peeling off the wood panels, a single buzzing neon light that kept dying mid-flicker, and a parking lot cracked enough to eat a tire.

“Perfect,” Tyson muttered. “Home sweet death trap.”

Toren grunted. “It’ll do. We need rest before someone starts killing each other.”

“Not a bad idea,” Jake said from the back, voice dry. “We can start with whoever thought stopping here was smart.”

I bit back a laugh as we climbed out. The air was cold, damp, heavy with pine and something else—faintly musky, almost too familiar.

Inside, the lobby was worse. The fluorescent light buzzed overhead like an angry wasp. A pot of stale coffee sat on the counter next to a bell that looked like it hadn’t been wiped since the early 90s.

Behind the desk stood a husband-and-wife pair—both human at first glance, but the longer I looked, the more wrong they seemed. Their scents were muted, covered in cheap soap, but beneath it was the faintest trace of wolf.

The husband smiled, teeth too white, too sharp. “Evening, folks. Long way from home, huh?”

“Just passing through,” Toren said curtly, pulling his wallet out.

The man’s eyes slid toward me. “Well now,” he drawled, leaning on the counter, “you sure you’re not lost, sweetheart? Not every day a woman that pretty wanders in here. Bet you could get a better deal if you stayed with me.”

Talon let out a quiet, incredulous laugh. “Oh, he’s suicidal.”

The wife—a curvy redhead with sharp cheekbones and too much perfume—leaned forward, her gaze sweeping over my Alphas like she was picking cuts of meat. “Well,” she purred, “looks like the lady brought plenty of company. You boys need a real bed? I could—help—arrange something.”

Tyson’s grin vanished. His eyes flashed gold. “You really shouldn’t talk like that unless you’re trying to get bit, sweetheart.”

The woman didn’t back down. “Maybe I don’t mind teeth.”

The twins stifled laughs, wide-eyed behind me.

I could feel my mates bristle—three waves of barely restrained dominance. Toren stepped forward, placing a hand on the counter, voice smooth but lethal.

“We’re mated,” he said. “All of us.”

The husband blinked, confused. “All—of you?”

Tyson draped his arm around my shoulders, tugging me close with a dark grin. “You heard him. One woman. Three Alphas. Try not to stare—it makes her blush.”

I rolled my eyes. “You wish.”

Talon smirked. “Nah, she just gets murderous.”

The man’s smile faltered, but he tried to recover, chuckling awkwardly. “Didn’t mean nothin’ by it, just friendly talk.”

“Friendly?” Toren’s voice dropped an octave. “You look at her like that again, and I’ll show you what unfriendly looks like.”

The wife’s eyes narrowed, lips curling into a smirk. “Didn’t realize Alphas shared so easy.”

That was it.

The air changed instantly. The fluorescent light above us flickered once, then twice. The hum of the vending machine in the corner went silent.

I didn’t even think—my wolf moved first. Energy surged out of me, rippling through the room like a shockwave. The scent of ozone filled the air. The tile beneath my boots vibrated.

The husband stumbled back, his eyes widening as my aura hit him full force. The woman gasped, hand clutching her chest.

“Watch your tongue,” I said softly, my voice layered with power.

Both shifters froze. Their bodies trembled, throats bared instinctively.

The silence stretched for a full ten seconds before Toren’s hand slid gently to the small of my back, grounding me. His voice was calm, commanding.

“That’s enough, Starlight.”

I blinked, letting the power fade. The light stopped flickering. The air stilled.

The couple scrambled to apologize, tripping over their words. The wife pushed a stack of room keys across the counter with shaking hands.

“Of—of course. Didn’t mean any disrespect.”

“Won’t happen again,” her husband added quickly.

Tyson leaned against the counter, smirking. “Didn’t know foreplay could clear a room.”

“Shut up,” Toren said, but his lips twitched.

Talon snickered. “Nah, he’s right. I think she just terrified them into celibacy.”

I couldn’t help it—I laughed. “Good. Saves the next poor traveler the trauma.”

We left the lobby to the sound of their muffled apologies. The second we stepped outside, the twins exhaled like they’d been holding their breath the whole time.

Tyson bumped my shoulder. “Remind me never to get on your bad side.”

“Remind me to get on it,” Talon murmured with a grin.

Toren just looked at me, something dark and proud flickering behind his golden eyes. “You handled it perfectly,” he said.

I smiled faintly, adrenaline still buzzing under my skin. “They were lucky I was tired.”

As we crossed the parking lot toward the rooms, I glanced down at the keys still in my hand. The little brass ring caught the light—scratched, worn… and carved with a faint crescent and two small lines.

The Moonshade crest.

My stomach turned cold.

They weren’t just rude shifters.

They knew who I was.

And somewhere out there, someone was waiting to hear that the I had just walked through their door.

I slowed before reaching the room, my thumb tracing the faint lines on the keyring.

“Toren,” I whispered, catching his wrist before he could open the door.

He turned, brows furrowed, ready to ask what was wrong—until I held the key up between us.

Under the dull yellow light of the motel sign, the engraving was clear as day: a crescent moon flanked by two short slashes. The Moonshade crest. Lucas’s mark.

Toren went still. The muscle in his jaw ticked once, twice, before his eyes met mine.

I swallowed. “They knew who we were, Toren."