diff --git a/plugins/platforms/discord/adapter.py b/plugins/platforms/discord/adapter.py
index 8a83f8805ed..d9f03b6fbba 100644
--- a/plugins/platforms/discord/adapter.py
+++ b/plugins/platforms/discord/adapter.py
@@ -3227,6 +3227,18 @@ class DiscordAdapter(BasePlatformAdapter):
             return True
         return bool(channel_ids & allowed)
 
+    def _is_pairing_approved_user(self, user_id: str) -> bool:
+        """True when the Discord user has an explicit Hermes pairing grant."""
+        user_id = str(user_id or "").strip()
+        if not user_id:
+            return False
+        try:
+            from gateway.pairing import PairingStore
+
+            return bool(PairingStore().is_approved("discord", user_id))
+        except Exception:
+            return False
+
     def _is_allowed_user(
         self,
         user_id: str,
@@ -3267,6 +3279,14 @@ class DiscordAdapter(BasePlatformAdapter):
         allowed_roles = getattr(self, "_allowed_role_ids", set())
         has_users = bool(allowed_users)
         has_roles = bool(allowed_roles)
+
+        # Pairing is a first-class auth grant in the gateway auth union and in
+        # Discord component buttons. Honor it here too so normal guild/DM text
+        # messages do not get dropped at the adapter before the pairing-aware
+        # gateway layer can see them.
+        if self._is_pairing_approved_user(user_id):
+            return True
+
         if not has_users and not has_roles:
             if os.getenv("DISCORD_ALLOW_ALL_USERS", "").strip().lower() in {"true", "1", "yes"}:
                 return True
diff --git a/tests/gateway/test_discord_slash_auth.py b/tests/gateway/test_discord_slash_auth.py
index f9bb7f40ca8..a8d7e21e0a8 100644
--- a/tests/gateway/test_discord_slash_auth.py
+++ b/tests/gateway/test_discord_slash_auth.py
@@ -178,6 +178,18 @@ def _make_interaction(
     )
 
 
+def _stub_pairing_store(monkeypatch, approved_ids):
+    approved = {str(uid) for uid in approved_ids}
+
+    class _FakePairingStore:
+        def is_approved(self, platform, user_id):
+            return platform == "discord" and str(user_id) in approved
+
+    import gateway.pairing as pairing
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(pairing, "PairingStore", _FakePairingStore)
+
+
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Backwards-compat: empty allowlist → everything passes (matches on_message)
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -235,6 +247,27 @@ async def test_disallowed_user_rejected_with_ephemeral(adapter, caplog):
     assert any("DISCORD_ALLOWED_USERS" in r.message for r in caplog.records)
 
 
+def test_pairing_approved_user_passes_message_gate_without_allowlist(adapter, monkeypatch):
+    """Pairing grants must be honored before on_message drops guild mentions."""
+    _stub_pairing_store(monkeypatch, {"100200300"})
+    assert adapter._is_allowed_user(
+        "100200300",
+        author=SimpleNamespace(id=100200300),
+        guild=SimpleNamespace(id=42, get_member=lambda _uid: None),
+        is_dm=False,
+        channel_ids={"12345"},
+    ) is True
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_pairing_approved_user_passes_slash_gate_without_allowlist(adapter, monkeypatch):
+    """Slash and normal text auth share the pairing-aware user gate."""
+    _stub_pairing_store(monkeypatch, {"100200300"})
+    interaction = _make_interaction("100200300")
+    assert await adapter._check_slash_authorization(interaction, "/help") is True
+    interaction.response.send_message.assert_not_awaited()
+
+
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Role allowlist (DISCORD_ALLOWED_ROLES) parity
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------