Avenging Luna
Chapter 55: Murderer’s Daughter

Chapter 55: Murderer’s Daughter

Drake’s POV:

The cold night air did nothing to calm the storm raging inside me. My hands trembled as I paced back and forth, my mind a tangled mess of anger, betrayal, and confusion. Leila. The name, once a source of comfort and love, now felt like a curse. I couldn’t even look at her without seeing the bloodline that had destroyed everything I held dear.

Raphael’s words replayed in my head, mocking me. The brat of the people who killed his parents. The world felt like it was spinning too fast, like I was losing my grip on reality. How could the Moon Goddess do this to me? How could she mate me with the child of my parents’ murderers?

I had sworn an oath—on my parents’ graves—that I would eliminate every last one of them. Every. Last. One. And now? Now, the blood of their killers was in her veins. The woman I was supposed to love, to protect, to cherish. It was all a sick joke.

Leila was standing there, her back straight, her gaze hard. It wasn’t her, not entirely—it was Layla. Her wolf. The wolf that had taken over since the trauma had ripped her human side apart. And yet, even now, with her wolf in control, she stood there like she hadn’t just shattered everything.

I clenched my fists, my knuckles white as I tried to contain the rage bubbling inside me. I didn’t know if I wanted to scream at her, or at the Moon Goddess for binding me to this cruel twist of fate. Part of me wanted to grab her, shake her, demand how she could hide something like this from me. But the other part—the part that still recognized her as my mate—was suffocating under the weight of that same rage.

Mate. The word tasted bitter on my tongue. She wasn’t my mate. Not anymore. How could she be? Not when the blood of my parents’ killers flowed through her.

The worst part of all? Even though I hated her in that moment, even though I swore I could never forgive her, my wolf... my damn wolf still wanted her. Still howled for her. Layla, Leila—it didn’t matter to him. They were his mate. But I wasn’t like him. I wasn’t blinded by primal instinct.

I stopped pacing and turned to face her. She was standing near Raphael, staring at him with an intensity I’d never seen before. Something about her was different, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t care. All I could see was the betrayal. All I could feel was the rage.

Raphael was pinned to the ground, breathing heavily, his face bruised and scarred from our last encounter. His mocking words rang in my ears. I wanted to kill him, right there and then. But I needed answers. I needed to know what he knew. And more importantly, I needed to know what Leila had hidden from me.

"Tell me," I growled, my voice low and dangerous. "What did you mean about her parents?"

Raphael smirked despite the pain, his one good eye glinting with satisfaction. "She didn’t tell you? Oh, this is rich."

I tightened my grip around his throat, watching as his smug expression faltered. "Talk, or I swear to the Moon Goddess, I’ll rip your throat out."

His chuckle was hoarse, labored. "You can kill me if you want, Drake. But it won’t change anything. You’ve already been mated to the daughter of your parents’ murderers."

The words hit me like a punch to the gut. I released him, stumbling back as the reality of it all crashed over me. Leila’s eyes—Layla’s eyes—were locked on mine, but I couldn’t read them. I didn’t want to.

I turned away, my chest tightening as the fury boiled inside me. How had I not seen it? How had I been so blind?

I heard her take a step toward me. "Drake..."

"Don’t," I snapped, my voice cold, hard. "Don’t you dare."

She froze, the weight of my words hanging in the air between us. I couldn’t even look at her. If I did, I wasn’t sure what I’d do. The wolf inside me growled, demanding I claim her, protect her, but my heart—my mind—couldn’t reconcile it. How could I protect her when she was the very thing I had vowed to destroy?

For a moment, the silence was deafening. Raphael was breathing heavily behind me, probably trying to figure out how much longer he had to live. But I wasn’t focused on him anymore. It was her. Always her.

I forced myself to breathe, my hands trembling at my sides. I had to get out of here, away from her. If I stayed, I’d lose control. And I couldn’t afford that. Not now.

"You hid this from me," I said quietly, my voice barely above a whisper. "You lied to me."

Leila—or Layla, whoever was in control—stared at me, but she didn’t respond. Maybe she didn’t have to. The truth was there, in her silence.

I turned on my heel and stormed off, the pain too much to bear. I had to capture Raphael, had to deal with the pack’s enemies, but none of it mattered. Nothing mattered anymore. The woman I loved... the woman I thought I knew... was a part of the family that had taken mine away.

And no matter how much I wanted to deny it, that blood still ran through her veins.

As I stormed away from Leila, my mind was a whirlwind of chaos. Each step I took, the weight of my vow pressed heavier on my chest. My parents’ faces flashed before my eyes—innocent, loving, and then dead because of the people she came from. How could I have been so blind? How had I not seen the truth lurking beneath the surface all this time?

Raphael’s words echoed in my head. The brat of the people who killed his parents. My fingers itched to go back and finish him off, to make him pay for everything, but I knew killing him wouldn’t erase the truth I had just learned.

Leila. My mate. Or at least, she had been. Could I even call her that now?

But something felt off. With every step I took, something tugged at me, like an invisible thread was pulling me back toward her. My chest tightened, a warmth spreading through my heart. It was a sensation I hadn’t felt in weeks—not since Leila had shut down, leaving only her wolf, Layla, in control.

I stopped dead in my tracks.

The mate bond. The unmistakable feeling of connection—strong, undeniable. It was there. It had returned.

I spun around, my heart pounding in my chest, eyes wide as the realization dawned on me. Leila was back. Her human side had returned. But how? And why now? It didn’t make sense, not after everything that had happened, not after I’d given up hope.

I could feel her. Not Layla, her wolf—but her. The woman I had fallen in love with. The one I had once sworn to protect with my life. The one I had cherished.

But did it matter?

I stood frozen, torn between the overwhelming joy of having her back and the gut-wrenching agony of the truth. Leila—the woman I loved—was the daughter of the people I had sworn to eliminate. The blood of my parents’ killers coursed through her veins.

How could I reconcile that? How could I ever look at her the same, knowing what I knew now?

I took a deep, shuddering breath, the air feeling heavy and thick around me. My wolf was ecstatic, howling inside me, desperate to rush to her, to hold her, to claim her. But I couldn’t move. I couldn’t bring myself to face her, not with this burning hatred, this venomous betrayal twisting in my chest.

I had vowed on my parents’ graves that I would eliminate every last member of their killers’ bloodline. And now, standing here, the mate bond thrumming through me with renewed vigor, I realized the cruel, impossible choice I was facing.

Leila was back. But could I still love her?

I clenched my fists, trying to steady my breath. Every instinct screamed at me to go to her, to hold her, but the vow I’d made—my solemn promise—stood between us like an impenetrable wall.

What do I do now?

I glanced back in the direction of where she stood, my heart warring with itself. The bond was restored, but so was the terrible truth that now weighed heavier than anything I had ever known.

My parents’ blood demanded justice.

And the woman I loved was at the center of it all.

The air grew still, and I knew that when I faced her again, I would have to make the hardest choice of my life.

Would I be able to follow through with my vow, or would the mate bond—stronger than ever—be the thing that undid everything?

The question lingered as the realization crashed over me.

The bond was restored.

But at what cost?