Avenging Luna
Chapter 65: Return of Lily

Chapter 65: Return of Lily

Drake’s POV

The moment I charged forward, ready to confront Marcus, I expected a full-blown confession or at least a fight. But when I saw who he was talking to clearly, my heart froze for a moment. The figure standing next to Marcus wasn’t Raphael. It was Lily.

Lily, who had once been part of our pack. Lily, who had left her newborn child at the hospital and abandoned him. The memory of that moment always sent a cold rage surging through me. She’d claimed the baby wasn’t mine, and out of fury, she had left him behind. Lucas and Nelly had adopted the baby, raising him with the love and care that Lily had so recklessly tossed away. And now, seeing her here, sneaking around with Marcus, all those emotions bubbled to the surface.

"What the hell are you doing out here, Marcus?" I growled, every instinct in me telling me this was more than it seemed. "And why the hell is Lily with you?"

Marcus turned slowly, his face filled with frustration rather than guilt. "It’s not what you think, Drake," he said, his voice steady but defensive. "Calm down and let me explain."

Leila stepped closer, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. "Explain then. Why are you two sneaking around at the edge of our territory? You know this doesn’t look good, Marcus."

Lily shifted uncomfortably, crossing her arms over her chest and avoiding direct eye contact. She didn’t look guilty. She looked tired, worn down, but there was something else, something I couldn’t put my finger on.

Marcus glanced between Lily and me before speaking again, his tone carefully measured. "Lily came to me because she wanted to see her child, Drake."

I stiffened at his words, a mixture of rage and disbelief surging inside me. "Her child?" I repeated, my voice low and dangerous. "The one she abandoned? The one Lucas and Nelly adopted because she couldn’t be bothered to raise him?"

Lily flinched at the venom in my words, but she straightened her posture, meeting my eyes with a steady, if strained, gaze. "I came back because I needed to know he was safe. I know I made mistakes, Drake. Big ones. But I just needed to be sure he’s being taken care of."

Lucas had been looking after the child—*her* child—earlier that day, as usual. But why was she here now, with Marcus, in the middle of nowhere, if all she wanted was reassurance?

Leila crossed her arms, her voice sharp. "You’ve had months to check on him. Why now, Lily? And why come here, to the edge of the territory, instead of directly to Lucas or Nelly? This looks shady."

Lily shifted again, her gaze dropping to the ground for a moment. "I wasn’t sure how to approach them," she said quietly, her voice thick with emotion. "I thought... I thought maybe Marcus could help me. He’s been a friend, and I didn’t want to cause a scene."

My eyes flicked toward Marcus, anger still burning in my chest. "And you? What’s your part in all this? Why didn’t you bring her to me or Lucas?"

Marcus exhaled sharply, looking increasingly frustrated. "She came to me in a panic, Drake. She was afraid to come directly to you or Lucas because she didn’t know how you’d react. I told her Lucas was with the baby and Nelly was with him too, but she wanted to see for herself. I was just trying to help her."

His explanation made sense on the surface, but everything about this situation felt wrong. Too convenient. Too perfectly timed, especially with all the chaos we’d been dealing with lately.

I took a step closer to Marcus, my eyes locked on his. "You’ve been acting strange for weeks now. Disappearing, keeping secrets, and now you’re here, helping Lily, of all people, in the middle of the night? You think I’m just going to buy this story without question?"

Lily’s voice cut through the tension, soft but insistent. "I left my baby, Drake. I left him because I was angry, scared, and I didn’t know what to do. I made a mistake. But that doesn’t mean I don’t care about him. I needed to see that he was okay."

Her words hit me like a punch in the gut. As much as I wanted to hate her, I couldn’t deny that she might be telling the truth. Maybe this really was about her trying to fix her past mistakes. But Marcus’s involvement made everything murkier.

Leila spoke up, her voice calm but firm. "If you wanted to see the baby, you should’ve come to us, Lily. Sneaking around with Marcus doesn’t look good. Especially now, with everything happening in the pack."

Lily’s face flushed with frustration, and she looked up at me, her eyes filled with guilt and something close to desperation. "I know how it looks, but I was afraid, okay? I didn’t know how you’d react if I showed up out of the blue. I thought Marcus could help me without causing trouble."

I studied her for a moment, trying to decide if I believed her. Part of me wanted to dismiss it as another one of Marcus’s games, but another part of me—the part that remembered what it felt like to be a child without parents—wanted to believe her.

Marcus, still standing stiffly beside Lily, added, "You’ve had it out for me for a while now, Drake. I know things have been tense, but I swear to you, this isn’t what you think. I’m not working with Raphael or plotting against you. I’m just trying to help a mother see her child."

My hands balled into fists at my sides. I hated this. Hated the uncertainty, the gnawing doubt creeping into my mind. I didn’t trust Marcus, but I also couldn’t ignore that we had no real proof of his betrayal. And if Lily was telling the truth, this whole situation could blow up in my face if I handled it wrong.

Leila’s hand found mine, her touch grounding me. She leaned in, whispering so only I could hear. "We don’t have enough to accuse him outright, Drake. Not yet. We need to play this smart."

She was right, as usual. My instincts were screaming that something was off, but without evidence, I couldn’t just act on suspicion alone. Not yet.

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to remain calm. "Fine," I said, my voice tight with controlled anger. "But this isn’t over. If I find out you’ve been lying to me, Marcus, if I find even the smallest shred of proof that you’ve betrayed the pack..."

"You won’t," Marcus interrupted, meeting my gaze head-on. "Because I haven’t."

Lily’s eyes flicked between the two of us, tension still heavy in the air. "I’m sorry for causing trouble," she muttered. "I didn’t mean for things to get this bad."

I studied her face, searching for any signs of deception. But all I saw was a woman who had made a lot of mistakes and was now trying to clean up the mess she’d made. Whether or not I believed her fully was another story.

"Go back to the pack house," I ordered, my voice firm. "Check on your baby if you need to. But stay out of trouble, both of you."

Lily nodded quickly, looking relieved to be getting out of this confrontation, while Marcus stood tall, his expression unreadable. They both turned and started making their way back toward the pack house, disappearing into the shadows of the forest.

I stood there for a long moment, my fists still clenched, watching them go. My gut twisted with frustration and doubt. This wasn’t over, not by a long shot. But for now, I had to bide my time.

Leila’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. "You did the right thing, Drake. We can’t move without evidence."

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "I know. But it feels like we’re letting them slip through our fingers."

She nodded, her eyes soft but steady. "If Marcus is hiding something, we’ll find out. And if Lily’s involved... well, she won’t get far with Lucas and Nelly keeping an eye on her."

As we made our way back to the packhouse, the weight of the situation hung heavily on my shoulders. Lucas was waiting for us when we arrived, his expression grim but steady.

"The baby’s fine," Lucas said without preamble. "Nelly’s with him now. No sign of any trouble."

I nodded, feeling a strange mixture of relief and unease. "Good. Keep an eye on them. I don’t trust this."

Lucas’s eyes flicked to Marcus in the distance, narrowing with suspicion. "Neither do I."

The night wore on, and though things had settled down, the unease remained. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was still brewing, something that would come to a head soon.

As I lay in bed that night, Leila resting beside me, my mind kept replaying the events of the day. Marcus had an explanation for everything, but the nagging feeling in my gut told me that he wasn’t as innocent as he claimed. And Lily—there was more to her return than just maternal guilt.

I closed my eyes, pulling Leila closer to me as I vowed to uncover the truth. Whatever Marcus and Lily were hiding, I’d find it. And when I did, there would be no mercy.