Avenging Luna
Chapter 87: Cruel Joke

Chapter 87: Cruel Joke

Drake’s POV:

"What the fuck are you doing?" I roared, my voice echoing through the room. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing—Leila, my mate, standing there with the bottle in her hand, about to drink from it like it was nothing.

I had come back. I had tried to calm down, to be rational. The last time I hadn’t believed her, I’d been wrong, and it had nearly destroyed us. I didn’t want to make the same mistake again. I thought maybe there was an explanation, maybe she really didn’t know how that bottle ended up in her drawer. But walking in and seeing her like this, the very bottle of wolfsbane I had told her about, that the doctor had confirmed was in her system—she was drinking from it.

All I saw was red.

Did she really not want the baby? Was she so determined to end it that she was drinking wolfsbane right in front of me?

Leila stared at me, wide-eyed, like she hadn’t done anything wrong. But she had. She was about to drink more of that filthy stuff, the same thing that had already poisoned her and threatened the life of our child. How could she?

"Do you want to kill our baby?" I barked, taking a few furious steps toward her. "Is that what you’ve been trying to do all along? Is this why you lied? To keep me in the dark while you..." I couldn’t even finish the sentence, the thought alone tearing at my chest.

Leila opened her mouth to say something, but I wasn’t ready to hear any excuses. My mind was racing, a million thoughts hitting me at once, all of them too painful to hold.

"I trusted you, Leila. I believed in you. I came back because I thought maybe—just maybe—there was a way to explain all of this. But then I find you drinking this shit? After the doctor confirmed it was in your system? What the hell am I supposed to think?"

I couldn’t stop the words from spilling out, each one sharp with anger and hurt. My heart pounded in my chest as I glared at her, waiting for her to say something, anything that would make this make sense. But all she did was stare at me, tears welling up in her eyes, her face a mix of shock and confusion.

"I—I wasn’t... I didn’t know," she finally stammered, her voice trembling.

"You didn’t know? You didn’t know the bottle was in your drawer? You didn’t know you were drinking wolfsbane? Come on, Leila!" I snapped, throwing my hands up in frustration. "How can you not know?"

Her lower lip quivered, and she shook her head, her tears starting to fall. "I swear, I didn’t put that bottle there, Drake. I don’t know how it got there, but I wasn’t trying to... I didn’t want to hurt the baby. I want the baby. I never—" She broke off, sobbing now, but I wasn’t sure I could believe her.

I was too angry. Too hurt. I wanted to believe her, but how could I? The evidence was right in front of me. The bottle, the test results, her standing there with it in her hands... it was too much.

I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself, but it felt like the ground was falling out from under me. "Leila... I can’t... I don’t know what to believe anymore."

Her sobs grew louder, and she dropped the bottle to the floor, her hands reaching out toward me. "Please, Drake. You have to believe me. I didn’t do this. I don’t know how the wolfsbane got into my system, but I wasn’t trying to hurt our child. I love our baby. I... I love you."

The words hit me hard, cutting through some of the anger, but not enough to erase the doubt. "If that’s true," I said, my voice quieter but no less strained, "then why the hell were you about to drink from that bottle? After everything, Leila. After everything."

"I don’t know!" she cried, her voice breaking. "I thought it was water or something. It didn’t smell like wolfsbane. I was confused! I didn’t think—"

"That’s the problem, Leila. You didn’t think," I interrupted coldly. "This isn’t just about you anymore. It’s about our child. And if you can’t protect our baby, then I—"

I stopped myself, realizing the weight of what I was about to say. Leila’s eyes widened, as if she knew what I was about to imply, and the hurt on her face nearly broke me. But the doubt was still there, gnawing at me, tearing us apart from the inside.

"I’m not going to make decisions out of anger," I said after a long, tense silence. "I need time. I need to figure out what’s really going on here. And I’m going to have the doctors run every test they can to find out exactly how that wolfsbane got into your system."

Leila nodded, still crying, but I could see that she understood. She knew that things weren’t the same, not after this.

Without another word, I turned and left the room, the weight of everything hanging heavy on my shoulders.

Taking that filthy bottle with me before Leila could finish whatever she was doing, I stormed out of the room, my mind racing with anger and confusion. I couldn’t let her continue down this path, not when the life of our child was at stake. As I walked down the hall, I linked Nelly.

"Nelly, I need you," I said through the link, trying to keep my voice steady. "I’m sorry for disturbing you, but I need you to stay with Leila. I don’t trust her to be alone right now."

Nelly responded almost immediately, concern evident in her tone. "What’s going on, Drake? Is everything okay?"

"No, it’s not," I answered, sighing heavily. "I can’t explain everything right now, but I’m afraid if I stay, I’ll say something I’ll regret. Please, just... get to her quickly. I can’t risk her doing something worse."

I ended the link before she could ask any more questions, not trusting myself to talk about it right now. My emotions were too raw, too volatile. The thought of Leila standing there, holding that bottle, after everything we’d been through—it was too much. The more I tried to rationalize it, the more I felt like I was losing my grip.

When Nelly arrived, I was pacing in the hallway, the bottle still clenched in my hand. The sight of her brought me some small relief, but it wasn’t enough to calm the storm brewing inside me.

"Drake, what happened?" she asked, her voice filled with worry. She was cradling Mike in one arm, her eyes darting between me and the door to the room where Leila still was.

I ran a hand through my hair, feeling the tension building in my chest again. "It’s bad, Nelly. I don’t know if I can explain it all right now, but I found Leila with this." I held up the small bottle, my fingers gripping it tighter than I intended. "Wolfbane. There’s more of it in her system than I thought."

Nelly’s eyes widened in shock. "Leila? Wolfbane?" She looked as if I’d just told her the moon had fallen out of the sky. "But how? She wouldn’t—"

"I don’t know," I said, cutting her off. "I don’t know how it got there, and Leila keeps denying she took it, but the blood tests don’t lie. The doctor found traces of it in her system." I let out a frustrated breath. "I can’t... I can’t deal with this right now. I don’t know if she’s lying to me, or if someone else is involved, but I need space. If I stay in there any longer, I might say things I’ll regret."

Nelly’s expression softened, and she reached out to touch my arm. "Drake, I’m sure she didn’t mean to hurt the baby. Leila loves that child."

"I want to believe that, Nelly," I muttered, shaking my head. "But how am I supposed to when everything points to her trying to end it? I’ve already been through this once. I can’t—"

My voice broke off as the weight of it all hit me again. I felt like I was standing on the edge of a cliff, looking down into an abyss, unsure of what was real and what wasn’t.

Nelly’s gaze turned serious. "I’ll stay with her," she said firmly, "I promise. I won’t leave her side until we figure this out."

"Good," I nodded, feeling a small sense of relief at her words. "Tell her... tell her I’ll be back, but I need time. And make sure she knows she’s not alone, but... don’t let her out of your sight."

Nelly nodded, then turned to enter the room. Before she walked in, I grabbed her arm gently. "One more thing. Don’t let her take anything. No food, no drinks, nothing unless you’re sure it’s safe."

"Got it," she said, her eyes full of understanding. "I’ll watch over her, Drake. You take care of yourself too."

With that, she disappeared into the room, leaving me standing in the hall. The bottle in my hand felt heavier than ever. It was such a small thing, but it carried the weight of all my doubts, fears, and heartbreak.

I looked down at it, disgust filling me. How could something so small cause so much damage? My mate, my child—everything I cared about seemed to be hanging in the balance because of this one bottle.

Without thinking, I tossed it into a nearby trash bin. I didn’t want to see it anymore.