Avenging Luna Chapter 86: Just a Taste

Leila’s POV:

I can’t believe it. How the hell was a bottle of wolfsbane in my drawer? Drake kept asking how I had it, like I’d know. How the hell was I supposed to know? I never saw that bottle in my entire life up until now. I couldn’t explain it, and I could see in Drake’s eyes that he was struggling too. His disbelief cut through like a knife, but honestly, I didn’t bla him. If I were standing in his shoes, it would be hard for to believe too.

I had once wanted to abort the baby, it’s true. When I first found out I was pregnant, I was terrified, confused, and not ready for the weight of motherhood. But that was months ago. I had grown attached to this life growing inside . I had co to love the child. How the hell would I suddenly want to abort it now? How could Drake believe that of ?

But I could see how it looked from the outside. To soone who didn’t know , it would seem like I had lied about keeping the baby—like I’d pretended to accept motherhood, only to turn around and secretly try to get rid of it. I pleaded with Drake to believe , to trust that I hadn’t done this, but I could see the doubt flickering behind his eyes. The more I begged, the more his silence deepened, and that hurt more than anything.

Then he asked to get tested for wolfsbane in my blood. My heart sank when he said it, but I agreed. I had to. What other option did I have? I needed to prove to him that I was innocent, even if it broke a little that he needed a test to believe . But it was a logical step. If the test proved I didn’t have any wolfsbane in my system, he’d know I was telling the truth. He’d see that I wasn’t trying to hurt our baby.

Still, the fact that he doubted —again—brought back a flood of painful mories. The first ti he’d accused , when Lily planted those lies in his head. I hadn’t forgotten that betrayal. Back then, he’d been so quick to believe Lily, to trust her over , that he nearly threw in the dungeon. The rage I felt then resurfaced now, twisting inside . Would this be the second ti he falsely accused ? Would this beco a pattern?

I clenched my jaw as I thought about it. Fine. Let him run his tests. When I proved him wrong, he would owe big. No, huge. And I would make sure he never forgot how wrong he was.

When the pack doctor arrived, I felt a montary relief. The test would finally clear all this up. This whole nightmare would end, and Drake would realize how insane his accusations were. I an, how could I have taken wolfsbane? No one tampered with my food—Drake or I prepared most of our als, and I was a picky eater. Nobody else touched what I ate, not even the kitchen staff. So the only way I could’ve ingested wolfsbane was if I took it myself, and I didn’t. Which ant the test would prove my innocence, right?

I thought about it logically: either the wolfsbane was planted in my drawer as so twisted set-up, or... well, no, that was the only possibility. Soone was trying to fra , and I would expose them soon enough.

But then the doctor spoke. His words shattered my relief, each one hitting like a ton of bricks.

"The test results ca back positive. There are traces of wolfsbane in your system, Luna."

What? No... that’s not possible. My ears were ringing, my body frozen in place. What did he just say? Positive?

I blinked rapidly, trying to make sense of the words. They felt like a bad joke. Like I was in so surreal nightmare that I couldn’t wake up from.

I turned to Drake, desperately searching his face for so sign that he understood. That he knew, deep down, that I could never do this. But his expression was unreadable—torn between disbelief and sothing else I couldn’t place. His eyes, once so full of love, now clouded over with suspicion.

"No, this can’t be right," I whispered, shaking my head. "I didn’t take wolfsbane. There has to be a mistake."

The doctor just looked at with pity, and that only made the knot in my chest tighter.

Drake didn’t say anything, but I could see the hurt etched into his features. It was like he was trying to understand, but the evidence was pulling him in another direction. I wanted to scream, to break sothing, to make him see that none of this made sense.

"Drake," I choked, my voice barely a whisper, "I swear, I didn’t do this."

He stayed silent, his eyes drifting toward the floor, his fists clenched tightly at his sides. The silence between us was suffocating.

I could feel the weight of his doubt pressing down on , and it broke my heart. Why couldn’t he see that I was being frad? Why couldn’t he trust ? It wasn’t just the wolfsbane, it was everything. It was Lily poisoning his mind the first ti, it was him always questioning whether I was capable of these terrible things.

"I... I don’t know how this happened," I stamred, my voice cracking. "But I didn’t do it. Please, you have to believe ."

He finally looked at , his expression softening for a mont, but the damage had already been done. He was trying so hard to understand, but the seed of doubt had already taken root, and I could see it in his eyes.

"I don’t want to believe it," he said quietly, his voice hoarse, "but the evidence is there, Leila. It’s in your blood."

Tears welled up in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I couldn’t break now. I had to stay strong, for , for our baby. I didn’t know who was behind this, but I wasn’t going to let them win. I wasn’t going to lose Drake because of so sick, twisted plan to ruin us.

I took a deep breath, trying to steady my voice. "I didn’t take it, Drake. I don’t know how it got into my system, but I’ll prove to you that I’m innocent. I swear on everything I love, I’ll find out who did this."

He nodded slowly, but the distance between us felt like a chasm.

"I hope you’re right," he murmured, though there was no conviction in his voice.

And with that, the doctor left the room, and I was left standing there, alone with the man I loved, more broken than I’d ever felt before. How did this happen? How did my life, my pregnancy, everything, turn into this nightmare?

Whoever was behind this, they were going to pay. I was going to find them.

The doctor had suggested running more tests before he left, and I clung to that glimr of hope. Maybe, just maybe, they’d find sothing else—anything—that could prove my innocence. I was grateful for his thoroughness. At least soone was still looking for the truth.

Drake had left right after the doctor, and I had no idea where he went. Only God knew. But deep down, I knew why he chose to walk away. He didn’t want to say sothing he’d regret—sothing he couldn’t take back. I respected him for that, but that didn’t an I was okay with it.

I wanted him to hold , to tell everything would be alright, to trust without question. But instead, he chose to leave, leaving to deal with this tornt alone. Damn him. Damn this life for always putting in these impossible situations. It was like a cruel joke the universe kept playing on , over and over.

I curled up on the floor, arms wrapped tightly around my knees, crying silently. My gaze drifted to the small bottle lying a few feet away, the very thing that had turned my life upside down. How could sothing so small cause such chaos?

Curiosity gnawed at . I reached for the bottle, turning it over in my hands. How could this little thing have so much power? I brought it closer to my nose, expecting the pungent scent of wolfsbane to hit . But nothing. I frowned, confused. There was no scent. Was this a joke? So cruel, twisted joke?

I opened the bottle, cautiously sniffing it again. Still nothing. No scent. Could it be...water? Was this just a bottle of water? My mind raced with absurd thoughts. Was Drake playing so sort of cruel prank on ? It wasn’t April Fool’s Day, and this definitely wasn’t funny.

Frustration bubbled inside . Could this really just be water? Why had everything spiraled out of control if it was sothing as simple as that? I didn’t know what compelled to do it, but before I could stop myself, I tipped the bottle to my lips, ready to taste it—to prove to myself that it was nothing.

That was the worst mistake I could’ve made.

Because just then, the door swung open.

Drake.

He froze, his eyes wide with shock, as he saw with the bottle raised to my lips. The look on his face—pure horror—hit like a punch to the gut.

I let the bottle fall from my hands as I stared back at him, helpless. My heart pounded in my chest, and for a mont, ti stood still.

What had I just done?