Second Chance for the Barren Luna (Talia and Jason) novel Chapter 50

Talia’s POV

Redbone Flower.

I froze. The pungent, metallic-sweet scent coated the hallway air. It was faint enough to confuse it with poorly made perfume, but my wolf caught it instantly. I had heard about the herb, and I knew it was a banned substance, but I didn’t know exactly what it was.

‘It’s a rare, poisonous herb,’ my wolf growled. ‘In small doses, it can bolster stamina and sharpen energy. But long-term consumption causes the body to rot. It swells the belly; it makes it look like a pregnancy. It destroys the body slowly and painfully.’

“Where?” I asked.

‘The lounge. Someone carried it through here.’

I stared down the hallway toward the lounge. My pulse kicked up in my throat. Who would dare to use it?

The closer I stepped, the stronger the stench became. Peeking through the thin crack of the slightly ajar door, my breath caught. Viki was hunched over a table, her body shuddering violently as she vomited onto the floor.

“Hurry up, I need to change,” Viki hissed.

“Yes, Luna.”

A maid knelt beside her, desperately scrubbing at the dark spatter staining the floor. At first, I thought it was wine. Then the smell hit me: iron. It was blood.

Before I could stop myself, I pushed the door open fully. The wood banged softly against the wall, making the maid jump. Viki’s head snapped toward me.

I stepped inside, shutting and locking the door behind me. Viki’s eyes darted to the door, then back to me. Fear flashed in her eyes only for a second.

“What do you want, Talia? Get out!” Viki snapped.

“You’ve been taking Redbone Flower, haven’t you?” I asked, getting straight to the point.

Her eyes narrowed into slits. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you do,” I said coldly. “I can smell the rot on you. You’ve been taking the Redbone Flower, pretending to be pregnant.”

“That’s none of your business! Get out!” she screamed, her voice cracking.

“It became my business the second you dragged me into your pathetic little schemes,” I shot back, anger hardening every word. “You wanted the Luna crown so badly, you poisoned yourself for it. Do you even realize what you’ve done? You risked your own life for a title, for attention, for something that will never make you worthy. That’s not strength, Viki. It is just stupid and pathetic.”

Her face burned red, lips trembling, eyes glinting with rage as if she might strike me. Instead, she let out a furious growl. “You think you’re better than me? You walk around with your nose in the air, acting like you’re something special just because you have Prince Solon’s attention. Eventually, Prince Solon will get bored and put you in your place because you’re still an omega, Talia. Omegas don’t get to be proud. Omegas don’t get to stand above their betters. ”

I stepped closer, meeting her glare. “And yet, here I am. I didn’t lie and cheat my way to climb ranks. I’m here because I’ve proven myself to be better than you every time. That’s why you’ll never be more than a fraud.”

“You don’t get to judge me,” Viki growled. “You had the privilege of having everything handed to you.”

“Don’t deflect, Viki. That’s not the point, and you know it. You could’ve just waited for your fated mate. You didn’t have to do this,” I argued.

Viki shrugged. “It doesn’t matter anymore. If I don’t go through with this, I’ll be discarded like trash.”

“Better discarded than dead,” I snapped.

Viki looked away, coughing into her blood-soaked handkerchief. “You don’t understand. After today’s ceremony, we’ll never see each other again. So, just let me have this.”

I thought seeing Viki at her lowest would bring me some sense of satisfaction, but I hated that part of me felt pity for her. Viki was manipulative, cruel, but I would’ve never wished this on my worst enemy.

My wolf huffed in my mind, torn between disgust and reluctant empathy. ‘She chose this path.’

I sighed, “Fine. I won’t tell anyone.”

I unlocked the door and stepped out into the hall only to nearly collide with Solon.

“There you are,” he said sharply. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.” His eyes flicked past me toward the lounge door. “What were you doing in there?”

My body shifted subtly, blocking his view. “I just had a headache and needed a moment.”

“A headache?” Solon raised an eyebrow. Before he could question me more, I quickly looped my arm through his and led him away from the lounge. “Come on. The ceremony’s about to start. We should head back now”.