Hades' Cursed Luna novel Chapter 136

Eve

I leaned into his touch, if only to steal a little more warmth from him, to hold onto this fragile moment where I wasn’t Eve or Ellen—just the broken pieces of both.

"I don’t want to hear that name," I whispered, barely able to push the words out. "Not from you."

Hades stiffened slightly, his thumb brushing along my cheekbone in slow, careful circles. "Then what should I call you?"

The question lingered between us, weighted with more meaning than either of us dared acknowledge.

I hesitated, but only for a breath.

"Call me Red," I said softly, leaning closer until my lips nearly brushed his again. "Your Red." To think that nickname had once unnerved me.

The possessiveness in those two words slipped out before I could stop them, but I didn’t regret it. I wanted to be his. In this moment, I needed to be something other than the fragile lie I’d wrapped myself in.

Hades exhaled, a low rumble vibrating from his chest as his forehead pressed against mine.

"Red," he murmured, the word curling against my skin like smoke—dangerous and intoxicating. His grip tightened again, and I felt the embers smoldering beneath his touch, the fire that only he could wield.

I shivered, but not from the cold.

"Mine," he added, almost as if testing the weight of the word.

I didn’t correct him.

I didn’t want to.

Instead, I kissed him again—slow, deliberate, as if sealing the words between us with every brush of my lips.

Because in his arms, I wasn’t Eve. I wasn’t Ellen.

I was Red.

And for now, that was enough.

"And I might have to let Jules out," he said quietly.

It took a moment for me to process his words. "Let her out of what?" I asked, dreading the answer already.

He was silent for a moment before letting out a nervous chuckle. "I might or might not have thrown her in a cell for hurting you."

"Hades!" I all but screamed. "You did what?" Horror settled heavily in my gut.

"I thought she hurt you. She was over you when I came in," his voice dropped lower with each syllable, like he was afraid of my reaction.

"Hades..." I let out his name in a frustrated sigh.

He pulled me closer, cradling my face. "I was worried," he murmured.

"And infuriated," I remarked.

"Aren’t I always?" he asked. "But you did not see what I saw. I was... terrified," he whispered, an almost-confession.

I smirked. "I thought you had no fears," I teased.

"I don’t," he grumbled childishly. "I just... don’t like the idea of someone else having the chance to hurt you."

His words were gruff, but the way his forehead pressed against mine betrayed him. Hades—the Lycan king feared by all—was afraid of losing me.

I softened, threading my fingers into his hair. "I wasn’t in danger," I reassured him quietly. "Jules was just—"

"Hovering over you like a vulture," he interrupted, his grip tightening as if remembering the sight all over again.

I sighed, resting my head against his chest. His heart thudded steadily beneath my ear, a rhythm I could lose myself in. "She wouldn’t hurt me."

His silence told me he didn’t believe that.

"I’ll talk to her," I promised, though I wasn’t entirely sure how that conversation would go. Jules was still a puzzle I hadn’t unraveled. I felt her sharp edges sometimes, the bitterness she carried just beneath her skin—but I wanted to believe she wouldn’t betray me.

Hades’ lips brushed the top of my head. "I’ll let her out in the morning."

"You’ll let her out now," I countered, tilting my head up to meet his gaze.

His eyes narrowed. "Red—"

"Now," I said firmly. "Before she decides she should hurt me for throwing her in there." I joked.

His growl was soft but indulgent, like he was already regretting letting me have my way. "I still don’t understand why she didn’t call for help when she saw you that way," he murmured. "Not to mention that she was thirty minutes early."

I mused, recalling the last incident between us—the coded entries she had kept. What would have happened if I had written them in code? I tried not to think about it. "She must have had her reasons," I replied.

He was quiet for an unbearably long time. "What if she tried to kill you?"

I stiffened against him. "She would never—"

"Like your sister would have never?" he countered.

I pulled back, my heart clenching. "She is not Eve," I said.