Hades' Cursed Luna novel Chapter 147

Hades

"Are you sure, Red?" I asked, while rubbing slow circles into her back. "That---"

"I am sure," she whispered, the tremor in her voice unmistakable. "I want to find my..." She gulped. "My mate." She spoke like it hurt physically.

I could feel her anxiety and uncertainty since Lia’s visit. It seemed that the news had scared her more than I had expected. It was perfect. I continued to rub her back, trying to chase the tension away from her body. But her shoulders remained bunched as if she was prepared for a battle.

"It’s going to be okay," I told her. "I sent Amelia to tell you because---"

"I understand," she cut me off. She tilted her head up so that she could look at me. "Thank you," she whispered.

My brows knitted. "What for?"

For a little while, she said nothing before she finally found the words. "For everything," she replied ominously.

My stomach knotted, but I flashed her a teasing, easy grin. "But I thought I was insufferable, and yet you just can’t live without me."

Immediately, she smacked my arm. "This is why we will never see eye to eye," she grumbled before turning away from me.

My smile faltered as I glanced at the test results lying on the table. The paper was a clever lie, doctored to reassure her fears while keeping the truth hidden. There was nothing life-threatening—not yet. Just abnormal cell degeneration, the kind that wouldn’t raise alarms under normal circumstances. But to me, it screamed louder than any prophecy ever could. _{freewёbnoνel.com}

Her body was too stable. Stable in a way that no one without a wolf should be. Stable in a way that defied the natural laws of our kind. Without her wolf, she was slowly becoming... something else. The wolf wasn’t just dormant—it was being forgotten, erased. And the worst part? Her body was adapting to life without it. The hollowing should have killed her, but now that it hadn’t, the effect was like that of a survivor who had endured a terrible illness and emerged not only immune to it but stronger for having faced it. Her body, instead of succumbing to the hollowing, had adapted. It was as if the process, which should have destroyed her, had acted as a brutal workout, sharpening her system into something more resilient, more efficient—but also far more unnatural.

Her cells had recalibrated themselves to function without the wolf, a feat no one else had survived before. It was a paradox: the very process meant to strip her of strength had left her more fortified, but at a terrible cost. Without her wolf, she wasn’t just an anomaly—she was a ticking clock. The balance her body had achieved was fragile, artificial, and unsustainable.

If the wolf wasn’t awakened soon, her body would no longer recognize it. The transformation would become permanent, cutting her off from her true nature forever. She’d remain alive, but she wouldn’t truly be herself—and with that, any hope tied to the prophecy would vanish. All my plans for her would go to hell. I had to make sure she awakened her wolf, even if it meant that I would have to let her mate with some other fucker.

I rubbed my temple, the thought itself making my skin crawl, a migraine pulsing behind my eyes. The thought of her bonding with another man—a stranger—grated on my nerves. Not only because of jealousy—what was mine was mine—but because adding another variable to the equation would complicate things. The bond between mates was sacred, and something like that could affect my plans in unprecedented ways. But for the power foretold, it would be worth it.

Yet, as unnerving as it was, with a single well-thought-out lie from Lia, she would be willing. Because the will to live surpassed all else. Fear was a powerful motivator, and right now, she was clinging to the hope that finding her mate would save her. Perfect. That hope was all I needed. She had no idea the role she was playing in something far greater than herself—a game she didn’t even know existed.

The prophecy wasn’t just some ancient tale; it was a blueprint for power. Her wolf wasn’t simply dormant—it was the key to unlocking a force that could tip the scales in ways no one could predict. Without it, she would be another useless artifact in the Obsidian Pack’s arsenal. But with it? She could be a weapon, one that I could wield.

"Red?" My tone was soft to keep her pliable. "Why did you not tell me you were hollowed?"

She stiffened, and for a little more than a moment, she did not say a word. "I was ashamed," she whispered.

Something in my chest twisted painfully. I reached out and placed a hand on her tense shoulders. "And you led me to believe that you were merely wolfless."

She said nothing.

"It must have hurt," I said, feeling her tense further, a tremor running through her body.