Hades' Cursed Luna novel Chapter 148

Hades

My pulse spiked as the magnified image began to move.

"This is the cell of a normal Lycan. Right now, it is in its active state—acting as a normal cell should, multiplying and performing other functions. But when exposed to an extreme electromagnetic force identical to that of a Blood Moon..."

Suddenly, the cell began to react violently, mutating.

The cell writhed on the screen, twisting into something grotesque. I watched in silence as Dr. Cohen’s finger traced along the monitor, highlighting every shift, every mutation.

"Watch carefully," he murmured, his voice tinged with unease.

The simulated pulse of the Blood Moon’s electromagnetic force surged across the display. The Lycan cell responded instantly—its membrane thickened, dark veins crackled along its surface, and the nucleus fractured, splitting into erratic, unstable offshoots.

The thing on the screen wasn’t alive. It was a disaster in motion.

"This is the catalyst for the Lunar Cataclysm," Cohen explained, his tone grave. "When exposed to the Blood Moon, Lycan cells undergo uncontrollable mutation. Regeneration becomes excessive and unstable, causing partial, grotesque shifts. Cognitive function breaks down. They lose themselves to rage and madness."

I didn’t respond. I didn’t need to. My mind was already racing ahead, weighing every detail, every angle. I knew all this before.

"And Ellen?" I asked, sharp.

Cohen’s lips twitched in something close to excitement. "That’s where it gets interesting."

He tapped the screen, pulling up a second sample—labeled Subject E-001.

"Ellen’s blood," he said quietly.

Again, the Blood Moon simulation rippled across the screen. But this time, nothing happened. The cell remained perfectly still. Untouched.

I stared, not trusting what I was seeing.

Shield or Sword.

"It doesn’t react," Cohen said, his voice barely above a whisper. "No mutation. No degeneration. Her cells are completely resistant to the electromagnetic force that cripples every other Lycan."

My fingers curled into fists at my sides. This wasn’t possible. Yet the evidence was right in front of me. A part of me believed in the prophecy but another remained pragmatic. But this...was everything hypothesized.

"And yet," I said slowly, "you look unsettled."

Cohen hesitated, his confidence slipping. "Because it’s incomplete."

My eyes narrowed.

"The anomaly in her blood is only partially developed. It’s shielding her, yes, but the protection isn’t absolute. It’s inconsistent. Right now, it might prevent the physical mutations, but not the neurological breakdown—the madness."

Of course. Nothing was ever simple. Yet, I still dared to hope.

"What’s stopping it from completing?" I asked, though I already knew.

"The hollowing," Cohen replied immediately. "When Ellen’s wolf was stripped away, it interrupted the natural development of this anomaly. It’s as if her body was building a defense, but the process was violently cut short. Now it’s dormant. Half-formed. But…"

"But if we awaken her wolf," I finished for him, voice low, "it will complete itself."

Cohen nodded. "Exactly. If her wolf returns, the anomaly should fully mature, granting complete immunity. Not just for her physical form but for her mind as well."

My jaw tightened.

If that anomaly fully awakened, Ellen wouldn’t just survive the Lunar Cataclysm—she would be immune. Untouchable. A perfect weapon in a war no one else could fight.

And that weapon would be mine to wield.

But it hinged on one thing. Her wolf.

"And if we fail?" I asked, knowing the answer but needing to hear it aloud.

Cohen’s face darkened. "Then her body will finish adapting to life without her wolf. The anomaly will stay incomplete. When the Blood Moon rises, her mind will fracture. She’ll descend into madness. And she’ll be of no use to anyone."

No use to me.

I stared at the flickering screen, at that perfect, unmoving cell. So close to perfection, yet teetering on the edge of collapse.

There was only one path forward.

She had to awaken her wolf.

The lie Lia fed her—the fear, the need to find her mate—it was all falling into place. Ellen believed finding him would save her. And maybe, for once, that wasn’t entirely a lie.

But the thought of her bonding with another man, another Alpha, clawed at something primal inside me. It wasn’t just strategy. It wasn’t just power.

It was possession.

What was mine was mine.

The idea of another male’s hands on her, of their bond snapping into place, made my skin crawl. But for this? For the power it would bring me?

I would allow it. I had already.

I would force it, if I had to.

"Keep monitoring the anomaly," I ordered, my voice as cold as ice. "Report every change, no matter how small."

"Of course, Your Majesty."

I turned away from the screen, already forming the next move in this game.

My gaze shifted to the other monitors. "I ordered the infiltration of the LSI database for cities in Silverpine. They should have cross-referenced it with Ellen’s sample by now. Has there been any luck finding a probable mate?"

Cohen’s face tightened, his excitement fading under the weight of my question. His hand hovered over the console for a brief moment before he sighed and began pulling up another set of data on the adjacent screen.

"We’ve completed the infiltration of the LSI database as you ordered," he said, his voice clipped and professional. "Silverpine’s records were cross-referenced against Ellen’s genetic markers, focusing on any potential mate bonds that could trigger her wolf’s awakening."

I waited, eyes narrowing as endless rows of data scrolled across the monitor.

"And?" My voice was like a blade—sharp and demanding.

Cohen swallowed hard. "Nothing. Not a single viable match."

The words sank into me like a stone in water. The lab was silent except for the hum of machines, the steady beep of heart monitors, and the faint whir of automated analysis systems running in the background. All this cutting-edge technology, this empire of science at my disposal, and yet it couldn’t give me the answer I needed.

"No match?" I repeated slowly, tasting the words as if they were poison. "After all of this?"

"The results are conclusive," Cohen confirmed, glancing at the screen as if hoping something had changed. "Even after bypassing LSI security and cross-referencing every registered werewolf in Silverpine and beyond, there’s no genetic bond compatible with Ellen. Not in their records, at least."

My jaw tensed. Of course, it wouldn’t be easy. Nothing about Ellen ever was.

"So what are you telling me, Cohen? That there is no mate?" I asked, my tone a low growl.

Cohen shook his head. "Not necessarily. Only that the mate isn’t in the existing databases. They could be unregistered, rogue, or dead. Without more leads, we’re working blind."

Useless. All of it.

I turned my gaze to the sprawling lab around me. The Obsidian Tower’s top-floor laboratory was the most advanced facility of its kind—walls of reinforced glass, shelves of genetic samples meticulously labeled, machines worth more than entire cities. Every inch of this place was designed to strip away secrets, to make the impossible possible.

And yet, here we were. Struggling against fate like primitive beasts.

Cohen hesitated before speaking again. "But there’s something else."