Hades' Cursed Luna novel Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Fool Me Once

Eve~

I blinked, sure I had not heard her correctly. "What?"

Ellen's expression changed in a split second, and a smile crept up her face. "I poisoned myself."

I was completely dumbfounded, utterly shocked. It almost didn't fully register that my sister had said she poisoned herself.

Ellen's smile grew wider as she watched the confusion and horror spread across my face. "You heard me right, Eve. I poisoned myself," she said, her voice cold and calculating.

"But... why?" I stammered, struggling to understand. "Why would you do this?"

She knelt down to my level, her eyes gleaming with a twisted satisfaction. "You had to go, Eve. And what better way than to frame you as the villain? You shifting into a Lycan was just a fortunate coincidence."

My blood turned to ice. This was my sister, the person I loved most in the world, the one I would have done anything for. "You... you planned all of this?" I whispered, unable to believe what I was hearing.

She tilted her head, examining me like I was some insignificant creature. "Of course. It was easy, really. One of us would be cursed anyway, it just had to be you. I just need to give them more of an incentive."

"You manipulated everyone," I said, my voice trembling with disbelief. "You even fooled James..."

At that, she laughed in my face.

Tears stung my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. "Why, Ellen? Why are you doing this to me? I loved you. I would have done anything for you."

Her expression softened for a brief moment, but it was quickly replaced by that same cold look. "Would you have given the throne to your younger sister?"

The realization hit me like a punch to the gut. "You... you wanted to be Alpha," I said, the pieces falling into place. "You wanted to rule without any competition."

"Exactly," she said, her eyes narrowing. "You were the only one standing in my way. I couldn't risk you turning into a Lycan and becoming more powerful than me. So, I made sure everyone believed you were a danger to us all."

"You framed me," I murmured unable to stomach the truth, my voice hollow.

"And it worked perfectly, didn't it?" she said, standing up and brushing off her dress as if this was just a casual conversation. "Now, you'll be executed, and I'll be the Alpha's only daughter, the true blessing to this pack."

I felt like I was suffocating, the air in the dungeon suddenly too thick to breathe. My own sister had betrayed me, orchestrated my downfall, and turned everyone I loved against me.

"Ellen, please," I begged, my voice breaking. "Don't do this. You're my sister. We can fix this together. We can—"

"Fix this?" She laughed, the sound cold and heartless. "There is nothing to fix, Eve. You were always meant to fall, and I was always meant to rise."

"James will find out. He will know you manipulated him."

She raised a brow. "Manipulated him?"

Just then, I heard approaching footsteps, and James came into view. He walked to Ellen's side and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"James..." I whispered, the sight making my stomach turn. "Stay away from her. She's a liar." I tried to warn him.

"I know," he said curtly. "She's my little liar." And with that, they locked lips.

My heart shattered. Then it dawned on me what he was saying. "You knew?"

They pulled away from each other. "Knew?" He scoffed. "We planned it together."

My mind spiraled with the betrayal I was just learning of. My eyes welled with tears again. "How could you do this?" I mumbled, scattered.

"You are truly stupid to ask such a question. Don't you see? I never loved you. It was always Ellen, but you latched onto me like a clingy girl. You were a means to an end. And now, I get the satisfaction of putting you down like the dog that you are," his voice was so laced with hate that it sounded almost too foreign to be the man I had loved.

"Father has come to a decision about what we will do with you."

I couldn't speak as I finally noticed the small box in James's hand. I began to back away. "No..."

"Kill them," Rhea ordered. "Rip them to shreds." This time, I was ready to let it happen.

"Eve, take it. They will kill you." It seemed that Rhea, too, now fully grasped our situation. There was resignation in her voice.

"They will take you away from me," I could not bear the thought of her being torn away from me. The wolf bond had taken its place. I didn't want to lose her now, despite everything.

"You will survive, Eve," she sounded almost motherly. My tears fell faster. "I will make sure you do, and we might meet again."

"No, no, no..."