Hades' Cursed Luna novel Chapter 302

Eve

"Twice in a day, huh, princess," Cain's voice reached my ears.

I swallowed, my tongue too thick to speak. Tears had not stopped gathering behind my eyes. My skin still prickled from the thoughts and echoes of the sensations I had just had to endure.

"Cain..." My voice was too brittle to be mine.

I could practically hear the amusement wither away, and the sound that made me believe he was sitting up in bed filtered through.

"What is the matter, princess?"

I tried not to sniffle.

"Nothing..." I replied.

Silence.

I pushed back the waterworks, each damned moment replaying in my scrambled mind. I could still feel the ghosts of his intrusive tendrils in my head, in experiences that shaped me. Bile rose in my throat.

"You don't lie well, princess," he finally spoke again, worry coloring his voice. "What happened? You sound like you're about to cry."

"It is nothing," I replied too quickly.

Cain let out a sigh as I tried to rearrange the things I wanted to say in a way that would be coherent and not sound like the pathetic rambling of a scared woman.

Maybe I just didn't want to be alone. I needed a voice on the line as I tried not to regurgitate all that I had eaten, which wasn't much to begin with.

"Eve," his voice turned soft, coaxing. "Tell me."

I should have melted there and then, desperate to unload the weight of the recent events on a man that I still wasn't sure I trusted—and worse, Hades' stepbrother. I would have to join my first council meeting tomorrow. I had to brace myself, and that would mean hardening for what was to come.

"There will be a meeting tomorrow. A council meeting," I blurted out.

"I know. I've been informed by the beta. But that's not why you called." His tone was knowing. "You can tell your ally if something is worrying you. I am a safety net for both your physical and mental well-being, remember?"

I closed my eyes, swallowing the tight ball of nausea in my throat.

Ally.

Safety net.

I didn't know why those words nearly unraveled me.

Maybe because they were offered so gently.

Maybe because he didn't demand to be trusted—he simply was.

Why couldn't you do that, Hades?

I inhaled shakily.

"Something changed tonight."

Cain didn't speak. He didn't have to.

I pressed the heel of my palm into my eyes.

"Not with the war. Not with the council. But…" My throat tightened. "Hades and I—we've crossed a line. One I can't uncross."

Another pause. Then, softly,

"I see."

"I won't give you details," I said quickly. "Not yet. But it's… shifted things. The way we move forward. The plans we made."

"So it made you think, didn't it?"

"Yes, it did." I took a moment. "I've come to a decision."

"One you think he might not like..."

I didn't say anything to that.

"Or completely oppose?" he offered.

"Yes." We were already in a precarious relationship. But this had exacerbated it all.

His voice lowered, careful.

"You think he'll turn against you fully. Against your plans?"

I didn't answer right away. I had begged for trust. He couldn't give it. I asked for space—it had been impossible. And now this...

But I could not compromise on my safety. If he had been successful, Silverpine citizens would have returned to the chopping block with no one to oppose him, and I would return to being some property.

Then, honestly:

"I think if it comes down to me or control—he'll choose control."

Cain exhaled, slow and deliberate.

"Then we adjust accordingly." _{freeωebnovēl.c૦m}

I let my head fall back against the pillow.

"You'll still stand with me?" I asked, quieter than I meant to.

"Princess," he said dryly, "I put my name behind yours. You don't undo that just because your husband forgot who you are."

A breath of something like relief escaped me.

"Thank you," I whispered.

"Don't thank me yet," he muttered. "Tomorrow, you face the council. The rest? We'll handle it when it tries to bite."

"But we have to turn the tables. The governors and the ambassador might fear my influence and power, but not Hades. He is still the Sovereign, after all. There is a reason my kingdom is underground, cloaked by shadow. He owns the surface—and the surface is where this will take place. We need a card. A trump card. One as powerful and as dangerous as Hades' thirst for control—and turn his power against him."

I frowned, tension returning. It sounded like he was speaking about some fairy tale elixir or miracle. But his tone said this was real.

"Two centuries after the Moon first fell, after Elysia and Vassir were gutted by Malrik Valmont, Silverpine swept across the continent like a plague. They offered no alliance—only submission. One by one, the scattered Lycan packs—Ferox, Draal, Varkun, even the reclusive Gai—began to realize the truth. Unity or extinction. This was before the Obsidian Pack ever existed."

"We didn't trust each other. We had blood feuds older than time. Mates murdered. Elders skinned. Children taken. There were more reasons to betray each other than to stand together."

"So we made a choice. A dangerous one."

"A rite," he added, voice low. "Old magic. Forbidden magic. Something older than Elysia. Even older than Fenrir himself."

My stomach tightened.

"What kind of rite?"

"One that bound Alpha to Alpha—not by loyalty, but by consequence. If one turned on the other, the pain would be mutual. If one lied in council, the truth would rot their tongue. If one killed the other outside the Rite's sanction… their bloodline would wither for three generations."

Silence stretched.