Hades' Cursed Luna

Silverpine Pack

Eve~

"I will miss you so much, my darling Ellen," my mother's feigned despair echoed as she held me, fake tears streaming down her cheeks. "Don't mess this up," she whispered harshly into my ear.

My body still throbbed from what the deltas had done to erase the scars. The last thing I needed was someone touching me, but I sucked it up.

I just wanted to be done with this. I sighed deeply, readying myself for the journey I was about to take while my sister stayed in a castle. Sheltered.

"Come on, Miss Valmont," the chauffeur said, bowing slightly.

I made my way to the limousine, entering without taking a final look at Lunar Heights.

The moment I stepped inside, my skin prickled. My eyes went down immediately. There was a finality in the way the car door slammed closed.

There was no one else in the car except for *him*. The moment I stepped inside, I felt it—the suffocating weight of his presence. The car door slammed shut behind me with a finality that sent a shiver down my spine. I kept my eyes down, trying to steady my breathing, my pulse hammering in my ears.

The silence between us was thick, oppressive. I didn't dare lift my gaze. There was no need; I could feel his eyes on me, cold and calculating, as if I were nothing more than an object to be assessed. My body trembled involuntarily, a response I couldn't control no matter how hard I tried.

I straightened my spine, forcing myself to channel Ellen—cold, unfeeling, and untouchable. I couldn't show weakness, not in front of him.

His gaze hadn't left me. The silence between us stretched on, oppressive and suffocating. Hades Stavros, the Lycan King, was the living embodiment of death. The air itself seemed to grow heavier with each passing second, thick with tension that bordered on unbearable.

"You look different," he finally spoke, his voice like ice—sharp and cutting. "Not as I imagined the daughter of Darius Valmont would."

There was no inflection, no curiosity—just a flat, indifferent observation. He didn't care how I looked; he only cared that something was off. My heart thudded in my chest, but I forced my face to remain impassive.

"I don't know what you expected," I replied, my voice hollow, devoid of any warmth. Ellen wouldn't care. Ellen wouldn't flinch. I had to be her.

He didn't respond immediately, but I felt his eyes on me, felt him dissecting every word, every breath I took. He shifted, the movement so subtle it barely made a sound, but I felt it like a ripple of energy through the confined space of the limousine.

"I expected a woman worthy of the Valmont name," he finally said, his tone colder than before, dripping with disdain. "Instead, I find… this."

I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms, drawing blood. But I refused to react, refused to give him what he wanted. He was testing me. He had to be. I couldn't afford to break.

"I don't care about your expectations," I said quietly, the words barely louder than a whisper, but they cut through the air nonetheless.

His lips curled, not into a smile, but into something far more dangerous—a sneer, full of contempt and barely restrained cruelty. "Good. Because they're low."

Fangs. I noticed his elongated canines as he flashed his pristine teeth. My heart threatened to lodge in my throat, yet I didn't respond. I couldn't. My body screamed at me to react, to lash out, but I forced myself to remain still, to remain composed.

Hades shifted again, this time leaning forward, his presence suffocating as he drew closer, as if he wanted to crush me beneath the weight of his authority. "You can pretend all you want, Ellen," he whispered, his breath cold against my skin, "but I can smell your fear. You reek of it."