Hades' Cursed Luna novel Chapter 458

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Chapter 458: Mami

Eve

I went down to little Sophie’s level, my voice cajoling. "Little star," I murmured.

Her brown eyes searched mine, looking for what I hoped was trust. And she could. I desperately hoped she knew that—even if we had only just met a few minutes ago. "What tunnels?" I asked.

I could feel Freddie’s eyes drilling holes into my back, but he didn’t dare move—not with Hades still pinning him in place.

Sophie suddenly looked smaller, as if she were caving into herself. She pursed her lips so tightly they began to tremble. The tunnels meant a lot to her, and because of Freddie’s fear-mongering, they had become sacred—something she felt she had to protect from us.

I gathered myself together, Rhea whispering in my head, sharing insights.

> "The tunnels are connected to her mother and her pack, so of course she feels it’s her obligation to keep them safe from what she perceives as certain danger."

> "Why would we be a danger to the tunnels?"

> "Evie," Rhea’s voice felt like soothing hands on my shoulders, like she was bracing me. "Didn’t you yourself once fear the people of Obsidian and what they represented to you?"

My eyes widened as it finally sank in.

> "It’s the same reason Cain hid his little girl from his own brother."

To her, we were the foes—the Lycans she was always taught to fear. Just like I had been since birth. And in that moment, in the innocent eyes of the little hybrid daughter Cain had kept secret all her life, I saw my own reflection.

A girl taught not only to hate, but to fear.

No matter the connection Hades had with her as his niece, we were strangers.

As I heard the footfalls of the other guards approaching, I smiled at her—wide and warm.

And I watched a sparkle dance in her gaze. "Your teeth," she breathed, eyes widening. The chestnut in her irises seemed to whirl. "You don’t have... pointy teeth." She reached for my face with trepidation, as though unsure of what she was seeing. "Fangs. You don’t have them." Her voice was light with wonder. "Like me." She bared her own teeth to show me. Her canines weren’t elongated like Cain’s—they were short, like a werewolf’s.

She looked to Hades and said, "You have pointy teeth. You’re like Papa." Then her eyes darted back to me. "You don’t have pointy teeth. Like me. Like Mami."

Sophie blinked up at me, her little face crumpling in thought. Then her voice dropped to a whisper so faint I almost missed it.

"Like Mami?" Her brows furrowed, eyes darting toward Hades before returning to me, as if she were hiding a secret. "Are you... a werewolf?"

I hesitated, but the way her small hand hovered near mine—trembling with hope—gave me no room to lie. I nodded gently. "Yes, little star. I am."

Her eyes lit up, wide as moons. She leaned closer, lowering her voice to a hushed rush, as though the walls themselves might tell on her. "Are you... from Silverpine Pack?"

My chest tightened, but I answered softly, "Yes."

Sophie gasped, delighted. She bounced once on her toes, but then her smile faltered. Her gaze flicked between me and Hades, worry seeping into her features. "But... how?" she whispered, confusion threading her tone. "How can you be with a Lycan? Mami always said... we weren’t supposed to like them very much."

Her innocence twisted like a knife. I reached out, brushing my knuckles over her cheek. "Because nothing should dictate who we love, little star. Not rules. Not fear. Nothing stopped your mama from loving your papa, did it?"