Hades' Cursed Luna novel Chapter 373

Chapter 373: The Layout

Hades

Cain moved behind the Gamma, slipping a gloved hand around his neck like a leash of iron.

"No tricks," he warned. "Or I start plucking teeth."

The Gamma gave a stiff nod, sweat glistening beneath his helmet, and began walking—slow, halting steps that echoed off the steel floor. I stayed close, sidearm pressed to his back. Every operative in the room parted like shadow before fire, no one daring to block our path.

"Secure the chamber," I ordered flatly to Cain’s team. "All data ports. All exits. No alerts, no witnesses."

They moved instantly.

One sealed the room’s command console with a field clamp, wrenching a pulse disruptor into place. Another dragged the unconscious scientist into a containment pod and hard-locked it. The last pulled a canister from her belt and cracked the seal—releasing a faint vapor that curled along the vents.

EMP neutralizer.

The entire lab’s surveillance would short before the next camera sweep.

"Seventy seconds before they notice," Cain muttered beside me. "We move now, or we go loud."

"No," I growled. "We finish this clean."

As we entered the corridor, I grabbed the Gamma by the back of his armor and slammed him face-first into the scanner pad beside the door. The machine chirped—a whir of unlocking hydraulics—and the reinforced gate hissed open.

I didn’t let him catch his breath.

Cain hauled him upright again, and we pushed deeper into the north sublevel. The air turned colder, damper. Lights flickered overhead, and the hum of machinery grew louder with each step. My body itched to shed the last remnants of control. My wolf was close—so close I could feel his breath at the back of my spine, begging to be loosed.

Not yet.

I forced myself to breathe. Slow. Measured. Deadly.

Cain spoke low at my side. "We’re close. I smell sedatives. And metal."

I did too.

The corridor opened into a chamber lined with glass walls and retractable gates. Inside one of them—Extraction Room Four—Kael hung limp in suspension cuffs, his body sagging between steel restraints. Tubes ran from his veins into a containment unit pulsing with crimson light.

My stomach turned to iron.

His shirt was shredded. Bloodied. His torso a patchwork of bruises, sensors, and healing incisions. But he was alive.

Barely.

"Open it," I snarled at the Gamma.

The Gamma’s hand trembled as he keyed in the override. "I-It’s locked to Darius’s internal authorization. I-I can’t—"

Cain grabbed him by the jaw and shoved two fingers into the Gamma’s mouth, yanking his head back until the man gagged. "Try again."

This time, it worked.

The gate slid open with a hiss.

Cain went for the tubes while I went for Kael. His eyes fluttered open at my touch—just for a moment. Enough to recognize me. Enough to let out a breath.

"Alpha..." he rasped.

"Don’t speak," I said, lowering him into my arms. "I’ve got you."

Cain yanked the last IV out with a grunt. "Sedative levels high. But manageable."

He turned to the Gamma. "Now. The failsafes. Where are they?"

"T-There’s a manual lockout on the upper sub-core," the Gamma stammered. "You pull Kael from this room without disabling it and it’ll send a trip signal to Central Command—"

I grabbed him by the collar again and slammed him into the console beside the door.

"Then disable it," I hissed, eyes glowing faintly. "Now."

With shaking hands, the Gamma entered the shutdown code. Lights dimmed. The hum of the containment field dropped.

"No alerts triggered," Cain confirmed after a beat, checking his reader. "We’re still dark."

I looked down at Kael. He was breathing. That was all I needed.

For now.

I turned back to the Gamma, my voice sharpened to a blade.

"Broadcast to your men," I ordered. "Now."

He blinked. "W-What—?"

Cain moved before I could. He gripped the man’s arm, twisted it back until a bone popped.

The Gamma screamed.

Cain didn’t flinch. "He said now."

The Gamma fumbled for the comm unit clipped to his belt. His fingers trembled as he tuned the frequency to the facility’s internal channel. A faint beep echoed as the line opened.

"This is Gamma Reyes," he croaked. "We... we have a breach in Extraction Room Four. Hostiles are inside."

Cain’s hand tensed, and the man whimpered.

"Correction," I said flatly. "Let me help."

I stepped forward, plucked the comm from his hand, and pressed the transmit key.

"This is Hades Stavros," I said calmly—so calmly it echoed like prophecy. "King of Obsidian. Alpha of the Black Moon Line."

A silence followed. Then static.

I continued, voice unwavering.

"Extraction Room Four is now under my control. The Beta of Obsidian has been retrieved. He is alive. Injured—but alive."

I let that hang for a second before tightening the screw.

"My men—Obsidian operatives—have already taken position at every key junction in this facility. Vent shafts. Cryo storage. Upper decks. Maintenance chutes. We’re not alone. You’re not safe." A mix of lies and truths but just enough to instill the right amount of fear.

I let a touch of menace color my next words.

"You will clear all exits. You will deactivate all kill switches. You will give us safe passage."

Another long pause. Then, I leaned in for the kill.

"If you don’t... I will bring this place down to its roots. I will burn your names into what’s left of your kin and carve your screams into Darius’s throne."

Static crackled again—then voices, hushed, panicked, some barking for confirmation.

Cain smirked, tapping the side of his comm. "Intercepting chatter from east entrance. Three of ours just flayed your Gamma Prime and took his clearance badge."

I looked back at the broadcast mic.

"Test me," I whispered. "See how far I will go."

Then I dropped the comm on the floor and crushed it beneath my boot.

The Gamma fell to his knees, arms shaking.

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