Chapter 168

CHAPTER 12… VALENTINA The ridge narrowed as we climbed, a thin spine of stone carved between two worlds. Somewhere behind us, the forest lay silent and trembling, and somewhere ahead, the Moonwell pulsed like a beating heart, silver and alive. And through all of it, Luciano’s glow kept softening and sharpening against my chest, like tiny waves trying to match the rhythm of the moons. We walked in silence, not because we wanted to, but because the air wouldn’t allow sound. Everything felt too reverent, too fragile, as if speaking would wake something sleeping beneath the earth. And yet my wolves wouldn’t stop moving. Kira paced within me, restless and Veraka growled in time to time. Both in sync and not, like two storms circling the same sky. “Andres, slow down,” I called quietly. He didn’t speak, just lifted a hand — a gesture meant to reassure me. It didn’t though. His fingers were trembling, just slightly. He thought I wouldn’t notice, but I always notice him. “Andres,” I tried again