Chapter 173

CHAPTER 17… ANDRES Valentina fell into my arms like a dying star. One moment she was pure light, a blinding force splitting the Moonwell open and the very next she was limp, cold, and terrifyingly still against my chest. “Valentina—” Her name ripped out of me raw. Czer clawed through my skin, close to tearing free as panic slammed into us both. Her glow was fading. Fading… No. No, no— this wasn’t happening! “Stay with me,” I whispered, pressing my forehead to hers. “Please, stay…” But her breath was barely a whisper. Her eyelashes trembled but didn’t lift. Her skin… cold as water left under a winter moon. ‘Mate is slipping. Pull her back!’ Czer snarled inside me, trembling. I tried. I am trying! But the Moonwell had taken something. I could feel it, as though a thread severed halfway, still holding but fraying dangerously fast. “Valentina.” I brushed a hand across her cheek. “Open your eyes. I’m right here.” Nothing... Her body was weightless in my arms, her wolves numb inside her pres