Chapter 172

CHAPTER 16… VALENTINA There was no up, no down, no breath either. There was only light… Silver, burning, and alive — wrapping around me like a thousand hands made of memory. I tried to scream but the sound never left my throat. The Moonwell held me suspended, weightless and helpless, as if I had been dropped inside the pulse of the moon itself. “Andres!” I tried again. Nothing. Just the hum of ancient magic vibrating against my bones. Heat surged through every vein in recognition. The kind that felt like someone tracing old scars I didn’t know I had. My wolves thrashed inside me. Kira barked in panic, whimpering. Veraka roared, she was furious. And… the third voice — quiet and cold, whispered like a forgotten lullaby… “You were never meant to be small.” My heart shuddered. “Who are you?” I whispered. The Moonwell tightened around me, weaving images into my mind I never knew. A palace under a violet moon… A sparkling river shaped like a crescent… Wolves kneeling, heads bowed… A woman st