CHAPTER 63 — LUNARIS VALE
Third-POV
The journey from Shadowdark Keep to Lunaris Vale had been silent and tense. The Alphas moved like shadows themselves, four sets of eyes scanning every treeline, every whisper of wind. Gabriella rode beside Tristan, gripping the reins with more force than necessary, her pulse matching the uneasy rhythm of the forest around them.
The Vale was nothing like the lands she’d seen before. Even from a distance, the air shimmered unnaturally, like heat above a desert road—but colder, metallic, and heavy. The land seemed to breathe, or maybe it watched. Trees twisted in impossible angles, their branches clawing skyward like desperate fingers. The soil was cracked, blackened with veins of silver that pulsed faintly, as if carrying some ancient lifeblood.
Gabrie
