VALERIA

The Altar was beautiful.

Whoever had created it had clearly put great effort into it, but it lacked the intense, dark energy that had drawn me to the other one.

At the foot of several snow-capped mountains, with massive waterfalls cascading in the distance, stood the altar in a clear space within the pine forest surrounding us.

Its base was circular, covered in arabesque carvings that, in reality, didn’t convey anything meaningful.

Above it, the statue of a beautiful woman stood, draped in a delicate, sensual veil and tunic, representing the Goddess.

Her hands were open, her head tilted toward the sky, and behind her, wings extended from her back as if she were about to take flight toward the stars.

A large, round disk, also filled with exquisite carvings, completed the stonework behind her.

For a moment, we were all struck with awe.

Even Aldric and the Alpha smiled proudly at their pack's Lunar Altar.

I wondered if he knew it was fake—like many things in this strange pack.

Th