Gray Valley

e l e v e n

I WAS TREMBLING. Everything around me grew darker by the moment and the deadly silence let the fear inside me burn.

"Liam!" I screamed. "Liam, where are you?" I huddled in the corner, wanting him to email there for me; by my side.

"This isn't funny, Liam!" Another frighteningly familiar scream sounded from outside, making a shiver run through my spine. "LIAM!?"

"Lyn?" His familiar voice made my heart melt and chest loosen. "Where are you, Lyn?"

He stood at the doorway, looking around the room frantically. Emerging from the shadows, I raced towards him and crashed into him, letting his arms wrap around me to form a protective barrier.

"Lyn, are you okay?" his voice was drowning with anxiety.

He pulled away in the time I spaced but, still had his arms around me. I never felt more safe in my life.

"Liam... You love me." Nothing but certainly was in his eyes as he nodded.

"I love you," he confirmed. "I loved you and will love you..."

The words.triggered a spark of memory in me, as I was dragged back into my mind.

"Don't ever leave me again," I murmured.

"I won't."

"What's going on outside?" I asked, quivering. "Why is there so much screaming?"

"Its... He is..."

"What is it?"

"West," he managed. "Your brother, West... He's lost control."

West was vicious as a werewolf, ripping apart his victims mercilessly. Without control, his ruthlessness would be many times worse. I trembled despite how safe I felt.

"Is anyone hurt?"

"It's your..." He averted his eyes.

"Who is it?" I demanded.

"Your father." My father. The one who loved me so dearly.

"Liam, I'm scared." I was. I was more scared than I ever had been, before.

"Don't be."

"Why?"

"Because, I love you," he breathed. "I loved you and will love you."

All those years ago... How old would I have been? Liam had loved me ever since. It would have hurt him immensely that I didn't remember it.

"You've said that before," I told him. He blinked, surprised.

"You remember that? But it was only that once..."

"It's not something you can forget easily," I replied.

"You did forget..."

"I remember now, though and I'll never forget it, again," I said firmly. "How old were we?"

"Just before you lost your memories," he responded. "You would have been about 9."

"How did you know?"

"You and I... We were born for one another. It just happens."

"Is it supposed to be this way, then? This feeling..."

"You feel it now, don't you? The bond?"

"It's not just that," I replied. "Its like... Like I'm falling in love with you."

"You already do," he stated, tenderly running his fingers through my dark hair. "Or don't you remember?"

"I love you, too," I sighed into his shoulder.

"You do?" I smiled gently and nodded.

"You'll keep me away from West? So he doesn't hurt either of us?"

"Of course, Lyn."

"But will you stay with me forever, Liam?"

"Forever," he whispered.

My eyes fluttered closed as he planted a light kiss on my forehead.

"Forever," I whispered.