Gray Valley

s i x t e e n

"I KNOW EVERYTHING," I told him. "And now... I know how twisted you really are."

West settled in the chair and gave me a side glance. I could hear his heart beat; slow and steady. He wasn't scared of me. Why would he be? I was just his little teenage sister.

"You know, William, you don't have to hide outside. You can come in."

Liam? I focused on the doorway and was immediately overwhelmed by his familiar scent.

He stepped inside, his ash-brown hair untidily falling on his face. He quickly swept it back and glowered at West.

"If you had been practising your enhance scent and hearing, you would have known he was outside."

If looks could kill, West Grayson would have been long gone.

"Are you feeling better, Lyn?"

My attention shifted to Liam, as I realised he was using the mind-link to talk to me.

"Kind of." I glanced at the ground. "Bryanna explained to me some things. She said your father broke the Promise Code and West killed him."

He didn't reply.

"Tell me, was she telling me the truth?"

"It's... True."

"Why didn't you tell me? Don't you hate me for what he did?"

"I could never hate you," Liam said out loud, startling me. "Lyn, don't ever question how much I love you."

"This is why I don't like having you around, William," West muttered under his breath. "Every time you start confessing your undying love for her, it's so bloody annoying you don't even understand."

His fist slammed into the wall, leaving a dent in the bricks. Blood trickled down his palm and to my astonishment, he smiled.

But there was no emotion to it. His smile was blank; heartless.

"You can't disobey a direct order, can you William?" he snarled. "You swore an oath to stay loyal to me, no matter what happens. That would mean breaking the Promise Code and you're too weak to do that, aren't you?"

"West Grayson," I hissed, stepping in front Liam. "If you try take Liam away from me, I swear on Luna, that I will never forgive you."

I wanted to kill him. I wanted to kill him for trying to hurt my Liam.

"S-stop it," he stuttered, his body shaking. I frowned and stared at him, as I felt something trickle down my neck. "Weslyn, stop whatever you're doing."

My fingers reached up to touch my collarbone. I started to tremble as I saw what it was... Blood. Blood was pouring down from my neck.

"But I'm not doing anything," I muttered under my breath.

Within a minute, the side of my neck began to burn... Exactly where my cresent birthmark was.

West rushed forward and swept aside the material on my top. His eyes widened at the sight of my Mark.

"The second Alpha Mark," Liam murmured. "I honestly had no idea..." His eyes fixed onto mine. "Does that mean she has the-"

"She does," West interrupted. "Her eyes turn red when she is angry." He turned to look at him.

"You're a self-proclaimed... By the Promise Code, you have to surrender your position to a Gray Wolf with the Alpha Marks."

"Not necessarily," Bryanna's voice came. "That's only true if the Alpha is not of the Grayson family. But Alpha West is a Grayson Wolf... If someone wishes to take his position, they must win it from him."

"It's you versus me?" West smirked. "I like my chances, little sister."

"Do you think I care?" I demanded. "For the love of Luna, I don't care who the Alpha is. I just want to protect the one I love."

West was fuming in front of me, gripping the table end with his palm. A growl escaped his mouth, as his eyes darkened into a murderous expression.

If this continued, something bad was going to happen. Someone was going to get hurt.

I believed in myself enough to shield Liam but Bryanna... I wasn't too sure.

"Anna," I began. "You have to leave, now."

"No," she snapped. "I'm not going to leave him."

I knew she was talking about West. She loved him; was afraid for him. She wanted to save him from me.

"But you'll get hurt, Anna," I whispered.

"You have no idea," she snarled, glancing between Liam and I. "You have no idea how lucky the two of you are. You don't understand how much unrequited love kills you inside. It hurts so much, I'm prepared to take on more pain-"

"This isn't your fight," West cut her off. "Get out or go die."

The venom in his words pierced her at once and she ran out of the room, tears streaming down her face.

In the split second when he was distracted, I stepped towards Liam and locked him in my embrace.

For several moments, he strained against me, his loyalty towards West drawing him away from me. But the instant we touched, he relaxed against me, resting his head on my shoulder.

"I love you," I murmured, burying my face among the ash-brown strands of his hair.

"I love you, Lyn."

"You can't resist him alone," I told him. "But we can resist him together."

"Get away from her!" West ordered.

Liam started to struggle but I tightened my hold, cradling him against my body.

"NO!" I screamed. "I will never let him go."

His face contorted with rage and I braced myself, waiting for him to hit the wall, again. But he didn't.

Instead he turned to face me, his lips curving upwards into a cruel smile.

"Then you leave me no choice," his voice was dangerously sinister. "No choice but to break your bond."