Gray Valley

f i f t y - t h r e e

"WE'RE ALL AFRAID OF SOMETHING, WILLIAM MOONSTONE... I'm just afraid of losing you."

"I promised to stay with you forever," he murmured. "And I'm going to keep that promise, Weslyn..."

"For the love of Luna... Breaking a promise is a breach of the Promise Code, Liam." His eyes clouded with confusion as he looked down at me. "So you shouldn't make a promise, when you know you can't keep it."

"Why not?"

"Forever is a lie."

He didn't speak. Instead, he only stared at me.

"We're not going to live forever, Liam," I told him. "No one lives forever-"

I was cut off, as I smelt a familiar scent reach my nose and light footsteps approach us. I recognised the warm scent at once.

"I'm sorry if I'm interrupting something." Blayze reluctantly entered the dining room. "I needed to talk to you..."

"It's fine," Liam answered at once.

The air was tense.

"Is something wrong, Blayze?" I asked, breaking the deadly silence.

"I just-" he paused. "I don't know what..."

"I'm sorry."

"William?"

Blayze wasn't the only one who was shocked.

"I was so hostile towards you," he muttered. "I was scared and angry... About things that happened in the past; things that have absolutely nothing to do with you. Yet, I somehow ended up hurting Weslyn... And you."

"You don't have to apologise, William," Blayze began. "I came in the middle... I should've known better than to disrupt the bond between mates."

"It's neither of your faults." I smiled sadly. "It's called a curse for a reason."

It was almost as if the war - The War of Hearts - was over and a truce had been formed.

"I think I should go."

But the tension still lingered.

"I need to find Bryan and Anna," Blayze went on. "We have to figure out how to control our wolf form and-"

"Wait... Blayze," Liam called. "What about a Blood Exchange?"

"Blood Exchange?" he repeated uncertainly. "Isn't that how you cure the Brown Wolf Illness?"

"That' not the only way it's used," he answered. "It can temporarily give a Brown Wolf the characteristics of a Gray Wolf. As long as the blood remains in their system, they can gain improved attack power, better control over their wolf form and even maintain a mind link with Gray Wolf that they share blood with."

"A mind link?" I asked in disbelief. "Like the one between...?"

"I'm not exactly certain about the details, but I'm assuming that it is similar to the mind link that Soulmates share."

Blayze glanced at us hesitantly.

"I don't know about this..."

I could understand why.

Even if it was temporary, a mind link would cause lingering attachment. It would only make it harder for him to leave.

"It's the only way," Liam insisted. "Otherwise, in war, you would have no way to control your actions."

"I..." his voice trailed off.

"He's right." It was almost certain that Blayze could hear me. "It's possible that you could hurt someone without meaning it."

"I'll do it," he murmured.

"Then, Weslyn..." Liam turned to me. "Can you do it?"

"What do I have to do?"

"You have to draw a cut on both our wrists," he explained, placing a silver knife in my hand. "It doesn't have to be long or anything... It just needs to be deep enough let our blood combine."

Neither of them flinched, as the edge of the knife lashed their skin...

But the moment Liam's blood seeped into his, Blayze could no longer withstand. His legs gave away from beneath him and he sank to the ground, his head buried in his bloody hands.

"What's happening to me?" His voice was a strained whisper. "Why am I..."

"Blayze... Something's hurting you, isn't it?" I took a sharp intake of breath, as he stared up at me. "You're eyes..."

"Weslyn, my head is getting... Torn apart."

His pained eyes had turned completely black.