Gray Valley

s i x t y - e i g h t

THERE WAS SOMETHING IN MY HEART THAT WAS BROKEN.

"Alpha Grayson?" Genesee prompted. The tears had stopped falling down her face. "What happened... Alpha?"

I don't know.

But there were tears falling down my face.

"I don't know."

"Please... Alpha." Her gentle eyes met mine. "What happened?"

What happened?

How did it happen? Why did it happen?

"Alpha Grayson?"

I don't know.

My hand rested on my heart.

"Mate."

It wasn't Luna's voice.

And maybe it wasn't actually a voice.

But...

"Mate."

It resonated in me.

And it resonated in the beat of my heart.

"Mate."

But if it wasn't actually a voice... What was it?

I don't know.

"He's not safe."

My eyes shifted to the unconscious Blayze.

"Mate."

I instinctively lowered myself beside him to hear the sound of his heart beat.

Thump... Thump... Thump...

I could hear it.

"Blayze," I whispered.

"Mate."

But... It wasn't enough.

It wasn't enough to hear the sound of his heart beat.

I moved my hand to rest on his heart.

I could feel it. I could feel his heart beat through my hand.

He was my mate.

And he was safe.

"He's not safe."

What?

"Alpha... Please?"

It was a voice... Genesee's voice.

Her voice brought me to reality.

And a scent. 

It was familiar...

And despite how familiar it was I could not recognise the scent.

"What... Is it... Genesee?"

She turned to me.

"It's..." she hesitated. "Brown Wolves."

"Brown Wolves?" I repeated.

"And they're shifted?"

She hadn't told me that they were shifted but I had my doubts.

"Yes."

"But the scent is different to the scent of the Brown Wolves that shifted in the caves."

"They're different to the Brown Wolves in the caves, because they aren't controlled by a Gray Wolf and with a Blood Exchange. And Brown Wolves who aren't commanded or controlled by a Gray Wolf..."

Gray Wolves were commanded by the Alpha of their Pack. So, wouldn't Brown Wolves in a Pack be commanded by their Alpha?

"They're controlled by Lucian Bronze, aren't they?"

"Their Alpha." She confirmed the doubt I had. "And for the Bronze Pack, that's him."

Lucian Bronze.

I did not know him... But I did know that he was dangerous.

We had to stop him. We had to stop them.

"And how do we stop them?"

"You want to stop the Brown Wolves?"

"I need to stop them..." I looked at the two unconscious Brown Wolves that I promised myself I would protect unconditionally. "To protect them."

"I know... But I thought you were passive."

"What?"

"We have to shift."

"But, if we shift... The Brown Wolves would be in danger."

"Danger?" she demanded, as rage flashed across her face. "And you think shifted Brown Wolves aren't dangerous to us?"

"I think they are dangerous, Genesee. But, you need to understand. The Brown Wolves... They are innocent. If we shift, we will be dangerous to them. And they don't deserve it. "

"Do you know what I think, Alpha? I think the approaching Brown Wolves are in no condition to be reasoned with. It is the full moon... And they are no longer Werewolves. They are animalistic... They are instinctive. And there is no humanity in them. They are Wolves. That's the condition they're in. And so, they can't be reasoned with." She paused. "I could feel my Soulmate die, in this war, because of the danger that was caused by the Brown Wolves. Mateo... He didn't deserve it. I didn't deserve it. And I think no Gray Wolf deserves to feel their Soulmate die." Her eyes lingered on Blayze and Bryan. "I understand your decision, Alpha. But the Gamma doesn't deserve to feel his Soulmate die, because of your decision."

"I want... To protect them."

Her face softened at that. "Then, we need to shift, Alpha."

As the scent became stronger, the shifted Brown Wolves emerged from the trees in the forest.

"Genesee."

"Yes, Alpha?"

As I prepared myself to command her, a man appeared between us and the approaching Wolves.

"PROHIBERE!!!"

Genesee flinched.

The word, it seemed, was all that was needed to stop them from approaching.

"It's a command from him," she whispered from beside me. "The word he used, 'prohibere', is the Latin word for 'stop'. It was his command for them to stop approaching us. And..."

His hair was a mixture of brown and grey. His skin was covered in wounds from the war.

His eyes were dangerous and fixated on mine.

"I'm here for Blayze Walker."

The man was Lucian Bronze.