Gray Valley

n i n e

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER." The voice was familiar, yet the tone was not. But I at once recognised who it belonged to and I felt my heart pound.

West had moved backed away from me, but smirked at the guy standing across the room. Liam.

"Are you challenging the Alpha, William?"

Bryan appeared behind Liam, his head bowed at West.

"No, of course not," Liam replied at once. "I would never disobey you, Alpha West. I just voiced my... Opinion that she should be left unharmed."

"That had to sound like some sort of threat, didn't it?" he mocked. "Besides, who said anything about harming her?" He strode towards Liam and stopped just before him. "William Moonstone, as usual, jumping to conclusions." He sighed. "Now, where was I?"

"Maybe you should explain everything to her," Liam said. "What she is and everything."

"Well, I tried that," West stated, looking irritated. "But she got all angry at me."

"Then your not trying enough," Liam snapped. Seconds later, his face filled with remorse, as he regretted lashing out at him. "Sorry, Alpha," he apologised. "But I'd like to tell her." Seeing West's stony expression, Liam hastily began to just himself. "If that's an issue, though, that's okay."

"Give me one good reason why I should let you."

"You know why."

For a few minutes, it was as if they were having a staring contest and they both glared at each other with painful intensity.

"That is actually a valid point, William," he responded after a while. "So funnily enough, I'd actually like you to tell her."

"Weslyn," Liam began, his eyes directly on me. "You're a Gray Wolf. I'll explain everything in a bit, but let me tell you about the enemy..."

"Vampires?"

"That's adorable," West commented. "Did you hear that, William? Vampires. I'm sorry to break it to you, Wes, but Vampires don't exist."

"But in all the stories..." I objected. "It says that Werewolves and Vampires are enemies."

"Oh, the stupid teenage romance novels," he said, looking irritated. "Was it Midnight or something?"

"Twilight," Bryan corrected.

"Yeah, that's right. They get everything wrong. I mean, do I look like a Native American?" Liam ignored West completely.

"The first thing you should know is that Werewolves aren't just one thing. In fact, there are two types of Werewolves. There are the Gray Wolves..." he trailed off. "That is what you and I are. But then, there's the Brown Wolves."

"Brown Wolves?"

"Yes," he answered. "But there's a big difference between both types. It's in the way they become Werewolves. Gray Wolves are born from the bloodlines of Luna, the Original Gray Wolf but Brown Wolves are made into a Wolf when a Gray Wolf attacks a human, who then survives. The thing is, though, that Gray Wolves have now spent centuries exercising control to stop creating Brown Wolves and they now have complete control over their human and wolf aspects. So now, Brown Wolves are a endangered species."

"But I don't get it," I said. "If being in control is destroying an entire species, then why try to do so?"

"You don't get it," Liam told me. "Brown Wolves are nothing like Gray Wolves. They are insane, mindless beasts that turn every full moon without fail. Brown Wolves suffer from no control over their body or its actions. They have no humanity and they kill without mercy. They shouldn't even exist."

"But they do," I pointed out.

"Unfortunately," he muttered. "However the truth is that very few remain. Brown Wolves aren't like us. They can't live normal lives and spread throughout the world. They're too dangerous for that. Isolating them can risk murdering humans. Those few have formed a Pack together and live in the same town. And you could probably guess which town that is."

"The Brown Wolf pack lives in Gray Valley?"

"No species wants to die out," he stated. "And although there are Gray Wolves everywhere in the world, Gray Valley is the home to the original Gray Wolf Pack. It's called the Luna Pack and for more than a millennium it has been lead by Grayson Alphas. If Brown Wolves want to preserve their race they need to live where there's a lot of us. That way, if we ever slip up and a human is injured, the Brown Wolves will be their to recruit them."

"None of this explains what happened to me or why I can't remember anything," I replied. "Why don't I know what I am?"

"You Wolf has been suppressed," he explained. "Do you know how I said, that when a Gray Wolf attacks a human, they turn into Brown Wolf? It's similar, what happened to you. When a Gray Wolf attacks a Brown Wolf, it has the opposite effect."

"So they turn into a human?"

"Yes," he responded grimly. "But it's much worse than that. They lose their memories and are driven insane by their changes."

"But I'm not a Brown Wolf..."

"When it comes to Gray Wolves, they aren't transformed into humans, but have a suppressed Wolf side with scarcely any memories left. When you were nine years old, this Gray Wolf lost... It lost control and attacked you. Your back was gashed open and you were knocked out for hours on end. But time has passed and your memory and Wolf is trying to resurface. That's why your head keeps aching, actually. It will take time, but your Wolf will return, Lyn."

"So, is that all?" I asked. "Is that all I need to know?" He glanced at West and he watched back, his expression scornful.

"Tell her," he urged. "Tell her about the two of you." Liam closed his eyes and swallowed.

"Can I be alone," he murmured. "Please?" West frowned and left the room, Bryan following him out.

"What did he mean..." I trailed off. "About the two of us?"

"We're mates," he breathed. "But of course, you don't know what that is..." He ran his fingers through his hair. "You don't know."