Gray Valley

f o u r t e e n

PROMISES WERE THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO GRAY WOLVES.

It was impossible to break a promise you made to someone who was more powerful than you. And even if you somehow manage to break it, the person you originally made a promise to, has the power to claim you; no other Gray Wolf is allowed to interfere.

Bryanna Mitchell passed me a sack of clothes when I returned to the cellar. Liam and the others had gone to the main house to go to sleep. I quickly recalled what Liam had told me.

"Picture yourself as a Human."

Images of me, standing in front of a mirror, flashed through my memory. Short and dark, almost black hair, that fell just above my shoulders. My deep, stormy gray eyes and thick lashes. The pale, pearl-like shade of my skin and my small, delicate frame. The light blush coloured lips and a narrow nose on my face.

Liam was right, it didn't hurt. But I felt it. I felt the pressure of my bones morphing and my organs transforming into new. There was something comforting about the familiar pressure in my body.

Before I knew it, I saw my two slim, arms stretched out in front of me. I had shifted back.

I hurriedly pulled on some underwear, jeans and a shirt.

"Are you done?" a voice asked.

"Yeah." Bryanna turned around and gave me once over.

"I hate to admit it, but you don't clean up too badly."

"Umm... Thanks?" I wasn't sure if she was insulting or complementing me.

"Look," she began. "I don't know you, at all... And when I first met you, I had no idea what you were. Along with everything else, I'm the only girl who lives here. I don't want to spend the rest of however long you're here, ignoring you. So why don't we start over? I'm Bryanna Mitchell, but my brother calls me Anna. You can, too, I guess."

It took me a whole minute to process what she was saying.

"Weslyn Grayson," I murmured. "Although, you already know that, don't you?"

"Yeah," she admitted. "I do know your name. What I don't know, is why you're here."

"Something to do with breaking a promise," I told her.

"You broke The Promise Code? How the hell did you manage to do that?"

"For the love of Luna, The Promise... what?"

"The Promise Code," she answered. "The law that means Gray Wolves a can't breaks promises to one another. If you managed to break a promise... That means you're either equal or superior to Alpha West."

"I am his sister," I pointed out. "I'm equal to him by birth."

"But even for an equal, it's almost impossible to break a promise..." she trailed off. "For you to be able to disoblige... You'll have to be his superior."

"Isn't he the Alpha of the Luna Pack, which is the most powerful Gray Wolf pack in the world? I couldn't possibly be more powerful than that."

"That's true," Bryanna agreed. "You couldn't unless.... No, it couldn't be."

"By Luna, what the hell is it?" I demanded.

"The Alpha Marks," she responded. "When someone is born with these Marks, they are destined to be the ultimate Alpha of a Gray Wolf Pack. It's extremely rare but... If they exist, they are the most powerful Werewolves in the world, even more than the actual Alpha."

"Bryan, your brother, was telling West that I had an Alpha Mark. Something about red eyes... He sounded terrified."

"Of course he did," she muttered. "An all-powerful Gray Wolf could destroy the very existence of Brown Wolves..." She sighed. "Wait, you have an Alpha Mark?"

"That's what your brother said... He said my eyes turned red."

"When Gray Wolves are losing control, their eyes generally turn from gray to black," she explained. "You would have undoubtedly seen that by now. But of the two Alpha Marks, one is that the eyes turn red rather than black."

"In the name of Luna," I whispered, with disbelief. I had an Alpha Mark. "I am an Alpha?"

"Well, not necessarily..." she said. "I've never heard of a girl born with an Alpha Mark and for you to be the ultimate Werewolf, you need both marks."

I felt almost relieved. To think that I could've had that much power was terrifying.

But Bryanna didn't look satisfied. She looked slightly doubtful as she continued to stare at my face.

"What's the second mark, Anna?"

"It's actually a birthmark, Weslyn," she stated. "It's shaped like a crescent moon and only the ultimate Alpha is born with it." She took several steps towards me. "It's usually on the neck..." She pulled aside my shirt to show me.

She didn't finish her sentence. Instead she stood there, frozen at the sight of my bare neck. When she spoke again, she was so quiet, I barely heard it.

"The second Alpha Mark is the birthmark on your neck."