Gray Valley

t h i r t y - s e v e n

WEST STEPPED INTO THE ROOM. "Lyn, Liam said that you wanted to see me."

"Yeah," I answered, trying to sit up. Anna was at my side within an instant, helping my sit up. I gave her a grateful smile. "I need to talk to you."

"I'll go get lunch ready, then," she answered, stepping aside towards the door.

I immediately caught her by the wrist. "No, you stay here, Anna. I want to talk to both of you."

"What is it?" she asked.

"I've had enough of the two of you," I muttered under my breath. "Why don't you just accept one another?"

"What do you mean, Lyn?"

"Are you acting dumb, West?" I demanded. "Because it doesn't suit you at all."

"No... I'm actually very confused," he answered, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

Could it be... The other West; the West that found out that Anna's feelings for him was someone else. Maybe, he didn't remember.

"You don't remember," I slapped my forehead with the palm of my hand in annoyance. "Of course you don't remember... Luna told you to forget."

"Forget what?" Anna asked.

"Forget how you feel for him," I told her. West stared at her.

"How you feel for me..." he whispered. Her face flushed, as she avoided his gaze. "Anna, do you..."

"I love you."

If it weren't for the enhanced hearing that Gray Wolves had, neither of us would have heard her speak.

"I know that we are supposed to be eternal enemies, West. I know I should hate you," she replied. "Not only because of what we are, but what you did... Because you turned me into a monster."

"Anna..." His voice trailed off. West clenched his hands into fists, letting the tears trickle down his face.

"But for the love of Luna, I can't!" she screamed. "I can't be your enemy and I can't bloody hate you... You only had your own interest in mind when you had Liam turn Bryan and I; you didn't care about the agony we went through, every single damn month. But that doesn't change how I feel..." She exhaled loudly. "You... You saved me, West."

"I saved you?" he lifted his hand to wipe the tears from his face.

"For a twelve year old, the person who saves her is her hero... Even if he hurts her, she can't lose the captivation in him. It's like a severe case of Stockholm Syndrome." She paused. "West, you saved me from an orphanage that put me through hell, every day. And because of that, nothing else matters."

"Anna, I don't know what-"

"And I don't care if you don't feel the same; I don't care if you have someone else..." she murmured. "Being in love is that, really. It's loving someone unconditionally and without reason-"

"That's where you're wrong, Anna," I interrupted. "There's actually a reason that you love West. It's not just a coincidence."

"Then, why?"

"Have either of you heard of the Soulmate Curse?"

"The War of Hearts," he stated. "The nickname for the curse that followed Luna's Curse. I never knew it was possible..."

"What does the curse do?" she asked me.

"A Gray Wolf will have two mates," I explained. "One Gray Wolf and one Brown Wolf. Despite there differences in qualities, both bonds are equally powerful. The Gray Wolf must ultimately choose one of the two mates, leaving the other as rejected."

"But, of course," West's eyes fixated on me. "Father told us this when we were little, didn't he?"

He did? Although most of my memories had returned and my past had started to make sense, when I tried to remember my father, my mind was blank.

"I'm not sure," I admitted.

"I remember it," he breathed. "Legend has it that the Grayson Wolves were given this curse in order to weaken them... But if that's true, then-"

"Anna and you are Soulmates."