Gray Valley

f o u r t y - o n e

"BLAYZE," I whispered.

"W-Weslyn," he stuttered, staring at me. "Weslyn you're in d-danger."

"What? Blayze..." His slumped forward and before I knew it, I raced forward, catching him with my arms. "Blayze!" I tried to lift him, but he was too heavy for me. "For the love of Luna, help me!"

Within an instant, Bryan was by my side, lifting up Blayze from his shoulders. Martyn grasped onto his legs and West hoisted him by his torso, silently taking over for me.

"Anna, get some water!"

Together, they carried him over to the couch and I sat beside him. Anna rushed over with a cup of water and handed it to me.

"Thank you," I told her. I splashed the water onto his face. For more than a minute, I waited for him to respond. "Blayze..." Only, he didn't.

"Weslyn, he still has a pulse. You can hear it, can't you?" West asked me. I nodded. I was the one sitting closest to him, so I could hear his heart beating.

"It's a little weak, but its there," I told him. I could just sense the dull thud of his pulse.

"He's burning up, though," Anna muttered, pulling her hand away from his forehead. "It seems like a fever." She stood up and disappeared back into the kitchen.

My chest tightened painfully at the sight of his pale, sweat-drenched body. I could feel his pain so strongly; yet, there was nothing I could do.

Anna returned with a towel and a bowl full of cold water. I soaked the towel in water and wringed out the excess, before placing it on his forehead.

"A fever?" Martyn muttered under his breath. "But if he's ill..."

The entire pack fell silent. We all knew what he was implying. Werewolves barely ever became sick... If he had fallen ill, that could only mean one thing.

"No," I murmured. "No..." It wasn't possible. There was no way... He was only 19 years old. There was no way that he already had the Brown Wolf illness.

Tears trickled down my cheeks, before I could stop them. When I realised that the pack was surrounding me, I hastily brushed my tears away.

"It's not that, Weslyn. It's not the illness." I turned to see Anna standing behind me. "There's no way he already has it."

"But, Anna," Bryan began. "It's just like we were told when we were turned. Fever, weak heart rate, excessive sweating, incomprehensible speech... He has all the symptoms."

"That's not what I mean," She sighed, turning to look at the pack. Bryan opened his mouth to argue. "Excuse me; I'd like to talk to the Alpha with some privacy."

They all looked at me for approval and I nodded, letting them leave. Soon, the only ones in the room was Liam, West, Martyn, Bryan and Anna.

"Then, what do you mean?" I asked.

"Bryan, don't you remember?" she turned to her twin brother. "Around the time we were 13, I fell ill."

"Yeah..." His voice trailed off. "It was seven or eight months after we were turned. From what we had been told, it looked a lot like the illness."

"We thought you were going to die," Martyn said.

"I had similar symptoms and my mind was all over the place, but I ended up recovering... It wasn't actually the Brown Wolf illness." Her brother stared at her with disbelief. "It wasn't my end; it was my beginning. After I recovered, I immediately started developing feelings for West."

"What?" Bryan and Martyn exclaimed at once. Liam glanced up in shock.

"Long story short, the two of us are soulmates," West announced.

"What?" They repeated, staring at him.

"I'll explain it you afterwards," he turned to Anna. "But if you got ill before forming the bond with me, why is Blayze..."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Liam cringe.

Why is Blayze ill, now? Because he, too, was my soulmate. But of course, West didn't know that. Neither did the Anna, Bryan or Martyn. The only one who did know was Liam.

"I think it's time I told you all," I muttered. It was my turn to be stared at. "I should tell you the truth."