Wolfblood
Restrictions
The trees passed by in a blur of green and brown as Maddy and Rhydian sped through the woods. They moved so fast that they could literally hear the air being torn, leaving an invisible scar that they would never see heal or know existed. They finally slowed to a stop when despite all the wind blowing in their faces they felt as if there were no air left in the world to breathe. They collapsed next to the howling tree that Jana had shown Rhydian with Maddy straddling him as he leaned back into it. Without a word, Rhydian looped his hand round the back of her head. He brought their faces together as they kissed lazily in the sunlight.
As they pulled away, a majestic noise filtered into their heads. Maddy looked up and slowly rotated her head in different directions as she pulled her hair behind her ears, trying to place the direction it was coming from.
"It's this way." Rhydian said as he got up and pointed down the narrow path just off to their left. Instantly, Maddy took off in the direction he was pointing. In the noise they were hearing, the two Wolfbloods could swear they could pick out individual words. But as they neared the source of the sound, they knew for certain.
"... My mind still fears.
But we're running out of time.
Oh, the echoes in my mind cry.
There's blood on your lies,
The sky's open wide.
There is nowhere for you to hide.
The hunter's moon is shining.
I'm running with the wolves tonight.
I'm running with the wolves.
I'm running with the... Oh, hi you two. What brings you here?"
"Jana?" Maddy was perplexed. Since when could she sing?
"I didn't know you could do that." Rhydian said.
"Neither did I until about two hours ago." Jana said, dropping the scrubbing brush she was cleaning the caravan with into the bucket of water by her feet. Maddy noticed she'd changed into a set of overalls that were far too big for her. She could see the name on a tag that was stitched onto the left shoulder. The tag actually said 'Daniel Smith'. It must have been a set she'd taken when she first arrived in Stoneybridge.
"So, you literally didn't know how well you can sing until two hours ago?" Rhydian asked, trying to confirm it in his own mind.
"I was never allowed to sing in the wild." Jana told him. "The last time my father heard someone singing like a human, he sent them to the Kronoch for a month. They didn't last."
"God, that's horrible!" Maddy shivered involuntarily.
"That was our way of life." Jana replied, shrugging like she'd just told Maddy that she'd got meat in the caravan. "Any contact with the human world was strictly forbidden. That was why Rhydian got into so much trouble in the wild."
"What manner of thing did you actually do out there?" Maddy asked. "All I remember is Alric hunting you all the way from the far north back to Stoneybridge, breaking all the rules, letting himself get photographed and nearly killing me." Maddy had initially promised to leave the issue alone, but now that Jana brought it up, she couldn't resist the chance to try finding out.
"It was actually my fault." Jana confessed. "I wanted to see the human world and he took me. It was great. I saw the TVs for the first time, got my first brain-freeze and got a human magazine."
"I still don't get the point of you taking that." Rhydian said as he glared at Maddy for asking the one question she'd promised not to. "You couldn't even read then."
"It was just nice to look at." Jana replied.
"So what happened to it when you got caught?" Maddy asked.
"Aran told me my dad burned it on the campfire after I sided with you when he tried to take Rhydian." Jana told her. "Apparently the fumes the paper gave off were poisonous because of what they put on it to make it all shiny. The pack started coughing and gagging. Dad thought he'd angered the gods by chasing Rhydian and coming into contact with the human world. Aran said he was praying for days."
"It's funny how you were free in the wild but you were so restricted at the same time." Maddy pointed out.
"That's why I didn't go back." Jana said. "I realise that true freedom was the best of both worlds. Being here, I have a roof over my head and I'm surrounded my nature, but I have full access to shops and stuff. Life is a precious thing. How you get it is irrelevant. What you do with it is what determines who you are."
"You know, I think I heard that in a movie once." Maddy muttered, trying to remember.
"Yeah, I watched it on my laptop." Jana replied as she tied her hair back with a hair band Maddy noticed she'd 'borrowed' from Becky at school. Just then, Rhydian's phone went off.
"I'll be back in a sec." He walked a short distance away, muttering under his breath before answering it while the girls continued with what they were talking about.
"Rhydian, it's Mrs Vaughan." Mrs Vaughan's voice left the phone with an almost frantic edge to it. "I've tried to call you three times already! Where were you?"
"We were deep in the woods." Rhydian replied. "Getting a signal would be a miracle. Is there a problem?"
"I need you home right now!" she said, a definite panic in her voice now. "There's a social worker who's just dropped in and he wants to speak to you."
"I'm on my way." Rhydian hung up before turning back to the girls. "I need to head home. Something's just come up."
"That's okay, Rhydian." Maddy walked over and kissed him gently. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow." Rhydian said, giving her one last kiss before sprinting off. Even though Mrs Vaughan desperately wanted him home, he couldn't help but relish the feel of running inhumanly fast. He could reach speeds so fast he couldn't feel his feet on the ground when Maddy wasn't with him. When he ran with her, he felt complete, but when he was alone he didn't have to hold back.
Eventually he reached the back garden. His feet were so hot it felt like his trainers were about to melt. He pulled out his key and unlocked the back door before slipping inside. Normally when he walked in, Ollie and Joe would dog-pile him with hugs as soon as he got through the door if they were in too. He knew something was wrong instantly when he could detect four scents, but none of them walked over to him. He could smell Mrs Vaughan, Ollie, Joe and someone else. This scent was unfamiliar yet well known. He didn't know who it belonged to, but if he didn't know better he would almost say they smelled like his parents. Out of caution, he brought his wolf forward slightly so that it would be there if he needed it before making his way into the living room.
"Ah, you must be Rhydian Morris." The man standing in the centre of the lounge looked over even before he'd fully walked through the door. Rhydian could see the feral gleam in his eyes. There was no doubt about it now. This man was definitely a Wolfblood. He wasn't even inconspicuous either with his peroxide blond hair or his acid green eyes. As the man spoke, Rhydian could see a slight edge to his teeth. He had his wolf ready at a moment's notice just like Rhydian.
"You're not the usual social worker who visits." Rhydian stated.
"No, I'm from a team of care inspectors." The man's face stayed perfectly neutral and his heartbeat was perfectly even. He wasn't lying as far as Rhydian could tell. "Where are my manners? I'm Mike Wood. I'm with 'CareM8 LTD'. We basically do inspections on any carers looking to adopt to help finalise the process."
"So, what did you need me here for then?" Rhydian asked.
"Perhaps it would be better if we talk privately?" Mike asked, gesturing to the back garden door.
"Anything you have to say can be said here." Mrs Vaughan put in. Her eyes were red and stained with tears. Rhydian felt his blood boil wondering what he'd said to her.
"No, he's right. Maybe it's best if we talk privately." As much as Rhydian hated to be stranded in these situations with no backup, he couldn't let Mrs Vaughan be hurt again. Whatever this man had said, she looked broken-hearted over it. Mike made an 'after you' gesture and Rhydian made their way to the back garden. On the way out, Rhydian's phone went off. He took it out of his pocket and pressed a button that was flashing.
"Is that an important call?" Mike asked.
"No, I just cancelled it." Rhydian replied as he stepped outside. Mike closed the door behind them and the sparks flew. Each knew what the other was, but Rhydian could tell Mike knew him like the back of his hand.
"Okay Rhydian, I'm just going to cut right to it here, the adoption has been rejected and won't be approved." Rhydian felt like Mike had slapped him.
"On what grounds was it rejected?" Rhydian asked, his wolf pushing forward.
"It was rejected because of you and how you've been since coming here, Rhydian." Mike told him. "While we've noticed you've been slowly getting better, you've been dragging everyone else down with you."
"That's not true." Rhydian defended. "Just ask Ollie and Joe. I was the one who sorted out Ollie's nightmares for him when Mrs Vaughan first adopted him and I picked Joe up whenever he fell down."
"What about your friends though?" Mike asked. "I'll read you a couple of the examples I have here:
In October two years ago, you faked hurting your ankle after showing off on a roof to Maddy Smith while on a trip to Lindisfarne. The delay trapped the whole class on the island overnight on a full moon, forcing you and Maddy to spend the night together running wild. While you loved it, she'd wanted to spend her first transformation with her family. But you couldn't even allow her that, could you?
Two weeks after that, you and Maddy both ended up in detention together after you both defaced a football club poster as revenge for them defacing a photography club signup sheet the day you arrived. Normally, she would never have dreamed of getting any kind of vengeance. While I'm left to wonder what could have impacted her so negatively that it drove her to that, the day's carnage didn't stop there. While your teacher was talking to the headmaster, you both took a football trophy from the cabinet and placed it on top of the steel chimney on the roof of the sports block. It took a small crane to get it down which was money needlessly wasted from the school's budget to finance such a pointless exercise." Mike reached into a folder Rhydian hadn't noticed him carrying and pulled out several blurry photos that had clearly been taken with a battered old camera from far too far away. Whoever took them went to great lengths to keep their presence hidden.
"You know, Maddy could take better photos than this with her eyes closed." Rhydian said, handing them back. "What do you think you're doing stalking me like this anyway? Both those pieces of evidence you read were both from long before Mrs Vaughan even thought about adopting me! You're supposed to be a care company, not MI5!"
"I'm sorry Rhydian, but we were called in to discreetly observe when we were notified there could be a problem here. And oh my god is there ever a problem here?"
"Oh, I see. By 'discreetly observe' you meant 'stalk', is that it?" Rhydian snapped.
"You say that like you're perfect yourself." Mike replied calmly. "CareM8 LTD Operates strictly within the law. Look, you and Maddy have both protected the secret on many occasions, and for that you're unanimously thanked by every Wolfblood on the planet. But at the same time, you are singlehandedly ruining the calm nature of this town, Rhydian. You and Mrs Vaughan clearly weren't a compatible match. For that reason, plus the safety of the secret and the public, I've recommended you be transferred to a new foster home." Those words were like a punch to Rhydian. Instantly, his vision sharpened as his eyes turned yellow while the black veins raced through his arms, neck and face. He bared his fangs and let out a primal growl, getting ready to transform and rip Mike's throat out.
"No one is ever moving me again." Rhydian growled. "You people don't own me."
"Careful there, young Wolfblood." Mike flicked a glance to the window. Luckily, Rhydian's back was turned to it. He slowly turned around at an angle where the veins in his face couldn't be seen, but he could see the window from his peripheral vision. Mrs Vaughan was watching them through the blinds, her eyes still stained with tears. Rhydian now faced a moral dilemma. Should he stick to his original strategy and rip Mike apart which would be fun, or should he back down to keep the secret and the others safe, which would be smart. When it came to Maddy's safety, it wasn't even a choice.
"What is it you want?" Rhydian growled with tears in his eyes, which returned to normal as the black veins receded.
"Rhydian, I want what's best for you." Mike said simply. "I want to see you put somewhere where you're truly going to thrive and be your own Wolfblood before you get to the age where instead of a foster family we have to put you in independent living accommodation." Rhydian didn't even respond. He literally couldn't believe this was happening again. Right now, there was only one person he needed. "I bet you're thinking of Maddy right now, aren't you?" Mike asked. "You two obviously need to say goodbye, so I'll be going now. By the way Rhydian, if you do anything to impede this process, there is a chance Mrs Vaughan could lose her care license. Just know that we're doing this as a favour to your future."
"As a favour to your life, I'm going to ignore that undisguised threat." Rhydian growled. Without another word, Mike pushed past him and headed for the door. Mrs Vaughan went to see him out before heading out into the back garden to where Rhydian had nearly collapsed into a sobbing mess. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him close before whispering gently to him.
"Don't worry, Rhydian. I heard everything. There is no way that man is in the care industry from the way he spoke to you. I won't allow this. I'm going to fight this tooth and nail. It sounds like he's got evidence against Maddy that could leave her very vulnerable too. You'd best call her and let her know."
"She already does." Rhydian said, holding up his phone to show Mrs Vaughan the call that was in progress. The phone was on speaker and Maddy's name was on the 'Caller ID' bar. Just then, there was an ear-splitting crash from outside. Rhydian hauled himself up as he and Mrs Vaughan headed through the house to the front door.
"There are two wolves attacking Mr Wood's car!" Ollie and Joe were grinning from ear to ear as they watched the carnage unfold. Mrs Vaughan reached over and shut the curtains before moving to the door.
"We're not missing this!" Joe muttered as he moved to join them.
"You two, stay here." Mrs Vaughan ordered. "Rhydian, you're with me."
"Hang on; he just said there are wolves out there!" Rhydian couldn't believe that she was actually going to go out there and take him with her knowing that there were two very dangerous animals out there and still believing he was human.
"Don't be ridiculous, Rhydian. Wolves have been extinct in Britain for centuries. They're probably just dogs." Mrs Vaughan said as she pushed the door open. Sure enough, a brown wolf was tearing at the windscreen of Mike's car while a red one slashed at the door with her claws and keeping him trapped. "Those definitely aren't dogs." Mrs Vaughan stated dumbly. Rhydian advanced forward, feeling the energy of the wolf pulsing in his veins again.
"What I'm about to do must stay a secret." Rhydian said, turning to her. "Do not tell my parents." With that, the black veins raced through his arms as his eyes turned yellow. Seconds later, a grey wolf stood where he once did. Mrs Vaughan watched dumbstruck as he leapt up and smashed into the passenger window of Mike's car, breaking it in one hit and ending up on the passenger seat. Mike forced the door open in desperation, sending Jana sprawling on the floor. He staggered out only for Maddy to pounce on him. Rhydian leapt out and prowled round Mike's pinned body on the right while Jana picked herself up and secured the left side. Like a wolf possessed, Maddy's fangs descended towards Mike's throat.
"Do it by all means, Miss Smith." Mike said. "Feel free to add murder to your list of crimes." Maddy paused where she was, wolf drool dripping on Mike's blazer. She pulled her head back after a few seconds. Even in wolf form, confusion was plain on her face. After a few seconds, all three wolves had transformed back into their human forms.
"What do you mean 'My list of crimes'? I've never done anything illegal in my life!" Maddy was perplexed by Mike's calm demeanour. She got off him and let him stand up to explain himself.
"Actually Maddy, you've done virtually nothing legal since Rhydian came to Stoneybridge." Mike replied.
"So you've been stalking her too?" Rhydian asked. "Why? Your focus was supposed to be me in all this."
"You are the main focus, Rhydian." Mike told him. "However, as I was going over your file, I got a letter from my boss. It's in the glove compartment so if you will allow me, I'll read it to you." Mike went back to his car and fished the letter out of the glove compartment.
"This had better be a rock solid explanation." Maddy muttered as Mike opened the letter.
"Okay, here we go:
'Dear Mike Wood,
As I understand it, you are working on the case regarding Rhydian Morris and his time in Stoneybridge. From your report as I understand it, several other POIs (Persons of Interest) have come to light. The recommendation I would make is to back up all notes concerning them into separate files. (Meaning there would be one file for each individual.) I must say, I was disappointed to hear that you hadn't already done this as our company motto has always been that if you work thoroughly, you work properly. I wish you all the best of luck in your investigation.'
When I got that note, I couldn't help but think to myself: 'He's right; I haven't... and I should!' So in the end, I did." Mike reached into his car again and grabbed four folders from under the passenger seat.
"So you have files on all of us?" Maddy asked.
"These two..." Mike held up two folders tied up with a yellow and a black ribbon. "These are the files for Miss Kelly and Mr Okanawe. Unfortunately, I can't read these to you without their consent, so we'll put them away for now." Mike dumped the files in his driver's seat.
"So why are there two others?" Maddy asked. "Obviously one of them is mine, but who does the other one belong to?"
"This one is about Jana." Mike explained. "I must say, we were very concerned when Rhydian dropped off the radar for three months. Imagine our surprise when we found out that he was initially born a wild Wolfblood. When he returned and Jana followed him back here, we were quite surprised to say the least."
"So you've been stalking all of us?" Jana looked ready to tear Mike to shreds.
"For the last time, it wasn't stalking. It was discreet observation." Mike snapped. "But now we return to your question, Maddy. If you'll give me a second, I'll read you some examples of the illegalities you and Mr Morris have got up to:
In June of last year, you not only stole a skeleton and accidentally tipped a scientist off to the Wolfblood secret, but you also locked Jana in a tool shed. That's theft, desecration of a grave and forced imprisonment of your friend all in one day."
"That dead Wolfblood was part of my pack and Jana was ready to hit people with a spade!" Maddy defended. "I took the skeleton to keep the secret safe!"
"The better way to do that would have been to call Segolia." Mike said, shooting down Maddy's argument simply.
"I didn't know about Segolia then." Maddy protested. "I didn't dig him up either. Whitewood dug him up when Liam's dad found him when he was ploughing his field!"
"Speaking of Liam Hunter, how do you justify assaulting him that day?" Mike asked. Maddy went silent. It was true that she'd been one step away from tearing Liam apart. "That's only one day as well." Mike went on. "There are also several accounts of you jeopardising or exposing the Wolfblood secret which is how your two friends found out. Furthermore, we have the theft of the trophy from the gym cabinet in that detention you and Rhydian had together. There's also when you were chased by Alric through the forest. I found the police report. I would show it to you and ask you to point out which bits of your statements were lies, but it would be quicker to ask you to show me the true bits. If there were any of those in there, I want to know where they are."
"What were we supposed to do?" Maddy defended again. "Did you want us to tell them about the Wolfblood secret and tell the truth or lie to defend it?"
"Again, the thing to do was call Segolia." Mike looked down his nose at Maddy like something he'd trodden in.
"And again, I didn't know who the hell Segolia were!" Maddy snapped.
"To top it all off, the three of you as a whole have just gone and revealed the Wolfblood secret to three humans!" Mike shot back. "Not to mention the vandalism of my car, the ruining of my blazer and assaulting me in wolf form!" I have half a mind to call Segolia myself about the whole incident and turn over all five files: yours, Rhydian's, Jana's, Tom's and Shannon's."
"I think you're a bit late for that." Maddy said through gritted teeth, fighting back tears of fury. "Rhydian isn't the only one who can be sly with a phone. I text Shannon ages ago asking about the company you told Rhydian you work for." Just then, Mike looked up as three sleek, black Segolia vans rounded the corner. Suddenly, a panicked look glazed over Mike's eyes. Before anyone could react, he'd thrown the files onto the back seat and jumped into the car, trying to make a run for it. Quickly, Maddy transformed and jumped onto the bonnet of the car. Jana and Rhydian transformed too and raced round to the broken window on the passenger side. Jana jumped through the broken window while Rhydian jumped at the rear window. It broke on impact and he jumped onto the back seat. With two wolves cornering him in his car and another ready to pounce on him again if he tried to get out, there was no escape. The front van's doors opened and none other than Victoria Sweeney stepped out, flanked by her elite five operatives.
"Thank god for you being here." Mike said to Victoria, winding the window down and trying to play it calm. "I have evidence against these Wolfbloods and two humans over multiple illegal actions and endangerment of the secret."
"Oh believe me; someone is going to be getting arrested here." Victoria snarled. "But it's not going to be them though. Adam Walsh, I'm taking you in on suspicion of stalking minors, threatening minors, operating under a false identity, impersonating a member of the care system, computer fraud, bank fraud, selective misinformation, operating under a nonexistent company name, illegal access of police documents, illegal access of restricted information, conspiracy to invade another pack's territory and finally, that criminally disgusting blazer!"
"No!" he screamed as Victoria dragged him out the car while her operatives cable-tied his hands behind his back. "Those children are the real criminals here! Their combined list of offences is twice that length!" Rhydian returned to human form as 'Mike' screamed the place down.
"You say that like you're perfect yourself." Rhydian's calm expression and obvious cheek turned the screaming Wolfblood red with fury.
"I'll be back, Rhydian Morris!" he screamed as they tried to bundle him into the van. "The reclamation has begun and I will personally scrub the mange that is your pack from this territory if it kills me!" With that, he tore free of Victoria's operatives and charged at Rhydian with his eyes blazing yellow and his fangs bared. Just then, Mrs Vaughan's fist crashed into his face. His nose splattered across his left cheek, sending him staggering to the floor.
"Get away from my boy, you arsehole!" she screamed. Sweeney's men grabbed him again as more jumped out the back of the second van to help secure him. They threw him into the van as Mrs Vaughan wiped her hand on her skirt. Rhydian jumped out the car along with Jana. Maddy jumped off the bonnet and the girls transformed back into human form.
"Nice shot, Leona." Maddy nodded admiringly.
"No one threatens my family, no matter how loosely Rhydian uses that term." Mrs Vaughan said. "Now, I think we need to go inside and talk, don't you? I want to know everything. That means the whole truth this time."
"You deserve that at least." Rhydian said, walking over. "I'm sick of keeping it a secret from you."
"Do we have your word that you'll keep our species a secret?" Victoria asked.
"Don't worry, I'm good with secrets." Mrs Vaughan replied. "I just want to know what I haven't been told."
"In that case, I leave this with you, Rhydian." Victoria said, turning to him. "Don't worry about the evidence against you. Segolia was aware of most of it anyway, but I just wrote it all off under the grounds that it was deemed necessary to keep the secret. I do advise you to be careful though. If you get any form of negative response from anyone over this, call us immediately."
"We will do." Rhydian promised. "Who the hell was he in the end anyway?"
"His name is Adam Walsh." Sweeney told him. "He's part of a group that stalk packs that roam a territory they like and then try to blackmail them out f the place. If anyone gives you trouble, we need to know. I also suggest you all keep your heads down in future. The last thing you need is someone cornering you with another file full of evidence." Without another word, Sweeney walked back to the van and got in as it started up. As both vans pulled away, they could still hear Adam screaming furiously from the back of the one Sweeney was in.
"Shall we go inside?" Maddy suggested.
"I think that would be a wonderful idea." Mrs Vaughn nodded.
"Do you guys need me here for anything else?" Jana asked.
"No, you can go back to the caravan if you want." Rhydian said to her. "We've got everything sorted here."
"Okay then." Jana nodded. "I'll tell you what: we'll have a burn-up at my caravan later on. We'll invite Tom and Shannon over too and they can man the fire since Wolfbloods can't. Those files are about to disappear."
"How about we bring bacon and sausages to cook over it as well?" Rhydian suggested.
"Yes!" Jana agreed.
"We'll see you later." Maddy called to her as she and Rhydian went inside with Mrs Vaughan. As soon as Rhydian closed the door, Ollie and Joe practically jumped on him.
"That was so awesome!" Ollie said.
"How did you do that?" Joe asked. "Why did you never tell us?"
"Maddy, can you talk to them about it while I see to Mrs Vaughan?" Rhydian asked. Maddy took the boys into the living room while Rhydian and Mrs Vaughan sat in the kitchen.
"So… where do you want to start?" he asked awkwardly.
"I want to start at the beginning." Mrs Vaughan said. "You said not to tell your parents. What did you mean by that?"
"There are members of our species that live wild." Rhydian explained. My parents were wild Wolfbloods but when my mum went out hunting I crawled away from the camp. A human found me and thought I'd been abandoned. That's how I ended up in care in the first place. She came back when she sensed my first transformation."
"So how does this thing with transforming work?" Mrs Vaughan asked. Clearly this was a lot for her to take in.
"Okay, so we transform automatically at the full moon." Rhydian explained. "Maddy's parents have a secure room so that humans are safe and we're all safe from being seen. Once we master it, we can transform whenever we want. Sometimes we lose control when we're angry too."
"So, I'm guessing Maddy and her family are 'Wolfbloods' too and they helped you learn all of this?"
"Yeah, they pretty much saved my life." Rhydian said. "I don't know where I'd be right now if they hadn't helped me."
"I understand now why you spent so much time with her." Mrs Vaughan nodded slowly, piecing it all together. "I'm still quite hurt that you didn't tell me sooner. "I mean, I understand why you didn't, but I'm not going to lie. It does hurt to know that you've been keeping secrets since you came here."
"It's a secret I've kept since I found out." Rhydian admitted. "My first ever transformation got me thrown out of my last foster home. I went to bed and woke up in a ditch. Apparently I trashed my bedroom trying to get free of it, so I got thrown out."
"Was that the home you got thrown out of before I fostered you?" Mrs Vaughan asked him, realisation dawning slowly on her face.
"Yeah, that's the one." Rhydian muttered bitterly. "But you know what? I'm glad it happened. If it hadn't happened, I wouldn't be here, I wouldn't have Ollie or Joe and I'd never have met Maddy, Shannon and Tom, Jana or you."
"You know, I think that's one of the nicest things you've said since coming here." A radiant smile spread over Mrs Vaughan's face.
"So, you'll keep our secret then?" In his heart, Rhydian knew the answer. But the paranoid part of him still wanted to hear it for himself now that she knew everything.
"Rhydian, I would never tell anyone something about you that you didn't want me to." Mrs Vaughan said, gently reaching over the table and hugging him. "I wouldn't dream of it. The same goes for Ollie and Joe. How do you think most of Northumbria doesn't know about Joe's nightmare issues or Ollie's sleeping troubles? Just because you're quite literally a wolf in civilian clothing doesn't make you any different to us."
"You're taking this unbelievably well." Rhydian observed, pinching himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
"Maybe it just hasn't set in yet." Mrs Vaughn muttered. "I think in a few days time it might be slightly difficult to get my head around, but we'll make it all work and no, I'm not going to cancel the adoption process. I can tell from the looking that's something you were worried about."
"Part of me was." Rhydian said. "I still can't believe how well you're taking all this." At that moment, Maddy walked in.
"That's the boys taken care of." she informed them as she went to get a drink. "Leona, where do you keep the glasses?"
"They're in the top cupboard." Mrs Vaughan said.
"God, I forgot about that." Maddy rolled her eyes as she turned around and stood on tiptoes trying to reach the cupboard and open it.
"Here you go." Rhydian said as he got up from where he was sitting."
"No. No! No!" Maddy tried to back away with a threatening note in her voice. Unfortunately, Rhydian just found it cute and took no notice. He lifted her up in one fluid motion and turned her round to face the cabinet.
"Grab one quick. My arms are getting tired." Rhydian joked. Maddy grabbed a glass before Rhydian gently lowered her back down.
"If you ever do that again, I will kill you." Maddy growled, putting the glass on the counter before turning round and smacking him on the arm repeatedly.
"I see what you mean." Joe said as he grabbed the glass off the counter, filled it at the tap and took a mouthful from it. "She does look more beautiful when she's angry."
"Joe, you're a little traitor!" Rhydian growled.
"Should I start running now?" Joe asked.
"Yes, you probably should." Maddy nodded. "Leona, Rhydian might be late to dinner tonight. Can you manage without him for a while?"
"Where will you be?" Mrs Vaughan asked.
"We're just going to chase Joe across the Moors." Maddy replied calmly.
"What did he do to you?" Ollie asked Maddy.
"No one steals my drinks and keeps their head on." Maddy replied in a deceptively even voice. As she said that, Joe decided it was time to make a sudden move in the hopes of getting a head start. Maddy and Rhydian chased him out across the back garden before he jumped the fence and raced towards the Moors. Now that they were able to let their wolves more free when running, they jumped the fence like it was nothing and chased after him. Mrs Vaughan watched from the window as she chuckled to herself.
"Is Joe going to be okay?" Ollie asked as he watched the three figures disappear into the distance.
"If anyone can outrun Rhydian, it's your brother." Mrs Vaughan laughed as she grabbed a glass dish from the bottom cupboard and got started on supper.
Line Break!
It was a couple of hours later that Maddy and Rhydian arrived at Jana's caravan. Tom and Shannon were just grabbing Shannon's massive backpack they'd put the camping cooker in. After some thought, they'd decided against the fire since they all worried that if something went wrong, only two of them would be able to do something about it.
"How's it going, Jana?" Maddy asked as they approached. At first, Jana didn't respond. If anything, she seemed to have something on her mind. "Are you okay?" Maddy asked, tentatively walking over.
"Jana is something wrong?" Rhydian tried as he gently tapped her on the shoulder. Instantly, she whirled round and growled. Her eyes burned yellow and her fangs were slightly open in a snarl. Instantly, Maddy and Rhydian backed off. As they backed up, they felt their hands intertwine. As suddenly as Jana's wolf had come forward, it vanished and left her visibly disoriented.
"Is everything alright?" Maddy asked.
"Sorry guys." Jana said after a second. "I guess I'm just hyper from what happened today."
"That's okay, so were we until we worked it off." Rhydian told her.
"That's too much information! I'm not listening!" Jana clamped her hands over her ears and tried to act like she couldn't still hear what they were saying.
"No, you idiot! We chased Joe across the Moors." Maddy had a scandalized expression on her face. Jana took her hands away from her ears with a relieved expression on her face.
"No, what you're on about isn't happening until tonight." Rhydian said bluntly before bursting out laughing as Jana covered her ears again and went into full ignorant defence mode. Furious, Maddy spun him round to face her and smacked him before punching him in the ribs. They all heard him choke as he dropped to the floor, visibly winded.
"After a remark like that, you'll be lucky if it happens at all in the next six months!" she growled.
"If I have to wait six months, I'll just call Segolia on a charge of animal cruelty." Rhydian joked.
"What do you mean 'Animal cruelty'? Is that the best you can come up with?" Maddy burst out laughing. "Still though, I can vouch for the 'animal' bit."
"See? That one made you smile. You can never stay mad at me." Rhydian Jack-knifed to his feet only to slide sideways once he realised his lungs didn't have any oxygen in them.
"Don't be too cruel to him, Maddy." Maddy looked sideways to see Shannon and Tom walking over. "Let's face it, he's a male, he's under twenty and even when he gets that far I don't think he'll slow down too much." Shannon continued. "Just because he'll grow older doesn't mean he'll grow up at all."
"So, how are we planning to get rid of the folders then?" Tom asked. "If we're not going to burn them, then what else are we doing?"
"I've been working on that." Jana replied, beckoning the others to follow her. They went round the back of her caravan only for Maddy to nearly fall down a gigantic hole.
"What the hell is that?" Shannon asked. "That's a little bit overkill, Jana. You could literally bury an elephant in that."
"Yeah, for once she's not exaggerating." Tom muttered as he took in the size of the hole for himself.
"He tried to take someone we all love away from us." Jana replied. "Nothing is overkill. At this depth, the natural moisture and the underground insects will ruin the files over a long period of time and make them no good to anyone."
"Paper bio-degrades quickly as it is." Shannon added. "With it being so far down, it should only take a few weeks."
"Since I live here, I can make sure no one comes here looking for them." Jana continued. "If someone does, I'll discourage the curious."
"Okay, just ring us if anyone gives you trouble." Maddy said.
"I will." Jana replied. "I have all your numbers." At a nod from Maddy and Rhydian, Tom and Shannon set her massive backpack on the ground and opened it. Once they'd taken all the files out, they threw them into the hole. As they went round the front to set up the camping stove, Jana transformed and started to fill in the hole. Knowing it would take a while, Maddy stayed to help while Rhydian went to join Tom and Shannon.
"It was a good thing Maddy texted you when she did." Rhydian muttered as he sat down while Shannon tried to turn on the little gas burner.
"Yeah, she sent me the text, so I asked Becca what she knew about them. Once we looked into it and found nothing, we took what we had to Sweeney. She knew what was going on straight away." After what had now been several failed attempts to start the burner, Shannon simply settled for kicking it over in fury.
"Can you not get it going?" Tom asked.
"I've been asking my mum to buy me a better one for ages!" Shannon fumed. A few minutes later, Maddy and Jana walked over, absolutely caked in mud and dirt.
"Wait here, I'll get you a cloth." Jana laughed. "God, I wish I had something you could see yourself with."
"I don't have to. I can see you." Maddy giggled. Jana had to take a second to compose herself after laughing so hard before going inside. She came back with two rags and threw one to Maddy while wiping her face on the other.
"What actually happened to you?" Rhydian asked them.
"It was Jana's fault." Maddy said before she burst out laughing again.
"No, it wasn't." Jana had fallen back into fits of laughter too. "Maddy fell into the hole and I didn't notice, so I carried on clawing dirt on top of her. She turned back to human form, jumped out and threw me in before throwing a load of it on me too."
"Anyway, I can't smell anything cooking yet." Maddy remarked.
"The burner's broken." Shannon informed her. "It's been looking to give up for ages. It just so happens that it chose now."
"Wait here." Jana ducked back into her caravan and came out carrying something. "Is this any help and would it fit in your backpack?" she asked.
"How the hell do you have one of those?" Shannon asked.
"I'll be honest; I don't actually know what it is. But it looks a bit like the top of Mrs Vaughan's cooker and I know that runs on gas." Jana told her. "It was just here when I moved in. It had a nest of spiders living in it, but I shook them out without too much trouble. If I'm right as well, the gas bottle on that little thing looks like it goes into the back here. You just unscrew the nozzle." Jana passed it to Shannon who unscrewed the top from her old gas burner and fitted the bottom canister onto the back.
"I can't believe you have a double-ringed gas cooker with a mini toaster built in." Tom said.
"Actually, it's Shannon's." Jana told him. "I know she's needed one for ages, so if she can fit it in her bag, she can have it."
"Are you sure, Jana?" Shannon asked.
"What would I do with it?" Jana shrugged. "Besides, I have other ways to prepare meat. Or failing that, I'll just eat it raw. I've been doing it my whole life. I never used it anyway. I have no gas."
"That's not actually a toaster." Rhydian reached across and opened the small metal drawer that Shannon had been on about. "That's for frying bread. You put some oil in there, let it heat up and then fry bread in it."
"How do you know that?" Maddy asked.
"In the foster home I was in before the Vaughans, we went camping quite a lot." Rhydian told her. "They had one of these because my foster mum had severe arthritis in both hands. She couldn't start fires the traditional way and her husband was too scared of fire to do it, so they sacrificed that aspect and got that thing."
"Wasn't that the one you got into trouble in when you had your first transformation?" Shannon asked.
"Yeah, I smashed up my bedroom in wolf form trying to get out and woke up in a ditch." Rhydian replied. "They thought I was ungrateful for all they'd done for me, so they threw me out." Sadness was clear on Rhydian's face.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything." Shannon said sheepishly.
"No, it's fine." Rhydian reached over and pulled the pin on the gas burner, drawing himself back quickly as it ignited. "You didn't know, and now you do. Now someone cook me some bacon quick, I'm wasting away over here." Maddy knew that was his way of changing the subject and saying that he'd had enough. Inwardly she burned with fury at the thought of all the bad times he must have gone through. As the smell of cooking bacon drifted over them, Rhydian shuffled closer to Maddy and wrapped an arm around her. Feeling relaxed, she leaned across and cuddled into him. Rhydian relaxed back against the wall of the caravan as she curled up and rested her head in his lap.
"You know, I really got a fright today." Maddy mumbled sleepily. "I can't believe he tried to take you away."
"Maddy, the only way I'm leaving you is in death." Rhydian said as he pulled her closer. "It's not going to happen though. I won't let it."
"I love you, Rhydian Morris." Maddy muttered. As she drifted off to sleep, she couldn't help but feel glad. As long as he had Mrs Vaughan, she had him. That was just the way she liked it. Now that Mrs Vaughan knew the secret too, they could feel a lot more free. The biggest change though, was that they weren't bound by keeping secrets from Rhydian's family any more. Now they could be together, and be free from any restrictions.
End!
Author's Note: Okay, so now that the Forbidden trilogy is complete, I've had numerous messages asking me to write a final Trouble in Paradise to elaborate better on the ending. I can now confirm that I will be looking into doing that. Unfortunately though, updates are going to be slowed down a bit since I started writing a fanfiction for The Last of Us ages ago but due to a whole list of things that seemed to happen literally every time I tried to work on it, I still haven't managed it. For that reason, I'll be putting most of my other stuff on standby until it's done. Having said that, I will still upload what I've written for the second episode of Life has Changed (my Life is Strange series) so if anyone here (Onenightlive) happens to follow it, that will be up soon too. As always, please remember to review. I love hearing what you think, and it really inspires me to write more.