Wolfblood
Valentine's Day Chaos
Author's Note: This is a Valentine's Day story featuring Maddian and Katana. I haven't written a Valentine's story before; usually because it's a day I never have much luck with. Anyway, that's enough about that. Let's just jump right into it. This was requested by Cherryblossomseventeen. I don't usually do requests and it won't become a regular thing. But this was such a good idea I couldn't help myself. I'd had a similar idea anyway, so shout-out to Cherryblossomseventeen for inspiring me to actually write it. Please remember to review and let me know what you think.
Maddy Smith's heart was hammering in her chest as soon as her eyes opened. Rhydian Morris lay underneath her, his chest cushioning her back and his right arm looped across her chest. This was getting to the point where it was normal. Maddy's parents, (Dan specifically) had wanted to keep Rhydian away for Valentine's Day, due to concerns about the time of the year and what it can do to Wolfbloods, but Maddy wasn't having it. Emma had seen how unfair she was finding it, so she'd said he could come over. But the condition was that they would be out the door before Dan saw them together.
Maddy still couldn't get over how protective her father was becoming. If anyone, she'd expected Emma to be the one wanting to wrap her in bubble wrap and stuff her in a bomb-proof vault. She could understand that spring was the time when Wolfbloods were most likely to get hot under the collar, along with every wolf. It only stood to reason they shared the same bond with the seasons as their pure-blooded cousins. But she couldn't help but feel her dad was taking things too far. If he felt that boys were an issue and wanted to protect her, then why not do something less rude than keeping Rhydian away? Why not just give her a piece of wood with some nails through it in case anyone in the village started trouble?
"Good morning, gorgeous." Rhydian's tired voice drifted up from beneath her. She rolled over to face him and cuddled into his warmth.
"You've never said that before." Maddy reached up and planted a kiss on his forehead.
"Well, it is Valentine's Day, so I thought I'd try it out." Rhydian shrugged.
"And what else will we be 'trying out' today?" Maddy asked in a teasing voice.
"I can think of a few things." Rhydian grinned, pulling her closer. "I'm thinking maybe we go for a run up on the Moors, followed by Bernie's for burgers and then back to my place since your dad can't see us together today even though you have the comfiest bed."
"You think my bed's comfiest?" Maddy was surprised at that. "I always thought your bed was comfier. My mattress is a nightmare."
"No, yours is better." Rhydian replied.
"At this rate we'll just swap houses." Maddy shrugged.
"I think your dad might kill me in under a day." Rhydian laughed, sitting up and trying to pinpoint where Maddy had thrown his shirt last night. His trousers were draped over the bottom of the bed, but his grey t-shirt was nowhere to be seen. Just then, their attention snapped over to the door as Emma poked her head through.
"Okay cubs, Dan's in his workshop. He shouldn't be back in for at least an hour, but I want you downstairs for breakfast in ten minutes." Just then, she looked around and saw Rhydian's jeans on the end of the bed. "On second thoughts, make it twenty minutes." Emma cast them a knowing wink, totally getting the wrong idea.
"Mum, haven't you heard of knocking?" Maddy scowled.
"Haven't you ever heard of hanging your tie on the doorknob if you don't want to be disturbed?" Emma shot back.
"That would give Dad a clear sign that I had someone in my room!" Maddy snapped. "I know he's being unfair, but I'm not in the mood for yelling at him about it."
"I suppose you have a point." Emma shrugged. "By the way, I just nearly tripped over this." She held up something grey before flinging it into the room. Rhydian caught it effortlessly.
"How did this get into the hallway?" He wondered aloud. Maddy turned a deep red colour.
"I didn't look where I was throwing it. I just threw it away last night." She knew how that remark sounded, but after last night she regretted nothing.
"Just a quick tip, Maddy: Always pick a direction you're going to throw things when you enter the room if it comes to that, and certainly not in the direction of a door." Maddy's face turned even redder at her mother's advice. She groaned and flopped forwards, basically head-butting Rhydian in the chest. "I'll just leave you two alone." Emma muttered as the air escaped Rhydian's lungs in a rush. She closed the door just as Maddy leaned up and gently kissed Rhydian. Emma took a second to wipe the smile from her face before making her way downstairs. She tried to keep her composure, but as soon as she sat on the sofa she dissolved into uncontrollable laughter.
Meanwhile...
Jana woke up to someone knocking on the door of her caravan. She made her way over to the door while working on possible ways to kill whoever was disturbing her at this ungodly hour. She flung the door open only to see Katrina standing on the doorstep.
"Katrina, why are you here?" Jana asked as Katrina turned bright red. "What's wrong?"
"I take it you've just woken up." Katrina clearly wasn't sure whether to cover her eyes or not.
"What?" Jana clearly wasn't getting it.
"Just... Remember to put a shirt on before you answer the door." Katrina said in a rush. Jana looked down and suddenly understood what Katrina was on about.
"Hang on." Katrina waited as Jana closed the door and could hear Jana frantically searching for a top while muttering swear words. A few minutes later, the door opened again and Jana stood there in a dark blue top with a grey line pattern like shattered glass. It looked really good on her, but Katrina couldn't help but remember Maddy wearing something similar on a non-uniform day at school. She remembered because Kara had made a dress-down Friday joke.
"So, how are you doing then?" Katrina asked nervously.
"Katrina, I'm sorry if that put you on edge." Jana shrugged. "Like you said, I just woke up and I didn't think."
"Jana, you really need to be careful." Katrina said. "What if that had been a boy on the other side of the door?"
"Katrina, there are plenty of knives in here and I'd have plenty of time to reach them." Jana rolled her eyes.
"Why do you have knives?" Katrina asked.
"I have to cook somehow." Jana said like it was the most obvious think in the world.
"Oh yeah, that's a point." Katrina snapped her fingers, mentally cursing herself for not thinking about that. "Seriously though, how did you not notice? Do you not feel the cold or something?"
"Not really." Jana replied. "And I'm not that into boys either. There's only one that's allowed to come anywhere near here. Anyone else is liable to go missing. Anyway, what did you want me for?"
"You have no date for Valentine's, right?" Katrina asked.
"Yeah, that's basically the same as every other year." Jana shrugged. "Why?"
'Thank god for that!' Katrina thought.
"I was just wondering if you wanted to spend the day hanging out." Katrina asked. Each work sounded as though it was an effort. "I can understand if you don't want to and if you find the idea of two girls spending the day together odd, but I just thought..."
"Katrina, I'd love to." Jana reached over and hugged her briefly. "Do you want to come in? It's not much warmer than out here, but I have plenty of blankets."
"Thanks." Katrina took Jana's hand and climbed up the step into the caravan. Jana grabbed a massive blanket from the pile that was nestled in the corner and wrapped it around the pair of them.
"This is nice." As she let out a giggle, Katrina couldn't help but notice how much she loved that sound. She loved hearing other people laugh because she loved it when others were happy, but Jana's laughter seemed to bring something unfamiliar inside her to the surface.
'God, I love Jana sometimes.' Katrina thought to herself. Suddenly it registered what she'd just said. 'Wait... Where the hell did that come from?'
"Are you okay?" Jana asked. "You've gone pale."
"Yeah, I just wondered if I left the oven on, but I just remembered that my dad noticed and turned it off." Katrina lied.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Jana pressed.
"I'm fine!" Katrina sharply assured her.
'Damn it girl, stop asking questions!' she thought sharply.
"No you're not because you're still sweating." Jana pressed.
"Jana, I love you to the ends of the earth but you really need to stop asking." Katrina said quickly.
"You love..." Jana seemed lost for words. Katrina wanted to smack herself, but the blanket wrapped around them was keeping her arms firmly pinned at her sides.
'Oh my god, how is she going to react now?' Katrina wondered. 'I bet she's going to slap me like Gabby on Made in Eccles! When are we getting a Season Three of that anyway? Because I have serious casting issues with...' Katrina was cut off from her confused mental breakdown as she felt the last thing she expected. Jana's soft lips collided with hers. Fireworks exploded in both of them as electric shocks coursed across their shoulders and down their spines. Eventually, Jana pulled back for need of air. As soon as her lips left Katrina's, both of them longed for them to be back there.
"What does this mean?" Katrina asked shakily.
"I love you too." Jana replied. She wrapped the blanket tighter round them, pulling the two of them closer. She was able to get close enough that she could wrap her arms around Katrina while holding the blanket together behind her in a form of awkward hug. Katrina rested her head on top of Jana's, finding the whole thing unbelievably cute.
"So, where should we go first?" Katrina asked.
"Well, I was thinking how about picking one activity each?" Jana replied.
"That sounds fair to me." Katrina nodded.
"Okay, then how about we take a walk on the Moors?" Jana asked. "We won't run or anything since I know that's not something you're good at."
"What gave it away?" Katrina rolled her eyes.
"Trust me, it'll be worth it." Jana looked her directly in the eyes to show that she meant it. "There's a great place I've found that is just gorgeous. You'll love it, trust me."
"Okay, that sounds nice." Katrina nodded. "After that, how would you like a meal for two at Bernie's? You can have bacon, eggs and sausages and so on or you can go for one of his burgers. I assume by the way you're about to start drooling and your eyes have glazed over you're already on board with that idea."
"Oh, I'm definitely on board." Jana grinned, wishing she could pull Katrina closer. She slipped out from the blanket and pulled a pair of jeans on before grabbing her shoes. "Come on then, let's go. You should probably keep that round you as well. It's seriously cold out there."
"I bet it's only going to get colder as we get deeper into the Moors." Katrina replied. Jana nodded in response.
"After we've been for burgers, we can always come back here if you want. I can make my nest of blankets big enough for two."
"Wait... You sleep in that bundle of blankets?" Katrina looked over at the pile of blankets stuffed into the smashed frame of a sleeping cot.
"It's surprisingly warm." Jana shrugged. "I bet it would be warmer with two though." With that, she cast Katrina a wink that made her heart jump as if shocked.
"No chance, sweetie." Katrina grinned back. "Tonight, you are coming back to my place and you are sleeping in a proper bed. Seriously, that can't be doing your back any good."
"Believe it or not, it's really comfy." Jana told her. "I often just build the blankets around me and curl up in them. I literally seal myself inside to keep the cold out."
"Still, you will see the merits of a proper bed tonight." Katrina's tone brooked no argument.
"I can hardly wait." Jana walked over and wrapped one hand round Katrina's neck, massaging it slightly. "Mind you, everything has merits when you're there."
"You're so sweet." Katrina pulled Jana close again and kissed her, revelling in the way it made her skin burn with electric jolts.
"Thanks. Shall we be going?" Jana motioned to the door. Katrina followed her out, eager to see what Jana so badly wanted to show her.
As she and Katrina made their way across the Moors, they had no idea that two close friends were doing the same. Maddy and Rhydian were just climbing up the embankment at the side of the country lane that led to the Moors. Rhydian offered a hand to Maddy to help her up, but she managed without even bothering to take it. As soon as they were both on the Moors together, Maddy looped her arm across Rhydian's back. He copied the movement, noting how she was using her small size to deliberately put her hand near his backside. In an instant, he knew what she was up to.
"How about we start running now and detour to that place we love?" Rhydian grinned.
"You read my mind." Maddy grinned.
"Well, I can't say you didn't give me a hint." Rhydian pulled her close and kissed her briefly. Without another word, they broke into a run. Rhydian and Maddy knew the place they were on about without even saying it. Just for the looking, it was clear that no one had been there before them. The place was unsoiled by human imperfection. There was no litter dropped, no wheel prints left by BMX riders, no footprints from the hikers that often roamed the Moors and no stench of human presence. The two Wolfbloods were the only things even close to human to go anywhere near there.
"Can you smell that?" Maddy asked. They slowed to a crawl and took a second to properly process the scent. In a second, their canine sense of smell deciphered that it wasn't one scent but two. The hormone balance suggested two females. There was one human that seemed to be drenched in chemicals. The other was even more shocking. It was a Wolfblood.
Without thinking, Maddy and Rhydian darted forwards, eyes burning a primal gold. The land and trees around them blurred as they ran towards the intruders. They couldn't let them poison the Moors with whatever chemicals the human was carrying. As the burst into the clearing, they easily spotted their targets. They didn't pause or hesitate. Instantly, Maddy darted behind the human female and cut her legs from under her. She hit the dirt hard, her handbag bouncing across the ground and the blanket wrapped round her flying from her shoulders.
Maddy looked to her right to see two figures dancing by the hedges. The sun was in her eyes though. She knew one was Rhydian, but she couldn't place the other one. A closer look showed that she was wrong. They weren't dancing. That was just what it looked like when two Wolfbloods fought. Suddenly, she saw a flash of red hair as the girl fighting Rhydian whirled round and launched a kick towards his head. He dodged it easily.
"Rhydian, stop fighting! That's Jana!" Rhydian stopped cold. Unfortunately, Jana only heard the sound of blood pounding in her ears and missed Maddy's warning. Before anyone even realised what was going on, Rhydian gave a strangled yell and dropped like a stone. At that moment, Jana realised just who she'd been fighting.
"Are you nuts or something?" Katrina raged as she picked herself up. Maddy didn't hear though. She'd raced over and knelt by her boyfriend. He was rolling on the ground and wasn't sure whether to scream or burst into tears.
"Are you okay?" Maddy asked desperately. "She didn't hurt you badly, did she?"
"No, Maddy; god only knows that getting kicked between the legs full-force never did anyone any harm." Rhydian's voice seemed to have been raised an octave or two.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Jana ranted at them as she went to help Katrina up.
"We just caught the smell of chemicals and thought someone was going to dump them and poison the Moors." Maddy shrugged. "We panicked."
"That was probably my eyeliner." Katrina fished a small eyeliner case from her bag. "The seal was never perfect and it does smell strong when first applied. But the hairdryer takes care of that and I like it since it makes my eyes sparkle."
"That's probably your corneas dissolving!" Rhydian snapped from where he was rolling around on the floor. Maddy on the other hand was grateful that Katrina's terminal stupidity kept her from wondering how they could have smelled something like that from that distance.
"Well, I suppose it was just a misunderstanding." Katrina shrugged.
"Are you okay?" Jana asked Rhydian.
"I think I need a splint or an ice pack." Rhydian groaned. "Actually, I need both of those things in no particular order."
"Can you walk?" Maddy asked.
"I think our plans for tonight are down the drain." Rhydian replied as he struggled to his feet.
"Please tell me you're joking!" Maddy rolled her eyes. "Why did this have to happen on Valentine's Day of all days?"
"Well, it'll teach us to think before we jump to fight dangers that aren't there." Rhydian muttered bitterly as he stood awkwardly and off balance.
"So, if we shove the awkwardness aside for today with the promise of settling this when Rhydian's more able, what are you planning for today?" Jana asked.
"We're thinking of a run through the Moors followed by burgers at Bernie's and then back to Rhydian's place since my dad is being super defensive about me having boys over on Valentine's day." Maddy replied.
"You're kidding!" Any trace of the smile that had been trying to return to Katrina's face disappeared in that instant.
"What?" Rhydian shrugged; still understandably bitter about the pain he was in.
"That's basically the same as what we planned!" Jana couldn't believe it. "We're going to a place I found earlier in the week that's simply beautiful and then to Bernie's for food before going back to Katrina's for the night."
"I tell you now: if the place we're going is the same I'm going to swear there's some kind of conspiracy." Katrina burst out laughing.
"If it's the same place, I'll probably just swear." Rhydian muttered. "We didn't think anyone knew about that place.
"There's only one way to find out." Jana replied. With that, they all set off. Rhydian and Maddy were slowest since she was helping Rhydian to stay upright. She couldn't tell if there was any lasting damage, but Jana had clearly held nothing back against him.
At one point in the journey, Jana and Katrina peeled off and headed in a completely different direction. Maddy felt a wave of happiness overwhelm her. As much as she loved Jana to pieces, the place she and Rhydian had together was one she wanted to remain only for them. Once they were there, she and Rhydian could marvel at its beauty and waste hours chatting.
A few minutes of excruciating walking later, they arrived at the clearing. To their relief, Jana and Katrina weren't there. Maddy sat down on the edge of the hill and Rhydian carefully joined her. The sunlight weaved its way through the branches of the trees above them. The patches of sunlight that were cast on the floor were the only points of heat in the clearing. Fortunately for Maddy and Rhydian, they were sitting directly in one. To complete the picturesque scene, a small stretch of the stream that ran through the Moors like a spider's web ended there, feeding into a small pond area near the middle.
Rhydian looked to his left and couldn't help but admire how much the sunlight set Maddy off in all the right ways, granting her soft features an elegance that she would never have even dreamed she possessed. Without thinking, he dug his phone out and moved round. She was totally lost in the rapture of the clearing they were in. She didn't notice as he silently took a picture.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding!" Rhydian jolted at the sudden sharp voice. In that second, he lost his footing and was sent rolling down the slight slope they were sitting on. Maddy went to help him as she locked on to the voice that had startled him. Jana was standing there with her hands on her hips. Katrina was behind her, captivated by the beauty of their surroundings.
"Jana, this place is amazing!" She pulled out her mobile and started to take pictures.
"Katrina, just promise me you'll never tell anyone about this place." Maddy tried to make it sound like she wasn't begging.
"Why would I not?" Katrina asked, putting her phone away. "More people should come here."
"Katrina, look around and tell me where you see any signs of humans being here." Maddy pressed. "You can smell how clean the air is. There are no drivers shouting abuse at each other. There's no litter. The water and air are pure beyond belief. If people came here, this whole place would be ruined within weeks!"
"That's if it even lasted that long." Rhydian added as he managed to sit up. "This place deserves better than to be destroyed by those who have no sense of how to use it. Jana obviously showed it to you because she trusts you to know that."
"It's true, Katrina." Jana nodded. "This place belongs primarily to nature. It needs to stay that way. I've been here once and I instantly saw the importance of that. It's the sort of place that we should only visit once a year so as not to poison it. I want Valentine's Day to be the day we come here. Each year, this can be a place that we both come and enjoy that others haven't polluted."
"We don't come here often ourselves." Maddy replied. "We only come here when something's wrong to the point that we're literally at the end of our rope. It was like the time Liam and Jimi started all that werewolf nonsense. I came here with Rhydian and this place washed our troubles away. This isn't something we can just give out to anyone." Katrina was clearly thinking it over. As she did, a robin flew down and landed on a low branch overhanging the pond. As soon as its song hit the air, Katrina's mind was made up. All thoughts of telling the other two Ks went out the window.
"This place is our secret then."
At Bernie's...
Maddy and Rhydian sat at Bernie's, chatting peacefully while trying to hide the fact that they were gazing lovingly at each other even though they both loved it. The sun had come out properly now and was warming them pleasantly.
"I see Jana's trying something new." Maddy nodded over to where Bernie was bringing their food. Instead of burgers, Katrina had twisted Jana's arm into trying Spaghetti Bolognese. Rhydian twisted round to see and couldn't help grimacing in pain from the movement.
"What happened to you?" Bernie asked as he passed them.
"You really don't want to know." Rhydian still didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"So, what'll it be?" Bernie asked, fishing his notepad out from his apron.
"We'll have two full-pounder burgers, please." Maddy said, reaching over the table and gently taking Rhydian's hand to reassure him.
"It'll be about six minutes." Bernie vanished back inside. Maddy looked over to see Jana and Katrina working through the massive plate of spaghetti together. The smell of it was being blown their way by the breeze and it made her stomach growl like she did on full moons. To take her mind off it, she wrapped her legs around Rhydian's, knowing that no one would see because of the table cloth. She couldn't wait until they were back at his place. Somehow, Ollie and Joe had managed to get Valentine's dates, so Mrs Vaughan was chauffeuring them around. Rhydian had assured her that it was a sign that they were growing up. What he was really meaning was 'just go with it because I need the house to myself on Valentine's Day'. He was pretty sure she knew it as well, but she hadn't said anything.
"Where the hell are those burgers?" Maddy's voice snapped Rhydian out of his thoughts. Glancing at his watch, he realised it had been nearly ten minutes now and there had been no sign of their food. Jana and Katrina had finally found the same strand of spaghetti and done the cliché of eating their way along it until they eventually kiss at the end, so they were lost in their own little world. Besides, they already had their food. Why would they care?
Suddenly, a screeching noise came blaring out over tinny speakers. The two Wolfbloods instantly knew there was something wrong. They jumped up and raced inside only to be met with a wall of smoke.
"What the hell?" Maddy coughed out as her eyes erupted in golden flame.
"How the hell did this happen?" Rhydian was struggling to breathe. As they watched, Bernie raced over to the cooker with a massive bowl of water. He threw it on, but didn't make a dent in the blaze.
"You can't throw water on an oven fire!" Maddy yelled, grateful that the smoke masked her eyes.
"Have you never heard of a fire extinguisher?" Rhydian ripped one off the wall and pulled the pin before holding the levers together long enough that the entire contents were emptied into the oven.
"I don't know what happened!" Bernie threw his hands up in pointless surrender as the smoke cleared. The gold faded from the Wolfbloods' eyes and the black veins that had been rendered invisible by the smoke receded. "I needed the toilet and I was gone for five minutes! That's it! I'm retiring to Spain!"
"Bernie, there's no need for that." Maddy rolled her eyes.
"No, Maddy; I think there is a need for it." Bernie pulled up a chair and sat down. "I've just hit my sixth decade. I'm not getting younger and maybe it's time I just sold up, took my savings and settled down somewhere. I always had a dream of dying happy in Spain with a couple of Spanish dancers next to me. Maybe it's time I got off my arse and made it happen."
"Well, we can't weigh you down with hugs to make you stay." Maddy shrugged.
"Good luck." Rhydian nodded.
"Thanks, kids. That means a lot." Bernie grinned sourly just as the fire brigade turned up. "Oh, that's all I need now, isn't it?"
"We'll get out of your hair." Maddy grabbed Rhydian's hand and led him out just as Bernie taped a hastily scribbled note to the window saying 'closed due to accident'.
"Well, what the hell to we do now?" Rhydian shrugged.
"I have an idea for something we can do." Maddy grinned. Not letting go of his hand, she walked with him back to Mrs Vaughan's house. As planned, the house was completely empty. Mrs Vaughan was out supervising Ollie and Joe on their dates, meaning that Maddy and Rhydian were alone together. That suited them just fine.
"That's a pity about Bernie retiring." Rhydian said after a moment.
"Yeah, we should really look at giving him a send-off of some kind." Maddy replied as they started to head upstairs.
"We should have a word with Shannon and Tom." Rhydian nodded. "But that can wait until they get back from the movies." The teen wolves entered Rhydian's room and sat on the edge of his bed. In seconds, they had their arms around each other and they let themselves fall back into a laying position. Maddy instantly straddled Rhydian's hips and hugged him close.
"Are you feeling any better?" she asked.
"In truth: not much." Rhydian replied. "I'm just glad I don't need A&E. That would be an embarrassing one to have to explain on Valentine's Day." Just then, Rhydian's phone went off. He pulled it from his pocket and found a text from Tom.
'OMG, I just heard about the fire at Bernie's!' Rhydian ignored it and got back to helping Maddy pull her jumper off since the heating was on full blast in his room and the jumper t-shirt combo she always wore on seriously cold days was now too much. Just as Maddy shrugged her jumper off and made sure to throw it in a direction that wasn't towards the door, the phone went off again.
'Is it true that he's retiring?' Rhydian didn't bother to answer. He just threw his phone with such force that the back of it flew off and the battery dislodged as it hit the wall.
"You know, he's going to keep on until he gets answers." Maddy said.
"Well, I won't hear it." Rhydian shrugged. "Today is our day to shut all that out."
"I suppose you're right." Maddy leaned forward so she was lying on top of Rhydian with her head under his chin. On impulse, he wrapped his arms around her. To them, it didn't matter what came along. They would love each other through hell, high water and even Valentine's Day chaos.
End!
