Disclaimer: I do not own Wolfblood.

A/N: Sorry to leave an AN at the top of a story but this is sort of set after S2, as if Maddy had never left, and Maddian is canon. Also, just a pre-warning that there's mild language in this story, but nothing too bad. Enjoy!

He didn't mean for it to happen.

He hadn't meant for it to go as far as it did; he'd spent what felt like a hundred moments trying to calm himself down, to stop himself from fighting.

But it wasn't just any reason for Rhydian to get in to a fight.

Some guy from their class was making fun of Maddy - his Maddy - and Rhydian had listened for a few minutes, watching as Maddy kept her head down, a frown on her face and her hair falling over her shoulders to hide her hurt expression. He'd only been able to listen to it for those few minutes before he had to do something; his face was twitching with anger, his jaw tightly clenched. Once he'd leapt out of his seat, he'd known there was no going back.

"Rhydian!" He faintly heard Maddy's voice call out from behind him. She was out of her seat now too, watching as Rhydian landed on Josh, the boy who had been making fun of her, after having knocked him out of his seat. Her eyes were wide, her breathing had increased.
Instantly, she felt a little guilty. She should have seen him about to go for Josh. She could've stopped it sooner. "Stop!" She leaned forward, clasping her hands firmly around Rhydian's shoulders and trying to pull him away.

Usually, her touch helped him calm down; it always brought him back down to earth. But this time it didn't do anything; in fact, there was no effect whatsoever. Maddy frowned intensely.

"Rhydian," she said, trying to break him out of his angry trance. "Rhydian, stop..."

But it didn't work.

The whole class were on their feet now, watching with anticipation as Rhydian's fist came out and punched Josh in the eye, hard, and then everyone gasped. Maddy's hand came up to her mouth. She watched in horror, knowing there was nothing she could do to stop this. If her touch didn't work, and neither did her voice, she was helpless.

"STOP!" A familiar, loud voice came from the door. Maddy's head twisted sharply to find Mr Jeffries running towards them from the other side of the room. As everyone else looked around to look at their teacher, Maddy looked back to Rhydian who was still attacking Josh. Her eyes widened when she saw the tiniest sign of black veins beginning to crawl up his hands.

"Rhydian!" She whispered, launching herself towards him and forcefully grabbing his hands, removing them from Josh's body.

Alarmed, Rhydian widened his eyes at his hands and quickly stuffed them under his arms, allowing Mr Jeffries to pull him away from Josh so he was standing up. Josh's face had blood on it now, and a bruise was already forming under his eye, and Mr Jeffries looked back and forth from him to Rhydian.

"Rhydian Morris!" He yelled, his face red with anger. "My office! NOW!" He pointed in the direction of the door, staring at him crossly. "GO!"

For a tiny, fleeting moment, Rhydian turned to look at Maddy, his face slightly beaded with sweat. She looked bewildered, her forehead wrinkled and eyes shocked.

Rhydian frowned, feeling guilt settle in his stomach and twist painfully. He knew he'd let her down. All he was trying to do was protect her.

Ten minutes later and Rhydian was in Mr Jeffries' office, sitting in the chair opposite the desk. He'd sat in this chair many times before.

He was slumped in his seat, his arms folded tightly over his chest and eyes on the floor. All he could think about was Maddy. The look on her face as Josh was being horrid to her; how she was obviously trying to keep calm but was clearly being hurt by it. And then the look on her face after the fight; how she had looked so shocked and shaken up and it was all his fault.

Finally, Mr Jeffries arrived in his office, breaking Rhydian out of his endless thoughts.

Rhydian barely looked up at him as he sat down behind his desk and tucked his chair under.

He stared at Rhydian for a long moment before finally speaking. "I don't know why you do these things, Rhydian," he finally started, his hands together on his desk. His voice was surprisingly calm. "I can never understand why you lash out. You know I have to punish you for this, don't you?"

Rhydian nodded solemnly, looking down at the floor again.

"I know you haven't had the easiest of times; living with a foster family after a few before this one..."

"That's got nothing to do with this," Rhydian muttered.

My Jeffries continued as if Rhydian had never said anything. "Is there any particular reason you felt you had to lash out? Problems at home? Are you feeling alright in yourself?"

"I'm fine," Rhydian murmured. "It's Josh who wasn't. He was making fun of Maddy, sir. For no reason. I couldn't just sit there and watch without doing something about it."

"Okay, so Josh was being horrible," Mr Jeffries responded calmly, "but in that instance, wouldn't it have been better to wait for me to arrive, then have me do something about it? And I'm sure Miss Smith can fight for herself; if it was bothering her, she would have done something. And she didn't, so..."

"It was bothering her," he was speaking through gritted teeth, now looking up at his teacher from under his eyelashes. "You didn't see her face. I did."

"Still, it doesn't change the fact that you reacted in the wrong way. In the irresponsible way. I know we've had trouble with your temper before, but it's never led to you hurting someone like you just did..."

"He deserved it," Rhydian practically growled, looking Mr Jeffries right in the eye.

"That's not your judgement to make, Rhydian."

"He was out of line." Rhydian felt his heart begin to thump with anger again, and he had to stuff his hands further under his arms in case the veins began to show like they had done in the classroom.

"So were you."

"He made fun of Maddy! He was being a douche! He deserved every—"

"Do not raise your voice at me, young man!" Mr Jeffries shouted, cutting Rhydian's next sentence off.

Rhydian looked down again, clenching his jaw and shaking his head slightly.

A few minutes of silence went by. Jeffries took a breath to speak. "...I'm really sorry to have to do this, Rhydian, but I'm going to have to call Mrs Vaughan in."

"What?" Rhydian questioned, sitting up slightly in his seat. "Mr Jeffries, that's unfair! All I did was punch him…"

"And in doing that, you put the safety of another student at risk. Actually, you took away the safety of another student. For that, I need to take action."

Rhydian wanted to fight his corner. He was going to stand his ground.

But, deep down, he knew that Mr Jeffries was never going to change his mind. Rhydian had acted out like this on too many occasions, and he knew it was wrong – really, he did – but this time, the person he went for had taken it too far by treating Maddy like he had.

But Rhydian couldn't really explain to Mr Jeffries that, whilst all boyfriends were protective of their girlfriends, Rhydian was ten times more protective than most boys; and he certainly couldn't tell him that the reason for that was because he was a Wolfblood, could he?

He watched in angst as Mr Jeffries picked up the phone, dialing the number for Rhydian's house.

About twenty minutes later, Mrs Vaughan arrived in the office. Her forehead was wrinkled and behind her eyes was a sadness; Rhydian hadn't wanted to make someone else disappointed in him. He loved the Vaughans, and he didn't want to hurt his foster mother. But he knew, by the look on her face as she walked in and the way she barely looked him in the eye, that it was too late.

Wordlessly, she sat in the chair next to Rhydian.

Mr Jeffries explained the whole thing. A few times Rhydian tried to cut in to tell his side of the story, but every time the two adults would turn to him and stare pointedly, telling him to be quiet without saying it in so many words.

After he'd explained everything, he informed Rhydian and his foster mother that he would not be excluding Rhydian, but that he had to go home for the afternoon and serve evening detention for a week.

Mrs Vaughan turned to Rhydian. Her head was tilted to the side sadly and she stared at him, her forehead thoroughly wrinkled.

"I'm sorry," Rhydian said begrudgingly, looking down to the floor. His arms were still crossed over his chest.

"It's not really me you should be apologising to.… But it's done now." She said, her voice sad. Disappointed. Let down. And then she turned back to Rhydian's teacher, smiling ruefully. "I'll take him home now."

"Thanks, Mrs Vaughan. Sorry you had to come in." He shook her hand.

"And I'm sorry you had to deal with this."

Rhydian and his foster mother walked through school in silence.

Just as they were about to leave the school building, Rhydian stopped in his tracks in the corridor.

"What is it?" Mrs Vaughan asked, sounding extremely exasperated. She was still giving him that look; like this was the worst thing he'd ever done (even though it wasn't; running away was probably far worse...).

"I need to see Maddy," he blurted out, not even thinking. When she raised her eyebrows, he shook his head, glancing around for a brief moment. "I-I mean…can I see Maddy?"

"No," she replied, "Maddy's back in her lesson. And I think you've seen enough of her today." Not leaving space for any argument, she gently grabbed Rhydian's arm and pulled him in the direction of the car park. Rhydian tried to ignore the way she sniffed a few minutes later, and then went to wipe her eye as they climbed in the car.

"Why did you do it?" She asked after long moments of silence. They were still sitting in the front of the car, the engine not yet started and their seat belts only just buckled.

Rhydian turned his head to look at her, frowning. She was staring out the windshield at the brick wall in front of the car. "I...," Rhydian faltered. She wouldn't understand. "...Josh – the guy I…you know – was making fun of Maddy. Calling her horrid names, shouting insults at her, and just generally being a douchebag..."

"Language, Rhydian." She scolded, but it was half-hearted.

"Sorry," he muttered quickly before attempting to continue, "...and...after a while it just got too much for me. I don't know what happened, I just went for him. I couldn't help it. Maddy looked hurt and I just…I don't know, I get so protective over her..."

"Every boyfriend gets protective over their girlfriend," she argued quietly, "it doesn't mean you have to punch someone to make it better. And, anyway, I'm sure Maddy could've fought for herself. She's a feisty girl."

Rhydian had to resist the urge to roll his eyes; he had a sense of de-ja-vu come over him for a moment. He looked away, clenching his jaw.
He couldn't tell her that his inner wolf knew he belonged with Maddy, and that he had an instinctual, wolf-like need to protect her. He couldn't tell her the truth. He couldn't tell her about the devotion he had to his girlfriend; Mrs Vaughan would just think he was a love-sick teenager. When, actually, it was so much more than that.

"Look, I can't explain it," he mumbled, looking down at his lap. "Can we just...go home now? Please?"

For a moment, Mrs Vaughan stared at him in desperation. And then she sighed through her nose, reluctantly turning the key in the ignition and starting the car.

They drove home in silence.

That night, Mrs Vaughan took the rest of the family out for dinner. She'd grounded Rhydian for a week as soon as they'd returned home, and he had miserably slumped up to his room.

And hours later, when she came to ask if he wanted to come out for dinner, all he did was shake his head and turn his back to her as he lay on his bed.

Now it was 7pm, and Rhydian knew that they'd be out for a few hours still. Just as he was about to reach for his phone, it started ringing.

He smiled very slightly when he saw Maddy's name appear on the screen.

"Hey," he said miserably, rolling on to his back and fiddling with a button on his shirt.

"Are you okay?" She asked straight away. She sounded really worried and slightly flustered. "You didn't come back in to class, and there was a vile rumour going around that you got expelled and that there was trouble with social services, and I got really worried and started thinking you might have..."

"Mads, slow down," Rhydian said, "I'm okay. I haven't been expelled. All of those things are just rumours, okay? No problem with social services. Just…a problem with my foster parents."

The line went silent for a few moments. Rhydian could almost picture his girlfriend biting her lip.

"Are you okay?" Rhydian asked.

"Mhmm. Just worried about ya."

"I'm fine, Mads."

"What was your punishment?"

Rhydian sighed through his nose and sat up against the headboard of his bed. "After school detention for a week. And I'm grounded for a week too, although she very nearly grounded me for the rest of my life.… Nothing too bad."

Maddy audibly sighed. "That sucks."

"…Hey Mads?"

"Mmm?"

"Can you come over? The house is empty and I need to see you."

He could hear the smile in her voice, "of course. I'll be there in ten."

Almost exactly ten minutes later, there was a knock at the front door. Rhydian rushed downstairs to answer it and, as soon as Maddy stepped in to the house, he enveloped her in a tight, warm, and protective hug.

He buried his head in to her neck and breathed in her scent.

Maddy reciprocated, but she frowned. "Whoa," she said over his shoulder, "pretty big hug there, Rhydian."

"I just missed you. And I'm sorry."

Bringing his face out of her neck, he slowly nuzzled her cheek with his nose, taking in her scent, and then he left a light kiss on her jaw line. Her skin was soft right here, and it made him feel at home.

"What are you sorry for?" She asked, closing her eyes and tightening her grip around his neck.

He brought his face up to her forehead and pressed his lips there; not as a kiss, but he just let his lips settle on her skin. His eyes were closed, and he could feel the tight knot of anxiety loosen in his stomach as her scent filled his nose and he felt her near.

"For letting you down," he said, and Maddy felt his voice on her forehead. "I nearly transformed back there. I saw the way you looked at me. You looked so…disappointed in me."

"Rhydian," Maddy said sadly, bringing her face away from his and looking in to his eyes. "You didn't let us down."

"I didn't?" He frowned dubiously.

She shook her head, leaning forward and pressing their foreheads together. "You didn't. I was just scared, is all..."

"I'm sorry," he said again, and then he leaned forward, brushing his cheek against hers once more and leaving a slow kiss on her neck. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," she whispered.

Finally, Rhydian pulled away and took her hand, leading her up the stairs and in to his room.

"I just get so protective over you," he said once they were up there and she was sitting on his bed, watching him pace around the room. Eventually, he slumped next to her and she shuffled closer, nestling her head in to his neck and throwing her arm over his stomach.

"I know." She replied simply. She knew he needed to get stuff off his chest, and she stared down at the woven bracelet on her wrist, a small wolf charm in the middle of it, as he continued.

"And what Josh was doing was just so out of line. I know you could've taken care of it yourself, but I just feel like I should be the one keeping you safe. I think it's a wolf thing. And I couldn't exactly explain that to Mr Jeffries or my foster mum, could I? They were asking me why I did it and why I didn't just wait until a teacher came. But I couldn't wait, Mads; the wolf was taking over, and I know I nearly transformed and it was stupid and-"

"Rhydian," she said softly, reaching out to touch his arm. She lifted her head to look at him, finding that he was frowning intensely and his eyes looked sad. She looked in to his eyes. "Calm down. It's okay."

He took a deep breath in. For a moment he held it, still looking her in the eye, and then he slowly let it out, feeling himself begin to calm down.

"I know Josh was being an idiot," Maddy said eventually. She laced their fingers together and leaned forward so that their foreheads were touching. "And I'm not going to lie to you and tell you it wasn't upsetting me, because it was. But you didn't have to do that for us."

"I know, it's just...," he faltered for what felt like the hundredth time that day and brought his head away from hers, looking down ashamedly. He shook his head. "I can't explain it. I really can't; it was like…anger beyond words. My wolf was right on the surface. I couldn't stop it. I don't know what came over me, but I figured it must be a Wolfblood thing. I just couldn't stand the thought of you being hurt, and I had to stop it…"

Maddy smiled softly, shuffling as close as she possibly could. She rested her chin on his shoulder so that her breath was tickling Rhydian's neck as he looked away from her, and it very nearly drove Rhydian insane.

"It's okay," she said quietly. Rhydian felt the vibration of her voice on his skin. She left a small kiss on the point where his shoulder met his neck and then nuzzled her face there, feeling him relax as she did so. "You don't have to be ashamed, Rhydian. I can see that look in your eye, but you don't have to feel like that."

Maddy felt him sigh. And then she felt him twist in his position, so she brought her face out of his neck.

"You're not annoyed at me?" He asked, looking slightly worried.

Gently, she smiled. And then she leaned closer to him, so close that their noses were brushing and their lips were just centimetres apart. "Am I acting annoyed with you?"

Rhydian smiled for the first time that evening and shook his head. "No." He admitted, his voice just a mumble now. His breathing was slow as they inhaled the same air.

"Exactly."

Carefully, Rhydian brought his hand up to her cheek and smoothed his thumb along her cheekbone. She was so close he could feel the heat of her body and he inhaled once before closing the little space between them, gently touching their lips together.

"I think it is a wolf thing," Maddy said, pulling away after a moment. She sat up a little more, staying close to him, and clenched her fist around the fabric of Rhydian's shirt.

"I'm pretty sure it is, too," he agreed. And then, "I love you."

Maddy smiled and leaned in to kiss him again, a little longer this time with her lips parted. "I love you too."

Two hours later and Rhydian and Maddy were still up in his room, now lying on their sides under a blanket, playing with each other's fingers and talking. Every now and again, Rhydian would lean forward and kiss her neck or inhale her scent, and Maddy would do the same to him. Mainly, it was just to reassure themselves that they were here, and that they were together; they often did it with each other. They always had, ever since they first got together.

But, for Rhydian that night, another reason for it was because he knew he was still in the bad books at school and at home, and he needed Maddy near for comfort.

The couple were broken out of their happy trance by the sound of a car coming towards the driveway.

"Shit," Rhydian said, his eyes widening as he looked at her. Then he glanced at the clock on his bedside table. "I totally lost track of time."

"What are we gonna do?"

"Uhh," he stood up in a haste, looking around his room frantically. "You need to hide. Under the bed!"

"I can't hide under the bed!" She whispered, knowing that Rhydian's foster family were now in the house.

"Yes you can! You're tiny!" Gently, he grabbed hold of her shoulders and pushed her to the side of the bed away from the door. Reluctantly, she crouched down and slid under his bed, only half fitting due to some boxes under there. But hopefully Mrs Vaughan wouldn't come around this side and she'd be safe.

Rhydian only had a second to run to the window as if he had been wistfully looking out before there was a knock at his door.

"Uh - come in," he said, a fake-curious frown on his face as Mrs Vaughan opened the door.

"Hi, sweetie," she said, a soft, tired smile on her face. "You okay?"

He nodded, trying to resist the urge to glance down at Maddy.

"How's your evening been?"

Rhydian shrugged as casually as he could and walked over to sit on the edge of his bed. "Alright, I guess. Nothing special."

"Oh, okay," she smiled again. And then her eyes came down to the bed for a brief moment, and she did a double take. "What's that?" She frowned, moving closer to the bed.

Rhydian followed her gaze to a spot on the bed where there was a small, woven bracelet with a silver wolf charm in the middle of it. It was un-clasped and Rhydian picked it up before Mrs Vaughan could get a better look at it.

"Uh, nothing. It's just...Maddy's bracelet. She...she left it here a few days ago, I just forgot to give it back to her." Rhydian explained, trying to sound convincing. Under the bed, Maddy looked at her wrist and cringed, realising her bracelet had clearly fallen off without her realising.

"Is that a wolf?" Mrs Vaughan frowned, leaning closer to him.

"Um, yeah. Yeah, it is. Shannon got it for her a while back. I think." Lies, lies, and more lies.

"Why a wolf?" She looked at her foster son now, a curious frown on her face as she fiddled with the bracelet between her fingers.

"Maddy likes wolves," he blurted out, and Maddy almost snorted.

Casually, Mrs Vaughan shrugged and handed him back the bracelet, standing up straight once more. "Have you eaten?" She asked, and he nodded in response. "Okay, well...let me know if you need anything. You can come downstairs, you know that, right? Ollie and Joe have missed you today."

Rhydian smiled softly, offering her another nod. "I know. I'll be down in a bit."

Once she was fully out of the room and out of earshot, Rhydian rushed to the other side of his bed and crouched down to find Maddy fiddling with one of his old half finished sketching pages.

He chuckled quietly. "Having fun down there?"

She looked up at him and put on a fake pout. "No. You made me come down here, remember?"

Rolling his eyes playfully, he offered her a hand and she took it willingly, carefully sliding out from under his bed.

"I should probably go," she said once she was standing up. "You need time with your family."

Rhydian looked disappointed for a moment. "I need time with you."

"You've had time with me."

"You know what I mean. More time."

She rolled her eyes as he pulled her in by her waist. Placing her hands on his chest, she smiled up at him. "I love you, Rhydian Morris."

"I love you too."

"Kiss me goodbye then, and go spend time with your brothers."

Rhydian smiled, leaning in to kiss her. She brought her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, finding herself needing air sooner than she would have liked. His hands were around her waist, gently pressed in to the small of her back, and he felt his heart almost lurch towards her.

"I'll see you at school tomorrow," she said, pulling away only slightly. Their foreheads were still pressed together and her fingers were fiddling with the short hair at the back of his neck. "Okay?"

He nodded, leaning closer again to brush his cheek with hers. He left kisses on her cheek, neck and the spot just under her earlobe, and then he pulled away once more, smiling a little now.

"Love you," Maddy smiled, leaning in for one last short kiss before she stepped away and headed for the window.

"Love you too." He watched as she pulled open the window and then jumped out, silently landing on the ground below her. Smiling after her slowly disappearing figure, he drew in a deep breath and then headed downstairs.

"Who were you talking to?" A voice asked as soon as Rhydian left his room. He turned around to see Ollie standing there, a curious frown on his face.

"We're you listening through my door?"

"Maybe."

"Rude." He smirked, stepping forward to ruffle his little brother's hair. "And I was taking to Maddy. On the phone." It wasn't technically a lie; he had been talking to Maddy on the phone earlier…

"Are you allowed to do that if you're grounded?"

Rhydian shrugged. "Mum never said anything about my phone, did she? Now come on, let's go downstairs. Tell me what you had to eat. Where did you go?"

As they headed downstairs, Ollie excitedly told Rhydian all about his meal out and how they'd gone for a walk afterwards. Joe joined them on the sofa a few minutes later, sitting on Rhydian's other side, and Mrs Vaughan smiled softly at them from behind.

On her way home, Maddy fired off a quick text to Rhydian.

I forgot my bracelet. Might have to come get it later…

And a while later when Rhydian picked up his phone, he grinned at the text and went to type a reply.

What a shame;) can you sneak out later?

Yeah, I will. Mam and dad are tired anyway so they won't know I'm gone once they're asleep. See ya later xxx

Rhydian smiled to himself.

"Who you texting?" Joe asked, trying to lean over Rhydian's phone to cast a curious glance.

Playfully, Rhydian pushed him away and turned to him, a smirk on his lips. "None of your business. Now come on - bedtime." Rhydian ruffled Joe's hair and chuckled as he rolled his eyes and headed off in the direction of his room.

A/N: Where did this come from!? I'll never know. The idea came to me and just like that, BAM, 4,000 words done. Haha. I felt it was too long for the one shot series, and I felt like publishing a stand alone anyway!

Sorry for any stupid mistakes, and if it's a little boring. Buuuut I wanted to get Mrs Vaughan and Ollie and Joe in there because I absolutely love the chemistry between the brothers and the love that the foster family have for each other. So on top of Maddian, I felt like including that:') It was meant to be a oneshot but I'm thinking of making it a two-shot instead?

Hope you liked it! Do let me know what you think in a review :)

Love :* xxx