Wolfblood
Family
There wouldn't be a prize for guessing where Rhydian Morris chose to spend his New Years Eve that year. As soon as Maddy had rung up and invited him over, he'd grabbed his hoodie and run to her front door. Now he sat on her bed with her sitting in his lap as they watched Shrek on her upstairs TV.
"I can't believe we'll be going back to school soon." Maddy muttered. "In about four days it'll be back to Jefferies, boring lessons, claustrophobic corridors and the three Ks chatting you up while you desperately try to shake them off and they continue to be either too determined, stupid or both to take a hint." As Maddy mentioned the three Ks, her eyes turned yellow. The black veins raced through her arms as her fangs emerged. Rhydian looped his arms around her, pulling her close into his warmth before reaching beck to rub her shoulders. She let out a pleasured growl as the veins started to recede.
"Maddy, if I had half a chance I would kill all three of those ogres."
"Oh, really... you and what army?" Shrek asked the knights on the screen. Maddy giggled at Rhydian's terrible wording before gently pushing him down so he was lying with her on the bed. She buried her face into his neck before breathing in his scent. That was one of the things she loved about him. He was so comfy it was unbelievable. She didn't need a bed, pillows or a mattress. All she needed was him to lie on.
As Maddy buried her face further into his neck, Rhydian adjusted his position so the angle was better for both of them. He loved it when she did this. Not only was it exceedingly cute, but she also made a really warm blanket. He knew that it didn't matter how many blankets he ever had to hand, nothing could ever replace Maddy. Gently, he kissed the side of her head, causing her to let out a low mumble.
Without another word exchanged, Maddy grabbed the duvet from where it had been turfed to the side and pulled it over them. She nestled into him just as she pressed her hands into his back and held him. In response, he looped his arms around her and rested his hands into the small of her back just as their lips found each other. Maddy tangled her hands into Rhydian's hair as they burned with the need to be as close to each other as possible. Eventually, they broke away as they tried to gather their breath again.
"This is probably one of the most sensational moments of my life." Maddy said as she kissed Rhydian again. Just then, the door flew open and a flash of ginger hair appeared in the doorway.
"Hey Maddy, Are you... It can wait."
"And now it's over." Maddy growled as Shannon disappeared out the door. "You can come in, Shan. We're still clothed." Reluctantly, Maddy got off Rhydian and threw the duvet back to one side. Shannon entered a lot more carefully this time, closely followed by Tom and Jana.
"You weren't really watching that movie, were you?" Tom asked knowingly as the dragon unleashed a jet of flame at Shrek, Fiona and Donkey.
"I think you know the answer there." Rhydian said as Maddy leaned back into him.
"Come on, you two." Shannon said as she turned off the TV. "You were going to stay up to see in the New Year, so if it helps you stay awake then we have games downstairs."
"Okay, just give us a second and we'll follow you down." Rhydian said as he sat himself and Maddy upright and popped his spine back into place with a series of audible cracks. With sceptical looks on their faces, Tom, Shannon and Jana all left. Rhydian quickly rubbed Maddy's back, causing it to click as she felt the muscles realign.
"I suppose this means we need to stop cuddling now." Maddy muttered.
"Yeah, it does." Rhydian muttered bitterly. "Still, we'll finish this in January." Maddy leaned up and kissed him gently before getting up to go downstairs.
"Let's get this over with." Rhydian took her hand and went downstairs to find Shannon rummaging through the games cupboard.
Line Break!
"Can I have a go?" Tom asked. He'd opted out of the game because of his dyslexia and the reading involved, and Jana was sitting this one out so she could watch and learn how to play.
"You can go for me." Shannon said. "Just look at the options on the table and move carefully."
"I think it was Mrs Peacock in the dining room with the gun." Tom concluded after a few minutes of looking.
"No it wasn't." Maddy said bluntly.
"How do you know?" Tom asked.
"Tom, we're playing Monopoly." Maddy replied. "You're thinking of Cluedo."
"That's a shame. I think Shannon would fit Miss Scarlet's Character perfectly." Tom said. Shannon whirled round in her seat and smacked him in the chest.
Ten minutes later, they decided their game was going nowhere fast, so Rhydian decided to teach Jana some of the games.
"Where's the Go to Jail square?" Jana asked as Rhydian made the first move.
"Jana, that's Monopoly. We're playing chess." Maddy couldn't help looking over, glad that Rhydian was so patient with Jana. She'd have lost her temper long ago, and they were barely into the game.
"Do I still get £200 for passing Go?" Jana asked.
"No, you don't." Rhydian told her bluntly. The game wore on in much the same way, until they were both down to their last few pieces. Just as Emma came in to call them, Jana did something no one was expecting.
"Checkmate!" she said Emma walked through the door.
"Wait, what?" Rhydian studied the board closely and looked. His king was cornered by one of Jana's bishops. Sure enough, Jana had got him in checkmate.
"How the hell did that happen?" Maddy wondered.
"Do you want a go, Maddy?" Jana asked.
"Before that, does anyone want bacon sandwiches?" Emma asked. Everyone's hand shot up in unison. "Okay, coming up then." Emma said as she disappeared through the door again.
"Are you ready?" Maddy asked as she took her place opposite Jana. Since Maddy was playing the white pieces, she got the first move. She moved one of her pawns out two squares. Jana then proceeded to counter by moving one of her pawns out in front of it. The game actually flew by, until both girls had lost both knights and most of their pawns. Maddy had also lost one bishop, whereas Jana had lost two. There were a few others lost as well, but Jana was clearly beating Maddy's pieces back somehow.
"Kids, the bacon's ready." Emma called.
"We'll be there in a minute." Jana called over her shoulder. As she turned back, a white queen seemed to have come out of nowhere and trapped her king. She was in checkmate.
"Looks like you've lost this one." Maddy said as she reached across to shake Jana's hand.
"I thought I took that one." Jana muttered as she looked the board over.
"I thought you did too." A puzzled expression crossed Shannon's face.
"I could just never remember all the details of this game. Tom said.
"Come on, let's go and get those sandwiches." Rhydian suggested. As the others got up and went over to the kitchen, with Jana taking one more glance at the chess board, Rhydian went over and looped an arm around Maddy.
"What is it?" Maddy asked with an obviously fake innocence.
"How did you really do that?" Rhydian asked.
"Rhydian, are you really that surprised that you would accuse me of cheating? I'm hurt!" Maddy scolded before realising that Rhydian never actually mentioned cheating.
"Come on. Out with it." Rhydian instantly knew he was on to something.
"Sometimes you just have to give yourself an edge." Maddy said as she reached into her top and pulled out a second queen.
"So you won by having a second queen stuffed down your bra?" Rhydian summarised.
"How do you think Jana beat you?" Maddy replied. "She had a spare pair of Bishops down her front. I just couldn't fit two pieces, so I had to go for something a bit stronger."
"Where did Jana get two bishops from?" Rhydian asked.
"We have a spare chess board. I left it open in case this one was short of any pieces." Maddy told him. "I noticed the bishops right after she beat you. You can say what you like about her, but she's a devious one." The teen wolves made their way over to the table and joined their friends just as there was a knock at the door. Emma went to answer it only for two young-looking people Rhydian had never seen before burst in They looked like they'd not long left their teen years.
"Who are they?" Shannon asked.
"It's Mike and Laura!" Maddy jumped up and ran over to the pair of them, flinging her arms around them.
"I haven't seen her hug anyone that hard since you came along." Tom said to Rhydian. Rhydian gave a sharp growl and took another bite of his sandwich.
"What are you both doing here?" Emma asked. "I thought you were spending New Year at home in Devon."
"Well, we thought that since you weren't able to get to us, we'd come down so that Maddy could get her Christmas presents." Mike said. Just then, Laura sniffed the air and made a beeline for Rhydian.
"Ah, this must be the boyfriend we've heard so much about!" she said. "What's your name, cutie?"
"That's Rhydian." Maddy said.
"This is something I always dreamed of." Emma said. "Spending New Year's Eve with family."
"Yeah, it will be nice." Maddy agreed only to be cut off by a kiss from Rhydian. They quickly broke apart only for Rhydian to head for the door.
"I'll see you guys at school on the fourth." Rhydian had only got halfway to the door when Emma's voice stopped him dead.
"Where are you going, Rhydian?" she asked.
"You said you dreamed of spending New Year's Eve with family. I'm just getting out the way." Rhydian replied.
"You stay where you are." Emma said. "You're part of the pack. You are family." There was a stunned pause as Maddy turned to look at her mother. Had she finally fully opened up to having Rhydian around?
"No, you're alright thanks." Rhydian muttered as he carried on towards the door.
"Well get lost then!" Maddy snapped, pouting in a way that was supposed to look cute but just looked irresistible to Rhydian.
"Hey, I'm joking." He made his way back over and picked her up before spinning her round in a massive hug. He put her down only to see tears streaming down her face. "What's wrong?" he asked, using his hand to wipe the tears away.
"I actually thought you were going to walk out that door." Maddy said. "Don't ever think you're in the way again!"
"Don't ever think I'm leaving you again." Rhydian replied as he kissed her. Just as Maddy found herself getting lost in the moment, a stern cough snapped them back.
"I said you were part of our family. I didn't say you were engaged to my daughter. Break it up, you two!" Emma said sternly. "Besides, I've seen pigeons that kiss better than that."
"Was that before or after you took them out the sky as they were taking off one time when you broke out of the den?" Maddy asked.
"It was both before and after." Emma told her.
"Wait, you broke out from the den?" Mike asked. "Emma, I thought we made a promise among ourselves not to do that."
"Believe me; the pull of the moon is insane here." Emma replied. "If you want, you can stay for the full moon and see it for yourselves."
"No, we have to get back for the day after tomorrow." Laura replied.
"Turn up the TV, quick!" Shannon called over. Dan grabbed the TV remote and turned it up so everyone could hear the New Year countdown.
"Five, Four, Three, Two, One... Happy New Year!" Everyone cheered. While Emma wasn't looking, Maddy grabbed Rhydian by the back of her head and smashed their mouths together. The kiss was slow and passionate, even though it barely lasted any time at all.
"Happy New Year, Maddy." Rhydian said.
"Happy New Year, Rhydian." Maddy replied.
"Since it's January now, do you want to finish what we started?" he asked.
"Are you joking? I've been looking forward to it since we ended up getting interrupted." Maddy hugged him just as he picked her up bridal style and carried her silently up the stairs. The reality of just how often he visited hit home when he remembered to step over the fifteenth step because it creaked. They made it into Maddy's room and lay down together on the bed, nuzzling into each other as that familiar warmth enveloped them. As they lost themselves together while the celebrations continued downstairs, Rhydian couldn't help but feel a slight warmth in his heart. This was the first year he'd finished while officially in a relationship. But this was also the first year he'd finished while feeling like he was officially part of a family.
End!