Chapter 2 - Taking a Chance

Three figures padded out of the woods overlooking the outskirts of Stoneybridge. Their luminous eyes blazed like tiny flames in the dying light. Two wolves looked back to their leader, a sable wolf with patches of silver-white fur clinging to its shoulders like moonlight. The moonlight wolf huffed, its keen sight pinpointed to the distance. The search was almost over. With a growl of impatience the alpha lunged ahead.

BACK AT MR. JEFFRIES' HOME…

Jeffries' voice had soured to a note proclaiming that he was starting to find this conversation very tiresome.

"Did I stutter, Mrs. Hungerford? As I just stated, I am feeling unwell and will not be in tomorrow."

"But Sir, you never call in sick. I don't think it's ever happened."

Jeffries tried not to heave a deafening sigh into the phone. "Right. There's a first time for everything, Mrs. Hungerford. Have a good evening." End Call. The middle-aged history teacher swiveled back towards the kitchen. He rubbed absently at his scruffy face as he considered what to do. As only a history teacher can, Jeffries abruptly thought back to the Battle of Waterloo and how Napoleon had failed to be decisive enough. Jeffries had promised to help Maddy and he would do just that. The only problem was that as he considered exactly how, he felt like he was staring out over a minefield.

Maddy whimpered quietly in her sleep, shifting on the couch. Her clothes looked filthy. Her jacket sported more stains than a used ruby uniform. Her hair was a wild mess. She even smelled. Jeffries sighed, thrusting aside his head teacher's instinct to assert perfect order and cleanliness.

This is ridiculous. I will not have the girl sleeping on my couch all night. He strode into the guest bedroom, pulled back the comforter. He came back to the couch, gently picked Maddy up and carried her to the bed. He took off her jacket and left her otherwise just as she'd arrived. The whole situation still felt very awkward for the history teacher. Carrying a sleeping student into his guest bedroom just didn't feel right. He cared about his students. Yet this was a level of connection that went far beyond the proper teacher-student relationship. If Maddy had had anyone else in her life to help her through this right here, right now, Jeffries would gladly have handed off the girl and her problems to that unlucky soul. The dilemma was, he couldn't abandon a child in need even if it would put him in a difficult situation. And do situations get any stranger or harder than this?

He shook his head, surveying the sleeping girl. Filthy clothes or not, it'll have to do. With a frown he pulled up the comforter to Maddy's chin, turned off the lights and shut the door behind him as he left the room. The rest of the evening flowed along quietly—just as well thanks to everything crowding around inside Jeffries' burdened brain.

I have to call Social Services, take care of registration papers to get Maddy back in school. I don't have any clothes for her to speak of. He would have to make a supply run the next morning even though he was supposed to be 'sick'. And he knew exactly less than nothing about teenage girls' taste in clothing, nor did he have a clue as to Maddy's size, and there were other unmentionable feminine products that left the normally confident history teacher feeling extremely daunted and totally out of his depth. He sighed, calling the one person he could call on such short notice.

"Bernie?"

"Tim? I just returned home from the shop. What can I do for you?"

"May I speak to your wife?"

There was a confused pause. "I should expect so. Can I ask what this is about?" Jeffries felt the throbbing in his head throb just a little harder. Bernie was a nice enough chap, but the man was notoriously nosy. Not in a million thousand centuries would Jeffries have told the shopkeeper a single word more than strictly necessary.

"I need her advice on shopping. It's a long story." Apparently the word 'shopping' scared Bernie off because the next thing he knew Jeffries heard Bernadette's voice.

"Tim! It's good to hear from you." Her voice had the kind of warmth to it that always passed between two people who'd grown up together. As a child Bernadette had lived a few doors down from Jeffries. They'd been a few years apart, but that hadn't stopped them from becoming friends.

"I'm in a bit of a bind," Jeffries began, his heart rate kicking up a level. Bernadette was a sweet woman with a heart of gold, but she was just awful at keeping secrets. She made Bernie look like an MI6 agent. Jeffries was almost certain that Bernadette could have gossiped her way around England three times over and still not run out of tidbits to spill, assuming she ever left Stoneybridge—which wasn't likely.

"I need your help, B. I've got someone visiting and her luggage never arrived. She literally has nothing more than the clothes on her back. I was hoping you could join me tomorrow morning for a shopping run, help me get her everything she needs. She's quite ill and I would rather not attempt to 'go it alone' on this one. Will you help a desperate man?"

Bernadette's rich, throaty laugh put Jeffries at ease. "For you, dearie? Of course. What time?" They made arrangements to meet in the morning and Jeffries put the phone down with yet another sigh. He drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair, deep in thought. He walked over to his work desk, turned on his laptop and tried a flurry of fruitless searches, looking for anything related to 'wolfblood', or anything about any condition that caused people to turn into wolves. After the search engines slammed him with a tsunami of worthless results yakking about werewolves, he'd had it. He took some pills for his headache, rummaged up some toiletries, which he placed outside Maddy's door, and then turned in for the night.

THE NEXT DAY…

Maddy hunched over at the small oak table in the kitchen. She clinked her spoon against the bowl as she ate her cereal, still groggy and as uncommunicative as the typical just-awoken teenager.

Jeffries leaned against the counter opposite, arms folded across his chest.

"I made arrangements with Social Services this afternoon. You'll be staying with me until we can implement something more permanent." Maddy had slept through the better part of the day. It was already nearly dinner and the girl was just now sitting down to eat 'breakfast'.

She didn't respond, just kept bringing the spoon mechanically to her mouth. Then her eyes flashed with sudden awareness. She looked up, face smoothed over with something resembling hope.

"Where is Rhydian? And what about Shan, Tom, and Jana?"

Jeffries sighed, pulled up a chair beside Maddy and poured himself a bowl. "It's half-term, Maddy, and on top of it all the half-term has been extended to three weeks due to unforeseen circumstances."

Maddy frowned. "What kind of 'circumstances', Sir?"

"Please just call me Tim or Jeffries," he reminded her, looking to the heavens as if they could provide the infinite patience he lacked. "Unfortunately our facilities manager found a structural problem with the east wing of the building. If they don't fix it, there's a danger it may collapse." Jeffries frowned as he thought back to the incompetent builders who had constructed Bradlington High. "Just to be safe they also have to check the rest of the building's foundation and perform all the repair work, so the school's closed until everything can be deemed completely safe. Some of the families took advantage of the longer half-term to get away. The Vaughns decided to take Rhydian and his foster brothers on a camping trip at the last minute."

"Where, Sir?" Maddy's brown eyes were desperate, shining with hope.

"Somewhere up north. He wanted to invite your friends to go along, and Mrs. Vaughn agreed. I cannot for the life of me remember where Mrs. Vaughn said they were going."

Maddy's face sparked with excitement. "We could find out though."

Jeffries nodded patiently. "We could. But first I think you need to tell me more about being a wolfblood and how I came to have a teenage girl as a wolf in the middle of my living room yesterday. If I'm going to help you, Maddy Smith, then you to need to be completely honest with me."

The brunette nodded. She told him as much as she could, leaving out how her parents had died and what had led up to it. That part was still too painful, too raw—Jeffries could tell and he didn't press it. Jeffries waited for her to finish. After what seemed like an hour but was actually closer to two, Maddy flopped back in her chair, her fingers drawing idle lines on the tabletop as she barely dared to peek up to see Jeffries' overall reaction.

Jeffries stood up, pacing back and forth as he tried to absorb it all. "So Jana and Rhydian…" He couldn't finish the sentence. He had not one but three students who could change into a wolf. He burst out laughing before he could stop himself.

"Sir?" Maddy stood up and took her bowl to the sink. "Are you all right? I know what I told you is a lot to take in. I'm sure it probably sounds crazy…"

But Jeffries was already shaking his head. "No, Maddy. That's not why I laughed." They both stared at each other for a long moment. Understanding dawned on Maddy's face as she read the history teacher's mind. Maddy had the words out before Jeffries could start to say it.

"Nothing in this school gets passed me," Maddy piped up in her best Mr. Jeffries impersonation. Maddy giggled as Jeffries frowned for all he was worth. He couldn't hold it for long, and that frown slipped up into a rueful smile.

"Yes, yes, Maddy. I'm glad you are enjoying the irony of this situation." Jeffries ran a hand down his face. "Clearly there is a lot that I have been missing. From now on," Jeffries said, his tone turning brisk and businesslike, "I expect that to change."

Maddy walked over to Jeffries, her shoulders going rigid. "Okay, but you can't tell Rhydian and Jana that you know about them!"

Jeffries put up his hands. "Maddy, for the time being I will not say a word. You have my word on that. Now come over and sit on the couch. I have some questions about all of this. Many, in fact." Maddy nodded and obediently took a seat on the cushions. Jeffries sat in the armchair opposite, gently probing her with questions until he felt he had a better handle on the whole wolfblood concept. He was relieved but also a little weirded out to discover it was not a 'disease' after all. Somehow the idea of a disease would have been more comforting to the history teacher, because at least then Jeffries could have imagined that Maddy could be cured. But there wasn't a cure to be had, it was just who Maddy was…and apparently some of his other students too. Perhaps he just had to accept that. But what if they were a danger to themselves or others? He had to consider that too, and it gave him pause.

"Maddy I will be completely honest with you. This is quite a lot to take in." He picked up the mug of coffee he'd left on the side table, taking a sip to fortify himself for whatever came next.

"Sir, if you can just convince the Vaughns to take me in! I need to be with Rhydian and my friends. They're my pack. Help me find out where they went and I can be out of your hair in no time. I can leave tomorrow," she said excitedly. But there was a fragility behind the excitement. Jeffries could see it, as plain as sunlight. She was still a mess inside and he could see how she pinned all her hopes that this brokenness inside her could somehow be magically healed if she just found her friends. On one level she was right, Jeffries knew, being around her friends would at least help. But the road back would be longer, more arduous than that. Maddy needed to talk to a therapist, or at least someone with psychological smarts that Jeffries didn't have. With her being a wolfblood, Jeffries wasn't sure what options that left them. There were other considerations too. Now that she'd sought him out, Jeffries felt responsible for Maddy.

He set the coffee cup back on the table and folded his hands together on his lap before pinning her with his no-nonsense head teacher's look.

"Maddy, you're staying with me for the rest of the half-term. The Vaughns will be back by then, and then you'll get to see Rhydian and your friends. You need to take things slowly and re-acclimate to being back in Stoneybridge. Don't you think that's wise?"

Maddy shook her head, frowning. "Sir, I need to find my friends! Why won't you help me?"

Jeffries leaned forward, giving Maddy his most sympathetic look. "I am helping you, Maddy. Judging from the episode last night, we know that you are very much not yourself. You are still recovering from the trauma of everything that's happened. As you yourself told me, your wolf isn't stable. Am I right?"

Maddy gave a sullen nod as Jeffries continued. "So this means you could, as you say, 'wolf out' at the slightest provocation. It means that you aren't in full control of yourself." Jeffries hardened his resolve. "If you go running off looking for them, what might happen along the way? What happens if you 'wolf out' then? I can't drive you all around northern England or Scotland looking for them, Maddy. I have responsibilities here as head teacher. And you, Maddy Smith, need to take the time to heal. Your friends are not going anywhere. They will be back. Until then we need to figure out what's best for you. Right now that involves you resting and gradually making this transition."

Then Jeffries said the words he instantly regretted.

"Think about what your parents would want, Maddy, for you to be prudent and safe about this." It was the exact wrong thing to say and Jeffries knew it as he saw the pain ripple down Maddy's face. The girl's eyes glistened as she bolted from the sofa and ran to the bathroom.

You daft imbecile. What possessed you to say that?

He was a teacher, he was supposed to be good with this sort of thing, wasn't he? Being a teacher is one thing. Being responsible for the emotions of a teenage girl perched on a knife's edge after she's lost her parents—that's an entirely different beast. Jeffries stood up, resolved to do better. The crisis mode Jeffries sometimes wore as head teacher now flared to life. Whatever the looming obstacles Maddy and her unusual condition presented, Jeffries was determined—they would not stop him from helping her. She was his responsibility. The welfare of his students mattered more than anything to him, that was just who he was. There was a reason Jeffries didn't have much of a personal life. His work and seeing his students succeed fulfilled him like nothing else. Usually it was seeing his students succeed in schoolwork that gave Jeffries that high, but also as they reached important milestones in life in general.

This certainly wasn't like any milestone Jeffries could have fathomed. Nowhere would he find an educator's handbook entitled How to Help a Part-Wolf, Part-Human Student Who Has Lost Her Parents.

Jeffries shook his head. Maybe I should be the first one to write such a book. He grinned ruefully. Of course, where would I publish it? Jeffries fretfully rubbed at his chin as a more hopeful thought trickled out.

Maybe Maddy's friends aren't nearby to help ease her pain, but there are others. There were two others in particular that came to mind. With a determined heart Jeffries reached once again for his phone. Just then he heard a loud crash.

A/N - Hi Wolfblood fans :) There's a lot going on here and the next chapter will see the appearance of a few more of our favorite Wolfblood characters. Thank you so much for the great comments, they inspired me to get this chapter written and posted sooner than I expected. You all are so kind to me, thank you and keep the comments coming, I'll take them to heart :-)