Sorry that it took so long to update story. I was stumped. But here it is. Please enjoy
"What did you want to talk about?" Rhydian asked once he and Dan were outside, a fair distance from the house so that the girls wouldn't hear.
"Emma told me what you said to her upstairs and I wanted to know if it was true or not." Dan replied.
"Of course it was. Why would it not be?" Rhydian asked.
"I've seen my fair share of fake promises during my time." Dan replied, crossing his arms. Rhydian then looked into his eyes again and saw a new look, one that he couldn't describe, one that he could only understand.
"I know that you're protective of Maddy and that you don't want her to grow up so fast, but sometimes you have to let go. It's the only way to show how much you love them." Rhydian said and Dan looked down.
"How did you know what I meant?" Dan asked.
"I don't know. I just did. Look, I understand that letting go of your kids is a hard thing, but it'[s the right thing to do. I mean, would you really want Maddy to be living with you when she's 50 because you didn't have the guts to let go of her?" Rhydian asked.
"Not really, but it's hard. She's grown up so much in just the last few weeks and it is so hard for me to except that she's not a little girl anymore." Dan replied, leaning against a tree.
"I know. But sometimes, no matter how hard it is, you have to do things you don't want. Letting go of her, it's going to be hard, but it's going to let her go places she's never been and then make you proud to have let her go." Rhydian said.
"Don't tell anyone this, but I'm scared that if I let her go, she'll leave me." Dan said quietly and Rhydian smiled a little.
"You know as well as I do that Maddy would never stray to far from home. She loves you and Mrs Smith too much." Rhydian said. Dan then sighed and Rhydian put a hand on his shoulder.
"One day, you'll be telling me the same thing. Now let's go back inside. I'm starving." Rhydian said and Dan chuckled a little before they both went inside, Dan telling a joke on the way that kept them laughing until long after they had walked inside.
"What was that all about?" Maddy asked when they were both sitting down.
"Guy stuff. Can't tell." Rhydian replied, taking a bite of his food. Maddy gave him a look and he raised his eyebrows and then he looked down at his food with a small smile.
After dinner, Rhydian was sitting outside in the backyard, staring up at the almost gone moon, letting everything that had happened over the past few hours go through his head. He knew that Maddy was watching him from his bedroom window, but he didn't mind. It was Maddy, not some creepy stalker. As he was thinking, he heard a crack of a stick coming from the woods. His head snapped to look at the place it had cracked and, his eyes never leaving the spot, he stood up and walked over to it.
When he saw who it was, his eyes immediately turned yellow and he snarled, stepping back enough that the person in the shadows could come out.
"What the hell are you doing here Ceri?" Rhydian snarled at her. Ceri flinched and stopped moving. However, her eyes turned golden when Maddy walked out, going right up to Rhydian and putting a hand on his shoulder, her eyes normal and alert.
"What is that doing here?" Ceri spat at Maddy.
"She is not a that. She is Maddy and she is here because she can be. Unlike you." Rhydian said.
"Look, I came here to talk. Why won't you come back home? Bryn and I really miss you and Bryn is really upset and-"
"Stop. You can't use Bryn as a bribe. I'm sure that if he really missed Rhydian that much he'd come and see him. Unless… you've been making Bryn stay back haven't you?" Maddy asked.
"That's none of your business you stupid tame." Ceri spat. Rhydian, knowing Maddy was about to growl, pulled Maddy to in front of him and wrapped an arm around her waist.
"Do not touch Maddy or anyone that lives in this town or I will eat you alive." Rhydian said in the tone of an Alpha to Ceri who flinched and stepped back.
"Hey, do you think we should tell her the news?" Maddy asked Rhydian, deepening herself into his side; Ceri's eyes go back to normal.
"What news?" Ceri asked.
"We'll tell you…. If you don't get mad and don't be all rude. Promise." Rhydian said.
"I guess I promise. Now, what's this news?" Ceri asked. Maddy turned her head to look at Rhydian who nodded and then carefully moved Maddy so that he had both hands over hers on her stomach.
"We're, how do I put this? Rhydian and I, we're starting a family." Maddy said quietly, pressing herself against Rhydian in fear who then moved one of his hands to actually sit on her stomach. Ceri just stared at them, frozen in place and not knowing what to do or say.
"Should we check to see if she's okay?" Maddy asked Rhydian after a couple minutes.
"I'm okay. Just… shocked." Ceri replied. After a few seconds, she recovered from her shock and then she turned around, but just before she started running, she stopped and half turned towards them.
"I won't be back. You at least deserve that from me. But I will be checking up on you from time to time using Eolas. Treat her right Rhydian. She is a good girl." Ceri said and then she ran into the forest at full speed.
"Are you okay Maddy?" Rhydian asked Maddy as she turned around in his arms and grabbed his collar and buried her face into his chest.
"Yeah. That scared me though. I thought she was going to kill me after I told her." Maddy mumbled.
"She wouldn't have dared. She saw the look in my eyes when you walked out. Why did you come out here anyway?" Rhydian asked.
"Because I knew that me coming out here would give us a chance to tell Ceri about our baby. I just didn't know if she was going to attack me or not. Come on. I'm tired. Let's go cuddle." Maddy said and then she and Rhydian went back inside and up to Maddy's room, taking the shoes and then cuddling on top of the rugs, their body warmth keeping them warm.
"I can't wait to see what kind of things could happen with our family, what kind of things we'll have to face in order to protect our baby from cruelty." Maddy said a while after they had been cuddling. Rhydian smiled and then he moved and put his carefully on Maddy's stomach, lightly kissing it and then resting his head on it.
"You're going to be an amazing dad. I can feel it." Maddy told him.
"Just like you're going to be an amazing mum. I can feel it." Rhydian said and Maddy smiled and closed her eyes, letting out a relaxed sigh. After a few seconds, Maddy felt Rhydian trace patterns on her stomach and she smiled, knowing that he was thinking about something.
"What are you thinking about?" Maddy asked, her eyes opening and now looking at Rhydian.
"Just that I don't know what I'd do without you." Rhydian said.
"Same here. About you obviously." Maddy said and Rhydian laughed.
"You know, when I first became part of this pack, I felt like I finally belonged, like I had a purpose. I didn't understand why until the day I came back and your father told me that we were soul mates. I knew then why I couldn't bear to be without you, why I craved your presence when you weren't around and why I always felt somehow bound to you." Rhydian said quietly.
"The day you came back, I knew why I had that feeling too. I never really understood it until that moment." Maddy said,
"I can't wait to meet our kids soul mate. Let's just hope that if we have a daughter I don't run the guy out of town." Rhydian said and Maddy giggled a little.
"If we have a boy, you can teach him how to treat girls. The right way so we won't have to throttle him for being a bad guy." Maddy said and Rhydian chuckled. They both finally felt whole and they knew that in just a few months, everything they both ever wanted would be with them soon. It was just a matter of having enough patience to wait that long.