Chapter 14: Gerwyn's Move

SHORTLY AFTER TOM LEAVES THE SMITHS' HOUSE…

Gerwyn readjusted his position in a pine tree overlooking the Smiths' house. He had seen the wolfblood girl Maddy talking to the human. He thought back to the day he'd met her on Lindisfarne.

Yes, whatever happened, it had to be worth it. He was finally willing to admit it. He would make the sacrifice, if that's what it took for him to know his son. For only the second time in his life, Gerwyn felt totally adrift. Memories tore through the floodgates as he sat in the tree dappled in moonlight and shadow.

I've been gone for so long…will they even want to know me? Will they ever forgive me? But he had to try. Being on the run from Segolia and losing everything had taught him that what he thought had mattered most in life was pure illusion. The one true constant in life, it was the very thing he had forsaken. His family. And now, as the middle-aged wolfblood considered it, a deep fissure created a million cracks along his heart.

Could this wolfbood—could he really be my boy? Gerwyn thought back to Lindisfarne, of the scent he had picked up near the lime kilns. This one scent had smelled strangely familiar to him. It had brought back memories. Gerwyn remembered seeing the wolfblood boy lean down and kiss Maddy on Lindisfarne as the storm raged and lashed at the coast. The scent had belonged to the wolf Maddy had met at the café too. And as he dwelled on it, the memory helped him make up his mind…

THE NEXT MORNING…

Early morning mist hovered over the dew-coated grass of the field behind the Smiths' house. Maddy's heart strained inside her body, beating like a stampeding buffalo as she watched, totally helpless.

"Don't hurt them. Please."

The towering, striking blonde alpha female looked down at Maddy with grim finality. Next to Natasha stood Konstantin. The huge, monstrously built wolfblood held Rhydian by the neck in a fisted grip with one hand, and Gerwyn by the neck with his other. Maddy took a step forward. "You can't. Rhydian's innocent. He just wanted to get to know his dad." Her eyes flitted to Gerwyn. Gerwyn's face looked bleaker than a blizzard. "And what's Gerwyn done that's so bad that he deserves to die?! You can't kill someone just for stealing. No. I won't let you." Maddy growled, shadowy veins racing up her arms. Natasha's veins blackened in reply. As the two wolfbloods snarled and prepared to clash, right then two sickening sounds changed Maddy's world—two snaps like rotted driftwood slammed against a brick wall.

Maddy gaped as Rhydian and Gerwyn fell lifelessly from Konstantin's hands. Their necks flopped as she screamed…

Maddy woke up. Sweat beaded her forehead. She sat bolt upright, panting as if she'd just run half a marathon. Her cheeks were wet with tears. No, she wasn't just panting. She was heaving. Emma rushed into the bedroom.

"Pet, are you all right?"

Maddy's gaze darted in all directions as she tried to calm her pounding heart. She wiped at the slickness along her forehead as a sob escaped her lips.

"It felt so…real."

Emma scooted onto the bed beside her daughter, draped an arm around her, and pulled her to her chest just like she used to do when Maddy had nightmares when she was little.

"SHHH. You're safe. Whatever it was, it's not real, Maddy. You're safe with your pack, with me." She leaned over, kissing the top of Maddy's head and stroking her face. Maddy burrowed into her mother's arms. Mum's scent immediately brought her to a better place. Like a castle fortified with reinforcements, Maddy felt her fears lift up and fade away. She took a deep breath and squeezed her mum back. The slender wolfblood girl leaned up to plant a big kiss on her mum's cheek.

Emma stroked the side of Maddy's face—wiped away the last traces of a tear. "The bus comes in less than 30 minutes, sweetheart. Best you get a move-on."

Maddy nodded, her smile venturing out. The love in Mum's eyes made Maddy feel like the whole world had just been redeemed.

"Mum. Thanks. I love you. I don't know…I don't know what I would do without you sometimes."

Emma nuzzled Maddy's hair in a wolfy gesture, breathing in her daughter's scent. "I love you too, pet, to the moon and back."

Maddy groaned. She hated it when Mum used that phrase…it was so cheesy. As if that groan was Emma's cue to go from comforting mother to butt-busting alpha, the older she-wolf jumped off the bed and snapped her fingers.

"Time's wasting, Maddy. You best get in the shower and then get dressed. I'll put on breakfast, but you'd best hurry." When Maddy rubbed at her face, failing to jar herself to full alertness, Emma's fingers snapped again. "Look lively now. Come on. Ya miss your bus, don't expect me to be driving ya to school." With Emma's warning Maddy groaned louder and pitched out of bed.

Then she remembered. Today may have been Monday, but it was also Rhydian's first day at Bradlington High! Plus he and his pack-mates would be coming over for dinner at the end of the week. Suddenly the wolfblood girl rushed into the bathroom like a fired bullet. Reaching for her toothbrush, all Maddy could think was that today she would get to see Rhydian. Rhydian was now here, living in Stoneybridge. Another wolfblood her age. A friend. Maybe more than that she reminded herself, and thrust the thought away in her rush to get ready for school.

Maddy wolfed down two bacon cheese croissants, a blueberry muffin, and a side of cooked mushrooms and beans on toast before catapulting out the front door. She was early for the bus. Three minutes to spare, thank you very much the wolfblood teen telepathically grumbled at her mum. But she didn't feel like riding the bus today—not after that nasty nightmare. She still felt flushed. Her mind still felt frazzled. Luckily the wolfblood girl knew just the antidote. Taking off at a fast clip with her rucksack bouncing on her back, the girl unleashed her wolf. She leapt over one of the stone walls that bordered Stoneybridge's new walking trail. Not many people used it yet. Even better, the forested green spaces on either side of the trail were large enough that a wolfblood could run full-tilt without having to worry about prying eyes.

Maddy ran and ran, the last vestiges of her nightmare shed just like the sweat from her body as she ran faster than any normal human girl. With the adrenaline giving her that high which only a hunt in wolf form on a full moon could outdo, the wolf-girl felt like she could accomplish just about anything. So the petite girl wasn't prepared for the sudden shape hurtling at breakneck speed. A large figure slammed into her. Strong arms curled around her to cushion her fall as she went flying with the force of the larger form's inertia. A hand curved over her mouth to muffle her scream.

Oh God. She was on her back with another person beneath her and not letting go. She struggled frantically as the arms held her tight. Was it Konstantin, or one of Natasha's other wolves come to kidnap her?

"Easy, girl. It's me—Gerwyn." Maddy stilled, breathing hard against Gerwyn's palm. The wolfblood slowly drew away his hand. Maddy rolled off him. With her butt landing on a wet clump of leaves, the girl grimaced as the wetness soaked right through the seat of her pants. Gerwyn picked up his battered black hat and plopped it back on his head. His doleful eyes said I'm sorry in a hundred different ways.

"We have to stop meeting like this." He rose up and offered Maddy a hand. Maddy took it. He pulled her to her feet. "I'm sorry I scared you."

"You bloody well scared the wolf right out of me," Maddy cried. "What were you thinking?"

Gerwyn gave Maddy a rueful grin. "I was thinking that if I didn't catch up to you soon, you'd be at school before I could talk to you…and being a wanted man, I couldn't risk it."

"So you thought tackling me as I'm sprinting top-speed through the woods was a better idea?!" Now that Maddy's heart wasn't punching through her chest, the young she-wolf had time to feel outrage.

Gerwyn shook his head. He reached over towards Maddy's face, pulling a gold coin from behind her ear. "You're right, it wasn't my finest hour. Will the pretty girl accept a shiny peace offering from a contrite old wolf who didn't know any better?" Maddy couldn't help but soften as Gerwyn placed the coin in the palm of her hand.

"I wouldn't have stopped you if it wasn't important." He frowned. He pointed at her neck. "Did I do that?"

Maddy's hand reached up to cover the partially healed bruise. "No…but one of the wolfbloods hunting you did." Maddy's eyes narrowed. "Why exactly are they hunting you, anyway? What did you steal? I'd love to know who 'They' are too, by the way." Maddy glared at Gerwyn, picking up speed. "Rhydian just wants to find you, you're his dad. How could you run from him when he just wants to know you? Why didn't you seek him out before, when he was still a cub? Do you know what hell he's been through, bouncing around among human families who couldn't teach him what it meant to be a wolfblood, making him think he was some sort of freak?"

Maddy felt such pain for Rhydian's sake. It lanced through her heart like a spasm of grief. The empathy she felt for Rhydian, him growing up through a revolving door of foster families who hardly gave a damn—the depth of it surprised her. Maddy wanted to shout at Gerwyn 'What kind of person are you?' but she held back. Judging a person in this situation wouldn't do any good, and she knew it. If Gerwyn finally wanted to reconnect with his son again, then guilt-tripping him about the past wasn't the way to help matters.

The brunette took a moment to calm herself. She put her hands over her face and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry…I'm not here to judge you." When she opened her eyes, she was shocked to see Gerwyn's expression full of hope.

"Rhydian? It's true, then…" Gerwyn smiled. "The truth is that I didn't know he was looking for me, Maddy…I had assumed that he and his friends were working for Segolia, the people trying to capture me. I haven't seen my boy in so many years…I no longer knew what he even looked like. But his scent—I picked up a trace of it on Lindisfarne. I came here today for two reasons, Maddy. Most importantly to ask you the name of the blonde boy you were with on Lindisfarne, to confirm what I hoped, that for the first time in over a decade my son is near." Gerwyn's eyes filled with tears. "My boy, he really came looking for me. I don't deserve him, do I?" The tears had begun as a steady trickle. It was starting to become a flood. The regret in Gerwyn's eyes reminded Maddy of ashes sprinkled on a grave.

"Ahh, that's no good. Pull it together." He wiped away the tears. He composed himself. "There's one other reason I need to talk to you, Maddy, and it's the most important thing I'll ever ask of anyone."

"Okay…" Maddy tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, curious and anxious at the same time.

"I need your help."

"If it will help you and Rhydian reconnect as a family, if you promise to do whatever you can to be a good dad to him again, then count me in," Maddy said stoutly.

Gerwyn nodded. "I will, Maddy. I will. Listen, I have a lot to make up for, and a lot to answer for. I won't shy away from it, but I need your help—"

"What kind of help?"

"—to take down Segolia."

Gerwyn's words sent a chill through Maddy. Who…or what was Segolia? The wolfblood girl wasn't so sure she wanted to know. Were they some kind of secret society of wolfbloods? Was that why Gerwyn feared them so much that he'd been on the run for so long? If so, what could one teen wolfblood girl do to tip the scales? It was madness, wasn't it? Questions filled Maddy's head.

Her voice laced with steel, Mads said the only thing that made sense.

"Start talking."

A/N - Hey wolfblood friends :) I hope you liked this chapter, especially now that Gerwyn is coming into focus. His plan to reunite with Rhydian will have some unintended consequences… I also hope you didn't mind the dream sequence with Maddy. I had just recently re-watched Wolfsbane, and the opening nightmare scene she has in the episode gave me the idea for it.

Next chapter will be Rhydian's first day at school, plus seeing what Jana and Matei have to confront… Please, pretty please share a comment or review if you'd like. Whenever I see a new comment, I do a little dance. It's a pretty embarrassing dance, actually, but I can't help it.