12/8/15

Chapter 1

Maddy tilted her head down as she rounded the corner and headed directly into strong winds. Only a block away, she was relieved to know she would be inside the high school soon. The young Wolfblood curled and uncurled her toes trying to force feeling back into them. The boots were more for show than functional, but unfortunately, her new self was not about functional. She missed the functionally-conscience Maddy. She scowled as the conversation from the previous week played in her head.

They were school clothes shopping at the local mall. It was more like an indoor strip mall with about a dozen retail outlets, much smaller than the average mall most people were familiar with. "Madeline Paige Smith, you cannot be homeschooled," Emma chastised. Maddy kicked the carpet in silent disagreement. The grey carpet with flecks of blue and white looked the same color as the clouds that often watched over Stonybridge. Of course, this reminded her of Tom and Shannon, which in turn made her think of Rhydian. Maddy looked up at her mom, her eyes starting to water, her bottom lip quivering. Emma pulled her daughter in close and hugged her tightly. "I know this isn't ideal, my cub. But, this is our life now." With that she pulled her daughter back to see if her words had helped. Maddy appeared to accept her mother's apology and started to help Emma pick through the shirts hanging on the rack.

"This can be turned into something positive, if you give it a chance, Maddy. Think about it. You can be anyone you want. Clean slate." Daniel had reappeared, having circled back from his third trip around the store. Shopping for clothes was not the family outing he was aiming for when he suggested they go out for a little.

Emma glowered at him. "Anyone that plays by the rules and doesn't bring any bad attention to us." Maddy rolled her eyes, landing her sights on the dark brown winter coat Emma had just picked from an adjacent rack.

Maddy pulled on the entrance doors and shuffled inside. First stop was the main office to pick up her class schedule. 'Please don't let my first class be math. Maybe study hall or art.'

-Wolfblood-

Maddy wasn't ready for this. The new school, the new students, and the new lies she would have to tell. She wanted to go home and sleep . . . for the next three years. Unfortunately, that was not a viable option for her. After arriving inside the main office and explaining that she was the new student they were expecting, she was given a small welcome brochure that contained a map and her class schedule. Maddy nodded as the administrative assistant circled different rooms and then pointed to the legend next to the map. Why the middle-aged office worker thought Maddy could keep up with all the taping and pointing and unsolicited advice, she never would know; but still, Maddy nodded her head and said 'thank you' when the woman was finished with her instructions.

She found her locker after passing it twice, and stuffed her black leather jacket inside. Three zippers were sewn into the jacket on each side and each zipper had a soda can tab hanging from it. It looked as dangerous as the small town would allow, but it wasn't very warm. So, underneath Maddy selected a hoodie. It was also black as night with a band name written in white across the front. The band name was difficult to read as it was supposed to look like it had been sloppily painted. Obviously no one in the band cared if anyone else knew who they were. Maddy could care less about the band, truthfully. It was all about the look and vibe it gave off. It served to perpetuate her new facade. As she slammed the locker closed, the sound reverberated through the empty halls. Maddy looked both ways, but no one moved from inside the class rooms to see what the noise was about. Maddy leaned her back against the locker momentarily before pushing off and in the direction of her first class. Math.

-Wolfblood-

Mr. Jared was a young man in his mid-twenties that was a born people-pleaser. Maddy didn't need her wolf sense to figure this out. His dress and mannerisms appeared very planned as if he had spent hours the night before practicing.

It had felt like hours when it was only minutes, but nevertheless, she was still standing in front of the class as everyone eagerly awaited for Mr. Jared to properly introduce her. Mr. Jared silently read the note that she had handed him, his mouth forming the words as he carefully examined the paper. "Ah, so you're the new student," he murmured, and then addressed the class, "Class, this is Madeline Smith from Stonybridge, England. She just moved here, isn't that right?"

The last part seemed rhetorical because how else was she here if she hadn't moved here from England? Maddy exhaled slowly, and half-heartedly waved. "Hey." She adjusted her stance, shifting her weight from her left to her right foot. Maddy quickly scanned the room as everyone starred back at her. She could feel each of her new classmates carefully taking in every detail of her outfit, judging her movements and answers. 'This should be fun.' She adjusted her rucksack, the sleeves of her hoodie sliding down her arm enough to show her many charm bangles. Maddy pulled on her sweater to check it didn't inadvertently raise enough to show skin.

"Anything you would like to share with your new classmates? What's your favorite food from across the pond? Bangers and mash, perhaps." Mr. Jared chuckled at his own answer.

Maddy sighed, and before she could stop herself, retorted, "Oh good, British jokes." The displeased look from Mr. Jared made her cringe immediately. She had been in school for five minutes and had already made an enemy with the teacher. 'Well, I'll just tell mum and dad I was just trying to fit in.'

Before Mr. Jared could defend himself, another's voice cut in. "Oh wow, she is from England. Sexy." Maddy quickly turned around and looked in the direction of the room the voice came. She soon found the culprit as he was the only one still laughing. The comment came from a stout young man, who sat against the wall. He had a very thick neck and large muscular arms. The young man eyed her up carefully, grinning like a wolf that found its sick fawn to kill.

Unfortunately, while Maddy wanted nothing to do with him, the desk next to him was the only one available. Begrudgingly, she made her way to the empty seat and placed her bag aside. Maddy had selected black distressed jeans that almost blended into the black boots she picked out that day in the mall with her parents. The boots clumped and thumped as she walked. The four inch heels and rhinestone collar around the boots commanded respect. Maddy swallowed down the growl that was begging to come out, feeling the choker around her neck move. And while her expression looked indifferent, some of that was attributed to fatigue as she woke up extra early to get the smoky-eye look and magenta stripes running through her hair just right. The finer accents, like the fake noise ring and eyebrow piercing, took only seconds to add that morning.

With everyone watching her take her seat, Mr. Jared spoke again. "Madeline, this is an open environment with warmth and happiness as our focus. . . and math, that too. I understand your . . . reason, shall we call it . . . for coming all the way over here . . . let's start and finish on a good note." Mr. Jared smile brightly, almost too wide that it appeared phony.

Any discretion Mr. Jared was trying to achieve had failed as whispers flooded the room like mosquitoes flittering about a still algae-covered pond. Maddy raised her left hand to her face to try shielding herself from the others' stares. The large mood ring on her right ring finger changed to the color red, the same color as her face.

She was sitting at the small kitchen table they had purchased at a discount store. It was a little banged up, but for their purposes, worked great. They were finishing a meal when an important matter had arisen in the young Wolfblood's mind. "What's our story?" Maddy asked her parents again.

Emma rose and carried all their empty plates to the sink to clean. Turning on the hot water, she replied, "I – we can say, we . . . uh . . ." Emma struggled to articulate a straight answer.

It had turned out that during all their travels to arrive at Tall Skies, none of them had figured out their cover story. Why were three people from England living in a small, nearly non-existent town in Canada? Why move from their farm in England? They needed a really good, believable reason.

Daniel rubbed his chin, then dropped his hand to the table to tap-tap-tap through his thoughts. Maddy dragged her hands down her face in frustration. "What about me?"

"We're thinking, hun," Daniel encouraged. He patted his daughter's hand, trying to assure her that she was included and thought of.

"No, I mean, like what if we moved here because of me. Like, I got kicked out of school or something." The plan seemed too good, too convenient. Emma finished washing the dishes and walked back to her family. Drying her hands on the dish towel as she thought over the idea.

"It's plausible. Definitely more believable than anything we've come up with so far. But why not just move you to another school in England?"

"Because this was your third – no, fifth school you had been expelled from!" Daniel cut in, rather excited by the promising cover story. Emma gave her husband a disapproving look, returning to her seat at the table. Emma had to admit, it was a good story and more believable if this was her daughter's fifth time being expelled instead of her first. They all began hammering out the details, such as what had led up to it and still further, why they selected Tall Skies of all places. They agreed that the reason for them choosing this small, far way town was they had family not far away, and believed if removed completely from "bad" influences, their daughter would have the ability to turn things around. They also decided that Maddy had started a small chemical fire in the science lab when she deliberately ignored her science teacher's warnings, and mixed different solutions together. The reaction caused property damage and endangered students. This was the final straw and she was expelled from her school in Stonybridge.

With everything coming together and her parents on board, Maddy spoke up, "You know that this means following the rules goes out the window." Her response was intended to be for both of parents; however, Maddy focused her eyes on her mom as she elaborated, "I mean, if I'm this "bad" kid, I can't be following all the rules at school, you know? It won't add up."

"But, that's why we're here! For you to turn things around and excel." Emma tried to patch up the hole Maddy had put in her earlier plan, but to no avail. If Maddy was to drive the lie, it would mean that good grades were unrealistic and susceptible to suspicion.

"Yeah, but Em, no kid makes that fast of a change from expelled to A+ student overnight." Sighing he relented. "She'll have to get in trouble a little." Turning to his daughter, he emphasized, "A little."

-Wolfblood-

Mr. Jared scrawled a word problem on the chalkboard in half cursive-half print. Most of the class' attention was focused on the task of deciphering Mr. Jared's fancy hand writing, except for Maddy. As she listened to pencils feverishly moving across notebook paper, she couldn't help feeling she was being watched. 'I wonder how upset mum and dad would be if I purposely got myself in trouble and sent home.'

"Oh, so you're a bad girl, huh?" Her admirer whispered, leaning forward so as to make up half the distance between their desks. Maddy turned her head slowly, her teeth clenched. He was trying to look devilish and smooth, but the sloping forehead made him more primitive looking than intelligently clever.

"I don't know. Why don't you judge for yourself?" Maddy started to rise from her seat, her left hand tightening into a fist.

"Madeline!" Mr. Jared's backbone showed for a brief second, her name used as a warning. Maddy slowly eased herself back into her desk. She raised her hands in a show of surrender and then crossed them over her chest in a manner of total indifference.

"It's all right, we all know you would have kicked his ass." With that, the group of students started to laugh. The comment came from a young man with deep, dark brown hair. He had a distinctive, long face with high cheek bones that guarded his large blue eyes. A face like that was hard to miss in a crowd and the wide eyes even harder to forget about.

"Watch it, Mr. Abernathy. Remember, this class is friendly, fun, accepting, and does not tolerate foul language," Mr. Jared reprimanded, wagging his finger at him. "We're here to grow together." Mr. Jared smiled, turning back around to write on the chalkboard. Maddy didn't pay much attention to Mr. Jared; rather, she couldn't stop looking at the young man sitting in front of her. She didn't know who he was, but her curiosity was peaked.

-End Chapter 1

*Thank you for reading. Please leave a review.*

Side note: thanks to everyone who reviewed and added my story to their favorites/watch list. Not everyone has an account, so unfortunately, I cannot thank you personally. On that note, I also cannot respond to your questions. So, to reassure you that I'm listening and reading your comments, I have answered your questions below.

Luckyduck22 - While I have answered your question in a pm (personal message), I also felt it important to answer it here as well. I imagine that you are not the only one to wonder this. Rhydian will be a part of this story; however, he will not be making an appearance right away. I think it's important to focus on Maddy and her struggles with living a completely new life.

Guest (12/2) - That's a great observation and a very important one, too. An apartment is not the optimal place for Wolfbloods, especially on full moon nights. This issue will be addressed in an upcoming chapter. No worries.

Guest (12/3) - Of course I'm going to continue the story. I try to update my stories in a prompt manner, but sometimes life will call me away. I'm sure you understand and will be patient during those times. I appreciate yours and everyone's time they put in to read and review, so I would only want to publish a chapter when its ready and I feel complete. I don't want to rush a chapter just to post it. I take pride in my work and have respect for all those that read my work. I only want present my best.

- Harley