Tom carried his plate of food back into the kitchen as he looked at Ryhdian who was finishing the dishes. "You didn't have to do that man."
"It was my mess, so I wanted to clean up." He said as he turned to look at him. "What are you doing in here?"
"Shannon wanted to talk to Maddie." He said as he set the plate on the counter. "I figured it would give us a chance to talk."
"Is this the whole you hurt Maddie, I'll hurt you speech?" He asked raising an eyebrow slightly.
Tom looked at him and chuckled a little shaking his head. "If there's anything you know about Maddie after knowing her for less than a week. It's that she can handle herself." He said taking a bite of his food.
"I see." He said as he leaned against the counter eating his own food. "So, you're not going to give me that speech?"
"Not yet at least. Though I am going to warn you that Shannon can be a bit much sometimes. So, she may try and snoop." He said humming. "She means well, she just doesn't know when to let things run their course."
"She struck me as such." He said humming. "I don't plan to intrude on anything you guys have with Maddie. Everything has happened so fast I'm still figuring everything out myself."
Tom nodded and hummed as he looked up at him. "So…tell me something." He said as he took a bite of his food. "The whole mate thing. What does that entail?"
"It can entail a lot. Usually, it's for people that have been dating for a while after they get married. Sometimes people talk that way before they're married. Then there's even legends of people who are true mates."
"True mates?" He asked raising an eyebrow as he tilted his head. "What's that?"
"It's a love story that parents tell the pup's. They say that there was a boy and a girl years ago. The two were in love. However, the girl was betrothed to someone else, and they couldn't be together."
"That's sad." Tom said as she looked at him. "Did they end up together?"
"The girl and her betrothed were supposed to be married on the full moon. Before they turned. However, the boy asked the girl to run away with him. She wanted to but as the alpha of her pack she had a duty to her family."
"So, she didn't run away with him?" He asked furrowing his brows. "I'm not sure how much of a love story that is."
Ryhdian chuckled a little as Maddie spoke up. "He's not finished Tom." She said as she headed towards Ryhdian.
"Do tell us more then." Shannon said as she sat down.
"The boy and the girl were talking as he tried to convince her to run. The elders of the pack came in and started a whole mess." Maddie said humming.
"They probably thought she was trying to skip out on the wedding." Shannon said as she leaned against Tom.
"They did. Everyone was in an uproar." Ryhdian said humming. "Until the boy spoke up."
"The boy let out an ear-splitting whistle that got everyone's attention. After everyone looked at him, he told them that him and the girl were true mates."
"Did they just take the boys word for it?" Shannon asked raising an eyebrow. "That seems rather serious."
Ryhdian nodded and hummed. "They didn't believe him right off the bat."
"You see when a pair of Wolfblood's are true mates, they can't be apart for that long." Maddie said as she looked at her hands.
"When they are apart different things can happen. Some say they'll get sick and die. While other's say they'll go mad or crazy." Ryhdian added as he looked at her.
"So, they kept the boy and the girl away from each other for another month. They watched them. Day in and day out. They watched as the boy started to go crazy and the girl did nothing but call out to him."
"The girl stopped eating within a week and the boy well he started to lose his mind. He'd lash out at anyone who came near."
"It's different for each party of the mated pair." Maddie said as she looked up at them. "If they're near each other even once and they get separated from each other. You'll eventually see the signs."
"Oh wow." Shannon said as Tom nodded swallowing lightly.
"The story does have a happy ending." Maddie said as she looked at them. "A woman from the pack let the girl out of her room. She was weak; however, she had enough strength to get to the boy."
Ryhdian nodded as he smiled. "The woman helped her get to him and as she got closer, he seemed to calm down. When she was finally close to him, he started to come back to his senses."
Maddie nodded as she looked at him. "The next morning the pack saw them together and at first were outraged then they realized what it meant. The girl started eating again and the boy had a clear mind. For the first time in almost a month."
Shannon and Tom looked at them and blinked. "Wow." Tom said as he shook his head.
"You Wolfblood's need different stories. You tell that to your kids?" Shannon asked making Maddie laugh.
"We tend to tone it down a little but over time you hear the truth. It's said that there hasn't been true mates for hundreds of years."
"What if there were? How would they know or deal with it?" Tom asked as he looked at them.
"Well, those involved would have one of two reactions and eventually they will realize. Or not." Ryhdian said sighing. "Most of the stories end happy."
"That's good at least." Shannon said smiling at them. "Do you actually believe in those stories?"
"I'm not sure if one can believe in something they've never seen." Ryhdian said humming.
Maddie hummed and looked at him. "I do." She said smiling. "To think that there is someone out there for you and only you. It's a sweet thought."
"I can see how it's sweet and I stand by that. However, why wait your entire life for something that may not happen?"
Maddie looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "I never said anything about waiting my whole life. I just said it's sweet to think so. That doesn't mean I'm not going to see what else is out there."
Ryhdian chuckled a little and nodded. "Alright, I get that." He said humming as he looked at them.
"So, what do we have planned for today?" Tom asked raising an eyebrow. "It is the weekend. So, we could head into town. Show Ryhdian the town. That is if he plans to stay around for a while?"
Ryhdian looked at them and nodded. "I think that would be good. It's been a while since I was around other people." He said making Shannon clap.
"Oh good! Then we can show you where we hang out." She said smiling. "I'm going to change."
"How about we all head home and then we meet back here?" Maddie asked raising an eyebrow. "I need to change myself and should probably check in with my parents."
"Sounds like a plan." Tom said as he got up and squeezed Shannon's hand before she headed upstairs.