Chapter 5 - The Unexpected Visitor
For a town of less than 4,000 souls, Swan Hill still managed to exude a certain liveliness. Maddy knew that living out in the sticks had the advantage of making people appreciate community in a way that city-dwellers too often failed to. As she waited for Jared to come pick her up that Friday night she tried to blame all of her pre-social engagement jitters on her inner wolf. She reminded herself I'd rather be nervous about actually getting to go out than not feeling nervous and just being stuck at home.
Tomorrow night was the full moon and tomorrow she was indeed grounded just about as thoroughly as a sparrow with its wings clipped. But Emma and Daniel had told her to go out and have fun on Friday. Maddy could tell that her parents' concern for her making friends still overrode their protectiveness or worries over the incident at school.
"So, here we are." Jared put the car in park.
"And where exactly is here?" Maddy asked. Jared had insisted on making tonight a surprise.
A bright orange neon sign proclaimed Maya's Café and Curiosities. The moon hung in the sky like a bleached Christmas tree ornament as Maddy stepped out of the car. Her skirt and knee-high socks matched her fleece, a wardrobe mismatch saved only by the color scheme of blues, greens, and pale shades of lavender. Maddy hated wearing makeup, but tonight she'd made a few allowances, even giving her eyelashes a subtle purplish tint.
"Wow. You look like a faerie goddess."
"You're just noticing this now?" She arched an eyebrow at him. "How do you know, anyway? Have you ever dated one?"
Jared grinned, jumping out of the car as he came around to her side, opened the door, and grasped her hand to tug her out. "Don't believe all the rumors you hear, Maddy James. I'm not the player people think I am."
She shot him a skeptical glance as they made their way inside. Once inside the assault of delicious smells fired her wolfblood senses. A huge cauldron of chili simmered over a fire in the spacious, open-concept kitchen at the center of the enormous wood-paneled great hall. She steered well clear of the fire since the flames sent an instinctual spike of fear through her wolf.
Overall though the vibe at Maya's put Maddy at ease. The entire place had the feel of a royal lodge, with tables and intricately decorated lamps of five different colors casting a festive glow throughout the café.
Jared jerked his chin in the direction of a long, winding staircase with an alabaster railing carved into shapes of horses galloping through clouds.
"Up there is the huge bookshop and all kinds of other odds and ends that should defy your expectations. Old Mr. Pentersil and his wife have been running this place since before I was born. Don't ask me where they get all the junk. I'll take you up there after we eat if you want to poke around."
She nodded vigorously. "Yes please."
The thrill of a hunt piqued Maddy's curiosity. Somehow the idea of serendipitously running across a one-of-a-kind object held a special appeal to her that trumped the usual boredom she associated with shopping. Jared guided her over to a long oak table that could seat at least 14 people.
"Hey, J-bird. What's up? You finally made it." Jared gave one of his football teammates a fist bump and sat down beside a pale-skinned girl with hair so blonde it was practically white.
"This is where the team eats one Friday a month," Jared said.
"Any particular reason they call you J-bird?" Maddy asked, guessing he could see the temptation to tease in her eyes.
"Yeah…that's top secret information I don't tell girlfriends unless I've dated them at least a month. Sorry." Maddy gave him a punch in the shoulder as he introduced her to the pale-skinned girl who looked more than a little Viking-esque.
"This is my best friend Lyssa. Lyssa, meet Maddy."
Lyssa shook Maddy's hand firmly and gave her a grin that reached all the way to her eyes.
"She looks harmless enough. Are you sure this innocent creature went toe to toe with our Sabrina?"
Maddy stiffened a little at the mention of Sabrina, but if Lyssa noticed she didn't let on. Instead the other girl was already moving on to the next topic. "So, you'll have to forgive me, all of us to be exact. You'll probably get asked way too many questions tonight. That's what you get for being the new girl. Swan Hill doesn't see too many outsiders."
"Lyssa." Jared's tone matched his frown.
"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I'm not saying 'outsider' as in bad. I'm saying outsider as in 'exotic' and 'not boring.' If the questions get a little too nosy don't feel bad deflecting them and don't take it personally. People here can be hopeless gossips."
"You would know," Jared smirked.
Lyssa smiled sweetly and reached over to swat him. He easily dodged as Maddy put out both hands, one toward each of them as if she were a crossing guard or a United Nations peacekeeper…maybe both.
"No fighting allowed until after we've eaten. I'm hungry. You two can beat yourselves silly afterward for all I care."
Lyssa gave Maddy an admiring look. "I think I like her. Unlike Sabrina, she doesn't have a stick up her—" Jared threw a look that cut Lyssa short.
The next half hour or so was relaxing, and Maddy enjoyed getting to know Lyssa and some of the other players on Jared's football team. Max, Wes, and Graham were fellow midfielders who seemed to have an especially close comradery with Jared. They all seemed to be at least a foot taller than Maddy, though that was probably somewhat of an exaggeration. Still, their figures had already filled out with muscle that made Maddy feel almost childlike by comparison. She was maybe 5'2, and they had to be at least 5'8. Of course in her wolf form she was certain that she would be a match for any of them, and the thought made her grin.
"What are you smiling about?" Jared said, poking her as they waited for the pizza they had ordered.
"Uh-oh, Jared. I see diabolical mischief in those eyes," Lyssa teased. The straw-haired girl clapped her hands together, her mind flitting to a new topic. "Can I just say that you have the most adorable accent ever, by the way? What is that, Welsh?"
"Umm, I'm actually from Northumbria." Maddy felt a little self-conscious all of the sudden, but she tried not to show it. I think Lyssa's nickname should be butterfly girl….She has the attention span of one. But the truth was that she instinctually liked Lyssa. The girl could talk your ear off, but she meant well and she showed genuine interest as she zipped from one topic to the next.
They had gotten their pizza finally, a monstrosity of yumminess steaming fresh from the oven and dotted with a feast of red and green peppers, pepperoni, sausage, and bacon. Maddy had insisted on including the bacon, or at least her wolf had. It's the least you can do for making me humor these insufferable humans. Maddy was pretty sure nonetheless that Jared and his friends were starting to win over her wolf. Humans or not they were still a pack of sorts, and those bonds could still form.
For the first time Maddy wondered if Swan Hill might become a home of sorts. The evening had been so low-key, so totally relaxed….
Until it wasn't.
Maddy put her third slice of pizza down as the scent clung to her nose. The scent that screamed wolfblood, and not just any wolfblood. Rhydian.