Chapter 11 - Misunderstandings

"I still think this is ridiculous."

Rhydian suppressed a smirk at Maddy's exasperated tone.

They were at Blake's Furniture along Swan Hill's main 'shopping district,' such as it was, looking for a nightstand, desk, and bookshelf for Rhydian's rental. It was one of those shops that looked like a total dump from the outside but had diamonds in the rough for those patient and frugal enough to pore through it all, room by cluttered room.

Rhydian bent down to examine the finish on one solid oak desk. "This'll do, yeah."

As if he hadn't spoken, Maddy went on, angrily flicking a few strands of hair out of her eyes.

"I mean, they don't have to be so curmudgeonly about it. They could let us do the Promise Ceremony now. Then with the promise-pact ensuring that we would respect proper boundaries until we're old enough, they wouldn't even have to worry about us living under the same roof! If you ask me, it's like they're being difficult on purpose."

Maddy scratched the back of her neck and huffed, shifting uneasily as Rhydian took her by the hand and tugged her along into the next room.

"Really, Mads. Stop obsessing. Your parents just want you to be sure before you take such a big step. The day before I go back to Stoneybridge, we'll do the Promise Ceremony. They want us to have the semester to get to know each other better—without a crisis popping up here and there, so we can actually date like normal people. You can't fault them for that."

"Watch me."

It was late Monday afternoon and Maddy had been on edge the whole day. Rhydian's paperwork to start attending Swan Hill High hadn't come through yet and probably wouldn't until the end of the week. That meant 4 more days at school Rhydian-less, though that was probably just as well because she still needed to officially break up with her fake boyfriend.

Today was supposed to have been the day of reckoning, except Jared had surprised her with mint chocolates, purple flowers, and—this part being her favorite—a cartoonish sketch of her smiting Sabrina which had had her giggling before she could help herself. Maddy was just waiting for the excuse she needed, but the longer she waited the more it seemed it would never come.

If Jared would just be mean to me or inconsiderate that would make this a whole lot easier Maddy thought. She smiled, berating herself. Only you would have these problems…needing a fake boyfriend to be mean to you so you could break up with him. God, what a mess. Her eyes brightened as she saw a beautiful bookshelf with elaborate Spanish carvings. It was the best of both worlds, a functional work of exquisite art.

"You definitely need that one," Maddy proclaimed, pointing excitedly as if she'd discovered a trove of diamonds.

Rhydian glanced at the price tag, frowning. "Mads, you definitely have good taste. Too good. I can't afford that."

Maddy was just about to argue with him when she caught an intertwining of familiar scents. Suddenly Jared, Mace, and Lyssa walked in, all three turning curious as they saw Maddy with a new boy.

"Maddy! Hey," Jared gave Maddy a hug, picking her up and swinging her in a circle. "I thought we'd drop by and help you pick out furniture for your friend."

Maddy smiled weakly. "Yeah, Jared, hey guys. That's nice of you guys, really, but we've got it covered." She had told them that she was helping a 'friend' pick out furniture. She hadn't told them who Rhydian was….

Jared's brown eyes melted like warm chocolate as he tried to give Maddy a kiss. The agile wolfblood girl ducked out of the way, panic rising.

Mace laughed, misreading the situation. "Uhoh Jared, looks like your girlfriend wants to play hard to get."

Rhydian already had his hands clenched, but he had things under control until the word 'girlfriend' landed like a bomb in their midst. He wrapped a hand possessively around Maddy's waist and pulled her back. His wolf took control, and before he knew what was happening Rhydian was kissing the side of Maddy's neck and tracing a soft trail of kisses up to her jaw.

The temperature in the room seemed to drop at least 10 degrees. Lyssa frowned, Mace's expression turned brooding, and Jared…Jared looked betrayed.

"What's this, Maddy?" Jared's tone was clipped, full of anger.

"I…" Damn it. It wasn't supposed to go this way….

Rhydian nuzzled Maddy with wolfy affection, satisfied that his scent clung to her, before he gently cupped Maddy's chin and cajoled her into meeting his stare, which had a few sparks of anger of its own.

"Maddy, did you forget to tell me something? I thought this guy knew you weren't interested in him?"

"He-he does!" Maddy stammered. "I mean…we weren't dating for real. It was just for show. It's a long story." Her voice was filled with pleading now.

"Oh really? No worries, I'll make the time. Do go on." The way Rhydian tenderly held Maddy around the waist contradicted his ominous tone.

Heartbeat thumping, hands going slick, Maddy felt trapped as her mind raced to find the best way out.

"You know what, you don't even have to. She's all yours," Jared said with disgust. He turned and stalked away, and just as he was about to leave the room he swiveled back.

"You could have at least told me. You didn't have to go behind my back. Wow, Maddy. You really are…." Jared let the words hang, as if knowing that letting the insult go unspoken was so much worse. He vanished into the next room. Lyssa threw Maddy a look that had disappointment in it more than anything, but Mace gave her a glare hot enough to fold steel.

"See you around, slut." Mace fired back, the last one to leave.

It was all Maddy could do to hold Rhydian back from pursuing and eviscerating Mace. She hugged him from behind as he began making strides for the door, dragging her with him.

"Please Rhydian, don't." The desperation and hurt in her voice made him stop, though clearly the rage simmered instead of dissipating.

He rounded on her, his eyes blazing.

"What was that all about?"

Maddy opened her mouth, finally coherent enough to explain. "Everything I told you was true. Jared and I weren't ever dating, not for real. But to help me fit in and make new friends here Jared agreed to be my fake boyfriend." She sighed. "He did admit that he liked me and that he hoped I would eventually reciprocate. I told him though, told him about you, Rhydian. I told him I already had a boyfriend. I never lied to you or him!" Maddy cried, not sure whether she wanted to growl or implore.

She had been right about boys' egos. They were way too brittle.

Rhydian's eyes lit with understanding. He circled the room, hands in his pockets, and threw a few dark glances Maddy's way.

"So the bloke didn't realize who I was? He thought I was just another guy you had on the side. He doesn't know that I'm your old boyfriend come all the way from Stoneybridge?"

Maddy shrugged. "Yeah, that's a pretty fair guess."

The wolfblood boy's eyes narrowed. "Of course all those misunderstandings could have been avoided if you had just been honest in the first place. Not lying is not the same as being honest!" Rhydian stalked up to her, putting his palms against the far wall on either side of her face as he boxed her in, staring with a disappointment that slashed at her soul. Maddy found it hard to meet that gaze without flinching.

"You could have broken up with him at school today, Mads. Why didn't you?"

"I tried…I wanted to." Ugh. That sounded lame, even to her. "He gave me presents today and I felt bad about dumping him after he'd been only nice to me."

Rhydian's hand slapped the wall above Maddy's shoulder. His eyes yellowed before he harnessed his wolf.

"Except you weren't dumping him, remember? You were never dating!" A vein on Rhydian's forehead throbbed, ready to explode. He took a step back. "Mads, I don't know if that was just poor judgment on your part, wanting to please everyone, or if it means you're overwhelmed by me being here…that you're having second thoughts about us?" Rhydian posed it as half-question, half-speculation. It felt to Maddy as if quicksand were sucking her under.

No…No, this can't be happening. I just got my Rhydian back. Please, don't let me screw this up too, just like I screwed up everything for my family back in Stoneybridge. Maddy heard Rhydian's scathing words echo in her head. Poor judgment.

He was right, wasn't he? Her judgment was flawed. What if there was nothing so perfect that she, Maddy Smith, couldn't find a way turn it all into bollox?

"Rhydian…." She loved the way his name formed on her lips, carried as she formed each precious syllable. She hoped to say it many, many more times, and that was why she chose her words carefully now. "You're right about my judgment. I should have been completely honest."

Her look turned into a stubborn glare now, tears glistening in her eyes but refusing to slip out. "I am overwhelmed by you, of course I am. By how much I care about you, by how happy I am that you're here with me now! Do you think I would ever want to put that in jeopardy?"

"No." One word, and Rhydian said it so softly that it seemed as insubstantial, as fragile as a snowflake. It gave her hope—prematurely.

"Look, Mads. Maybe we do need to slow things down though, yeah? Having things moving this fast, it creates a pressure on us. It makes me crazy to think of any other guy trying to touch you like Jared did just now."

No. He must have seen the panic in her eyes. Rhydian's expression softened for the first time since their surprise meeting with Jared and company.

"What are you saying?" Maddy said.

"Maybe we should put off the Promise Ceremony for a bit longer, until you can come back to Stoneybridge or until I can come back for another visit." Rhydian spread his hands helplessly. "Maybe that's what's best."

What's best? Now you're beginning to sound like my parents. This was a nightmare, it had to be. Maddy took a deep breath, and it didn't help, not even a little.

"Rhydian, I'm only going to say this once. Please don't let something trifling, my stupid mistake being nice to someone, just…you know what, don't read so much into it, OK? It's not fair to me or to us. You need to trust me, Rhydian." Her eyes yellowed as the she felt the passion of her wolf surge out. Her hands blackened and she almost morphed right then and there in the shop. She half-sobbed, half-growled as Rhydian ran to her, hugging her tightly.

"It's all right, Mads. SSSHHH….I take it back, I take it all back. You know I love you, smelly girl. Calm down. It's all right." She hated when he called her that—smelly girl—but it made her smile too.

When she finally stopped shuddering, her face pressed underneath his chin, Rhydian slowly straightened. He tipped up her head to have a good look at her.

"We're both wrong and we're both right," he said. She blinked, confused as he went on. "You need to be more honest with me and I need to trust you more. Yeah?" As she nodded Rhydian let his lips curve upward and gave her just the ghost of a kiss, like the biggest tease ever. Maddy felt a surge of heat where his hand touched as he caressed her cheek, one fleeting gesture that was gone too soon as Rhydian took a step back.

"OK. We're good. Yes?"

Maddy allowed herself a rueful grin. "Yeah."

Rhydian's gaze shifted to the door. "Off you go, then."

Maddy and her wolf were in the same boat, about as confused as a semi-conscious person hit on the head with a hammer. The wolfblood girl looked at her boyfriend with raised eyebrows.

"Silly girl. This is me trusting you. Go after your friends. Explain to Jared the truth. If he's half the guy you think he is, he'll realize that he made a piss-poor assumption and that he can't blame you for his fake-dating scheme running off the rails. I know you don't want to lose those friends, yeah? They're your new mates…so go after them. What are you still standing here for?"

The wolfblood girl shook her head as she started to tie her hair up into a pony-tail, getting ready to run. "Aren't you coming with?"

Rhydian sighed, all exasperation. "Kind of need to buy furniture, remember? Like I said, this is me testing myself. Go find Jared. Go make up with him." Maddy grinned, knowing that Rhydian's wolf had to be dying inside—roaring with fury—or both.

"Rhydian Morris, you never cease to amaze me." And with that, Maddy lunged out the door, her heart soaring again, hope restored, at least for now….