Hey to everyone, keep up the comments please if you feel inspired! It makes writing for you guys that much more fun and sometimes I use some of your great ideas. This is a pivotal chapter - finally a wolfblood all-out brawl, yes! - and from here the story could take 1 of 3 turns... Please comment if you have ideas or just want to give me a bit of encouragement. xxoo :)

Chapter 16 - Wolves Unleashed

"Why?" Maddy hissed the question at Nathan, but Sebastian answered like the arrogant alpha he was.

"I thought it would be worthwhile putting some pressure on you Maddy. Seeing if you loved Rhydian enough to reunite him with his mother and forsake your own family. The threat about the alpha committee was just extra incentive—nothing personal, mind you. I wouldn't have followed through with it even if I could have." Sebastian's gloating made Maddy sick.

She was about to lash out at him when a flurry of howls pierced the quiet. Maddy looked toward the nearest hilltop. Clouds cut across the moon, obscuring but not fully diminishing the soft, eerie glow that still painted the night. The howls grew stronger now, more confident, and then—silence. Maddy's keen hearing gradually picked up the pitter-pattering crunch of pawed feet in the undergrowth. Soon enough her eyes saw four-legged shadows flashing between the trees.

They came like a pack of demons, speeding through the woods as fast as any wolfbloods she'd ever seen. The Gaines pack was a hardy group, big for wolfbloods and definitely accustomed to living on the outskirts of human civilization. Yet they were still tames in the strictest sense, Maddy could tell by the way their wolfy eyes seemed to radiate both ferocity and concern.

Her Rhydian stood at the forefront with Garrick Gaines, the Gaines pack's alpha. Together they changed, managing the transition with difficulty. A wolfblood's change could be seamless but in times of dire stress it could also be very painful. Maddy's heart felt for Rhydian as he shifted into human form with anguish on his face.

"Mum! What are you doing here?"

Before Ceri could answer Sebastian had already interjected himself.

"Hello Rhydian. Your mother's told me what a fine young man you are. I'm glad we finally have the chance to meet." The self-importance and arrogance of the alpha made Maddy feel nauseous again, and she swiftly moved to Rhydian's side, locking her hand with his.

"Back off." The slender wolfblood girl looked fierce enough to take on an army.

Sebastian's bearded face crumpled into a frown, as if he was humoring a lower form of life. "Your girlfriend's manners leave something to be desired, and I suppose she isn't yet ready to embrace a better way of living. Eventually I'm sure she'll come around. In the meantime, your mother and I have come to bring you back with us to Grey Haven. You weren't meant to live like this, like a tame rat in a maze going after its apportioned helping of cheese. Living here among the humans is like living among walls, constrained at every turn. Your wolf knows you deserve better. I'm here to make sure you have it, Rhydian. Please, come with us. Join us, Rhydian."

"And if I don't?" Rhydian's hand clasped Maddy's more tightly. It was a gesture that didn't go unnoticed.

"Then you leave me little choice. Then we let our primal natures decide the outcome."

Suddenly Rhydian's brow furrowed, and he removed his hand from Maddy's clasp. "What if I came willingly? You'd promise to let Maddy and her family be, yeah?"

Sebastian gave him a solemn nod.

"Rhydian, no. What are you doing?" Maddy gaped at the boy she loved, her whole being seized up in turmoil. Don't you dare act like an idiot out of some stupid noble intentions! No, this wasn't happening!

"So you really are a coward then." All eyes turned toward the unlikely source of those words. The male alphas pinned their eyes on Emma.

"You heard me, Sebastian." Maddy's mum strode up to him, glaring with every ounce of defiance she had in her wolfblood veins—like mum, like daughter. "Have you told your pack that your little experiment's been tried by wolfbloods before? Tried and failed miserably too. You're no real wolfblood. You're a fake, a copycat selling an illusion."

Sebastian's lips curled back. His eyes blackened, then yellowed. His warning growl came from a deep and bottomless place, yet Emma went on as if he was of no consequence whatsoever.

"Over 150 years ago a wolfblood just like you decided he could create some wolfblood utopia. He called it the 'Heavenly Kingdom' and set up shop in China. Do you know what we call it today?"

"What?" Nathan's curiosity had gotten the best of him, and a few more of Sebastian's wolfbloods looked intrigued even as their alpha's expression darkened.

"The Taiping Rebellion," Emma hissed. "And nearly 30 million died in the conflicts that followed. The wolfblood who started it all tried to set himself up as a god. Yes, his arrogance knew no bounds. Sound like anyone you know?" Emma's stare pinned Sebastian like an arrow. "You're a coward and a charlatan, and I'll say this: You'll not lay a hand on my cub or my cub's future mate."

That was it, the point of no return.

Sebastian morphed into his enormous wolf, dark fur with streaks of silver like flecks of molten iron. He growled at Emma, baring his teeth with ears flattened. Emma had already changed too. Now, all along, the battle lines were drawn.

The wolfbloods in the field behind the Smiths' house had shifted and rearranged themselves like two warring tribes. Maddy's tawny wolf eyed Nathan, primed for the fight.

Now.

Everything happened in a blur of fur, claws, and snapping jaws as wolfblood tore at wolfblood. Despite the cold Maddy felt like a furnace was burning her from the inside out, adrenaline leaving no room for the fear. Her muscles bunched up as she lunged and clawed at her opponent. Nathan ducked as she snapped her jaws at him. He circled around behind her for his own attack before she could react.

Maddy was too nimble for him, leaping clear and then batting at the face to disorient the bigger wolf. She smacked him squarely on the snout, and that gave her the precious jolt of opportunity, her teeth chomping right into one of his exposed tendons. He let out a painful cry as the coppery taste of blood filled her mouth. Moments later she felt him bite into her flank, but her thick padding of fur prevented it from sinking in and she used the extra time to pierce another chunk of Nathan's fragile tissue.

Nathan's wolfish scream echoed in the night as he frantically pulled one leg free of her iron grip. Maddy felt the muscle tear, exultant with bloodlust as she leapt onto his back, gnawing at the back of his neck.

Nathan squirmed, frantically trying to throw her off. At the periphery of her awareness the wolfblood girl saw the Gaines alpha taking on two of Sebastian's wolves, every bit their match, but what made her blood clot with icicles was the sight of her mum fighting Sebastian—alone.

Maddy jumped off Nathan, ignoring the wounded wolf and going to aid her mum.

Emma and Sebastian circled each other, her wolf dwarfed by his. She'd kept him at arms' length until now, but her fatigue was showing. Sebastian burst ahead with explosive speed, his jaws clutching her around the neck as he shook her so hard Maddy was sure he would snap apart her bones.

No!

Maddy lunged low, her eyes shining as the moon cleared the clouds. She saw the prize, that most vulnerable spot underneath Sebastian's bulk, and she tore at it with all her fury. There was a loud, keening cry as her fangs sank into Sebastian's weakest spot, the one weakness all males shared.

Don't you dare hurt my mum! Maddy held on for dear life as Sebastian thrashed and flailed with blind rage. The desperate alpha managed to sink his huge canines through one of Maddy's paws, but she hardly felt the pain as the adrenaline protected her like a shield. She only pressed harder around the flesh between her teeth, her jaw putting pounds of merciless pressure on the one area that could take it the least.

In the background there was a dismayed yelp and more sounds of wolves' keening whines and wails. Something had shifted—the tide of the fight turning—but which way? Maddy was too preoccupied to care.

Then her cares were drowned in a sea of hot, stabbing pain as something bit into her butt. She ignored the lancing spasms that shot through her entire body and the throbbing in her hand until finally Sebastian tore free of her grip and scampered for the tree line. Blood streamed down Maddy's jaw as she turned to deal with the threat from behind, but it had already been dealt with by an unlikely new champion.

Ceri? Yes, it was Ceri now clawing and snarling at one of Sebastian's wolfbloods, her hackles raised in wrath as her wolfy eyes blazed.

We're not outnumbered. Not anymore. Maddy's wolf saw two, then a third wolfblood flee and get swallowed up in the dark. A few snarling exchanges and growl-barks echoed from the far corners of the field, but even those sounds soon trailed off. The Gaines pack had made the difference and the Smiths and Ceri and Rhydian had all done their parts. Finally all that remained were the groans of the wounded, one wolf after the next reverting to human form. When they felt strong enough to change again most would be able to heal themselves, but for now they had to live and fight through the haze of pain, each one trapped in their own personal hell.

Maddy was no exception, her left hand in ruins and her butt feeling like someone had lit it on fire. She groaned on her side, tears sliding down her cheeks just from the sheer agony. But she didn't think about her own pain now, her mind was too fixated on her mum. She wiggled over toward her as Emma changed. Relief flooded Maddy as Emma walked over and knelt down, it seemed none the worse for wear.

"Maddy!" Rhydian was picking her up in his arms. Scratch marks and flecks of blood marred his handsome face, but otherwise he was unhurt. Her Rhydian was all right! Maddy's heart sang, relief trickling through the fog of agony. Her butt throbbed, her hand throbbed. Her whole body ached and on some level she deliriously didn't care.

We did it.

Emma's insistent, matter-of-fact tone drifted above the din of moans and groans.

"Bring all the wounded inside and we'll tend to them. Daniel, you're in charge of the Grey Haven wolfbloods. Treat them like you would our own."

Daniel nodded even as his gaze clearly sought out Maddy and Maddy knew he wanted to be there for her too.

"It's okay, Dad. I'm all right."

But it wasn't okay…not hardly. As soon as Emma brought Maddy in she swept all of the remnants of dinner clear off the dining room table. The sound of shattering dishware fazed Emma not one bit as she lay her daughter on the table and unceremoniously yanked down her daughter's pants to have a look at the wound.

"Mum!" Maddy was still conscious enough, with enough of the adrenaline still active to keep the pain at bay, that she had the awareness to feel embarrassed. "I'm practically naked!"

Rhydian was right there, too! The shame of it almost killed her right there. Admittedly it helped that Rhydian was kneeling face to face with her, staring just into her eyes as he stroked her hair and tried to soothe her.

"Mads, don't move. Don't struggle. Your mum needs to take a look at those wounds." Emma was already barking orders at one of the Gaines wolfbloods to assist her. Rhydian was being the biggest help he could by keeping Maddy distracted and relatively docile.

More tears—not from any sadness, just the surging pain in her torn-up body, trickled down Maddy's face.

"No….Mum, stop it!" she cried. Rhydian stubbornly smoothed a hand across her brow and kissed her on the forehead.

"SSHHH, Mads. Just look at me. Focus on me." In the background Maddy could hear her mum's tone, all serious, something about the wound being too deep and not healing properly if they didn't treat it with a healing ointment. Mads almost wanted to die as the shame deepened. Of all the times she'd imagined Rhydian first seeing her with her pants off—not that she'd ever admit that to anyone, mind you—this was not even the remotest possibility!

"Rhydian…" she huffed, fighting through the pain, "if you ever…I mean ever speak of this, ever." He wiped away her tears and nodded along as she kept talking. "I mean, ever, ever, ever…."

"Oh Maddy. I'll take a live, healthy, beautiful and embarrassed girlfriend over a dead one, and look what my eyes are on. Yeah, where am I looking, smelly girl? Hmm? Just at you. I'm right here with you, thank you very much. Now shush your whining." And with that Rhydian leaned forward, gently kissing her and nuzzling her almost at the same time. Maddy took a shuddery breath, calmed by the sudden infusion of his scent. She relaxed for a few heartbeats until she felt a renewed throbbing-burning sensation along her backside.

"What's going on?" Maddy cried frantically.

"They're just applying the salve, Mads. It's okay."

Maddy squeezed her eyes shut, concentrating just on the feather-light caress of Rhydian's fingers in her hair…pretending she was anywhere but here and in any situation but this one. In the meantime someone else was applying that same foul-smelling ointment to her punctured hand, then wrapping it up gently but firmly with gauze.

After what seemed like an hour later Maddy had new pants on, her wounds properly tended. She still lay on her side, not daring to move though. Rhydian sat in the chair beside her, his fingers interlocked with hers. He gave her a smooch on the nose as her eyes fluttered open.

"What…what happened?"

"No worries, Mads. You drifted off for a few minutes. The adrenaline's wearing off and your mum gave you some pain meds. It's all right if you feel drowsy. Go ahead, get some shut-eye. It's not like I'm going anywhere," he said, smiling at her fondly.

"Did…is everyone else okay?" Maddy remembered Ceri in the middle of the fray, switching sides and fighting her own pack for Rhydian's sake. "Is your mum, is she…?"

Rhydian nodded, patting Maddy's unhurt hand. "She's fine, Mads. She's been asking about you nonstop but your mum won't let anyone get near you except me and your dad."

Maddy's cute face finally managed a grin. "Yeah, that sounds like my mum. Ugh." Maddy had made the mistake of trying to shift. Sparks of pain flared up and down her torso. "Okay…we won't be trying that again."

"Are you cold? Thirsty?"

Maddy nodded with vigor. "Yes and yes."

"Okay. Hold that thought. Blanket and water coming right up." As Rhydian left Maddy wondered about what would happen to Sebastian and his pack now that he'd been thwarted, humiliated. She couldn't help but wonder. Was it really over?