Disclaimer: I do not own Wolfblood.

Episode Three, Part 2 - "Stay"

The next day.

Jana was in the kitchen of her house, looking through the window that looked out in to the forest behind the house. She filled her glass with water and headed in to the living room where Ceri was sitting on the sofa reading a magazine, Gerwyn having gone out for a run in the woods.

Ceri sighed slightly before she spoke. "I have lived in the human world for quite some time now…" She started.

Jana laughed. "Never thought I'd hear you say that, Ceri."

Ceri smiled, her eyes still down on the magazine as she flipped through it, a look of disgust on her face. "…And I still do not understand why humans find this stuff interesting. Who are these people in the magazine, and why should I care how much weight they have lost?"

Giggling, Jana leaned over Ceri's shoulder to take a look at the magazine article. "I don't know, Ceri. Maybe we should ask Shannon and Tom."

"Surely they are not as shallow as other humans?"

"They're definitely not."

Jana was just about to sit down on the sofa when there was a weirdly patterned knocking at the door, almost as if the person behind the door had never knocked before.

Frowning curiously, Jana set her cup of water down on the coffee table and went to the door.

When she pulled it open, her facial expression changed from a frown to a look of complete and utter surprise. Her eyebrows raised and her eyes widened, mouth falling slightly open.

"Aran?" Jana said lightly; it was more of a statement than a question.

Aran was standing outside her door, his head hanging slightly low but his eyes on her. His hair was messed up and his clothes the same as always, but he looked tired with dark circles under his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" She asked incredulously. "You know what, I don't even care. Just…come here." Jana stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. Aran reciprocated and hugged her back, his head burying in to her neck slightly as he inhaled her familiar scent.

"I missed you." He said, his voice rough and low.

Jana pulled away but stayed close, his hands on the tops of her arms as she looked in to his eyes. "I missed you too." They both smiled at each other tenderly and were just about to hug again when Ceri walked up behind them.

She frowned in confusion. "Aran? What are you doing here?"

Jana stepped back inside, taking Aran's hand and leading him in behind her. He looked around the apartment cautiously; even after living in Maddy's house for weeks with Jana, he still wasn't used to the human way of living.

"I…I had to see you again, Jana," Aran finally explained as Jana carefully sat him down on the sofa. "It is not right without my Alpha."

Jana sat down next to him, her hand still in his, and she looked at him sadly. He wasn't quite meeting her eyes. "Aran, you know I belong here now."

Aran nodded. "I know, Jana," he didn't sound so sure. "But I…I cannot live without you in the wild anymore."

"I can't come back to the wild, Aran. You know that. This is my life now."

Looking around the room he was sitting in, his brow furrowed. Ceri was sitting in the armchair across from him and for a moment he met her eye before looking away again. "Don't you miss the wild?"

Jana thought for a moment before shrugging her shoulders lightly, still trying to meet Aran's eyes. "I do not belong in the wild, Aran. I belong here."

"No you don't!" Aran suddenly exploded, standing up and letting go of her hand. "I can't live without you in the wild, Jana! You cannot stay here forever!"

Jana stood up too, clenching her fists by her side, her face stern. "Yes, I can, Aran. You cannot tell me what to do. If this is where I want to stay, this is where I will stay."

Aran finally turned to her, his eyes glowing yellow. "I do not know what to do!"

"What do you mean!?"

"I love you, Jana! And I do not want to be in the wild without you!" Jana stared at him in slight shock. And then Aran's voice quietened as Ceri subtly got up and left the room. "I don't want to be without you, Jana. You are my Alpha."

"I know," she said, her voice nearly a whisper. Aran's eyes were back to their normal colour now and she stepped closer, taking a hold of his hand again. He finally held her eye contact, both of their breathing now increased. "I love you too, Aran."

"Then why can't you come back to the wild and be with me? – Be my Alpha?"

"I am still your Alpha even when I am not in the wild," Jana said decisively. "I can still be your Alpha here. Why do I have to come back to the wild, Aran? Why can't you stay here?"

"You mean…stay in the…human world?"

Jana shrugged. "You've done it before. You can do it again."

Aran stared at her, his brow furrowed even further now and a look on his face as if he were in a total conflict with himself. Jana could tell he wanted to stay because he wanted to be with her. But she could also tell that he really didn't want to stay in the human world; it was against everything he'd ever believed in and everything he'd been taught.

"I want you to be happy, Aran," Jana whispered when he didn't respond. She stepped closer again. "I really do."

"I cannot be happy without you."

She felt tears rising in her eyes. A frown found its way on to her face and she reached up with her free hand to put it on his face, gently smoothing his cheekbone with her thumb.

"Then stay with me for a while. Just try it, Aran. You might not hate it as much as you think you will."

He stared at her again. He looked more conflicted than ever.

For a moment he looked as though he was about to say something, but then he shook his head rapidly and headed towards the backdoor, opening it quickly and running off in to the woods behind the house.

Jana watched in shock, her eyes now totally glassy. She was tired of Aran running off when he got scared. She just wanted some stability; she just wanted him to be with her.
In all honesty, Jana had never known missing anyone like how she missed Aran whenever he was away. They had grown up together and nothing felt right without him with her.

Ceri came back in to the living room, a cautious look on her face.

"Jana? What was that all about?" She asked quietly, stepping towards Jana tentatively.

Jana was still staring out of the now-open back door, gazing at the path Aran had just taken. "Aran ran away again." She answered, her voice distant.

"Why?"

"I asked him to stay in the human world."

"Why would he want to stay in the human world?"

Jana took a deep breath in. And when she blinked, a fat, salty tear spilled over the edge of her eye and fell on to her cheek. "For me. I asked him to stay for me."

"So why did he run—"

Ceri didn't have time to finish her sentence before Jana charged off and out the back door.

"—away." Ceri finished to herself, no one actually hearing her. She smiled in the direction of Jana's scent.

Jana followed Aran's scent for about a mile, running as fast as she could before he could get out of reach. Eventually she found him sitting on a fallen log, looking out over the river and kicking his foot in to the dirt repeatedly. His elbows were resting on his knees and even from where Jana was standing, she could tell his forehead was wrinkled.

"Aran," she called out. His head snapped around to face her for a brief moment before he looked away again. "I don't appreciate being run away from." Jana approached the log and tentatively sat next to him on his left hand side. He still wasn't looking at her.

A few moments of silence went by before he finally spoke.

"I am sorry, Jana," he said, his voice quiet and timid. "I should not have run off. I am a coward."

"Yeah, you are." Jana agreed, a slight hint of teasing in her voice.

Aran turned his head to see if she was being serious, and when he saw her smiling slightly, he smiled too. He nudged her shoulder playfully with his.

"I was serious about you staying, you know," Jana said, breaking the silence. "I want you to stay."

"...I think I want to stay too."

"Then why don't you?"

Aran shook his head, the look on his face showing that he felt at war with himself. "It goes against everything I have ever been taught."

"But that doesn't mean you can't try it. It's good to try new things."

"You sound like a human."

"We are part human, Aran. It is not a crime to sound like one; or live like one, for that matter," she stated. "Listen, Aran, I want you to stay. I really, really do. Please, at least try it.… For me."

Jana reached out and took his hands in hers. He didn't look at her for a moment, but when he did, his face looked less in pain now and more at peace.

And then he took a deep breath, letting it out before squeezing her hand. "Then I will stay with you, Jana. Just for a little while."

"You'll stay?"

He bowed his head once to her as a form of confirmation. "I'll stay."

Jana grinned, leaning forward to kiss his cheek before hugging him, her arms wrapped tightly around him.

"Why do I feel so nervous to meet your dad?" Maddy asked, her hand linked with Rhydian's as they walked through the woods towards Jana's new place.

"Don't be," Rhydian said, a smile working its way on to his face. "He'll love you."

"It just feels weird. Your dad."

"Tell me about it. And it's even weirder that he's back with my mum."

"It's a good weird though, right?" Maddy clarified, looking up to check his face for any signs of distress or worry.

Rhydian's smile grew a little at the corners of his lips and he nodded, staring down at the ground. "Definitely a good weird."

"And I'm excited to see Jana, too."

"I think she missed you."

"Really? Me?"

"Yeah."

"She probably missed you more. You guys were close."

Rhydian nodded. "Yeah, we were. She looked after me whilst you guys were away."

Maddy smiled softly and squeezed Rhydian's hand just a little tighter. She was still looking at him, but he wasn't looking back. "Remind me to thank her for that."

Briefly, Rhydian turned his head to face her. "I will." He smiled before his attention turned back to the path ahead of them.

Jana's house was small. It was a bungalow, right at the end of a small street of similar looking houses, all of them backed up against the forest. Maddy and Rhydian could smell all of the residents of the street from where they were standing; some were Wolfbloods and some weren't.

Smiling, Rhydian led Maddy up the front garden path and to the door.

He knocked three times.

A few seconds later, the door opened, and there stood Ceri.

Her face was a picture.
Her eyes widened, a grin spreading across her face and her eyebrows rising in shock.

"Rhydian!" Ceri exclaimed in shock, all of her features happy. "My beautiful boy, you're back!"

Rhydian grinned, but before he could say anything, word must have spread through the house because a flurry of footsteps rushed towards the door.

And before their eyes, there stood Jana, followed by two men; one of which Maddy vaguely recognised from when Alric had tried to kill Rhydian all those months ago, and another he didn't recognise at all.

"Rhydian? Maddy?" Jana questioned. "What are you doing here!?"

"Well…we're back." Rhydian grinned, giving Maddy's hand a squeeze before letting it go and stepping forward to hug his mum.

Jana pushed past the group of Wolfbloods as Rhydian hugged his parents and rushed out to Maddy.

"Maddy! You're back!" She exclaimed, smiling, wrapping her in a hug.

At first Maddy was slightly surprised by this outburst – Jana had only ever properly hugged her once – but soon she reciprocated the gesture.

"And you're living in a house!" Maddy joked, earning a genuine laugh from Jana.

"Who'd have thought it, huh?" Rhydian said now from behind Jana. She turned to him and hugged him as well before all of them started inside.

Rhydian put his hand in Maddy's again as they walked in to the living room.

"Maddy, this…is my dad." Rhydian introduced, a slight feeling of nervousness now present behind his voice.

Gerwyn stood a few feet in front of Rhydian and Maddy, a smile etched on to his face.

"Well, it's great to meet you, Maddy. I'm Gerwyn." Reaching forward, he shook Maddy's hand and she smiled back.

"You too, Gerwyn. Rhydian's told me so much about yous."

"All bad, I hope."

Maddy giggled. "Of course."

Gerwyn grinned in return before the Wolfblood Maddy vaguely recognised stepped in to the light.

Maddy eyed him warily, stepping behind Rhydian slightly. The last time she'd seen this Wolfblood, the boy she loved had nearly been captured by him and Alric.
However, this time he seemed to have a different look in his eyes. One of innocence and sincerity; nothing like the way he had looked before. His eyes were his natural colour, which made a change, too; and there were no angry veins crawling up his neck.

"Maddy, this is Aran. Do you remember him?" Jana asked gently, taking a hold of Aran's hand.

Maddy eyed their joined hands suspiciously before looking back to Jana. "Yes, I remember him."

Aran bowed his head in gratitude, not raising it as he spoke. "The last time we met, we got off on the wrong foot, as the humans say. I am truly sorry for this... I hope you can forgive me."

Frowning, Maddy looked to Rhydian for reassurance. He smiled softly and nodded twice, giving Maddy all the reassurance she needed.

"I forgive ya, Aran. It's nice to meet you properly." Maddy smiled, her voice soft and hesitant. She came out from behind Rhydian and stood properly now.

"Maddy," Ceri's voice came up now from a few feet away. Frowning again, Maddy looked at the familiar Wolfblood (the last time she had seen Ceri, she was wearing dirty, smelly clothes; now she was wearing jeans and a very pretty blouse and her hair was straightened. It was a wild contrast).
Ceri continued, slightly awkwardly. "I know we have never gotten along very well before, but I see it in Rhydian's eyes, how he truly feels for you," she was acting as though this was very hard for her to say, and she kept glancing at Rhydian as she was speaking. Rhydian smiled encouragingly at her as she continued. "Jana has told me how things are between you two. And…I hope we can put the past behind us. I will no longer try to take him away from you; you are his Alpha. I realise that now."

Maddy smiled, slightly stunned, and she nodded once. "It's behind us, Ceri. I'm sorry too."

Ceri smiled, leaning forward to give Maddy a quick hug. That had not been what Maddy was expecting, but it was good. It was really good.

Maddy and Rhydian spent lunchtime with the four of them. They all sat around the dining table – which Aran found incredibly confusing and disconcerting at first – and caught up with each other. For a while it was Maddy and Jana catching up as Rhydian caught up with his parents; then it was Rhydian and Jana as Maddy spent some time getting to know Ceri, Gerwyn and Aran a little more.

She bonded with Gerwyn a lot more than she had expected; his sense of humour was very similar to Rhydian's – she could see where he got it from now – and that had always been one of her favourite parts of Rhydian, so she liked it about his dad too.
He was a nice guy, and Ceri very clearly was in love with him still. It was bizarre for Maddy at first to see Ceri looking so gently, caringly, and so…humanly at someone. But it was obvious in her eyes when she looked at him that she loved him.

And it went the same way for Gerwyn, too. After all these years, they were clearly still smitten.

Rhydian watched out of the corner of his eye as Maddy talked and laughed with his parents. It made a warm feeling grow in his stomach.

A few months ago, he would have never believed that he'd be here right now. Most of his favourite people were here (minus Shannon and Tom), together, in one room and he couldn't remember a time he had ever felt so content. His parents were here together, two good friends from back in his Wild Pack days and, most importantly, his Alpha.

Things were finally beginning to look up for him.

If only it had lasted.

A/N: Okay, first off, I just want to thank the guest reviewer who reviewed "Always" (my JanaxAran fic) saying that it would be cool to have JanaxAran involved in this fic too. I totally agree with you!

Thank you so much for reading! And thank you for all your wonderful, wonderful reviews. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. Do let me know what you think; are you happy to see Jana again? How about Aran? :)

Love :* xxx

Next episode of 'The Ancient Grudge': "She identified the scent in an instant and her confusion worsened. That scent shouldn't be here, she thought."