Maddy
Maddy burst out of the woods, and quickly approached her house, running at full speed. She still couldn't believe what she had just said to Rhydian! Part of her, her inner wolf she suspected, was delighted that she had stood her ground and sent him away. But her conscience poked at her mind, reminding her of the flash of hurt in his blue eyes she had seen, before he ran away.
As Maddy enter her house, she saw that her dad was waiting at the table holding a cup of tea. He didn't look angry, but he had a serious expression on his face that made Maddy hesitate.
"Hello Dad," she said sitting down next to him. "Do I have to ask you what's wrong, or will you just tell us?"
"You know me well, Maddy," her dad smiled at her. "I think it's time that you talked to your mom."
"Dad!" Maddy groaned. "I thought you were on my side!"
"There are no sides," her dad sighed. "Maddy, this isn't a fight. The fight happened long ago, back when you were a new cub. The deal with Alric is already made, and now all we can do is look back on our mistakes."
"But why does she have to act like it doesn't matter?" Maddy asked. "And she just invited Rhydian over with barely a warning. How do you think that made us feel?"
"I agree that if we could do things over, some situations could be handled etter," her dad said. "But now all we can do is try to mend the future. We are still a pack Maddy, whether we're arguing or not. And I think there's still a lot that you and your mom need to talk out."
"I've said what I believe, and she disagrees," Maddy huffed. "There's nothing left to say."
"Please Maddy," her father begged. "Can you just do this for me?"
Maddy finally relented as she looked over at her dad's pleading eyes.
"Fine," she groaned dramatically. "Where is Mam anyway?"
"I believe she's in your room," her dad replied, with a pleased smile on his face.
Maddy trudged to her room, walking slower than normal. When she finally opened her door, she saw her mom sitting, on her bed and cradling a picture frame in her hands.
"What you looking at?" Maddy asked, trying to break the ice as she walked over to her mom.
Her mom said nothing, but held out the frame. Maddy looked down at a photograph of herself at a birthday party, when she was just a few years old. She was smiling widely in the photos, with her front teeth missing, and her face was smeared with cake.
"You were always such a cute little cub," her mom sighed. "You still are."
Maddy sighed, and refrained from once again telling her mom that soon she would be a wolf, and could no longer be referred to as a cub. She didn't want to get into another argument, before she tried to mend things.
"Dad thinks we should talk," Maddy said, not sure how else to start the conversation. "About...everything."
"I don't believe there's anything left to say," her mom said stiffly, and Maddy smiled a little as she remembered that she spoken the same words to her dad just a minute ago.
"I want you to know, that I'm not mad at you," Maddy said carefully. "I mean, I thought I was, but the more I think of it, the more I realize I'm mad at the situation. I think the only person I can really blame is Alric, and he's not here for me to yell at."
"You should be mad at me," her mom sighed. "In fact, you have every right to blame me for this whole situation."
"Mam!" Maddy exclaimed, surprised her normally head strong and stubborn mom was saying such things. "You did everything you could to protect me from Alric. I couldn't imagine growing up in the wild, without you or anyone I love. It would be horrible."
"I'm afraid you don't quite understand, Pet," her mom said, smiling weakly. "I was supposed to protect you, and I failed! Not only because I'm your mom, but also because I'm your alpha. I have no right to lead this pack."
"But you did protect me," Maddy whispered wrapping an arm around her mom's shoulder. "I may not be happy with my future right now, but I am safe. You've never let anyone hurt me. And though I can't say that I completely forgive you just yet, I want you to know that I do love you."
"Thank you Madeline," her mom sad seriously, as she blinked back tears.
Maddy embraced her mom, happy that they had made up. A part of her still blamed her mom for the situation, but she knew that in time, she would be able to completely forgive her. At least now she knew that neither of her parents had set up this arrangement just to restrict her freedom. They were just doing everything they could to keep her from Alric's clutches.
After she finally pulled away from her mom, Maddy frowned. She realized that even though her and her mom had just made up, she would have to tell her that she had sent Rhydian home. The thought of getting into another argument, made Maddy's head hurt.
"Mam," she finally sighed. "There's something else I need to tell you. About Rhydian."
"What is it," her mom asked. "Have you two been getting along okay?"
"Not exactly," Maddy mumbled, looking down at her hands which she was twisting together nervously. "In fact, I kind of made Rhydian leave Stoneybridge."
"You what!" her mom yelled, quickly standing up off the bed.
"I know you invited him here for my sake," Maddy sighed, "but I just don't-"
"No, Maddy, you don't understand," her mom cut her off sharply. "Rhydian can't leave Stoneybridge. He has nowhere else to go."
"Of course he does," Maddy frowned. "He's gone back to his pack. I think he was missing them anyway."
"No that can't be true," her mom muttered. "Are you sure he's left?"
"Well he said he would be gone by tonight," Maddy responded. "But I don't understand. Why can't Rhydian go back to his pack?"
"Rhydian was sent here with strict orders from Alric," her mom admitted.
"But I thought you invited him!" Maddy exclaimed. "And you allowed him onto our territory."
"I did allow him to stay here, but I wasn't the one who made him come in the first place."
Maddy swallowed nervously, as her mind raced. She was almost afraid to ask the question that was burning in her mind, but she couldn't help herself.
"What happens?" she asked quietly. "What happens when you disobey your pack leader?"
"He'll be punished at the very least," her mom stated blatantly. "But knowing Alric and his pack, it could be much worse."
Maddy felt tears come to the brims of her eyes. There was only one thing worse than punishment. Only one fate her mom could be referring to, and that was death.
She couldn't believe what an idiot Rhydian was! Disobeying orders just because she yelled at him. She had to admit, she had been extremely harsh, but if he had just told her that he was here on orders, she would have tried to understand.
"I just don't understand why he would leave," Maddy's mom muttered. "What exactly did you say to him, that made him go?"
"I...I," Maddy stuttered, growing increasingly nervous as she started to realize that this whole thing was her fault. "I told Rhydian that him being here was torture for me."
"Madeline Smith," her mom breathed harshly. "Why on earth would you say such a thing?"
"Because it's true Mam!" Maddy exclaimed. "But I never would have told him to go, if he had just told us the truth! Why didn't he tell us?"
"I betting it's because he's a good lad," her mom sighed. "You told him that his presence was torturing you, Maddy. Of course he was going to leave."
"This is all my fault," Maddy whispered, grabbing her head. "Mam, we have to do something! We have to stop him."
"I agree," her mom nodded. "Alright, you stay here. Your dad and I will take the car and track him down. We'll explain to him that you're sorry."
"I should be the one to tell him," Maddy protested. "I should come with you."
"No Maddy," her mom sighed. "If Rhydian senses you coming, he'll probably think you're trying to chase him off our territory. It will better if we're the ones to talk to him."
Without giving Maddy another chance to protest, she raced out of the room. Only a few minutes later, Maddy heard the familiar sound of a car starting, as her parents drove away from the house.
As soon as they were gone, Maddy shot up off her bed and ran over to her closet. After grabbing a jacket, she quickly left the house, locking the door behind her.
Maybe her mom was right, and Rhydian would try to run away from her, but she felt she needed to be the one to fix things with him. She was the one who caused this whole mess in the first place, and she needed to be the one to fix it.
Maddy's sense weren't strong enough to pick up Rhydian's scent all the way from her house, so she ran through the woods, back to where they had met after school. As soon as she got there, she picked up his trail, and continued following him. She just hoped that he had been moving slowly, so she would have time to catch up.
She ran through the trees, and all around her everything was just blurred to different shades of green. Even though she was on a mission to stop Rhydian, she couldn't help but relish in the freedom of running. The wind blew quickly, turning her cheeks pink, and she ran so fast she felt like she was flying. She couldn't wait until she could do this in wolf form.
Rhydian's trail lead her to a house, which she guessed was his foster parents' home. For a moment she hoped that he was inside, but she realized that his scent continued past the house. He must have just stopped to pick up his things. She just hoped he hadn't left too long ago.
She started to run again, but soon her adrenaline began to fade. She was still running fast for a human, but not as fast as a normal wolfblood would. She stopped to catch her breath, when she heard something or someone walking through the woods.
She slowly crept forward, hoping that it way Rhydian. When she peeked around a tree, she saw that it was indeed him. He was slowly walking through the trees, scowling as he went. He seemed deep in thought, and it didn't look like he had noticed Maddy yet.
Maddy continued to approach him, her steps silent despite the twigs beneath her feet. She knew that her mom was probably right about Rhydian running away from her, so she wouldn't even give him a chance. When she finally got close enough, Maddy launched herself onto his back, tackling him to the ground.
"What the?" Rhydian yelled, as he tried to push her off. He finally managed to see who had attacked him and his eyes widened in surprise. "Maddy? What are you doing here?"
He tried to shove her off him, but Maddy wasn't giving up. They wrestled on the ground, until finally Rhydian gave up.
"I'm here to stop you from leaving," Maddy said. "My parents told me that Alric ordered you to come here. You can't go back!"
"Well I can't stay here," Rhydian huffed. "You've made that perfectly clear."
"I'm sorry," Maddy sighed. "I take back what I said."
Rhydian looked like he was about to reply, but instead he frowned. "Can you let me off the ground, before we continue this discussion?" he asked.
"Only if you promise not to run away," Maddy replied. "You have to give me a chance to explain."
"Fine," Rhydian snapped, obviously still angry with her. "But I'm not promising that you'll be able to convince you to stay."
Maddy stood up and offered Rhydian her hand, pulling him off the ground. They both brushed off their clothes which were now covered in twigs and dirt.
"Can I explain now?" Maddy asked, and Rhydian nodded. "Okay, if I had known that you didn't have a choice in coming here, I never would have sent you away. Why didn't you tell us?"
"Honestly, from the way you've acted towards me so far, I didn't think it'd make a difference," Rhydian replied, frowning at her.
Maddy sighed. She knew Rhydian was right, but it still hurt that he thought she would be so callous. She would never have told him to go away if she had known he would be facing punishment.
"Well, I do care," Maddy replied. ". And again, I am so sorry. I don't want you to disobey your orders just because of me. We can make this work! You can stay here, you have to."
"But every moment I'm here, I'm hurting you," Rhydian sighed. "Maddy you said it yourself, and I won't do that to you."
"We can make it work," Maddy said again. "I mean, maybe if we just stay out of each other's way, I'll be able to forget about our betrothal."
She knew that what she said was probably a lie, since there was no way she would ever forget, but at the moment, she would do anything to get him to stay.
"You don't understand, Maddy," Rhydian spoke softly. "I'm supposed to be getting to know you. If we spend our time ignoring each other, then I might as well be back with my pack."
He turned to leave, but Maddy leapt forward, grabbing his arm. She wasn't sure what she was going to say next. Probably something she would later regret, but she didn't know what else to do.
"We can be friends then," Maddy said, and Rhydian eyes filled with some hope. "You can come over for dinner, and hang out with me friends at school...on one condition."
"What condition?" Rhydian asked, eyeing her warily.
"You agree to help me try to find a way out of our union," Maddy stated.
"Maddy," Rhydian growled, rolling his eyes at her. "I know you don't believe me, but I've told you this before. I spent loads of time looking for a way out of it, and there's nothing! Your parents have been looking for the last fourteen years. Don't you think if there was a loophole, we would have already found it?"
"I don't know," Maddy scowled. "But I have to try. I can't just sit here and accept our fate. That's not who I am."
Rhydian still look upset, but Maddy also saw a look of admiration on his face. She hoped that meant that he would actually consider her deal.
"Alright, I'll do it," he finally said. "But I promise you, we won't find anything."
"We'll see about that," Maddy sniffed, as she stuck her nose in the air proudly.
She started to walk away, leaving Rhydian in the woods, but she soon found that he was following her. She thought maybe he was just walking in the direction of his foster home, but it seemed he had other ideas.
"What are you doing?" Maddy asked, as he continued to follow her. "I said we could be friends, not that you could trail behind me like a lost cub."
"Oh, but in our agreement, I believe you said I could come over for dinner," Rhydian smirked. "And you still need to make up for dinner last Friday."
"But...my mam and dad," Maddy said, trying to think of an excuse, "they don't know your coming. They haven't prepared you any food."
"If it's really that much of a problem, then I won't stay for dinner," Rhydian said. "But I should apologize for storming out the other day."
Maddy sighed, realizing nothing she said would convince Rhydian to just return home. She trudged through the forest in silence, scowling as she went.
When they finally arrived at her house, Maddy saw that her parent's car was already parked there. That meant that they had come from their search, and had found her missing.
"Oh no," Maddy groaned, knowing she would once again be in trouble.
"What's happened?" Rhydian asked, looking at her with concern.
"My parents were out looking for you," Maddy sighed. "They had told us to wait here."
"They came looking for me?" Rhydian asked, with a surprised look on his face. A small smile formed on his lips, and he seemed like he couldn't believe what she had said.
"That's not the problem," Maddy replied. "The problem is that I left without permission."
"That's right you did, young lady," Maddy's mom, said as she stormed out the front door, along with Maddy's dad. "And you had us worried sick."
"Emma," Maddy's dad said to her mom. "Go easy on her. We did know where she went, even if she wasn't allowed to go there."
"That's no excuse," her mom replied. "And you didn't even call when you found Rhydian!"
Maddy was about to try and defend herself, when Rhydian stepped forward.
"Mr. and Mrs. Smith, this is really my fault, not Maddy's," he said. "If I hadn't of run away, she wouldn't have come after me. She was just trying to help."
Maddy looked at him, utterly shocked. Not only had he quickly forgiven her for what she had done, but now he was defending her! She couldn't believe she had been so hard on him before.
"Thank you Rhydian," Maddy spoke, smiling at him with surprise. "But I was the one who made you leave, and I chose to come after you. It was my decision."
"But Maddy," Rhydian sighed, turning to look at her. "You shouldn't get in trouble for trying to save me. Who knows what would have happened if I had returned back to Alric."
"Exactly!" Maddy exclaimed. "And if something bad had happened it would be all my fault. Just promise me that if I get mad at you again, which I probably will, you won't go running off again?"
"I'm not sure I can do that Maddy," Rhydian frowned. "Running away...it's what I do best."
"Please Rhydian?" Maddy asked, looking up at him with her brown eyes wide.
"Alright," he sighed. "I'm not promising, but I'll try."
Maddy's mom cleared her throat, and both Maddy and Rhydian glanced back over at her parents. Emma and Dan were smirking at the two teens, which caused Maddy to blush.
"Well," Maddy's dad said. "I think that as long as you promise not to run off again, we can put this whole thing behind us."
"I agree," her mom commented. "And I'm glad to see you two are getting along better. A lot better it seems."
"Mam!" Maddy cried, her cheeks turning red. "I'm just being nice."
"Of course, Pet," her mom smiled, and winked at her. "Now, will you being staying for dinner Rhydian?"
"Yes please," Rhydian grinned. "I haven't had any meat since the last time I was here."
Maddy laughed, as they walked into the house. For the first time she started to think, maybe having another wolfblood around wouldn't be so bad after all.
A/N: Thank you to everyone who is reading this story! I just wanted to let you know, I won't be posting a chapter this Friday because I'm having surgery. I will try to get another one up a week from today.