Maddy
The next morning, Maddy was almost excited to go to school. Not only did she not have to dread seeing Rhydian, but he had agreed to help her start her research the next day after school. Her parents had tons of wolfblood books in their den, and Maddy knew there just had to be something they had missed.
When she arrived at school, she hadn't seen Shannon or Tom in their normal meeting place, but she assumed that they had just already went to class. Instead she spotted Rhydian walking alone, and she went over to talk to him.
"Hi," she said, as she fell into step beside him. "So, you're still coming over tonight, yeah?"
"Do you really think I would have changed my mind in the last twelve hours?" Rhydian asked, rolling his eyes at her. "Of course I'm coming."
"I was just checking," Maddy replied, and then a thought struck her. "Oh, I almost forgot! The full moon is next Monday, and my parents wanted to know if you'd be heading back to your pack?"
"No, I wasn't planning on it," Rhydian shrugged. "I figured I'd just stay here. It seems like spending the full moon on the moors would be fun."
"On the moors?" Maddy questioned. "Rhydian, you do know that my parents never wolf out in public, don't ya?"
"Well, I know your parents don't approve of just running around in wolf form," Rhydian frowned. "But I didn't think that went for full moons to."
"Our pack hasn't been sighted by humans in hundreds of years," Maddy said proudly. "We spend full moons in the den."
"That room in your cellar?" Rhydian asked. "That sounds horrible."
"Mam says it has everything a wolf could ever want," Maddy defended.
"Yeah except freedom," Rhydian implored. "You don't understand it yet, because you haven't had your first transformation. The moon...it's pull is so strong. It makes you just want to run free."
"Look, I'm not saying that you have to come with us," Maddy sighed. "But it's my first transformation, and I want to spend it with me parents."
They walked in silence as Rhydian seemed to be contemplating what to say. Maddy wasn't sure how she wanted him to respond. Some part of her, a very small part, thought it would be nice if Rhydian spent the full moon with her. It'd be cool to have someone, other than her parents, to share it with.
"Alright," Rhydian finally sighed. "I'll join you and your parents in the den. That is, if you want me there?"
"Uh, yeah," Maddy mumbled. "Of course."
She couldn't stop the small smile, that formed on her face, after he had agreed.
They entered Mr. Jeffries's classroom, and Maddy saw that Shannon and Tom were already in their seats, just as she suspected. Her and Rhydian took the desk behind them.
"Morning," Maddy said to her mates, after she'd been seated, but they didn't reply. "Shannon? Tom? How are you guys?" They still said nothing and Maddy frowned. "Oye, can you hear me? I'm trying to talk to you!"
"Oh, so now you want to talk to us," Shannon said sarcastically, as she finally turned to look at Maddy. "Well I'm afraid, we're just not in the mood to talk with you."
"Did I do something wrong?" Maddy asked, trying to rack her brain for why they were mad.
"Burgers at Bernie's last night," Shannon said. "Does that help clear things up for you?"
Maddy groaned, and she felt like slamming her head against the desk. With all of her anxiety over Rhydian leaving, she had completely forgot that she had promised to meet her friends. She knew they had every right to be mad at her.
"I'm so sorry," Maddy apologized. "Why didn't you call me when I didn't show up?"
"I did want to call you," Tom interjected. "But Shan wanted to conduct an 'experiment.'"
"What sort of experiment?" Maddy questioned.
"I just wanted to see if you would eventually remember on your own," Shannon shrugged. "And the results showed that you obviously cared more about something else. Apparently, it wasn't that important to you."
"I'm sorry," Maddy said again. "Something came up…"
Maddy glanced over at Rhydian, who had been listening to the whole conversation. She wasn't sure whether she should tell them that she was with Rhydian or not. She knew that Shannon already felt that Rhydian was getting in the way of their friendship.
"You were with him, weren't you?" Shannon asked, staring at Rhydian. "That's why you forgot."
"Shan," Maddy started to say, but she was cut off.
"Don't 'Shan' me Maddy Smith! You told me he wasn't getting in the way of our friendship, yet that's obviously not true," Shannon accused.
Maddy half hoped that Rhydian would step up like he had the night before, and take the blame. But instead he was just looking back and forth between her and Shannon, with an almost amused expression. Maddy growled at him when she noticed, but Rhydian just smirked. She couldn't figure why he found this amusing!
"Shan," Maddy sighed. "I honestly don't know what to say. You see, Rhydian's a part of my life now, and he really needed my help with something. I'm sorry for forgetting, but I hope you can accept Rhydian as my friend...and maybe as yours too?"
Rhydian looked surprised at Maddy's words, and Maddy had to admit, she was a bit shocked herself. She wasn't sure when she had started considering Rhydian her friend. Now that he was on her side, helping her to find a way to break their betrothal, she didn't see any harm in it. Rhydian had been right, when they had talked yesterday. As long as he was here, they should try to get to know each other.
"All right," Shannon finally said. "I'll forgive both you and Rhydian. If, you promise to come help me hunt my beast this Friday."
"We'll help you," Maddy responded. "Won't we, Rhydian?"
"Yeah sure," Rhydian replied, not knowing exactly what he was getting into.
Maddy was sure that if Rhydian had realized what Friday night would entail, he would have never agreed without further persuasion. It would be hours of wandering around the forest, desperately trying to keep warm, and all for nothing. Because the beast that Shannon would be looking for would be right beside her.
The school bell rang, signaling the start of the day, and Shannon and Tom both turned so they were facing the front of the classroom. Soon, Mr. Jeffries walked into the class, with a big smile on his face.
"Good morning class," he smiled, seeming much happier than usual. "I have some very exciting news."
"Have you finally decided to replace the school uniforms sir?" Kay asked, and Maddy rolled her eyes.
"Oh, I think they should be pink!" Katrina added. "With glitter!"
"What a surprise," Rhydian whispered sarcastically, and Maddy had to cover her mouth to hide her snicker.
"No," Mr. Jeffries frowned at Kay and Katrina. "We are not getting new uniforms."
"Well you really should consider it," Kara spoke up, agreeing with her friends. "The ones that we currently have are quite atrocious."
"That's enough," Mr. Jeffries sighed. "Now as I was saying, we have some exciting news. On Monday, we will be taking a field trip to Lindisfarne Island."
Excited whispers broke out amongst the class at the mention of a field trip, but Maddy frowned. Monday was the night of the full moon, and she wasn't sure if her parents would allow her to go.
"I have the permission slips here," Mr. Jeffries said, waving a stack of papers. "So make sure you get them signed by this Friday, or you won't be allowed to go."
"Do you think it'd be safe for us to go?" Maddy whispered to Rhydian, as Mr. Jeffries began to pass out the slips.
"Why wouldn't it be?" Rhydian asked. "If anything, it will be safer than you being in school. The day before my first transformation, I couldn't stand being in a classroom."
"You were still at school for your first transformation?" Maddy asked. "But what about you pack?"
"My mom didn't find me till after I transformed," Rhydian explained. "But I already told you this. Remember? When your parents asked me all those questions at our first dinner?"
"I was a little busy glaring at you," Maddy blushed.
"Yeah, I noticed that," Rhydian smirked, with a teasing grin. "At first I just thought your face was frozen in an external scowl."
Maddy lightly smacked his arm in offense, but it just made Rhydian's smile grow bigger.
"I guess you'll just have to explain your life story to me again," Maddy sighed.
At this, Rhydian's smile fell from his face, and he lowered his gaze towards the floor.
"Trust me," he muttered. "It's not that exciting."
Maddy wanted to ask him what was wrong, but she also didn't want to pressure him for details. She realized that his life before the pack must have been a sensitive subject for him. Maddy knew he was in foster care now, but she wondered if he had always been. She really wished she had listened at dinner on Friday.
Rhydian
Rhydian ran through the woods, knowing Maddy was hot on his tail. He had to admit, for a cub, she was pretty fast. And he knew that the full moon in five days, would just make her even stronger.
Even though Rhydian knew he would know be forced to endure the full moon locked in a cellar, he was still ecstatic. He was quite excited to see Maddy go through her transformation, and through the same emotions that he had experienced. Fear, anxiety, but most importantly, excitement. And he wondered if her wolf would have the same color fur as her chocolaty, dark hair…. Not that he had any fascination with her hair or anything, he was just curious!
He heard Maddy closing in behind him, and he purposely slowed down so that she could catch up. Then, she sprung from behind him, grabbing onto his shoulders and tackling him onto the ground.
"Ha!" she cried as she sat up off the ground. "Not bad for a tame wolfblood, eh?"
"You do know, I slowed down for you, right?" Rhydian questioned, with a smirk on his face.
"You did not!" Maddy cried, punching him on the shoulder. "You're just being a sore loser."
"Whatever you say, Mads," Rhydian laughed.
Both he and Maddy froze, as they both seemed to simultaneously realize what he had called her. Rhydian wasn't sure if he should apologize, or just pretend it didn't happen.
"Sorry," he finally said. "I've just, heard Shannon and Tom call you that before, and it just slipped out."
"It's fine," Maddy shrugged, but Rhydian could tell she didn't truly mean it. "We're friends now, right?"
"Yeah...friends."
Rhydian wasn't really sure how he had felt about that. Before he had joined his wild pack, he had never made any friends. He had always been bouncing from one foster family to another, and just hadn't seen the point in it.
Once he had joined the pack, no one wanted anything to do with him. Other than Jana of course, but she was a different story entirely. But he supposed, that since there didn't seem to be any way that Maddy would be exiting his life anytime soon, it wouldn't be bad to call her his friend. After all, he had been the one to suggest they get to know each other in the first place.
"I think we should get back to the house," Maddy said, breaking Rhydian out of his thoughts. "I want to get started on the research."
"Alright," Rhydian agreed, standing off the ground and brushing his clothes off. "But you do realize that we have school work to do as well?"
"Research is more important," Maddy said firmly. "We can work on school stuff later."
Rhydian sighed, but he knew that starting an argument with her would do him no good. He had already agreed to help her with this, and if he backed out now, Maddy would be furious.
They quickly ran back to her house, and when they went inside, Mr. and Mrs. Smith were sitting at the table. They looked surprised, but happy that Rhydian was there.
"Good to see you again, Rhydian," Mr. Smith said, in greeting. "Here to work on some school work?"
"Actually, he's here to help me research our union," Maddy said. "He's going to help me find a way to get out of it."
Mr. and Mrs. Smith shared a nervous glance, which Rhydian immediacy noticed. He knew he needed to talk to them, and explain some things.
"So Maddy, where were the books you were talking about?" Rhydian asked.
"Oh, they're down in the den," she replied.
"Why don't you go grab them, Pet," Mrs. Smith said. "Your dad and I wanted to talk to Rhydian about the full moon."
"Alright," Maddy happily agreed, before heading down the stairs. She seemed quite excited to get started on her research.
"Rhydian," Mrs. Smith said quietly, as soon as Maddy walked down the stairs. "What on earth are ya doing? We thought you knew!"
"I do know," Rhydian whispered. "But Maddy is going to research a way to get out this union, with or without me. At least if I help her, I can try to keep her from finding out things she shouldn't."
"You do realize what will happen if she finds out?" Mrs. Smith hissed. "I know you don't know Maddy very well, but she's brave. Too brave for her own good."
Rhydian, had of course already noticed this about her. From the way she had first stood up to him, to how she had ran after him when he had tried to leave, he had realized that Maddy Smith had quite a courageous heart.
"I won't let her find out," Rhydian promised. "But it's not a very big secret. If she does the basic research-"
"We've already taken most of the books that contain information on the union out of the den," Mr. Smith sighed. "We hate lying to her, but it's for her own good."
"I know," Rhydian agreed. "I promise, I'll try to protect her."
"Good," Mrs. Smith nodded. "Because if she learns the truth, I don't think there's anything we could do to stop her."
"Lets hope it doesn't come to that," Rhydian muttered.
"Rhydian!" Maddy called, from down in the den. "Are you leaving me to do all the work?"
"Coming Maddy," Rhydian responded.
He left her parents, who still looked anxious, and walked down the stairs. He truthfully hated all the secrets he was keeping from Maddy. He knew that all secrets eventually had a way of getting out, and when they did, he didn't know if he could face her wrath.
"Finally," Maddy grumbled as he walked into the den. "I have no idea what to start with, so here are some books."
She handed him a pile of eight ancient looking books, with brown, stained leather covers. The were quite large, and if it wasn't for his superhuman strength, he was sure he would have buckled under their weight.
"Now, I know you've already done some research," Maddy said. "But I'm thinking that we should just start from the top. I want to learn exactly what the union entails, before we learn how to break it."
"Good idea," Rhydian agreed.
He knew that if he could keep Maddy occupied with the actually ceremony that had bonded them together, it would give him more time to come up with a plan.
"What are you doing?" Maddy asked, as Rhydian went to sit down.
"Um, putting these books down before my arms give out," Rhydian responded.
"Were not reading them down here," Maddy scoffed. "It's to damp and musky. I gave them to you, so you could carry them upstairs."
"How nice of you," Rhydian muttered sarcastically, but he followed Maddy back up the stairs. All he could do was hope that these books wouldn't contain the information she was looking for.