Rhydian's P.O.V.

It's warm when I wake.

The baby, who's been sleeping (and drooling) contentedly nestled in my arms all night starts crying at the first sign of dawn. She's obviously hungry. And I, with my advanced knowledge of babies (ha!) have precisely no idea what she'd eat, so I decide to head to a water source first and just go from there.

I yawn, standing up, and try patting the little girl's back in a (yes, I'll admit it) feeble attempt at getting her to shut the heck up. She just goes red in the face though, frowning at me angrily through her hot tears, with those bright hazel eyes which I swear are the same as Jana's. And when I take a long time to walk to the forest she becomes even more furious, and those grey-green irises narrow into a scary yellow. Yep, I definitely have a baby Wolfblood in my hands. How the heck did that happen?

As I pad through the trees, trying to shush the cub so she doesn't scare away all the food in the forest, I realise that the woods aren't nearly as scary in dawn light as they were last night. In fact, I feel kind of stupid for being such a scaredy cat. The light dappling through the oak leaves is beautiful as it falls onto the damp carpets of moss, projecting elaborate patterns over everything. My sharp hearing picks up (even through the sound of loud baby wailing) the sound of rushing water not far away, and I head in that direction, trying to conceal my need to THROW THIS SCREAMING BABY INTO A TREE.

We emerge into what looks like something out of a fairytale. It's a clearing, with soft, daisy-littered grass adorning the ground, ringed by a circle of towering oak trees. Wild roses in brilliant shades of velvety red and white climb up the shiny saplings of silver birches, and dazzling butterflies caught in shafts of sunlight flicker amongst tangles of sweet honeysuckle. Through the centre of the clearing is a dividing line: a bubbling stream, the water tinkling as it rushes over pebbles, like a ribbon of dancing fairies.

The sight makes even the cub shut up. We stand for a few seconds in awe-struck silence before thirst takes over and I first cup my hands into the stream so she can drink, then eagerly lap up water myself. It's the sweetest, freshest water I've ever tasted, and the cub soon cheers up as I place her in the shallows and she splashes about, gurgling happily.

I make a half-hearted attempt to scrub the blood out of her little white dress before giving up and wrapping her in my vest. Then I leave her there, keeping a close eye, as I wander off a few yards in search of breakfast. Soon enough in this summer paradise I find blackberries, and pound a handful on a rock until they resemble a dark blue mush. Then I feed it to the cub bit by bit, letting her bite it off my fingers.

The birds begin singing before long, and for a while I feel more relaxed than I have in a long time. Inevitably though, the panic rises again and I wonder what on earth I'm supposed to do with a baby wolf, in the middle of the Welsh wilderness, when I'm on a mission myself. How am I supposed to find Maddy with a cub slowing me down? And more importantly, who are the cub's parents? What if she really is related to Alric and Jana?

Then the thought hits me. What if the pack is nearby? What if the baby belongs to Jana or some other of her family members? But she was left alone, covered in blood, in the middle of the forest. That means whoever is her parent, is either dead or dying.

I leap up and grab the cub from whatever she's doing in the stream. We need to find her family, whoever they are.

I reluctantly leave the paradise clearing and begin to trace my footsteps back to where I found the baby last night. Everything looks different in daylight, but I eventually find the spot; the ground is bloodstained and I can see the thorns where I tripped over. And from there, I can see a trail leading back out on to the heather which is so trampled and bloody, it can only have been made by a person running for their life.

I sniff the air and can practically see the golden trail stretching out in front of me. Pushing the cub onto my hip, I set off to follow it.

Maddy's P.O.V.

My heart has stopped as I see him in Eolas. Rhydian. Rhydian Morris. He's here.

I let go of the grass at my feet and turn back to Jana. "Alric's still alive", I tell her, seeing her face relax in relief. "And…"

"And what?"

I take a deep breath, and I can hardly believe the words myself as I say them. "The cub's alive too…with Rhydian."

Jana stares at me. Then she lets out a strange noise and dashes off into the heath land before I can blink, shouting back to me "Come on! Maybe we can save my dad! And maybe Rhydian's come to find you!"

I stand there in surprise for a second, watching her. Then my brain clicks into action and I race after her.

We find Alric at the same time he does.

Alric lies sprawled on the ground, in the same position as when I saw him in Eolas. He heaves raggedly and I can see the blood seeping out of his shirt, only partly concealed by his hand, which he clutches to his stomach. As me and Jana run up, his eyes flit open and stare at us bewilderedly for a moment, bright yellow. Then they focus on Jana in recognition and before I know it they're hugging, clinging on to each other as if they're never going to let go.

That's when I look up, and see him.

He stands there as still as I am and those deep-as-an-ocean eyes burn into mine. He stares at me incredulously, incomprehensively, as if he can't believe I'm actually here. I stare back, as if I never want to look away. His cheeks are flushed from running and his blond hair, so dark at the roots, is tousled by the wind. His face is leaner, and those blue eyes look older, so much older, but at once exactly the same.

Rhydian Morris breaks the silence and steps towards me. It's only then I notice the cub at his hip, but it doesn't seem to matter. Our gazes are still locked together, unflinching.

He opens his mouth to speak-

Which is when Alric lets out a blood-curdling scream.

Thanks for reading! Will update soon! Btw anyone else notice Bernie on the Colmans shepherd pie advert?