Rhydian's P.O.V.

I barely have time to transform before the wolf lunges at me.

I'm whacked to the ground as he slams onto me full on, knocking all the breath I have straight out of my lungs. He falls on top of me, a weight like ten bricks, right on my stomach, pushing any remaining efforts at gasping for air right out of the window. All I can do is scramble away, rolling onto the thorny heather as I try desperately to catch my breath. Then I struggle up back onto all fours to find him circling me, menacingly.

His eyes bore straight into mine, glowing half-suns that sting with anger. We slowly walk around each other, never losing eye contact, as I assess my opponent. The wolf's about as large as the alpha, but I can tell he's not because even under his thick layers of mustard fur and a white underbelly, I can still see his bones jutting out like a malnourished street cat. He's scrawny; maybe even middle-aged. I snarl at him angrily. Although he's undoubtedly a dead weight despite his skinniness, I can tell I'm fitter than him-he's already panting from the effort of throwing himself onto me.

From the corner of my eye, I see Maddy. She's also transformed, into the sleek chocolate-brown wolf who's form I've dreamed of for so long, but she's only snarling at one other wolf.

Where the heck is the alpha-

A weight like a barrel of rocks knocks me to the floor. Sharp teeth dive into my flesh at the back of my neck and sink in deep, causing me to yelp in agony. I manage to twist around to face the alpha head on, and blindly lash out at his face. The stinging pain of teeth in my neck stops as the wolf barks, my claws having scraped warm blood from his muzzle. I take my chance, lunging my weight forward until I'm on top of him, and press my claws into his body, pinning him to the ground.

Of course I've forgotten about the other wolf.

I'm dragged backwards by the scrape of my neck, and teeth delve into my stomach. Suddenly both wolves are above me, their weights unrelentless. My stomach feels as if it's being ripped to shreds and I dare not look at it in case I see my insides being dragged out. Hot, stinking breath pounds into my face as the wolves pin me onto the heather, their identical golden eyes burning with hatred.

If this is it, I decide, I want my last image to be of her, the girl I've missed for far too long. I turn my head, searching for Maddy. But all I see to my right is the limp body of the she-wolf she'd been fighting, lying motionless on the ground.

And then one of the wolves is wrenched off me before I can blink. And I see her; panting, blood stained, but those shining eyes staring straight into mine as she sinks her teeth into the wolf's fur. Thanks, I say with my eyes.

Anytime.

I turn back to the alpha and with a sudden surge of nervous energy just from looking into Maddy's eyes, I find the strength to push myself back onto my paws. We face each other, barking obscenities, snarling so the ugly sounds echo off the trees near us. As soon as I've managed to catch my breath, I pounce.

He meets me mid-air and we smash against each other, glass meets glass, pure muscle against bone. But I'm on top. We slam to the ground and I hear the sickening crunch of the alpha's jaw bone as it's pulverised onto the ground, my dead weight crushing him.

I punch and bite and kick with every ounce of my will power, my claws unsheathed, my teeth bared, and when I pause for breath, the alpha's gone limp.

I stop and stare in disbelief.

And suddenly realise how silent it is on the plain.

I whip up and stagger off the alpha's still body. Around me lie four other motionless bodies: Alric's, the she-wolf's, the other male wolf, and then, crumpled against the blood soaked heather, sprawled on the ground like a discarded doll, is the girl I loved.

No.

I struggle my way through the thorns to get to her, just to reach her after all this time. Maddy somehow transformed before she fell, and she lies amongst the cruel purple flowers like a broken toy, angry smears of blood ruining the smooth tan of her skin. Her limbs are twisted roughly, like a child tries to make a Barbie doll go swimming. Her dark hair is clumped together with dry blood and falls over her face, as if it's a curtain trying to mask a dead body.

I stagger up to the one girl I'd give up everything for, even my own life, in a heartbeat. I nuzzle my head into her neck and lick her face, desperately. When she doesn't move, I lower my head to her chest to find a pathetic heartbeat still there, but only just-it's like the tiny flutter of a newly hatched butterfly's wings.

I transform back into human form and feel the wounds tearing at my stomach and neck afresh, but I couldn't care less. I brush the hair off Maddy's flushed cheeks and cup her tiny face in my hands. She's still warm, blood is still pulsing through those delicate veins. Her eyes are softly closed, but her lips are ajar: as if she's about to tell me a fairytale.

"Maddy?" I whisper, and I don't even realise I'm crying until the tears catch in my throat. "Maddy?" I try again, and my salty tears slide onto her face, catching on an open scar which rips across her lip. She remains completely still, barely breathing, a half-fledged, with half her grip on this fragile thing we call life, the other slowly letting go.

"No." Please, no. I've already lost her for three years. She can't leave me now, not when we've only just found each other again. "Please," I breathe.

It's the same word, the same tone she used, all those years ago, when she begged me to come to the wild with her. But I didn't. I didn't realise what I was letting go of. I didn't go, and I should have done.

Because now I'm going to lose Maddy Smith forever.

Oooh, cliffhanger! Sorry this chapter took me so long! I had a geography exam today but I am taking a break from revision now and writing this new chapter, yay :) Warning though, I will probably not update much until the 2nd of June which is when my exams finish, sorry :p But then I will be free to update much more often XD

PLEASE REVIEW they make me happy :)