Maddy's P.O.V.

I wake up in a place I've never seen before.

The bed is so comfy, I feel like I could lie here forever. Three years since I've slept in a bed-imagine that, three years! I feel like I'm sleeping on a cloud or something, and snuggle up into the covers contentedly.

That's when I smell him.

These covers smell like Rhydian Morris. A scent I could never really forget, not as long as I live-a scent like warmth and crackling autumn leaves and bonfire nights, like sneaking out past bedtime and howling at the moon, like getting piggybacks and racing through the forest and laughing and getting told off and not even caring…

My eyes snap open and he's there. Curled up on a chair next to the bed, his long blonde eyelashes casting gentle shadows onto his cheekbones. I haven't had a chance to study him properly yet, so I take it now. He's wearing grey sweatpants and a plain dark blue T-shirt, which shows how thick his arms are. His face seems more sculpted; still with that slightly boyish chubbiness, but with more defined jawbones. His hair is cut short and is flecked with dirty mud and blood. His chest softly rises and falls as he sleeps.

I realise this must be his room, and I bring myself up to a sitting position, leaning back against the headboard and feeling how my whole body aches with the effort. I've never actually been to Rhydian's house before, yet here I am, sleeping in his bed with him right beside me. All of a sudden, everything comes crashing back to me. The fight. How I was in the field, how I almost left through that gate. But I didn't. Something stopped me.

Yeah, btw, that something was Rhydian.

I stare at him again. I can barely believe I'm actually here, in Rhydian's house, in the Vaughn's, in Stoneybridge, after three long years. I wonder how much things have changed while I've been away, but decide that from the looks of Rhydian's room, he at least hasn't changed much. Dirty clothes litter the floor, the curtains have been hastily pulled shut, and drawings adorn all four walls. One in particular, directly in my eye line on the wall opposite, catches my attention. It's a sketch I saw once years ago. Two wolves stare out of the paper back at me, one large and muscley, the other smaller and lean. It's the same picture my and Rhydian once framed for Shan and Tom after they saved us from Kyle. That picture, that somehow means everything…

"Mads?"

I almost jump out of my skin. I barely noticed how his quiet, steady breathing had stopped and how he was sitting up in his chair, staring at me. I turn and stare right back. His blue eyes glint like a sunny sky in the thin strip of light coming from between the curtains. He blinks, slowly, three times, and then his face breaks into the most breath-taking smile I've ever seen in my entire life. I'm pulled to his chest and he hugs me so tight I can literally feel the air squeezing out of my lungs as I'm crushed against his warm chest.

"Maddy…I can't believe…I'm so sorry…"

It's been so long since someone called me that.

"I missed you," is all I can say as I draw back so I can see his face. I smile breathlessly, only now noticing the tears that are streaming down my cheeks. I almost died, but he made me re-think.

"I missed you, Maddy," he replies "so much." His face is flushed as he presses his nose into my cheek, just like we do as wolves. I nestle into him and in this moment, right now, I never want to get up again.

We stay like that for ages, not speaking, the most content and truly happy I've been in years. In fact, I'm nearly falling asleep again when a sudden smell hits my nose. I sniff the air and turn to look up at Rhydian, my face slowly widening into a mischievous grin.

"Do I smell…bacon?"

He laughs.

After breakfast, me, my parents and Rhydian lounge on the couches, watching crap daytime TV. Strange how you miss Jeremy Kyle when you've not seen it for three years, but as soon as you see it again, you're instantly bored out of your mind. Ah, human life, it's like I've never been away.

"So, what have I missed?" I finally draw up the courage to ask the question I've been dreading ever since I left. I want to know so badly, but at the same time, I'm terrified of the answer. I'm lying across the couch with my legs on Rhydian's lap, watching him as he stares at his hands for a minute, deliberating his answer.

"Well, for a start, you missed a Commonwealth Games and a World Cup." He grins at me and I roll my eyes.

"Yeah yeah, what else?"

"Um…"he sighs. "Jimi got a scholarship some place fancy, so he's out of the picture now. Mr Jeffries is considering early retirement, apparently we're all giving him grey hairs, not like he didn't have them anyway…"

I laugh.

"Shan's predicted all As and she's gone to do work experience at Science magazine. Tom's going to Jamaica with his family for a holiday. Yeah, with his dad, too. Looks like they've got their relationship sorted out again. Shan and Harry broke up ages ago, when he left for uni, but they're still good friends. The 3 Ks are the same as ever. In fact..you haven't missed a lot, Mads."

I'm so relieved that I release a huge breath I didn't know I'd been holding.

"We never forgot about you, Maddy," he grins "and Shan and Tom will be so excited."

"Yeah but…I can't stay."

He stops at my words and looks at me. "What-"

"Dr Whitewood, remember? She still hasn't changed in three years. If she finds out we're back, then…"

Rhydian stares at me. His eyes are huge with sadness, but then they slowly lighten again. "Then I'll come to the wild with you. I don't care about my A-Levels. They're not important."

"But-"

"Maddy." He leans down to look right into my eyes, and I'm transfixed by his clear blue gaze. His next words slowly send tingles up my spine.

"I'm never, ever, letting you leave again."

No this is not the last chapter JSorry it took so long to update, I have no excuse, I've just been lazy :p so sorry! Thanks for your reviews, they make me so happy, please review and follow!