Chapter 4

'So Rhydian who's the new girl' Tom whistled.

'New what!' Jana growled, eyes flashing menacingly.

'What she's just a girl in my class, our class!' He pointed at Tom accusingly.

'I'm not the one who kissed her.'

'You wh-'

'It was part of the play Jana!'

'Guys stop arguing!' It was Shannon who pulled the pair apart. 'If you two don't start behaving you'll be on vegetables for the rest of the week!' Rhydian and Jana stared stonily at each other, neither looking away.

'Look there she is.' Tom waved and pointed to the passing figure.

'You!' Jana bellowed reaching for the girls hair 'stay away from us' she growled her eyes turning to their wolf form in her angered state.

'Jana' Shannon hissed in warning. Tom tackled the red haired girl to the ground covering her face, while the other fled. Mr. Jefferies turned the corner to see Tom pinning Jana to the floor and his new pupil running out the door.

'Stop!' he called 'Do not leave this building!'

'I'll get her Mr. Jefferies.' Rhydian called to him running past the school teacher. He sighed to himself as the two students ran off into the distance muttering 'detention' under his breath. 'Everyone back to class' he ordered to the intrigued throng of pupils.

Rhydian was hot on her heels as she entered the dark and twisting woods. He could almost reach out and grab her clothing. Just a few seconds more and he would have her. He caught the bottom of her shirt in his hand. They fell together his grip on her clothing sending her flying back, at the same time propelling him forwards. She growled at him and instinctively he did the same. Her eyes burned yellow and sharp teeth snapped back at Rhydian. She was panting hard her body heaving with each breath. Rhydian knew who the wolf was.

'It was you!' She blinked, her eyes returned to their normal state. She looked at him pleading with her eyes.

'Please I didn't mean to intrude, I'll just leave, it's not my place to be. Please don't please.' She was begging, fearful. Rhydian was confused by her terror of him.

'I'm not going to hurt you, we're the same.'

'No were not! No one's like me.' He stepped forward to console her but she became only more delirious.

'Shh' he tried to calm her 'Tell me, I can at least partly understand.' He knelt down on the ground in front of her slowly and waited for her to join him. She kneeled tentatively in front of him looking like she might flee at any moment. 'What's your name?' Start with the basics he thought.

'Sara'

'That's a nice name' It was the only thing he could think to say that would comfort her.

'Thanks.' They sat in silence both waiting for the other to speak. Eventually she did. She explained, slowly, cautiously, about her old life. She lived in Scotland with her parents, a normal childhood by all accounts with a good life. Then one day when she was out with her friends who were messing around in the woods outside their village at night she was attacked. She didn't know what it was at the time or that she had been infected, her life forever changed. At the hospital doctors thought she had been bitten by a large dog - a freak attack - but after a few days were happy for her to go home. A few weeks later an unwelcome visitor arrived on her doorstep just before her first full moon, the Wolfblood who had bitten her. He wanted to claim her as own of his own, he reasoned he had created her and now she must serve him. The wolfblood took her by force and threatened to kill her parents if they went to the police or breathed so much of a word about it to anyone. The next night she had transformed for the first time alone, scared and broken.

'After a month living in captivity with that monster, sleeping rough with him getting blind drunk every night, I knew I only had two choices, escape or die trying. I fled one morning after he drank himself stupid celebrating infecting another innocent person. I didn't stop running until I found this forest - I couldn't physically run any further, I was exhausted and didn't know how to survive as a wolf and didn't want to risk being recognised in my human form.'

'So you've been living in wolf form ever since you escaped? Apart from coming to school?' She nodded her head miserably.

'Transforming makes me weak, but it's the only way I won't put my parents in any more danger than they are already in' she explained.

'When was the last time you ate?' Rhydian asked kindly. She shrugged her shoulders

'A while ago'.

'Where do you live now?'

'Here' she gestured to the forest.

'That was your home? That hole in the ground?' She nodded.

'Transforming keeps me warm at night even if it weakens me in the day'.

'Well you can't stay here, you'll starve'. Rhydian stated matter-o-factly. Sara looked at him in contempt.

'Where else am I meant to go?'

'You can stay with me or in Maddys' place'

'Who?'

'An old friend of mine.'

'Really?'

'Yeah totally'

'It would be great to go back to human life, even just part of it.'

'I sometimes feel that way about a wild life.'

She smirked at his comment 'Seriously?'

'Yeah. Just when I'm beginning to feel like human life has softened me enough. Then I realise I couldn't live without pizza. They both laughed loudly for several moments.

'So should I get my things then?'

Ten minutes later the pair were walking back out of the woods Sara carrying her small amount of possessions in her arms and Rhydian leading the way to his house.

'Im sorry about Jana by the way she's not usually like that.'

'Its ok I guess it must take time to get used to a new Wolfblood being around.'

'She didn't know you were a Wolfblood.'

'Oh.' She frowned had Jana just not liked her? She worried that would be the way with other people in school as well.

'Well here we are' Rhydian gestured cheerfully to the abandoned cottage. Home was all the hungry Wolfblood could think, this could be her home.