Chapter 4

Maddy heard Rhydian calling her name, but she stubbornly refused to transform back into a human. Instead, she answered his call with a playful howl. This was their last week before school started. She didn't want to waste it arguing, so she was glad to see his wolf come bounding into the forest. She inclined her head, motioning him to follow her and they took off running into the woods.

The scenery here was beautiful. Experiencing it as a wolf was even more amazing. The one drawback was that, while the birds may not have been able to smell them, the rest of the wildlife could. Maddy's family had seen a single deer in their drive in, and that was it as far as large game. Even bears knew to stay away from a healthy pack of four adult wolves. (Although Shannon has a theory that Maddy's family didn't smell exactly like their animal counterparts.)

Regardless, she was glad to be running free with Rhydian. It gave her a good chance to asses his fitness as a mate. They would have strong cubs togeth-

WAIT, WHAT? She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. It was one thing to find herself thinking about red meat while she ran around on all fours, but this was a whole new level of crazy.

She looked around desperately for something to distract her. The only thing she saw was a small stream. She veered toward it and jumped in, causing a huge splash. Rhydian stopped at the edge of the water, his eyes twinkling.

Maddy willed herself to become human again, hoping her boyfriend would follow suit, because she wanted to hear him laugh.

/

That evening, after dinner, while Dan and Emma wenrt for a late-night hike, Maddy and her friends roasted s'mores around the campfire. That was another American food Maddy was becoming quite fond of.

"Shannon," Maddy asked, "did you get any good photographs this afternoon?"

"Yeah. I even saw a buffalo from a distance. I didn't get very good photos of him, but I hope to learn how to enhance the ones I have in our digital photography class."

"I'm so excited we have that class together."

"Yeah, " Shannon replied, " you know, its the only fun class I have this semester. Other than that its all maths and science."

"Wow, your schedule in the ecology program is totally different from graphic design," Rhydian observed, "They're starting me off easy. This semester, I get to take my fun art electives - I've got sketching and ceramics. Then I have a computer graphics class and a couple generals. But all of my hard classes happen during Junior and Senior year."

"Please pass the marshmallows," said Maddy.

"Here you go Mads, and could you pass me the chocolate?" Shannon responded.

"Can't. I ate the last of this bar, but there's more in the bag behind Rhydian's chair."

Rhydian fished around for a second, then said, "Got it," and tossed the new bar of chocolate over to Shannon.

She tried and failed to catch it. "Drat!" she exclaimed, getting up from her chair to pick up the candy bar off the ground. "At least it hasn't been opened yet. So, Maddy, tell me about your other classes."

"Oh you know, just a bit of everything. Haven't decided on a particular course of study just yet. So I'm just taking me general requirements to get them out of the way. I've got all of my classes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so I can find a part time job on Tuesday and Thursday."

"That sounds great," Shannon replied.

"Yeah. Classes should be pretty easy, so I think I'll have the most fun out of the three of us."

"I dunno about that," Rhydian countered, "I'm really looking forward to my ceramics class."

After that, the conversation moved into lighter subjects, the friends just enjoying each other's company. The firelight reflecting on their faces gradually got dimmer. Having finished with the s'mores, and given the fact that it was a warm August night, no one felt the need to stoke it. They were comfortable in their chairs, and they had built the fire safe distance from anything flammable, so they felt no immediate need to extinguish it either.

Thus, when Dan and Emma returned from their hike, they found their campsite quiet. The only sound was the crackling of coals, and the three friends were staring into the firepit, starting to nod off. Well, Maddy and Rhydian were. Shannon, still coping with jet lag, was fast asleep in her camp chair.

Dan said, "Why don't you kids go to bed now. We can deal with the fire."

Shannon woke with a start. "What's on fire?" she asked, worried.

"Nothing that's not supposed to be, Shan," Maddy assured her, "Let's get you to bed."

The two girls walked to the tent they shared. Rhydian got up and went to bed as well.

"G'night," said Shannon, groggily as she slipped into her sleeping bag.

"Night," Maddy replied. But she couldn't fall asleep just yet. There was too much on her mind.

She could hear her parents talking by the fire.

Dan remarked, "I can't believe our little girl is starting University next week. She grew up so fast!"

"Yet not fast enough," Emma replied.

"What do you mean?"

"Its just that Shannon know exactly what she wants to do for a career. Even Rhydian has a plan. But Maddy..."

"Ah, she'll figure it out. She's young. She's got time."

"I know. I just worry about her. She doesn't always make the best choices. And it'd be hard enough just being a human girl. She has an entire other realm of problems to deal with."

The hiss of someone pouring water in the coals made it impossible to hear any more of the conversation. But she had heard enough to make it even more difficult to fall asleep.

Author's notes:

Wolves reach mating age after two to four years. Not unbelievable that Maddy's wolf would start thinking of such things a few years after her first transformation.

Disclaimer: I did not attend college at MSU. Nor did I major in Ecology or Graphic Design. As such, my descriptions of MSU and the characters' majors do not reflect the reality of those programs. I chose MSU for thus story based mostly on its location, and the majors based on what I know about those characters. I will do my best to give an accurate portrayal of the college experience, but remember that this is a work of fiction.

I consider extreme fear of fire to be more pronounced in wild wolfbloods than in those who have live as humans for years. Thus, Rhydian, Maddy and her parents are comfortable using it while camping. Not saying they are pyromaniacs, just that they can deal with it better than Jana can.