Chapter 1

It had been nearly a month since Rhydian left to go live with Ceri and Bryn with the Wildbloods, and Maddy hadn't been the same since; she spent all day trying not to cry in front of her parents, in front of Tom and Shannon and at school; and every night, she would be going through the mountain of photos of her and Rhydian, going through a whole box of tissues before softly crying herself to sleep. Last night was no different.

Maddy slowly woke up the following morning and groaned slightly when she felt the sun's light break through the gap in the curtains and go directly into her eyes. After her eyes re-adjusted to the light, she slowly got out of bed. Once she had wiped the sleep from her eyes, she looked into her bedroom mirror, checking that her eyes weren't blood shot; that could really give this away from her parents, and she didn't want them to find out. Shaking her head, she got dressed quickly and headed downstairs

"Alright, love?" asked Emma, as she served up breakfast on the table where Daniel was sat. Maddy nodded softly as she sat down and began to eat the bacon sandwich that Emma had put out for her. You would've thought that Emma and Dan would've notice that their daughter had been acting differently since Rhydian left, but Maddy was good at keeping secrets from her parents; she had been lying to her friends up until a month ago.

Maddy soon finished her sandwich and left the table, muttering, "I'm just going for a walk." Nodding, Dan went back to reading the newspaper and Emma started clearing up the dishes. Silently, Maddy got her jacket on and exited the house, before she started running towards the depths of the forest. She ran until she came to a clearing where she liked to think; she had been doing this ever since Rhydian left. The moment her thoughts wandered towards Rhydian, tears started to well up. She slowly slid down the side of a tree, trying to stop herself from crying.

A growling suddenly came from behind her. Getting up quickly, Maddy got up from the tree and turned around, only to see a pair of male Wolfbloods, snarling at her and slowly advancing on her. Maddy snarled back at them, but she was slowly backing up; even if she was in her wolf-form, she would easily be beaten by the two full-grown Wildbloods.

The two Wildbloods snarled threateningly as they slowly started getting closer. Suddenly, a figure came out of the forest and took out one of the Wolfbloods by tackling it. Once it was knocked out, he stood between Maddy and the other Wolfblood, saying, "I'd run if I were you, lass; this isn't your fight." The Wildblood suddenly jumped at the newly appeared 16 year old and tackled him, locking his jaw around his forearm. The boy grunted in pain, forcing the Wildblood off him and slowly getting up, holding his arm to reduce the blood coming out of it.

The Wildblood snarled and swiped at him, catching his face. The boy cried out as he put his hand over his eye, where there were three claw marks on his face, one going over his eye, another above his eyebrow and the third going just below his eye, ending at his nose. The boy snarled and grabbed the Wildbloods neck, lifting it up. The Wildblood yelped and clawed at his chest, leaving three long claw marks running the length of his chest. The boy ignored it and snarled, "Run while you still can; and take your friend with you."

He then dropped the Wildblood who ran to his friend, woke him up and the two ran off. Panting softly, he turned to face Maddy, whose eyes were wide in shock. The boy wiped the blood from his face, and said, "So, are you alright?"

Maddy slowly got up, looking at his wounds, knowing that he was going to need them to get fixed up. "Are you alright?" Maddy asked as the boy slowly lowered himself at the base of a tree. Getting paler, the boy said, "I've been better; what I want to know, is how you came into contact with the Wolfbloods?"

Looking offended, Maddy said, "Uh, I happen to be a Wolfblood! And you're in our territory! Who are you?" The boy looked up at Maddy, who liked the look of his grey eyes, said, "My name's Jacob Caan. Now, is there a place where I can get fixed up?"

Jacob suddenly became faint and stood up, only to nearly pass out. Maddy quickly caught him and said, "Easy! Come on, I'll take you me mam; she can fix you up."

Maddy then slowly took Jacob to her house; it was the least she could do. He did save her life, after all.

The two soon arrived at Maddy's house, and Maddy pushed the door open. "I'll get me mam," said Maddy, gently putting Jacob on the sofa and went to find her mum.

She found Emma in her and Dan's bedroom, and she said, "Mam, I-" but Emma suddenly smelt and said, "Why is there another Wolfblood here?" Maddy sighed and said, "He saved me, Mam! And he's hurt; I need you to fix him up."

"And why would I-" started Emma, but after smelling again, her eyes widened and, looking back at Maddy, said, "I'll get started right away. You; stay in your room until I call you."

Without another word, Emma left, leaving Maddy with a confused, but slightly glad, expression on her face.