Wolf Girl (Book 2)

Chapter 8: Rhydian

Rhydian's POV

Jana sits back down next to me, she huffs defeatedly, "Did something else happen when you went to talk to Ava?" She asks me.

I know Carys wouldn't want me to tell Jana what happened at the school and in the woods, it should come from her. And to be honest I'm not exactly sure what happened. But I know she's going through something weird right now, it's pretty clear she wants to be alone. 

"No, it was a bit of a one-sided shouting match with Ava, and then we came back here."

I feel guilty for lying to my friends, but I would feel even worse if I betrayed Carys' trust.

We say goodbye to Tom and Shannon, and then Maddy, Jana and I all walk back to Maddy's. Mr and Mrs Smith are out on a date night and Ava texted me saying she thought it was best if she stayed in a bed and breakfast just outside Stoneybridge, she said she managed to flirt her way in. Gross. I'm just glad she's nowhere near Carys. 

Once we get back to the house, Jana goes to Carys' room to talk to her, but she's not there.

"Maybe I should go out and look for her," Jana suggests.

I really don't think Carys wants to talk to anyone right now, but I can't exactly say that to Jana, she'll ask questions and she'll try and get the truth out of me, and if that doesn't work, she'll get Maddy on her side. And everyone knows I can't lie to Maddy.

"I'll go, you've had a long day, go get some rest," I say.

"Yeah, Carys' stuff is all still in her room, so you can go and sleep in there," Maddy says.

"Okay, if you're sure?" I nod. "Let me know if anything happens, or if she needs me," she yawns through her words.

"Go to sleep Jana, she'll be fine."

She sleepily stumbles into Carys' room and I hear her flop onto the bed.

I kiss Maddy and I head back into the village. I can faintly catch Carys' scent but it's difficult to track her. Her scent is everywhere, she must have been walking around the village for hours.

Eventually, I find myself at the old church ruins on the outskirts of the village. It's dark now but I can see her sitting against one of the walls that have crumbled away over the years. She doesn't notice me at first, she just sits there whispering something.

"Go away," she says, "Go away," over and over again. 

Is she talking to herself? Or is there someone else there? There's no other scents apart from something metallic. Maybe it's someone that I can't see, the same person she thought she saw earlier.

She's rocking back and forth, clutching her head in distress. Trying not to spook her, I approach her slowly; she still doesn't see me with her head buried in her knees. The sleeves of her flannel shirt are all ripped up, right to the elbow. And there's blood on her arms.

"Carys?" 

She jumps and goes silently still, but she doesn't look up at me. She bites her nails and shakes her head. I get a closer look at her arms, she's scratched herself so deeply that she's bleeding. All over both of her arms, and her legs. 

I crouch at her side, "You're hurt. Let me see," I try to take her arm, but she yanks it away.

"No," she quietly protests, "It's fine. Just a scratch."

"It's more than a scratch, Carys, let me help you." 

She scoots away from me and starts violently shaking, "No," she says it louder this time, "Just stop!" She demands