Wild Heart

Chapter 2

Maddy POV~

Maddy woke, bleary eyed, cold and tired from a terrible night sleep. Where was her duvet? She fumbled for it; nothing caught in her grasp but fallen leaves, and then she sat bolt upright, realising again she was in the middle of a forest miles away from home. It was the middle of the night, and cold too, and she knew she would never get back to sleep now. Her dreams plagued her with vivid memories, of Stoneybridge and the woods and Rhydian. She tried to ignore the lump in her throat- thinking about it would only make it worse. Maddy needed something else to do, so she stood, and the forest spun before her eyes. The priority right now was food. Maddy checked on her sleeping parents before making her way carefully to a nearby tree. Once there she leant against it, to catch her breath and decide she would be stronger in wolf form.

She willed her wolf to come forward, and it did, so she crouched and howled and became one with the night: she had fur and four paws and adrenaline.

Immediately she bolted off through the trees, eager to run, so full of energy she wondered if the moon was soon to be full.

Pulse raised and muzzle too, she sniffed out her food and crept silently towards it: the dark was her cover as she stalked the rabbit. Her hunting instincts quickly took over and she plunged into the dense brush, snapping at the animal as it sped off- but she was quick, and within seconds on its tail; the chase was on.

Blood rushed in her ears as she pushed on toward the rabbit, paws a grey blur as she closed in for the kill- and then she couldn't do it. She was a wolf and she couldn't hunt. Maddy slowed to a halt, panting and wondering what she'd do now.