Connection - Golden Lycans Sequel 3/3 [Complete]

The Plan

***Ares***

I cannot sleep.

I turn over, yet again, this time facing the window, the moon shining through. It is Wednesday night and my head is full.

Full of things I have learned over the past three days about the Fae. The more I learned, the more I heard Ophelia's words in my head; words that were causing me to question my own genetics once again.

Above all, I was slowly forming a plan in my head for Saturday. A plan that needed to be flawless. I needed something very specific for the plan to go ahead, and what I needed wasn't something you could find just anywhere.

I needed help.

I reach over for my phone, noting that it is two thirty-two in the morning, and I send a quick message to Atticus. He knows all sorts of people, and he is the only person I know who might know someone who has what I need.

I put my phone back on my side table, sighing loudly once again.

It was also maddening that the subject of my greater feelings, my thoughts, hopes...everything, was sleeping across the corridor.

"Curse her idea," I mutter to myself, getting out of bed and quietly opening my bedroom door, stepping silently out into the space between our two rooms.

I feel my heart beating harder in my chest as I step lightly to her door, my senses honing in on her presence just a few metres away, behind one, two-inch thick door.

I can hear her heart beat. It is steady, not slowed...was she awake too? I battle with myself, because she is half Lycan after all...maybe her heart is often like this? Maybe her slowed heart rate was just when she was trying to heal.

I shake my head, 'chickening out' as Madeleine would call it, returning to my own room and quietly shutting the door.

...

***Ophelia***

"Learned anything new?" Ash asks at breakfast on Thursday morning. I look up at him and narrow my eyes, "about the Fae?"

"No, not particularly. I have grown up hearing all of it before, from Sen herself, and plenty from my own mother," I remind him.

"I just wondered. It is fascinating, and truly...I can see it in you, Lia after yesterday's biology lecture," Ash says objectively, scraping the sides of his omelette from around the frying pan, "the blonde hair, which has only gotten blonder since you got here. You are taller. Your hair is also curly, though, but I guess your dad's side has pretty wavy hair. Your eyes...they're very different. The way you move, that has also subtly changed-"

"-Wow, I had no idea anyone looked at me that much," I interrupt immediately, feeling uncomfortable about what he's just listed. I then feel bad about my comment, and I look at him anxiously.

"I am fine, Lia. Don't fret. In fact, I too have a date this weekend," he informs me.

"You do?" I ask excitedly, feeling monumentally better. He nods and looks a little flustered.

"Yep."

"Who is she?" I ask, happy for him, keen to hear who this mystery lady is.

"Another med student," he says, clearing his throat.

"I am very happy for you," I tell him.

"I know you are," Ash says with a sigh, "look. I still like you a whole lot, but...I'm a smart guy. How could I ever measure up against another supernatural? As open minded and welcoming as you are, he'd get you more than I ever could. But, I'd have taken you on a class date. A beautiful, Michelin starred three course dinner, followed by a show. They had Beauty and the Beast on ice, recently...I considered it all. But, I was never going to be the right match for you. It wasn't going to be me who brought all those physical qualities out in you. It's always been him. Even after I told you how I felt, all those things faded within only a couple of days; because you didn't feel even slightly the same way."

I say nothing, because there isn't anything to say. Ash was a great friend to me, but that was it. I am sure someone like Maddy would enjoy that date idea, but it wasn't even something I'd particularly enjoy.

At that moment, Ares comes out of his room and I turn my attention to him as he approaches the breakfast bar. I smile at him happily as he gets closer, and then I start to frown.

"Oh...you look tired," I tell him, not having seen him look like this, before.

"I could not sleep until around five o'clock," he mutters, going around the breakfast bar and taking out a box of cereal, "I had a lot on my mind."

"Trying to sort out the big date?" Ash asks, eating some of his omelette.

"Yes, actually. It is not a simple endeavour," he replies thoughtfully.

"Dates aren't that hard to plan, dude," Ash points out.

"Ares, it really doesn't have to be anything crazy, extravagant or-" I hastily say, hoping he isn't planning anything like what Ash suggested.

"-it isn't," he interjects, "it is unusual, but straightforward, and costs very little. But I know it will make you very happy."

"Then, it already sounds perfect," I tell him with a warm smile.

...

***Ella***

My phone buzzes and I pick it up off my desk in the administration office at Vale. My eyes widen a little in surprise, as I hadn't expected to have results back from my test just yet. It had only been a few days.

I ring Gabe, who sent the text, since I won't be making it to Gaia for a while.

"Gabe. Are you sure?" I ask as soon as he answers.

"Positive. I was surprised too, so I ran it twice, but there is no mistaking it. Parts are incomplete, though. It's bizarre and unnatural. Who the heck does the sample belong to?" Gabe asks.

"That's private. I obtained it a little sneakily, if I am honest," I sigh.

"Whoever it is, their genetic makeup is very interesting and warrants further study," Gabe adds.

"I agree, but that'll have to wait," I reply, before I say goodbye and hang up, as Sen has just slipped into the office. She looks happily up into the large skylight above the desk.

"How did you sleep in the guest quarters? I think you're the first to use them, in all honesty. Previously, they've all arrived and left by tree. Now...that is no longer possible," I sigh. Sen nods as she sits down.

"It was fine for me, but I assume others may not enjoy the tapping on the glass from the wisteria," she replies.

"What is on the agenda today?" I ask pointedly.

"She isn't paying any attention to what it is that I am saying," Sen says in response, which wasn't quite what I'd asked. I shake my head and bite my lip a little.

"It isn't just for her, Sen," I mutter.

"Magic, today. The accessing of it. Particularly that study you performed on yourself," she informs me. I grimace a little, and chuckle.

"I don't think Ophelia will enjoy reading parts of that study. Have you noticed anything new?"

Sen smiles blithely and looks up at the sky.

"Nothing I have not expected to see, given what you have told me. Two young adults, finding their way to each other," she admits.

"Ares?" I press. Her eyebrows raise and she exhales long and hard.

"I find it hard to believe that man is a vampire, in all honesty, Ella. But, no one in that room listens more intently than he does. He drinks it in and the knowledge adjusts him," Sen explains.

"Might be because his mother was once Fae. A fact that is not public. He can also sense Ophelia's emotions, without touching, and he can read her aura," I admit with a pointed look. She shakes her head at me and rolls her eyes.

"Well, now this makes..." she says, before a pause and a confused expression, "...no sense. This goes beyond simple science, doesn't it? This is..."

"-Her," I finish, looking back at the results on the screen, "biologically sound, but...not natural at all. Who knows what we do under divine influence, without ever realising it. The question, is why."

...

***Ares***

"You have taken far more notes this week, than any other," Ophelia says, putting her satchel down next to her and looking at me inquisitively.

"I do not want to miss a single word," I tell her, fishing a stylus out of the bottom of my bag, "I need to tell you something but I do not wish it to cause you upset for anything previously."

She utters a short laugh and makes an open hand gesture.

"What is it?" she asks, looking curious.

"I am really enjoying the way you look in your new clothes, this week. You have always looked lovely, but...lately...." I admit, looking at the navy, smart, wide-legged tailored trousers she is wearing along with the fitted white shirt. It lacks a modest amount of buttons toward the top, revealing cleavage I am only too willing to look at, "I apologise if you catch me staring, I really cannot help it."

She smirks and stares down at her hands as she fiddles with her stylus, my words having made her feel shy.

"Good," she replies, the colours shifting around in her aura, making way for more of the red...which had fast become the colour I enjoyed seeing the most.

I put my tablet in front of me and turn it on, watching as Sen sweeps across the front of the podium.

"I wonder what she will do today," I say to Ophelia, after three days of intriguing floral displays within the lecture theatre. She shrugs and looks down to the front, as the rest of the room falls silent.

"Apologies, there will be no display, today. The sun has not shone, and I lack the ability to return to our realm. I am also advanced in my years; my energy store is not up to performing, today. But I may rest to do one last thing tomorrow, for your final session," Sen says to the class.

"Today, we will discuss magic. This isn't vital knowledge for many of you, but it is interesting, and understanding the production of elemental magic in any individual, is useful knowledge to have, as you never know when it could be useful," she begins, looking briefly up at me, before turning on the projector.

"Drawing magic to the surface for the first time, can be incredibly challenging if not in the right state of mind. Please view the follow results with a mature mind," she says, clicking to the next slide to show a serious of bar graphs, "certain elemental magic becomes easier to achieve based on different states of mind. The feeling doesn't need to be firmly present in the mind, but it does need to be accurately brought to the forefront, so to speak. Memories are ideal for this. Harking back to certain memories can invoke strong emotional responses. Focussing on these feelings when calling upon magic becomes the catalyst."

I start jotting down notes, my mind considering what Sen is describing.

"Now, earth. It comes most naturally to all Fae, and is largely the first magic that is instinctively used. Being happy. Being around nature, being around loved ones...even a basic emotional state, is enough to conduct earth magic. As you can see here on this graph, the strength of the magic varied with different emotional states. Happiness, sadness, anger, romantic desire..."

On the graph description it clearly states that these were results obtained by Ella Landry, on Ella Landry, and Ophelia sinks in her seat a little on the next slide.

"Fire. This one is very different. It is ONLY accessed through intense feelings. Hatred. Anger. A great s****l desire; the latter providing the most instantaneous effect on the test subject. Intriguingly, the performing of fire magic only strengthens the intense feeling the caster was using to access the magic in the first place. It is very unpredictable and is NOT recommended for beginners," Sen explains.

I look over at Ophelia, and she is staring at her hands, rubbing her fingers together. I smile a little at this, because I know what she is thinking as she does this.

"...in fact, evidently, as it is often linked to love, s****l desire and intense feelings of pure love is a great catalyst for any kind of magic. Anything becomes possible. Intriguing results were also shown when memories of strong feelings were replicated at the time. Taking a stroll down memory lane...quite literally...often has a compounding effect. This was a truly intriguing study..."

..

The lecture on accessing magic had definitely given me more to think about, but it has largely made me more determined to find what I needed. I check my phone once more, not seeing a reply from Atticus just yet.

I yawn loudly as we sit down at our usual table in the cafe, and Ophelia frowns at me a little.

"Was something troubling you last night? I have never seen you this tired," she says, putting her bag onto a chair.

"Ophelia, I am finding it incredibly difficult to comply with your directive," I admit with a sigh, "I was awake, knowing that you were right across the corridor. It is maddening, when all I wanted to do was hold you and kiss you. I miss you."

She pauses, red clouding her aura as she feels affected by my words.

This doesn't help me, in all honesty.

"I'll...go get our coffee," she says lightly, darting away quickly.

Thankfully.

My phone vibrates on the table; finally, it is Atticus, with some rather good news, including an approximate time...while questioning my sexuality?

I pocket my phone, smiling to myself, because my plan was now taking a definitive shape.

Just two more nights left, where I needed to contend with increasing amounts of thoughts and physical urges that had nothing to do with being a vampire.

...

***Ophelia***

It is now the fourth restless night in a row.

It made little sense—I was acting exactly like an unmated Lycan. Even acting like an unmated Lycan who was avoiding a mate. A destined mate—which was impossible.

The relaxing and tightening that I felt in my chest when near or far from Ares, had become too obvious to ignore.

I open my bedroom door, my heart beating faster than normal, my body feeling several degrees hotter, even with the frost nipping at the windows. I step out into the corridor, my head turning towards Ares' door.

My eyes instead lock with his, standing in the corridor.

He is wearing only some rather low riding pyjama bottoms. The vague moonlight from outside is subtly highlighting the muscle tone of his upper body and the rest of his tall frame, and this is really not helping the way that I feel.

I can see his eyes travelling all over me, having worn a thin, strapped cropped top and a tiny pair of pyjama shorts, to combat how hot I have felt this week—particularly after his simple words in the cafe.

In one, rapid movement, we meet in the middle, our hands immediately on each other, both indulging in our separate, instinctual responses as we bury our faces into each other's necks.

I inhale deeply through my nose—only able to smell his warm, sleepy skin. I delight in the closeness regardless, rubbing my cheek against the underside of his jaw, him, nuzzling around my face and head. His stubble compared to the smooth skin of his face and neck provides some sensory relief to whatever Lycan behaviours have recently awakened within me, as I feel it against my cheek.

I similarly feel him skim his lips up the side of my neck along my carotid, just as he has done before, eliciting a feverish shiver across my entire body. I pull at the waistband of his pyjama trousers, wanting him flush against me. He obliges, firmly pushing me up against the cool wall behind me.

I excitedly stare up into his dark gaze with anticipation, his fingers gliding slowly and purposefully up the side of my abdomen, and up under my top. He places his hands fully against the delicate skin of my ribcage, and inside I am begging for him to touch me even more.

My wishes are granted, his thumbs reaching around to lightly brush over my decisively hard n*****s. The resulting gasp and sound that I involuntarily make, causes an abrupt change to his eyes, the red glow firmly appearing, closely followed by his fangs from under his top lip...a lip that I desperately wish to kiss.

I run my hands up the hard lines of his chest, every muscle flexing beneath my fingers, until they rest behind his neck. He keeps me pinned, breath ragged against my forehead. I close my eyes, searching through what I can feel from him— excitement, apprehension, some confusion...but largely...desire.

Indeed, I can physically feel his desire against my lower abdomen, and it isn't helping the way that I feel.

I continue to stare up into his eyes, both of us breathing rather deeply as one of his hands tenderly strokes some hair back from my face. He evidently studies my aura and I feel his mood abruptly change to...satisfaction?

"Go back to sleep, Lia," he then whispers, a light smile on one corner of his mouth.

"Ares, you can't just—" I whisper desperately back to him as his hands fall away from me.

"—I can," he replies matter-of-factly, stepping back from me, but leaning down in front of me, his red eyes glowing fiercely, "be annoyed with me...I don't care...because it is working, Ophelia."

He steps away completely, turns, and heads back into his room.

I let out a shuddering exhale as I lean back against the cool wall again for a moment, allowing myself to catch up...

Back in my room, I am wondering what the heck he meant by 'it is working'.

I exhale short and fast, discovering an unusual, slick sensation directly between my legs; something had indeed worked.

This was new, and probably would've helped tremendously a year ago, starkly reminding me of how emotionless, uncomfortable and empty that encounter truly was.

I feel a sharp pang of shame over it, now. I had been so desperate in my resolve to make something happen, I'd lost sight of what was important.

A sadness sets in over me, as I begin to think about how badly I had treated myself over the past couple of years.

...

***Ares***

"You are clearly stressing hard over Saturday," Madeleine says quietly as I push porridge around my bowl. I look sideways at her.

"I am stressing somewhat," I admit, "but not because I don't want it to happen. I just need it to be perfect."

"You look knackered. Lia isn't like....well, me, for example. You might be overthinking it all," she says with a frown.

"I am knackered, and I absolutely need to overthink it. You just don't understand," I mutter, hearing Ophelia's door open.

I glance sideways at her, before looking straight back down at my bowl.

She has definitely done this on purpose.

I probably deserve it for how I'd left her in the corridor a mere five hours ago, her aura a shining red beacon of desire I had sorely wanted to give in to...

"Wow, Lia," Madeleine says approvingly, which really says it all.

"Thank you Mads, it is really comfortable," I hear Ophelia say, referring to the very form fitting ribbed-textured dress she is wearing over tights and boots.

It is casual, but it's showing every curve of her body, and all it's doing is reminding me how thermally hot her body was last night, and where my hands had decided to go...

I immediately abandon my porridge and go back to my room, before I become unable to stop two physical reactions from happening, right there in the kitchen.

..

Our final lecture on the Fae wasn't until eleven o'clock, so I go out for a walk, looking up the address Atticus has sent me on my map application.

It is seventy miles away, in Dartmoor national park.

I stop for a moment, wondering whether it was reasonable to ask Ophelia to drive us somewhere for a date that I had planned.

"How is she?" I hear a now familiar voice ask.

I look up to see Ella Landry a few metres from me, her large silvery wings out, indicating that she had just landed.

I had seen photos of her wings, but never in person, and the way they caught the light was remarkable. They looked delicate, but I had heard enough this week to know that looks were quite deceiving.

"Good," I reply, walking closer to her as her wings disappear from sight, "mentally...she still carries those deaths with her. The magic she has managed has been without control, so she still can't identify that she did it. Physically, though, she has healed well."

"I am glad to hear she has healed. I have tried to keep my distance, this week," she says with a sigh, "outside of this place...things aren't good. I need her to know as little about it as possible. With the absence of tree travel, a lot of those we have protected, are now very vulnerable once again. Not having to worry about Ophelia is a load off Austin's mind. So, thank you for that."

"We have only been here, so...she is very safe. But-" I begin to say, glancing down at my phone, "I need to take her to Dartmoor tomorrow."

Her eyebrows rise as she comes closer, looking at my aura, quite obviously.

"Want, or need?" she asks bluntly.

"Need," I say again, not knowing if I can achieve what I need to do, without going there.

"Can you fight?" she then asks, her brow furrowed considerably.

"I don't know. But...I'd give it a damn good try," I say truthfully. She looks at my aura again and she finally nods in agreement.

"Ophelia..." I begin to say, feeling a little bereft, "she...she holds herself back."

"I agree. But there’s only so much the rest of us can do, Ares. Ophelia often pushes herself closer to her goals—only to trip herself up just before she reaches them. I’ve seen it again and again. Only recently have I begun to hope that she might finally break that cycle. It’s not unique to her. People have always been capable of being the architects of their own destruction… but also their own becoming.

She’s hybrid. And apparently, that means something far more profound needs to occur for her wings to manifest. But she needs to forgive herself first—truly forgive herself—and take the step forward.

Sen doesn’t think she’s taken in a word of lecture all week. If she had, she might’ve already had the epiphany she needs. Now, though… now she has you. And with that, I honestly believe it’s all within reach."

I nod ardently.

"I have listened, I assure you, and I understand," I say boldly, daring to wonder if my plan will work. But I needed to believe that it would. Ella looks awkwardly at me for a moment and her polished exterior drops, just like it did in the kitchen when she sent me to Ophelia.

"I have to admit something, Ares, which is inexcusable as a doctor, and everything else that I claim to be," she says with an edge to her voice. I look back at her curiously as she looks concerned about her next words, "I had your DNA tested, off a glass when you were around our house."

This was not something I thought I would hear from her, and I am not sure how I feel about it, on the offset.

I knew social convention would say that what she had done was a violation in a number of ways, but equally, I had thought about asking her several times, over the past week. Now I didn't have to.

"Okay. What did you find out?" I ask.

Over the next few minutes, Ella manages to deliver some answers to a number of questions I have had about myself in recent months.

She flies away shortly after, and I make my way back to the flat to collect my bag, my mind going over what she told me, again...and again...and again.

...

***Ophelia***

I watch Ares arrive down the front of the lecture theatre, and my heart does a telltale leap as his eyes find mine.

Part of me didn't give a toss about what we did as a date tomorrow. He had taken what I'd said in the car very seriously.

Perhaps a little too seriously. Particularly after last nigh—...

...—I stop myself.

I knew he couldn't switch the aura reading off, and while I was still feeling a little annoyed at how he'd left me—aroused and in the corridor of all places—I didn't want him to know how much one simple touch was still affecting me, nor that I was replaying the physical memory over and over in my head.

"You will need some walking boots for tomorrow, and I would like you to wear that navy tank top I've seen you wear a few times. I...like it," he says as he sits down, getting his things out of his bag.

Clearly he doesn't want to discuss last night, or his rather obvious exit this morning. At least I am wearing a cardigan, now, but his reaction had been duly noted.

"Walking boots and a tank top...Why?" I ask with a short laugh, intrigued, now.

"I also need you to drive us somewhere. The rest we will do on foot, hence the boots," he informs me.

"How many miles are we walking?" I ask.

"Around fifty by car. Twenty on foot. But don't worry, I could probably carry you some of the way," he says airily.

"What? Carry me? Why? You want to walk twenty miles? That'll take all day!" I exclaim, confused.

He shakes his head and smiles at me, knowingly.

"No...I don't think it will. We have around three hours once we leave here around nine to get to where we will leave the car around eleven. Don't fret, we will make it. We will aim to get to our destination for two o'clock sharp," he says seriously. The room is suddenly plunged into darkness, and a chorus of gasps pop up around the theatre as silence promptly falls.

"I have help from a sister, today, as one final demonstration of what Fae can accomplish, together," I hear Sen's voice day loudly over the speakers. I can hear rustling and movement all around, but it is completely pitch black.

"Oh my goodness, that is just wonderful," I hear Ares breathe next to me, his vampire vision along with some of the lycans in the room, clearly working far better than mine, right now. I can't see a thing.

"Is that water?" I ask out loud in the darkness, as I swear I can hear running water.

"It is indeed water!" Ares exclaims happily next to me, grabbing hold of my hand in the darkness and giving it a squeeze. I smile, feeling his joy over whatever he is witnessing, and I chuckle quietly to myself.

The front podium illuminates in bright blue flame, highlighting my mother standing at the front, hand in hand with Sen. Sen looks a little weary, but my mother looks delighted, raising her other hand and shutting her eyes, as she intends her vision into reality.

Bright, almost neon aquas and violets start popping up around the lecture theatre, illuminating the dense, lush green foliage that has been grown on every square inch of the lecture theatre. The water rushing down the staircases becomes alive, sparkling in more of the neon aqua, glittering all the way down to the front, where water is pooling around the bottom of the theatre, the flaming podium now an island.

Huge, unusual -yet clearly Fae- flowers begin blossoming all over, their other worldly fragrance hitting the noses of everyone in the room.

I can feel Ares' excitement, exhilaration, hope...he is feeling a lot, right now, strangely, and we both turn our heads and lock eyes at the same time.

He looks at my aura, and his eyebrows raise as he continues to look, now seeming to be more enthralled by my aura than the amazing display within the room.

I look down toward front at my mother, noting how peaceful she looks, how effortless this all is for her. I just want to be like her so badly...

"No! Please stop feeling like that," I hear Ares say next to me.

I look at him and his eyes now look sad as he looks all over me, his mood now dropping. I let go of his hand. He looks exasperated, and I don't know why. I can vaguely hear Sen talking, but I am too distracted by Ares' expression.

"...so it is time to touch upon the remarkable influence that our kind once had upon this earth and beyond, and could have once again. It is in fine balance, after all. What can only five hope to achieve within their lifetime? We shall see..."