Connection - Golden Lycans Sequel 3/3 [Complete]

Why?

***Ophelia***

I bite my lip as I look back at Ash, rather surprised by his bold admission.

He had made comments here and there, but nothing to make me ever consider that he felt about me in that way. Although...maybe there were a few things he'd said...now that I think about it properly.

"Oh, Ash..." I say, unable to say much else. He looks at me and shakes his head.

"No, no, PLEASE don't feel bad, Lia. I have eyes...I haven't been blind," he says, flicking his eyebrows upwards briefly as he sighs again, "we don't have control over what or who we want. But, please don't feel bad for me, Lia, because apparently my 'type' is what I had always hoped it would be; a great person with a good soul."

"You are so kind," I tell him, sniffing a little as I reach out for the lily again, a small glow of hope still sitting of inside me as I fully accept what my mother had tried to tell me, "...I guess the thunderstorm really was because of me..."

"That crazy storm was because of you?" Ash exclaims in alarm.

"My mother suggested it, but I really didn't think it could be me. I hoped it was, but I couldn't let myself go down that road again. But, I am going down it now. The storm was my reaction to Ares kissing Mads. That is when I knew..." I mutter with a little sigh.

"Ares is a great guy, but it was like he was raised in a prison or some sh*t. He's probably confused and afraid. He has asked me a few things lately, things he should have learned from having two older brothers. I won't make excuses for him, but...he might need some time, Lia," Ash says thoughtfully.

I nod and give him a little smile.

He gets up and heads back into the flat.

I lean back against the glass wall, my brain going off in several different directions, feeling more confused than ever before.

All I knew for sure, right now, was that somewhere deep inside me, a faerie did indeed exist...

…

***Austin***

We could do with a palace, I muse to Atlas as we emerge from the tree in Serena and James' hefty palace garden, just after lunchtime on Saturday. I nod politely towards Daniel, one of the senior groundskeepers.

"No snow around here, then?" I ask him.

"Evidently not, sir. But it is forecast," he replies dryly with a smile. I begin to walk towards the back entrance to the palace, security be damned. I get my phone out and dial, not fancying wandering around the vast number of corridors for too long. I often got lost.

"James. Which one of your richly architectured rooms are you hiding in?" I ask as he answers the phone.

"The least architectured one," he replies with a light chuckle before he hangs up.

I smile, heading to a room that I do happen to know the way to.

Down a corridor of old photographs showing James' famous lineage meeting with various less-famous sportspersons, is the door that leads to the gym.

"So, what are you benching these days?" I call out as I enter a room that is completely different from every other room in this grand building.

It is mostly a forest green and gold, with all the latest and greatest when it came to gym equipment. Only the best for my alpha Lycan sister and her genetically evolved human husband.

"It will only hurt you to know, Austin," I hear him laugh from around a corner, where he is indeed on the bench press. There is an insane amount of weights on either end of the bar.

"Wow, you just keep going, huh?" I reply as I see my royal brother-in-law get up off of the bench.

He smiles at me and nods, dressed in black gym shorts and a plain white tank that Ollie would be rather proud to wear. Gone were his days back at Exton where he had next to no muscle mass. Since unlocking evolved traits due to bonding with my sister, he could now outdo any Lycan in a gym.

Well…almost.

"I do need to keep up with that sister of yours," he says, drinking some water. I mentally count the weights on the bar.

"Seven hundred?" I ask incredulously.

"I told you it would only hurt you. We needed to get a reinforced titanium bar. The last one snapped in the middle," he jokes, beginning to take weights off the bar.

"Benching seven hundred KGs and yet you're still half my size," I say, still surprised as ever. James laughs.

"My muscles are simply more efficient, more superior, I think you will find," he says smugly.

"Whatever. Atlas could still beat your royal ass," I joke.

"We will never know, Austin. Did Val send you an invite?" James now asks.

"Yeah, he did. I'm amazed he remembered to mention me when he wrote the invite to Ella," I reply, stacking one of the weights back on the enormous rack, "where is Serena?"

"She opened a renal unit in Scotland this morning, but she should have been back two hours ago. No doubt she's got sidetracked by some shops or a restaurant or something. What brings you here, Austin? Aside from making yourself feel inadequate in my gym?" he asks in amusement.

"Calm down; I could do seven hundred..." I say defensively, "but I'm actually just here to finalise Christmas plans."

James looks delighted at my mention of this.

"Oh! Are you finally going to come to the church service?" He asks brightly.

"No, James, we still aren't trotting out in front of news crews, you know this," I remind him with a frown.

"Aus, Ophelia is now an adult. Joshua is acting like an adul—yes I’ve heard all about it from Anastacia. You cannot keep them hidden forever. Trust me, I know," James replies, ushering me towards the door.

"It's not the others I worry about. It's Ophelia. You know what’s going on lately, and given what happened to Serena, I thought you’d be more on the side of protecting her, not encouraging her into the public eye," I say with a sigh.

“You are correct. I do apologise,” James says, looking back at me as I follow him down a corridor to a room that I do recognise; the kitchen.

"She is your heir. It is normal to worry. How is Ophelia, generally?"

"Academically great, as always. She does have a crush, though," I reply with a look.

"Devon's son? He is a remarkable young man. I have met him twice while donating. He is very good at taking blood," He asks, opening his substantial fridge and removing freshly pressed orange juice.

"I am hoping it is," I say bluntly as he pours some of the juice into two glasses. He stops for a moment and looks up oddly.

"Wait...you are worried that it could be Ares Katz?" he asks with intrigue.

"Ella doesn't think it could be...but...our family is weird, James. I just know it's probably that roommate, rather than the more obvious choice," I sigh.

"Wow. That is...interesting. Diplomatically speaking, he is a very polite, thoughtful young man, but gosh—an alpha she-wolf would eat him alive..." he says, making a face as he trails off.

"Tell me it is going to be okay!" I say as I receive the glass.

"It is going to be okay," he replies dryly, sounding utterly deadpan.

"Oh come on," I grump, "he's a vampire."

James looks less than impressed by this comment.

"So what? I am human," James shrugs, "that did not bother you, or was it only okay because I was royal? Was it okay because Serena was not your heir; is that what potentially bothers you about this? Your heir might have feelings for a vampire?"

"Not just any vampire, James. He is the son of the original vampire, but he isn’t like the rest of them. Ella found out the other day that he is empathic and he can see auras."

"He is not like the others. From what I could tell when I met him, he actually despises what he is, Aus," he says with sad eyes.

“Maybe he and Ophelia have something in common after all, then,” I reply with a sigh.

“Ophelia doesn’t hate herself, Aus. She just cannot be what she is meant to be and she feels the loss of that,” James points out as he starts sending a text message on his phone, before offering me the biscuit tin.

He always has the best biscuits.

"Let me guess, flown in from Italy?" I ask as I pick one out.

"No, these are from Dalston. Anyway, I can scope Ares out for you in two weeks or so," he says.

"How? Got fencing again?" I ask, taking a bite.

"Augustus hosts a fairly opulent winter ball every year," James replies.

"A bash every December, eh? Why have I never been invited? I’ve been head of something supernatural for years," I point out.

"Well, exactly. The reason for that is that it is mainly royalty and high society. Not...politicians," James explains with a raised brow. I make a face at him immediately.

"I am not a politician!" I say defensively.

"You...are, actually. It is a little hard to defend that idea when you put legislation through the House of Commons just last week," James points out. I am about to refute that, but I can't.

"How the heck did I become a politician? This was not what I had in mind for a career!" I growl.

"Curious. What did you have in mind?" James asks, crossing his arms.

"Honestly, I thought I'd be headmaster of Exton. Not that I would ever admit that to anyone," I laugh. James suddenly looks up and a smile spreads across his face; I know that smile.

"Serena is back. Sounds like via helicopter, which is most peculiar," he then says with a frown. Five minutes later, my youngest sister walks into the room.

She stops abruptly just as we do, and she and James exchange some pointed glances at each other. I know he is listening in on her privately.

Sometimes, I wish he were more accessible to me, that he wasn't a king who was prominent in the public eye. He could make some meetings I have so much easier with his unique ability to hear thoughts.

"Really..." Serena suddenly says, her green eyes finally leaving her husband as she now rushes forward to embrace me.

"My FEARSOME big brother, it is SO good to see you in person, rather than those awkward photos of you lurking around in Zurich or outside emergency departments," she says.

My nose cannot help but pick it up.

"Serena," I say pointedly, giving her abdomen a particular look. She laughs and makes a flippant gesture.

"Yes. Again. Only six weeks. Yes...it's going to be a bit of a hefty gap, but..." She says with a sultry smile towards James.

He just smiles broadly back before he glances at me and clears his throat awkwardly.

"Why did you come via helicopter? It isn't the safest of routes," he says protectively. Serena instead looks at me, her expression serious.

"Actually...you need to tell Ella about this because it was most bizarre. Balmoral had to bring me back, because...the portal tree stopped working," she says in a rush.

James and I exchange a strange look.

"What do you mean it stopped working?" I ask.

"I came through it earlier this morning, did my thing for the media, opened the renal unit at Glasgow Royal and then…it would not work. It was just a tree," she says, before she raises her finger and points between the two of us, "and before you suggest it is me who is on the fritz, we always have an aura reader accompany with security on visits like this and they confirmed that it was just...gone. All of it."

"What was gone?" James asks.

"What powers it. Apparently, the tree was devoid of light and it had no gateway like all the others. It is now just a simple, albeit rather beautiful tree," She explains.

I look at her awkwardly, feeling a bit of a strange chill going through me as I recall something Ella had said to me only a few weeks ago.

I get my phone out and video call her. She answers from her main office at Vale.

"Els...just with Ser and James. Ser went via the palace to Glasgow this morning, but by the time she was due to come home, the tree had stopped working," I inform her.

Her expression shifts a little and she bites her lip.

"That's the newest in the network, isn't it," she asks rhetorically, "I only grew that one last year as part of Vale's medical outreach that we will start next year."

"It has no light left, Ella," Serena adds, having come beside me. Ella nods sombrely and she looks worried.

"I....will shortly pop to Edinburgh and I will fly over to Glasgow. I’ll check the other recent additions shortly after.”

She hangs up and I put my phone down, knowing that Ella is going to be gone for the rest of the day, now.

“Does she have any idea why?” Serena asks.

“One…and I don’t think she wants to entertain that idea, just yet.”

...

***Ophelia***

I hear the sound of a door opening and closing outside of my room, and I just know that this is yet another day where Ares has escaped the flat before anyone else had gotten up.

This was the tenth morning in a row of him doing this, and each day my heart sank further and further.

Ever since what had been a mildly intimate moment between us on the balcony, he had avoided me entirely. I had no idea why that was, but it had had a profound effect on my mood.

My red lilies, so alive and vibrant after that moment on the balcony, had shrivelled into dust a day or so after.

My hair seemed dull, I was back to jogging rather than running, and I felt the cold a lot more. Whatever traits had begun to open up inside me, were becoming firmly dormant once again, the longer that Ares avoided me.

In only three days, we would all be returning home for the Christmas break, and I just didn't know how I felt about it. I felt...trapped. Trapped in misery in one place or another.

I didn't particularly want to go home, but I didn't want to stay here with recent memories, either.

I get dressed and exit my room, just as Ash is coming out of his. He looks over to the front door, noting the absence of Ares' shoes.

"That's it, I'm gonna have a word with him," Ash says with a pissed off tone and expression. I shake my head.

"No, Ash, please don't. I just want to get through the next three days and then just—" I trail off, making a gesture of flying away.

"—go back home and have to put up with your d**k brother and immature sisters making you feel even worse, for two weeks?" Ash finishes. I nod and sigh, wishing I could just go somewhere else.

I make my breakfast and eventually make my way to the lecture hall, entering it to find that Ares had once again moved to the furthest corner of the room, his bag in the seat next to him to prevent anyone from sitting there. I glance up at him from the lower ring of the lecture hall, and his dark eyes meet mine briefly before he leans back in his chair, looking as thoroughly miserable as I felt.

I wish I knew what the problem was.

Why did he do what he did, only to suddenly turn so cold towards me?

Why was he suddenly trying to be as far away from me as possible?

I was losing patience. I drop my gaze and go to where I had always sat, settling down, feeling the obvious absence of my friend sitting next to me.

..

I leave the lecture hall into an inch of soft snow that had settled outside.

I am really starting to feel the cold again.

I hadn't taken in a damn thing during the lecture.

My mind had instead been fixed on the man in the top right corner of the room. It was like I could feel his presence at every moment, his very being calling out to the hidden part of myself that had finally begun to come out of hiding.

Having headed to the basketball court, I am thankful to not find Ares nor anyone else on it. I begin to shoot over and over, missing most of them, my brain feeling too distracted and in disarray to coordinate myself properly. I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket, and I stop to read the message, uttering a happy sigh at it's contents.

Aunt Serena: Fancy staying with us for a few days before Christmas? I can come get you from campus in three days when you break up. We will go shopping, we will eat good food, and you can feel like a Princess for a few days rather than returning to your chaotic siblings. Sound good?

Truly, that sounded bloody FANTASTIC, to be honest. I eagerly message her back, feeling a weight lift off my shoulders; I didn't have to immediately go from this relatively murky fortnight of heartache, into having Joshua passive aggressively nagging at me to give up being our father’s heir.

I lob the ball with my left hand, haphazardly towards the basketball hoop, feeling irritated when it lands neatly through it.

...

***Ares***

I watch Lia hurry out of the lecture theatre, and thankfully her scent diminishes along with her. I lean back in my seat and shut my eyes, feeling utterly dejected.

The last ten days had been horrible, and it was entirely my own doing.

What had happened on the balcony had both excited and terrified me in multiple ways.

Since that moment, the reaction I was having to the scent of Lia had reached a peak I had not been prepared for. It was likely to get worse, if I let it, so the sad fact was: I couldn't be around her anymore.

In my room each night since, I had been so uncomfortable, my fangs out due to proximity, her scent from across the corridor driving me to utter distraction.

Every morning, I left before anyone else, which was the only way to keep my fangs and red eyes hidden from my flatmates.

After two days, I had gone home briefly to confide in Atticus.

He had been sympathetic and kind. It was quite unexpected, but I supposed he wasn’t used to seeing me as distraught as I was. He recommended meditation, prompting me to take a book from our vast library on the subject. I was enjoying it somewhat, but I didn’t think it was working. Lia’s scent still had a firm hold over me and until that went away, I couldn’t risk hurting her.

In three days I would get relief when we all parted ways for the Christmas break. That would give me time to ask Ella Landry to be relocated to another residential block—I didn't know what else to do, at this point.

I slowly leave the lecture hall, my feet feeling heavy in the light snow. As if on autopilot, they take me towards the basketball court, the place Lia and I would have normally gone together for this free period.

Sure enough, she is there. Her blonde hair is looking darker than it had recently, but her raspberry pink coat is so visible against the surrounding snow as I see her jump in the air while she shoots the ball. Watching her move had been like visual poetry; but it isn't that way now. She lacks coordination and she misses the hoop several times as I watch.

She is in disarray, and it was my fault.

"What is going on with you, Ares?" I hear Ash say behind me. I flinch a little, not used to people approaching me from behind like this. I turn to look at him and his expression is quite impassive. He is angry with me. I furrow my brow at him but say nothing.

"I saw you, that evening, on the balcony with Lia. I saw what happened between you both. I can also see what your sudden avoidance is doing to her," Ash says brashly before he deliberately steps in front of my view of Lia, "she is miserable now, because of you."

He puts solid emphasis on the word ‘miserable’, and it strikes me hard. I bow my head, because he is absolutely right, and I feel wretched because of it.

"Are you afraid of how you feel? Afraid to take that step? Coz, you know she would understand, don't you? She would accept whatever it is, and she would be understanding and kind. She would be so patient with you. You know that, right? You do realise she would hold your hand in more ways than one. You must know this," Ash rounds on me again, every point striking me harder.

"Yes," I reply bluntly, "she would. I cannot tell you why, Ash, but please believe me, she is better off this way."

I turn to walk away, but Ash grabs me by the shoulder.

"Well, Ares, I gave you space because I haven't been blind to how you evidently feel about her. She has been harder to read, but you must know that she feels the same way?"

I sigh and nod awkwardly, looking him fully in his blue eyes. Ash steps closer and his expression softens.

"But, after Christmas? No more space. I feel that way about her too and I'll tell you right now; I don't intend to stay away from her, and I definitely won't be ignoring her. I would honour her," Ash informs me before he walks away from me himself.

His words are like a punch to the gut, and they leave me feeling worse than I felt already.

...

***Ella***

I knew it wasn't right that I was watching security footage of my daughter, and what was a somewhat private moment between her and another student, but it did allow several things to fall into place.

Finally.

I hit play on the recording for the third time, squinting as I lean right up close to the screen and watch Ares Katz bury his face into my daughter's neck, nuzzling her fondly. His body language reminds me of a Lycan, of all things, but it was what Atticus had done before he fed on his volunteer, on the podium in the lecture theatre.

I cannot see Lia's face from the vantage point of the camera, but it clearly picks up a pair of glowing red eyes in the darkness as he eventually raises his head from her neck. His expression rather pained. He looked so torn, but he definitely hadn't fed on Ophelia.

I close my laptop and lean back in my chair, my mind touching on several things he had said to me a number of weeks ago, in this very office.

"...I am not sweet, Mrs Landry..."

"....because sometimes...try as we might, we cannot fight our DNA...."

He had said, looking so forlorn as he had done so, and at the time I remember being confused by his statement, as natural born vampires didn't have the urge to feed...they just could. But what I had just seen pointed to someone performing an instinctual behaviour...one he evidently didn't want to indulge in...thankfully.

"...all you need to know is that I will not be a threat to anyone..."

Perhaps...Ares appeared to consider himself a threat to Ophelia.

I wish I knew more about his people. Was bloodlust linked to romantic feelings towards a person too? I just didn’t know. I was tempted to reach out to Atticus about it, but I was a little busy.

What I did know at this point was that Ares had been seen to be avoiding Ophelia, and the lecturers had noted that she seemed distracted, pale and withdrawn over the past week or more. That was partly what had led me to scour the security footage from their balcony.

Now I just felt intrusive.

I turn to my desktop computer and my eyes scan the email from Ares once more.

He wanted to change residence on site, but he hadn't given a reason.

Now I knew, but I didn't think that moving him out of Carphallus was the answer.

...

***Ophelia***

I stare at the front door.

I am still waiting.

It is eleven o'clock at night on the last evening here before we all head home tomorrow morning, and I had finally plucked up the courage to confront Ares about what was going on with him. I didn't want to go away on Christmas break, wondering what I had done to receive not just silent treatment, but complete and utter avoidance.

He hadn't spoken to Ash or Maddy either, something I found even more peculiar than this sudden change in behaviour.

I didn't know where he had been going, as whenever I had slyly gone to places he would usually go, there had been no sight of him. It was like he disappeared from campus altogether.

By half past eleven I am yawning a fair amount, and I am just about to give up and go to bed, when the front door finally opens. His expression when he walks in, is so strange, almost pained, like coming back into the flat caused him some sort of great discomfort. He winces as he kicks off his shoes, somewhat angrily, a body language I hadn't seen in him before. In his arms I am surprised to see a book on meditation, of all things.

Is that what he has been doing all this time? F***ing meditating?

He turns into the room, and he immediately stops as his eyes fall on me, his eyes locking with mine.

I feel a kind of fury bubble up inside me, and I jump up from the sofa, heading straight over to him as he takes a step backwards, his back hitting the front door.

"Why?" is all I can manage to get out, my voice thick with emotion.

His dark eyes are pleading as he stares back at me, not saying a word. In this moment, as I look at his handsome face, I hate how I still want to go back to that moment on the balcony.

I want him to want me again, to have his arms around me, his lips against the skin of my neck as he nuzzled me so fondly. I feel my face scrunch up with emotion, emotion I really don't want to be displaying right now.

I take a breath and I compose myself, looking defiantly up at him.

"Do me this BASIC courtesy, Ares," I say boldly, stepping towards him more, my face inches from his, "you...you hug me...you...you then nuzzle my neck...and then you just...turn your back on our friendship just like that?! TELL ME WHAT I DID!"

He swallows hard and just looks at me, absolutely bereft.

"I am truly, so sorry," he says emotionally, his eyes full of sadness, before he strides past me to his bedroom, shutting the door behind him.

I want to cry.

I want to shout.

Instead, heavy rain begins hammering down on the skylight above me, the weather reacting to the angry and hurt faerie beneath it.

I stare up at the dome, out into the blackness above, wishing that I didn't feel so alone in all this.

It was truly isolating.

"Why?" I say you to the heavens, the question meant for the Goddess this time, not for Ares.

..

I sat out on the balcony under the canopy for many hours before I finally went to bed.

I knew without a shred of doubt this time, that I had caused the rain. It was me, and I felt that I should at least be present for it.

Before I had gone in, I had looked at my plants one last time, noting their withered stems, the dead lilies that were decomposing on the damp soil. The yellow, curled leaves on the all the plants that were positively thriving just two weeks before.

Plants that had undoubtedly, now, been responding to me, and I knew exactly why.

As my friendship with Ares had grown, so had they. The evidence had been there before me, for many weeks, and I hadn't noticed. When I realised what I was feeling, they had then responded further; climbing up the trellis totally out of season, blooming entirely as my heart raced with joy.

But, with sadness occupying my heart now instead, my plants had withered and died.

A faerie's power was linked to love, after all, and I hadn't even managed to get close to that.

I wake, having had perhaps four hours of sleep at a maximum. I get out of bed, yawning wide as I notice a large sheet of parchment paper on my bedroom floor, right by the door. I pick it up, my breath hitching in my throat as I gasp at what is on the underside of the paper.

I raise my free hand to my mouth in utter surprise.

It is me.