The Golden Lycans (Ella) novel Chapter 68

How Could I Not?

Прок

over at my wardrobe and I remember that I want to show Freya my new dress.

I walk over to my wardrobe and pull out my garment bag.

+25 Point

“This is the dress I got for Austin’s birthday party,” I tell her, biting.my lip. I unzip the bag and take

the dress out of it. Freya’s mouth falls open at first, and then her face changes into a massive

smile.

“Oh wow, that is GORGEOUS, Ella, where did you get that? Is that a designer?” she cries, getting up

and getting a closer look, trailing her fingers down the intricate lines of beads and sequins.

“Yeah…I got it from Harrods. It was a belated seventeenth birthday present from my parents. I saw it and…I just knew this was the dress. This is what I needed to wear for Austin’s birthday,” I explain looking at the dress lovingly and sighing. Freya quietly chuckles a little as I look at the dress, over

and over.

“Ella, you might think you’re conflicted about what to do, but I think you already knew when you picked out this dress. Particularly with how you’re staring at it, right now,” Freya says gently. I hurriedly bag the dress up again and secure it back in my wardrobe.

“Freya…I don’t know how I might even talk to him anymore. It’s been so long since our date and the time I spoke to him after that was when I was o

in the medical bay. I was so awful. I cried so hard and he looked so distraught, the pain in his eyes was unbearable. I haven’t stopped thinking about it. I mean, would he even believe me at this

point?” I ask anxiously.

Freya considers my statement for a moment or two.

“Firstly, he’s firmly believed that you’re his mate since your date. I went to see if he was okay and it

was like he had this grand realisation right there in the gym when he was telling me what had

happened. And don’t worry, I did something I am feeling guilty about too, I brushed him aside and

told him to stay away from you, and basically called him mental. But he’s reminded utterly steadfast in his belief since that day, regardless of how Ollie and I didn’t believe him. So, of

COURSE he is going to believe you!” Freya exclaims in exasperation, “secondly…perhaps at the party? I mean it’s literally what the party is for anyway. In that dress, maybe wait for him to come to you. His male ego would probably prefer that, at this point. Although, you could be wearing a bin bag and he wouldn’t care, it is pretty much a guarantee that he is going to be all over you. But don’t

worry about that sorta stuff, with the marking and whatnot, he probably wouldn’t do anything with

you until you turn eighteen yourself.”

WED

7

OG

|||

O

r

1/4

<How Could I Not?

I frown, feeling rather disappointed at that idea.

+25 Points

“Why is it always eighteen? The legal age of consent is sixteen, and I’m already learning to drive,” I add, confused. Freya snorts.

“It’s just the way it’s been for a very long time. It’s known as the ‘coming of age’. Aus can be pretty traditional with his morals, so he will probably stick to it.”

I sit down on the edge of the bed again.

“Do you really think Austin will even respond to me? I mean it sounds like your dad has basically been brainwashing him for months. He looked so empty, at dinner,” I say sadly.

“I can only hope. We don’t need a beefed up and seasoned fighter as our next alpha, we need an Au

stin, someone who CAN inspire and unite. A real person. Yeah… he probably needed to hit the gym

a little more at first, but in the past month…I haven’t seen him smile, heard him laugh or seen him

do anything enjoyable. He didn’t even cook over Christmas and he loves to do that. Even Ollie

thinks he needs a break and he’s basically a drill sergeant,” Freya sighs.

I sigh loudly and put my face in my hands.

“I guess the second coming of the Golden Lycan could perhaps inspire and unite…” I muse.

“Definitely! Oh my word, it would mean so much to the pack. Not just our pack either, I did some reading into our pack’s history over winter break, and we used to be such a big deal to many, many packs and other supes for miles around. Packs came to us for help, for guidance, for so many things. No packs went without food as our pack provided plenty of crops even during the winter. I guess the faerie Luna had something to do with that, although it doesn’t mention that, obviously. In fact any record of her seems to have been scrubbed from our history,” Freya says.

I begin to feel anxious again about the weight of my decision. There was apparently so much more

riding on it, than just the possible impact on my career plans. But I realise right then, that while I

needed to be selfish with my decision and go with my heart, I also needed to not be selfish. I had

wanted to become a doctor to help people, and I could still do just that, but perhaps one day I could also help in so many other ways. I had no idea what my potential even was, at this point, but what if it was as great as people kept telling me? What if I could do so much more than just heal?

The ache in my heart eases a little as I feel myself making a firm decision, the barriers of uncertainty I’d put up inside me, beginning to drop.

… Of course I was going to choose Austin.

I’d been utterly enthralled by him since my first day at Exton. I look at Freya with a broad smile on my face.

2/4

00

WED

OOG

|||

O

<

How Could I Not?

+25 Pointe

“How could I not pick him, Freya?” I say simply. She looked absolutely relieved at my proclamation.

“Our Dad is going to freak, of course,” Freya suddenly says with a strange expression.

“Freak?” I ask, confused. She laughs.

“He still thinks you are my human roommate. Wait til he finds out you have wings,” she snorts again

with laughter.

“I haven’t actually seen them again since that night, I have no idea how to bring them out,” I reply, realising I hadn’t even tried it due to being so focused on the magic. I stand up and take off my

cardigan.

“So, how do you reckon it works?” Freya asks, standing up now with her arms crossed.

“I don’t know, I mean…they just appeared that night,” I shrug, “maybe I have to concentrate on them

like I have to do with magic.”

I steadied my breathing, drawing my magic to the surface, which was so much quicker here than back in London, due to my surroundings and proximity to Austin. I feel the familiar warmth flowing to my fingertips; but I don’t want to use magic.

“I want my wings,” I whisper quietly to myself, thinking about my shoulders, the idea of feeling weightless while in flight. I try rolling my shoulders forward a little…nothing.

I relax my shoulders again and take another breath. I roll them backwards this time and then, I feel it happen. It isn’t painful like it was on the dance floor the first time, but it is a very strange sensation. I hear a whoosh as my wings neatly unfold quickly from within my shoulder blades, one knocking over my bedside lamp. They thankfully don’t feel as weighty as the first time.

“Oh my goddess, that is AMAZING!” Freya shrieks wearing an expression of surprise and amazement as she gets closer and looks at them up close. I look to the side at the wing Freya is looking at and marvel at the texture and the colours…they are truly incandescent. They just look so other worldly and I can’t believe they are mine and a part of me. I try focusing on them more, trying

to move them. They gently flap toward Freya, creating a slight gust, enough to raise the edges up

of a piece of paper on Freya’s side table.

They felt strong.

I felt strong.

“Man, if you could fly…” she says with awe.

“Probably just a bit obvious to the humans around everywhere, though,” I joke.

“Can I touch one?” Freya ask. I shrug and nod. She extends her hand and lightly brushes against the

WED

OOG

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify