The Golden Lycans (Ella) novel Chapter 71

Frosty Friday

***Ella***

+25 Point Point

The rest of the week went by without any sighting of Austin at all since by the staircase on Monday

night.

Thursday’s ‘magic club’ went very well; I was now able to perform one or two attacks with each of the elements with relative speed and ease. I had thankfully moved on to using my memories of Austin, to fuel my fire magic, which thankfully got less intense the more that I tried it. I felt so much stronger and more capable, and now I just needed to be ready for the next big hurdle in my

life….which was Austin’s party.

Invites had apparently circulated back in December for those eligible to attend. Freya said her father hadn’t bothered sending one to our room since he still believed I was human, and wasn’t bothered about catering for any, of course. Thankfully, Freya’s mum had apparently gone out of her way to ensure there was a seat for me at Freya’s table. During the previous few days, the humans in the school became clear to me, as they believed the school was closing for a long weekend for upgrades to the central heating system across the school. Another cunning lie being used to keep the humans in the dark.

Dinner was noticeably less busy on Thursday evening, and it,surprised me to see just how many humans actually went here.

Frost had descended on the grounds this week and the ground was finally hard enough for me to go for a run after all the rain that had happened over the new year. Classes had been canceled today since half the school had gone home, so I didn’t have much else to do, and running provided me with a welcome distraction from the intense nervousness that I was feeling.

I am sprinting through the grounds torward midday, enjoying the freedom and speed that the countryside around Exton had given back to me. It was so good to feel back to what I now consider to be my ‘normal’. The sun is shining in the clear blue sky, and it provides welcome warmth to my face during my run. Fae did get their energy from the sun, an ironic fact after the times I’d joked about the sun recharging me, before all this had happened. After what Landry had said, I have to wonder if there was a less gradual way of doing so? If the Golden Lycans were golden due to their faerie’s connection to the sun…surely there must be something more concrete

to it?

Was I actually like some sort of human solar panel?

I stop by the swing bench by the pond, sitting down for a few minutes, enjoying the peaceful calm

007

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around me and the winter sun on my face.

focus on my outstretched hands.

+25 Points

I feel a little ridiculous trying this, but it can’t hurt to give it a shot-besides, Will isn’t here to laugh at me. As I turn my attention upward, the familiar warmth spreads through my fingertips Strangely, I can look directly at the sun without discomfort, its brilliance sharp and clear in the sky.

My hands grow hotter, more intensely than usual, and before I even try to direct it, I feel energy pouring into me. It flows through my hands, spreading effortlessly through my limbs filling me up. My eyes remain locked on the sun as the warmth surges around me.

I exhale a slow, contented sigh, lowering my hands and breaking my gaze after just two minutes.

I feel more awake. More… everything. And I’m surprised-shocked, even-by how easy it was, how naturally it happened the moment I let it.

I get off the bench and continue my run, undoubtedly running faster than I ever had before. The sun really had helped. I am beaming inside at this newfound ability, that I am sure will come in handy at some point…particularly during exams, perhaps?

Thinking about it some more, I suddenly remember what Landry had said before about a faerie being able to use power from the sun and the moon. Was I like the celestial faerie? Was that why I felt so content and highly energised whenever it was the full moon? Why I kept going outside at night and falling asleep under the night sky?

I recall the passage from the Sociology book in the library.

“The deep bond granted an immense power to the Faerie who was able to bestow a regular gift of moon energy to her Lycan mate”

Could I one day draw energy from the moon and somehow gift it to Austin?

My stomach growls, and I end my run, realising it was now past noon. I’d been running for ages and I hadn’t really noticed. I go back into the building and notice that the atrium is looking quite

busy.

Envoys from packs across the country were starting to arrive and, while walking across the atrium, I was looking at the young women. They were much like the girls at Exton; so beautiful, polite and excited. I feel a bit guilty that they’d come all this way for this event when I knew that it was technically not even needed. But then I remembered Freya mentioning it was a way for others to meet their mates too, so my guilt quickly disappears.

The tables had already been changed around a fair bit in anticipation of tomorrow’s big party. The tables are closer together and laid out leaving a large space in the middle of the room. I have a

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+25 Pointe

quick flashback to the last time I saw the room in this state, and that was before the Winter Formal. I wondered if there would be a dance floor in the middle again like last time. I grab a few

ices of pizza and a salad bowl and decided to sit outside on the patio in the sunshine.

I take a seat and start picking at my pizza, chewing absentmindedly while I shake my salad bowl around to coat everything in dressing. As I glance around the patio, my stomach sinks slightly. hace just spotted Freya sitting with an older man and woman. Their parents.

Great.

The man is massive, probably six-foot-five, with the same dark hair and heavy eyebrows that Freya and Austin have. The woman, about Freya’s height, has thick, dark brown hair and her childnre’s familiar, sharp bone structure. The resemblance is obvious.

Freya notices me at the same moment.

“Ella!” she calls, waving.

I swallow hastily and give a half-hearted wave back, but she’s already standing up, motioning for her parents to follow.

Perfect. The first time I meet Austin’s parents, and I’m sweaty, in workout gear, and inhaling pizza.

Freya stops in front of me, her parents flanking her like bodyguards.

“Ella, these are my parents. Mum, Dad, this is Ella, my roommate,” she says, her tone bright and

firm.

I stand up quickly, forcing down my last bite and wiping my hands on my napkin. I’m sure I look as flustered as I feel. Freya’s mum offers me a warm smile, but her dad barely looks at me.

Then, without hesitation and well within earshot, he turns to Freya.

“Why is she still here? I thought the humans had been compelled to leave.”

My face burns, and I drop my gaze to the table. I already had a preconceived idea of what Freya and Austin’s dad would be like. This was…worse.

I inhale sharply and force a bright, saccharine smile as I look up at him, pushing down the irritation that is stirring inside me. Heat prickles at my fingertips, encouraging me to use it; because I am angry at this man, for what he’s been doing to his son.

“It’s lovely to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Landry,” I say, my voice forcibly even.

Freya’s mum beams at me again, exuding warmth and kindness, a stark contrast to the iciness radiating off her husband.

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