The Golden Lycans (Ella) novel Chapter 77

Two Parts of One Whole

*Austin***

Ella leads me in silence through the atrium, down the dim sports corridor, and into the pitch-black sports hall. Her heels echo against the polished floor as she heads straight for the fire exit, its sign casting a faint glow. I follow without question, though confusion stirs-why the greenhouse?

She pushes open the door and fumbles for a switch near the floor, and the greenhouse erupts with

light.

Thousands of fairy lights flicker to life, weaving a golden glow throughout the once-barren space. gasp-it’s more vibrant than I’ve ever seen, a stark contrast to the lifeless ruin Freya had shown me

when she first told me about Ella.

It’s breathtaking.

She releases my hand and steps to the fountain, just a few feet away, as her heartbeat quickens. But it is not with excitement, but nerves. She tugs at the sheer cape of her dress, bringing it from behind her shoulders and down the front of her. Then, with a deep breath, she moves her shoulders. Suddenly, her large, shimmering silver wings unfurl from her back, graceful and

awe-inspiring.

For the first time, I truly see her.

And in that moment, I know-she is a gift. To me. To everyone. And together, we are meant for something far greater than ourselves.

But right now? Right now, she is mine, and I need her to know I am hers.

“Um… so this is the real me,” she says quietly, searching my face, her heart pounding in rhythm with mine. She hesitates, contemplating her next words.

“I, am the last surviving faerie of a bloodline that has been protected for six hundred years, by a talisman that I unknowingly wore around my neck. My old necklace. The spell woven into it, ceased the night of my seventeenth birthday. Because that night, its purpose had been fulfilled. It k new I would soon be strong enough to no longer live hidden and unaware of my heritage. That I would be strong…because of you. Since that night, I’ve realised-my magic is tied to you. To us. It grows with how you make me feel, with how you feel about me. It took me far longer than it should

have, to see what was truly happening between us,” she confesses.

I force myself to stay still, to listen, to control myself. Now that I’m of age, now that we are alone,

the desire to feel her again, to relive everything from our last kiss, burns across my body.

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She gestures around the greenhouse, at the flourishing life surrounding us, smiling warmly.

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“None of this would have been possible if I hadn’t met you. That day on the bridge, when we kissed, I was overwhelmed-I thought it was just my hormones, or your alpha pheromones making me feel the way that I did. But now I know… it was magic. Because my magic is because of what connects us. I felt so much in that moment. So much that it terrified me.”

She pauses, drawing a deep, shuddering breath in as she speaks her truths.

“That night at the winter formal, I felt it even stronger. But when I was finally honest with myself it’s been there since the moment I arrived. Since I first locked eyes with you on the patio that day. For weeks, I tried to convince myself it was just a crush. In truth…I hated feeling like every other girl in the sixth form, drawn to you just because you’re… you. I didn’t want to be shallow. But maybe-may be-you were the reason I came to this school in the first place.

I wish I had figured it out sooner, why I felt pulled to you, why I needed to be near you. And I am so sorry-for not knowing immediately, from the first time you kissed me on that bridge… that I never had to fear the future. That I never had to fear losing you tonight.”

She stops, emotion so raw in her eyes as she gazes at me in a way that I have never been looked at before. I step toward her, on the cusp of hearing what I needed to hear, my own heart beating as hard and fast as I can hear hers is. I swallow hard, stepping to within mere inches of her now.

“Say it,” I state simply, my voice rough and urgent. Because like her, I’ve always known it, even before I understood it. Since the first time our eyes locked across that patio, since the first time that I felt the pull to her, like a force written into my very bones.

She looks up into my eyes once more, a beautiful smile spreading across her face as she speaks. the words I have so longed to hear.

“We are two parts of one whole, Austin. I never had to fear tonight, because it’s me. I am your mate.”

Her voice is steady, defiant and so sure.

I exhale sharply, a ragged breath torn from my chest, and with a low, satisfied growl, I close the final inches between us. My hands cradle her sweet face, thumbs brushing over her soft skin as

our lips finally meet once again.

She melts into me without hesitation, no longer nervous, no longer holding back. Her fingers tangle

into my hair, tugging just enough to send a shiver down my spine. When her tongue teases the

edges of my lips, coaxing then open, I meet her eagerly, deepening the kiss with a hunger that has

burned within me for months.

My heart thunders against my ribcage as I grip her small waist with one hand, the other while the

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Two Parts of One Whole

other slides to the nape of her neck, holding her steady, keeping her close. Our kiss is desperate, heated, fraught with absolute vindication-the proof of everything we’ve both felt, everything we’ve both known. Lfeel possessed by the sheer rightness of this, her absolute enthusiasm, the way our bodies fit together, the way she kisses me back with equal need and certainty….

…And Goddess help me, I never want to stop.

I break our kiss, just barely, my breath still mingling with hers, but I need to speak. I need to say the words, before fate can twist this moment away from me, before I wake and realise this was some

cruel dream.

My hands frame her face, my thumb brushing her cheek as I finally voice what has been written

into my soul from the beginning.

“I, Austin Landry, accept you, Eliana Reva as my mate,” I say proudly, grinning broadly as I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear the way I had done so many times before. She smiles back, bright and beautiful, before whispering the words that change everything.

“I, Eliana Reva, accept you, Austin Landry as my mate.”

The instant the last syllable leaves her lips, warmth floods through me-a wave of something powe rful and ancient. My entire body recognises it, drinking in the connection like a long-awaited breath

of air.

Ella’s eyes flutter shut, her chest rising and falling in a slow, deep inhale as if grounding herself, and

a flicker of unease tugs at me.

“Ella, are you okay?” I ask, my voice edged with concern.

She nods, but it’s slow and deliberte. Her throat bobs with a hard swallow before she finally meets my gaze, her eyes burning into mine. Then, I see it, her hands, they’re glowing. A soft, white light, illuminatesthe air between us. I breathe through my surprise. This… this is new. But, this is her, and there’s no doubt; certain aspects of my mate are definitely going to take some getting used to.

“Yes, I’m fine. Please don’t worry.” Her voice is soft but sure, her breathing slow and measured. “I think this is meant to happen. I just… need a moment.”

I have no idea what is going on but thankfully she opens her eyes after a minute; her hands back to

normal. I lift a hand and brush my fingers gently over her cheek, reveling in the way she leans into my simple touch, the way color blooms across her skin, the way her lips curve into a soft,

breathless smile.

“I can’t believe it’s really you,” I murmur, my voice rough with emotion. “I think that deep down, I kne

1. It never made sense to me, or to Atlas…or to anyone, why I was so drawn to you. Why I couldn’t

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stay away. Why you consumed my thoughts, why I needed to know everything about you.”

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pause, my gaze falling to her lips, the heated memory of our first kiss on the footbridge, searing through me like fire.

“But I never let myself believe it. Not until that day, when I kissed you and felt things I never had

before.”

The words barely leave my lips before I’m kissing her again, devouring her. The connection is too much, too powerful, and yet, not enough. I pull her impossibly close, pressing her body flush against mine, the fully awakened alpha within me craving my mate with a primal need. Judging by the way her hands roam my body-grasping, exploring, desperate-she feels it too. I don’t know how long we’re lost in each other, lost in this intoxicating rhythm of lips and breath and want, but eventually, I force myself to break away…barely.

She stands before me, chest heaving, lips swollen, cheeks flushed the most beautiful shade of pink, the sight alone making restraint almost impossible. But I have to get myself under control…because she isn’t Lycan. Her pace and needs may be different from the instincts that now roar through me. But maybe… maybe that’s why she’s mine…maybe that’s why no one else ever

could be.

“What now?” she asks, her soft blue eyes searching mine.

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