The Golden Lycans (Ella) novel Chapter 85

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Mira the Minx

**Ella***

“What the ” he starts, his voice barely above a breath. Before he can finish; another voice cuts

through the room.

“Oh! Something smells great!” Dana calls out. We spin around just as she strides into the kitchen. Austin subtly stands a little in front of me, as if that will somehow make this look less suspicious

But Dana’s sharp gaze flicks between us, noting everything.

Her eyes land on Austin’s discarded hoodie-flung haphazardly over their fancy barista-style coffee

machine. Then, she looks at me.

I can feel her gaze sweeping over my disheveled hair, my flushed face-then dropping to my neck. I

know what she sees.

I quickly drop my gaze, my hand flying up to rub at the sensitive spot on my neck as if that will somehow erase the evidence. Dana presses her lips together.

“I’m going to… sort… something,” she says awkwardly, before promptly turning on her heel and shutting the door behind her.

There is silence for a moment, as neither of us moves. I groan, burying my face in my palms as I

lean heavily on the worktop.

Austin chuckles, stepping behind me and sliding his hands onto my shoulders, kneading the

tension away.

“Don’t worry, Ella,” he murmurs, his voice laced with amusement, “she’s definitely walked in on worse. I mean, this is a pack house.”

I lift my head just enough to glare at him.

“Oh, and don’t forget-” he adds, smirking against my ear, “Ollie lives here too.”

“It’s not just that, Aus, it’s this!” I exclaim, straightening up and gesturing again to my handprints, se

ared into the granite.

Austin looks at them, then at me, brow furrowed.

“I don’t follow.”

I let out a frustrated sigh.

“I couldn’t help it,” I say anxiously, my hands still tingling, “Gods, I felt like I was going to combust!”

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Mia the Minx

Austin exhales, running a hand through his hair.

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“Yeah, I felt that too. Goddess, do I love to kiss you,” he mutters huskily, his eyes darkening as he watches me. I ignore the flutter in my chest at his words-this was serious.

“No, I mean actually combust,” I clarify urgently, “you’re hot. Don’t get me wrong, you are ridiculously so-but I was too hot. It shouldn’t happen. This is granite, Austin! What if it had been wood? Or fabric? I could’ve set something on fire!”.

I wring my hands, anxiety bubbling under my skin.

Austin’s teasing smirk fades as he exhales deeply.

“Okay, I get it,” he says, his tone turning more serious. He squeezes the back of his neck, looking little concerned now.

“I’m sorry, I just… I couldn’t help it,” He groans, his expression caught between apology and sheer

desire. “I’m still adjusting to, well… turning eighteen, and everything that comes with it-especially

now that I have my mate. But Gods, it felt so good…”

I throw him a look.

“Not the point, Austin.”

He sighs, running a hand through his already-messy hair. I bite my lip, struggling with the rising

panic.

“What if I can’t control my magic?” My voice drops slightly, uncertainty creeping in, “if we fulfill our

bond… I don’t know what will happen. This happened after just one night-not even a full day. Will this happen every time we kiss? Are the… side effects of being close to you just going to get worse

?”

Austin steps closer, taking my hands in his, his touch grounding me in my panic. His eyes soften as he squeezes them gently.

“Ella, you need to trust yourself,” he says firmly, “trust in our bond. Trust that the Moon Goddess

willed this for a reason. You’ll manage somehow. And I just know you’ll be fine.”

I nod slowly, but doubt lingers at the edges of my thoughts. Logically, I see his point. As much as I /

ove science, I can’t ignore that things keep happening in a way that suggests some kind of design. A purpose.

By that logic, I was meant to complete my bond with Austin. Meant to unlock some supposed

‘great power’.

Power that I should, in theory, be able to control. I inhale deeply, my mind shifting to another

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possibility.

Maybe Will can help.

He’s the one person I knew who kept his power under unwavering control, balanced perfectly with the other side of himself. I know he had help to get there, but to stay in control every single day?

That’s was all on him.

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***Freya***

“Doesn’t anyone here know some decent magic that could speed this up?” I huff loudly, hands on my hips. A few students glance at me before exchanging looks and slipping away, clearly deciding their time is better spent anywhere else. I glare after them, letting out a loud and irritated growl before flopping into a chair with an exaggerated sigh,

But I know the real reason for my frustration, and it’s stupid.

Ridiculous.

Pathetic,

You are none of those things, Mira reassures me with her usual calm.

Nope, I definitely am, I shoot back, sulking,

NOW you’re being ridiculous, if that helps. She laughs,

I groan inwardly.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. Not to me. Not with him. Anyone but him.

Except Cass, Mira muses dryly. That would’ve been tragic.

Freya, RELAX. You don’t even know if what you’re feeling is a mate bond…yet.

Oh, I’m well aware of how YOU feel about him, I grumble. But you haven’t been with me long enough to see things from my perspective.

Mira hums thoughtfully,

True. But I have been here long enough to say… this would be a great match.

A voice breaks through my internal debate.

“Mira giving you a hard time?”

My heart stutters at the sound of his voice.

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<Mila the Minx

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I look up, and there he is-the source of my frustration. Ollie stands a few feet away, effortlessly/

carrying a ridiculous stack of chairs, his muscles flexing under the weight. The way his biceps shift with the movement makes my mouth go a little dry.

Mira purrs.

Traitor.

“She can be quite tenacious,” I reply, shifting my features into something more neutral as I sit up

straighter. Ollie smirks, stepping past me to stack the chairs neatly against the side of the hall.

“I hear you’ve successfully scared away all your potential helpers,” he says, throwing me a teasing look over his shoulder, “you get better results when you’re nice, you know.”

I roll my eyes, crossing my arms.

“Yes, well, I’m not exactly feeling like myself today. I feel… odd.”

I stand, trying to distract myself by stacking more chairs. Annoyingly, Ollie’s method makes perfect sense-clearing space first so the tables are easier to move. Why did he have to be so frustratingly intelligent? Why couldn’t he just be some mindless, muscle-bound i***t?

“Anything you want to talk about?” he asks, suddenly appearing behind me. Before I can react, he reaches out and effortlessly takes the entire stack from my arms.

I bite my lip, turning away.

“Nope.”

Mira nudges at me, whispering that I should say something. That I should ask about last night, about the way we danced. But how?

How am I supposed to bring up the fact that for those few stolen moments, I didn’t feel like myself

-that I felt…like his?

Instead, I do what I do best. I ignore it. I stack more chairs.

“Whoa, Freya-” Ollie’s voice is suddenly closer, “watch it, you’re going to drop them.”

Before I can argue, he lifts nine chairs clean off the ground like they weigh nothing. Mira melts insid

e, at this. I ignore her.

Instead, I move to the tables, shoving them back into place now that there’s space. The distraction

is short-lived, though, because suddenly I feel Ollie grab my hand. A jolt of warmth shoots up my

arm as he gently turns me around to face him. His grip is firm, his expression shifting from playful

to serious.

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<Mia the Minx

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“What’s going on with you, Freya? You wouldn’t normally send people running for the hills…” he asks,

his voice softer now, his blue eyes searching mine. I can’t move.

Tell him you

want him to pick us up, take us to that corner table, and ravage us with those hands of

his, Mira purrs. We know they’re experienced.