The Golden Lycans (Ella) novel Chapter 98

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*Ollie***

I step toward the bench a little more and contemplate my words.

“You’ve said that to me many times before, over the years,” I begin, clearing my throat a little, “but it

feels entirely different this time.”

She gives me a coy smile and looks down at her hands while they rest on her lap. I wasn’t used to seeing this vulnerable side of her, for I had always known her as such a confident and tenacious

person.

But as feisty as she can be and as feisty as her wolf certainly is, Freya’s heart is as soft and vulnerable as any other sixteen year old adolescent. After a minute of silence she looks up at me

and smiles.

“You used to gatecrash my sleepovers…every single summer on the weekend around my birthday. Oddly happy to have your nails painted and for the other girls to try putting makeup on you because you knew we found it funny. I came to expect you and I think I’d have been disappointed if one year you didn’t do it at all. You saw my absolute disaster of a haircut when I was twelve, the one that was cut entirely wrong on one side. You have holidayed with us since as long as I can remember, pranking everyone, eating more food than any reasonable person could ever eat and acting like a lunatic on the travelators at the airports. You comforted me after that awful camping trip. You made fun of me when I got my first period…and when I got my first bra.

There are so many stories; too many; because you have been a firm fixture in my life as much as my own brother. You’ve been just as annoying as one would be too,” she says quietly with a small laugh, staring at the fountain in the centre of the space.

“Yeah that haircut was terrifying,” I tease. She laughs warmly and relaxes a little.

“You’ve seen my worse days, my most embarrassing moments…and now…” she trails off, biting her lip.

I sit down next to her on the bench and I take her warm hand in mine. It feels unusual to do this but

it also feels good, too..

“…Now? We are growing up, Freya. We all change as we do and how we interact with the world and each other will invariably also change. You just listed a few embarrassing and dark moments from our childhood, but you also mentioned some of the good bits. But, there are so many good bits. We have had so much fun together over the years regardless of how annoying I have been, how hormonal and steadfast you’ve been…and I think that’s wonderful. Gosh. As I walked through that

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door, I realised…how lucky am I that the woman the moon goddess destined for me, is someoné I’ve already got such a long and rich history with. I tried to ignore what was happening when we were all at that wedding in the summer, Freya, but that’s when things started to change for me. I tried to talk myself out of it because of who you have always been to me. My best friend’s sister. A sister of my own, in the grand scheme of things. The best sister anyone could realistically ask for. By the time the winter formal came around I really couldn’t deny it any longer. Then at Christmas I started to really feel it, Freya, the same thing Austin described with Ella. A pull toward you. At first thought the moon goddess was playing a cruel joke on me, but now I realise it for what it is. An

amazing mate for me and for Artemis. She has given us both an amazing gift.”

Freya smiles and gives me a little nod as she finally turns to look at me.

“I’m…not going to be good at…all this,” she says, anxiously tucking her long chocolate-coloured hair behind her ear, “guys have always been put off by my rank, who my family are, the fact my wolf is a little rambunctious. I can’t say that’s afforded me any kind of experience.”

I frown and feel a pang of guilt at her words particularly after what Austin just said to me in the

hall.

“Freya. Despite my…colourful history over the past eighteen months, I’m not like other guys. I don’t need you to be good, Freya…you just need to be you. I’d only want to make you happy,” I tell her truthfully, reaching out and cupping her cheek with my hand. My hand feels warm and tingly once it connects with her soft skin, just like it had against her back at Austin’s party when we’d danced together. I feel in sync with her for a moment as our wolves reach out to each other once again. A wave of understanding flows between us and I know exactly how she is feeling. My heart swells in the knowledge that she doesn’t want to reject me, that she is open to this; but she needs some

time and patience.

For now, though, I feel this quiet, insistent pull-like something between us is shifting, and it’s time I stopped running from it.

I meet her eyes-those vivid, stormy green eyes I’ve known since she was in pigtails and scraped knees-and for a second, I hesitate. Not because I don’t want to… but because this is Freya. My

best mate’s little sister. The girl I used to chase through the woods and tease at bonfires. And yet here she is now, looking up at me like I’m something fragile and precious, and my whole world tilts.

I glance down at her lips, then back up to her face, silently asking. She doesn’t speak, but she doesn’t need to. Her eyes flutter shut, her breath catches ever so slightly, and her heartbeat

hammers in my ears-loud, anxious, but expectant.

So I lean in, slow and careful, and press my lips to hers.

It’s soft. A little clumsy. She’s clearly never done this before-I can feel the nervous tension in her

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hand as it lands gently on my shoulder, unsure but brave. She tastes sweet. The maddening scent of rose I’d be following for weeks-months-floods my olfactory sense. The kiss is nothing like the nes I’ve had before-those were fleeting, meaningless things…now. This…this feels like stepping over a threshold I can never return from.

And I don’t want to.

She lets out the faintest, shaky breath as I pull back just slightly, resting my forehead against hers. brush my thumb over her cheek, grounding both of us in the moment.

Her eyes open, wide and uncertain, and I smile-because she doesn’t need to be perfect. She just needs to be Freya. And she is. Completely.

Our wolves stir beneath the surface, elated. I can feel the joy vibrating through both of us, like a long-held breath has finally been released.

We did it. We crossed the line. And the world didn’t break.

In fact, it feels more right than it ever has before.

***Ella***

“I noticed

you didn’t come back for quite some time last night. I woke up at midnight…and you still weren’t back…” I say expectantly as I wake to see Freya coming back into the room from the bathroom. She looks down and smiles shyly as she hops into her bed.

“Yeah, Ollie and I went for a run. Well our wolves did anyway. Just because things are a little awkward for us, it doesn’t mean we should keep them apart,” she replies with a coy smile.

“So how did it all go?” I enquired, getting out of bed and grabbing a few items of clothing for

combat class.

“Better than I thought,” Freya nods, “We discussed the fact we have a lot of sibling-like history that

we can’t really forget about. I think we are just going to take things slowly and let our wolves be

together as much as we can. They haven’t been with us for more than a few years, so it’s much

easier for them to make this transition.”

“Amazing, it sounds like you had a positive time,” I reply, pulling on a pair of gym shorts. Freya

starts plucking some clothes out herself before she turns to me with a smile on her face.

“He kissed me, on the bench in the greenhouse,” she says with a little bubble of excitement, “it was a little awkward at first but it was better than I had imagined a kiss would be. He was so gentle and

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