The Bridge (Golden Lycans Sequel)

What it means to be Lycan

***Serena***

It's Saturday again, which means my alarm is dragging me from sleep at half past six. I sigh, silencing it with a swift tap before rolling over, my gaze drifting up through the glass ceiling that arches over our beds. The sky is a dull grey, heavy with the kind of quiet misery that lingers before rain. But I don’t mind—every day can’t be sunny.

I sit up, my eyes sliding past the glass wall to the balcony outside. The chairs are still there, empty now, but my lips curl into a small smile as I remember last night—an hour and a half spent with Finn out there, just the two of us. It had felt good, knowing I’d lifted his spirits when he’d been so low. We’d played a few more songs together before he left, and there had been something undeniably innocent and beautiful about it. The music, the moment… or was it the person I’d been sharing it with?

Shaking the thought away, I climb out of bed and pull on my combat gear. Since it’s an official school class, I have an actual uniform—navy t-shirt stamped with the school logo, fitted just right. I match it with grey lycra shorts and lace up my gym trainers before heading down to the sports hall.

The room is still empty when I arrive, so I start setting up—the combat dummies, the floor mats. I’m halfway through when the door creaks open. I glance over my shoulder, grinning as Joel saunters in.

"I wasn’t sure you’d show," I admit as he approaches, rubbing his hands together.

"Are you kidding? I want that movie role so badly—the director’s a total legend. Plus, I had a lot of fun yesterday, so I’m all in for learning more. I think I’m meant to be an action star." He grins, eyes bright with excitement, already more awake than I feel.

"Help me with the rest of the mats?" I ask. He nods, getting to work beside me.

As we place the last mat down, his tone turns teasing.

"So… I’m very intrigued to know what exactly you and Finn were up to in your bedroom last night."

I freeze for half a second before heat creeps up my neck. My mind, annoyingly, goes straight there.

"Whatever you did to him worked wonders. He came back to our room smiling," Joel adds, waggling his eyebrows at me, "oh, Serena, are you blushing?"

"Calm down, Joel," I say flatly, "I didn’t 'do' anything to him. We played our guitars on the balcony, sang a few songs, and suffered through some truly dreadful tea, courtesy of Christa."

I roll my eyes, hoping that’s the end of it. But knowing Joel, it probably isn’t.

While we wait for everyone to turn up, I get Joel to practice some of the things I showed him yesterday. He had definitely paid attention and he was very good at following visual instruction.

"Yep, definitely wasn't gonna to miss this," I hear a familiar voice say and I turn to see Theo entering the doors and making some silly fighting gestures toward Joel.

"Anyone else coming?" Joel asks.

"Depends, I mean it's early for the weekend, am I right?" Theo replies. I count the number of students who have arrived so far; fourteen is a good number.

It's a minute or two before seven so I go stand in my spot in front of where everyone is sat on the mats.

"Good morning! In case you've not come before, I am Serena Landry and we are going to be going over a few self-defence techniques we learned last week, but mainly focussing on combat moves today," I say, feeling a little more self conscious today than last Saturday, now that I have friends in the audience.

"Once we've stretched we will dive straight into learning three different throws that are great in close combat. I will be demonstrating these on Joel, as I'm sure he's told everyone that he does all his own stunts," I announce, giving a cheeky smirk to Joel when I see his face fall.

..

At the end of the class I can tell both Joel and Theo are hooked. I feel elated that they enjoyed it so much and I'm pleased that Joel has made great progress in only a day.

"I'm officially coming to this every Saturday," Joel says with delight as he and Theo help me tidy up.

"Dude you looked like a real action star when you got to practice on Serena," Theo says positively, "just need to get the rest of the gang to appear now. You just know Christa has some hidden rage, plus Stacey is so small she could easily get kidnapped."

"Finn could do with this; getting a little more physical activity besides running every other day. I don't think he could easily be thrown over someone's shoulder, especially not Stacey's," Joel laughs.

"Thanks for coming guys and for helping me put stuff back," I say to them as we head to the doors. I feel alert and ready to take on the day after an hour of combat class.

"See you at breakfast in twenty minutes," Joel says as we all part ways at the residential corridors.

..

I go down to breakfast with Christa to find Joel and Theo excitedly telling the others all about this morning's class.

I can hear them talking while I get my breakfast with Christa, and it's all positive and kind. It was good fun and I'm glad they came.

We approach the table with our breakfast trays and I notice an additional mug of earl grey tea on the table in front of the chair opposite Finn. I feel a little warmth spread through my chest at Finn's kind gesture.

I guess I did fix him a little, or at least gave him the tools to help fix himself. I decide to take the chair in front of him.

"Good morning," I say to him as I sit down and scoot my chair in. He looks up at me and smiles.

"It is," he replies with a nod and I feel like he's referring to feeling better than he did yesterday, "I have just been hearing all about your class this morning."

"Oooh yes, how was it?" Christa asks, sliding into a seat in front of Joel and Theo.

"Well I would not cross Serena on the street at night," Theo laughs, "she should become Joel's new bodyguard."

"Joel is actually a complete natural at it all, I don't think he will ever need one," I say honestly.

"Fine, be Finn's then," Theo laughs.

"Why would Finn need a bodyguard?" I laugh, looking over at Finn. He raises his eyebrows at me for a moment.

"You guys should definitely come next weekend. It's an early start for a Saturday, but a lot of fun," Joel says.

"Yeah, I'll come. I want to see if I need to change rooms," Christa jokes.

"I...will consider it," Finn says. In my mind it's just been filed under 'probably not', along with sailing.

I finish my breakfast and start drinking my tea, which is now the perfect temperature for drinking. I catch Finn's eye and make a toast like gesture with my mug to say thank you.

"Well...it's just started raining," Christa says sadly, glancing up at the domed ceiling, "and we have no homework to do...yet. Fancy going into town?" she asks me.

"Ohh, yes please," Joel says brightly, looking at Christa imploringly. Christa shoots him an apologetic look.

"Joel...come on...remember what happened last time?" Christa says gently.

"I can try and disguise myself better this time?" he says imploringly. Christa looks at him apologetically.

"Joel comes," I say bluntly, and everyone looks at me, "why should he miss out on something anyone else just gets to do with no worries in the world? No disguise, that probably only brings more attention. Today, Joel gets to be Joel. Act normal and you will be normal, it is as simple as that. Going out to the shops shouldn't need to be that hard."

Joel looks made up and even Finn looks quite surprised with what I've just said.

"Looks like Serena can be your bodyguard after all," Finn says to Joel with a smirk. I turn to Finn.

"Want to come with us?" I ask hopefully. I feel like he could do with the distraction while he waits for his mum's test results. He looks like he wants to say yes, but he instead shakes his head.

"Uhh, no, I cannot. I have a few things I need to get on with," he replies.

"That's a shame," I say, feeling fairly disappointed.

..

A couple of hours later I am wandering around one of the larger local shopping centres with Christa and Joel. Being out with Joel is like being out with an excited child on christmas day.

"This is great! I like being just Joel out in public again," he says happily as he slurps a milkshake from a milkshake bar.

"I'm amazed no one has stopped you, but I guess since it's so grim outside, this place is now pretty packed. No one cares who we are," Christa says.

I stop in my tracks for a moment; Ella and Austin are here and I can't avoid them-they're walking straight towards us.

"Serena! Hi!" Ella exclaims having spotted me. Damn.

I smile awkwardly as she and Austin stop in front of us. Ella is looking at Joel with an interesting array of facial expressions....and there it is; the typical faerie aura check.

Right on schedule.

"Christa, Joel, this is my older brother Austin and his fiancée Ella," I say as brightly as I can.

"Joel Egerton," Ella says with an enthusiastic nod. She definitely watches too much Netflix.

"You're officially the first person to call me that today," Joel jokes, shaking their hands. Ella looks him up and down and then looks at me with an arched brow. I know what she's thinking and I roll my eyes at her.

"I've heard a little bit about you guys from Serena already. Christa, thank you for, well, straightening her out," Austin says with his classic cheeky smile.

"Ha, you're welcome, you've got a really awesome sister," Christa says.

"I know," he replies happily, shooting me an approving look.

"Do you guys fancy grabbing some lunch? We would love to hear more about you both," Ella says. Austin thankfully comes to my rescue.

"We can't Els, we have a meeting. Besides, hopefully you guys will be there to enjoy some birthday cake with us on Friday?"

"Yeah, she's only turning eighteen once," Christa replies. Austin and Elle say goodbye and Christa turns to me immediately.

"Oh my GOD you did not mention how hot your brother is!" she exclaims, "he actually looks a lot like your Dad." I make a gagging noise.

"Oh, wow, that was not a great sentence there, Christa," I grimace as we continue walking down the row of shops in the shopping centre.

After a few minutes we come by the cinema complex.

"You know what? It's time, Serena. It's time you joined the real world and enjoyed sitting on that toned ass of yours, for two and a half hours, while stuffing your face with popcorn and nachos," Joel says happily, encouraging Christa and I toward the ticket desk.

To my absolute dismay, Joel and Christa pick out a romantic comedy, the type of film I really don't need to be seeing right now with how I've been feeling over the past week or so.

"I've heard such good things about this film. I love the lead actor," Christa says as we grab some snacks before heading in.

"Yeah he's a laid back, decent guy, I met him at the premiere in London a few weeks ago," Joel says casually.

"Oh stop it," Christa says, earning a flirty smirk from Joel as we push through the large double doors armed with nachos, hot dogs and popcorn.

"Oh my god that screen is huge!" I exclaimed having not been in a cinema since I was perhaps six years old.

"Serena, you are always a surprise," Christa says with a shake of her head as we find our seats, with Joel in the middle.

I find it nuts how many trailers for other films we have to see before we can see the film we have come here to see.

"This is a super weird," I mutter to Joel as he's featured on one of the trailers for an American sports film about college basketball.

"You would probably enjoy that, actually, given how physically active you are. It's out just after Christmas. Powerful film, based on a true story. I play one of the main athletes," Joel says to me quietly.

"Yeah I do actually enjoy basketball with my brother when I'm at home," I agree.

The film eventually starts and the lights go down. I annoyingly get really into it. It's a lot more mature than the film Joel was in. One scene in particular starts to affect me quite a bit; where the main characters realise they have feelings for each other. The parallels with what the female character says and feels hits a little close to home as I sink down in my seat, my heart beating a little faster. My mouth has gone a little dry and I can't help but see myself in that very position...damn cinema.

"...do not be afraid, Serena..."

Sen's words pop into my mind as I sit there in the dark cinema, but unfortunately at this moment I can't help but feel more than a little afraid.

...

***Ella***

"Well, clearly it's the movie star, right?" Austin says as we walk out of earshot of Serena and her friends, "he's good looking, he's in superb shape, he's charming...famous..."

I shake my head.

"No, it is not Joel. She's definitely feeling a bit complicated these days. Don't get me wrong, she is attracted to Joel on a physical level, but there is nothing of substance underneath that attraction. Her mild interest in him is only s****l and that is entirely driven by her Lycan instincts, nothing deeper than that," I tell him as we enter a clothes shop. Six years on and I'm still having to take Austin shopping for clothes that actually fit him.

"I could do without hearing about that," he mutters to me. I laugh at his awkwardness.

"Aus, get over it. I lost my virginity to you at an age younger than she is and you had no problem with that at the time," I remind him, "besides...this is far better than what she was up to last year, which was being led purely by her Lycan instincts. Maybe she's feeling a little more human lately because she's around a group of them."

"I guess you're right. But she's my little sister. With Serafina already in touch with her mate and both of them turning eighteen in a few days, Serena is the only kid sister I really have left," Austin says, looking a little sentimental.

"That's sweet. But she's basically an adult now, so you really need to get over it. She's growing up. The main thing you need to understand and appreciate right now, is that she is doing it in a very mindful and mature way, because actually...Joel is a little interested in Christa, so I don't think anything has happened between him and Serena. She has maintained some control over Hera in that regard," I tell him, jokingly holding up a puffer jacket to his chest.

"Absolutely not," he says bluntly, looking less than pleased with the vile jacket.

...

***Serena***

On Sunday afternoon, I head to the garden to see Sen. Rain is pouring heavily down onto the covered walkway as I walk toward the entrance to the garden. I tap my card onto the security panel and walk through. For probably the first time ever, Sen wasn't hidden somewhere or lurking in the bushes, she was clearly waiting for me to appear.

"Serena, you are right on time," she says airily, turning away from me and heading to the wisteria tree at the centre.

"It's ghastly out, this weekend, are you okay?" I ask, knowing that a faerie's mood could have heavy influence on the weather.

"If the sun only shone, Serena, nothing would thrive outside this dome," she tells me with a jovial expression, "Ella hasn't yet learned how, herself, but I can stop my mood from affecting the weather. This rain was required. You enjoyed good weather last weekend, this is the balance."

Faeries and their balance...

"Well, did you want to talk to me about your life? your week?" I suggest as we sit down.

"That isn't necessary, but I appreciate your attempt to avoid talking to me about yours," Sen says to me knowingly. I purse my lips and sigh.

"I hate that you do that," I tell her with a smirk.

"You do...and yet, you don't," she replies with a smirk of her own, "tell me all about your week since Wednesday."

I tell her most of the things that have happened during the last few days. I deliberately miss out the part where I invited Finn to my room to play music together and about the odd feelings I had while watching the film at the cinema yesterday. I can tell she knows I'm holding something back by the way she's looking at me right now.

"Serena, is everything alright with you?" she asks kindly, once I wrap up telling her about yesterday.

"I think so?" I say, feeling that it was a safe non-committal response. She looks at me and tilts her head, her expression the same. She should really work for the police. No one could hide anything from her. I clench my jaw and look away awkwardly.

"Maybe...not..." I admit with a sigh.

"But you are happy," she states, more than asks.

"I am...but I am also not," I tell her, looking at her once again.

"Serafina has found her mate. He's a pack heir," I tell her.

"That's wonderful news for her. I am sure your parents are thrilled," Sen says brightly.

"Oh he is. Exciting when most of your children are doing so well in their lives," I say with an edge of resentment.

"You do not think you are doing well?" Sen asks. I look down at my lap.

"For the most part...yeah. I'm doing good... now. As a Lycan? Not even close," I say, my words catching in my throat a little.

"Interesting comment. Can we explore why you do not feel you are performing well as a Lycan?" Sen asks gently. I feel a few tears in my eyes, and I hate that. It's not me, or at least, it never used to be. I clench my jaw again, because I can't say it.

"Might it be because you have a romantic interest in a human male," Sen says quietly, placing her warm hand on my arm. The tears come down now as I nod several times in succession, looking down at my lap.

"Tell me how I'm doing well at being Lycan, when all my friends are now human and the person I feel the most alive around, that I think about so often...happens to be human and not Lycan? It's very unusual Sen!"

Sen sighs and looks up at the wisteria for a moment before she speaks again.

"Tell me who can make up a pack, Serena. Tell me perhaps, who makes up Dalston Lake?" she says. I frown at her, wondering what relevance this has.

"Well, there is Will, he's a hybrid. Annabelle is an Omega Lycan. Wills mum is a powerful witch-"

"Exactly. Packs aren't all Lycan," she begins, sounding unusually tenacious, "who makes up your pack, Serena?"

I look at Sen like she's daft.

"Austin, Ella...I mean yes she's a faerie but-"

"No, tell me Serena - the wolf - who makes up your pack...here?" Sen asks slowly and more bluntly now. I see where she is going.

"My six human friends," I say, biting my lip, "but humans can't be part of a pack, they-"

"-and why not?" Sen interrupts indignantly, "why can't they?"

"Because we don't bond to humans, never have, probably never will. We only bond to supernaturals, Sen, you know this." She chuckles at me a little and tilts her head again as she looks at me with her big blue eyes.

"Do you not feel bonded to your six human friends? I know it has only been a short time, but you live with them, you dine with them, you do everything with them. A bond doesn't have to be divine to be real. I know the mate bond works in a particular way, but you need to understand this, Serena," Sen says, looking at me more intensely than she has ever done before, "what you see as a weakness right now is actually a strength. Allow yourself to care, to feel, because that is what it truly means to be Lycan. To love, to provide for and to protect your pack, regardless of who makes up that pack."

I nod, because it actually makes sense. My fears are mainly based on social norms rather than what is natural and good. But there is still one issue...

"But...Sen, I may sense my mate soon," I say with a little sigh.

"You may sense your mate. Some go many years. But it's no reason not to be true to yourself, to not enjoy what is, just in case of what could be. Like I said a week ago; do not be afraid."

I nod again and take a deep breath in; I tell her the parts I had missed out when I regaled my week.

When I'm done, Sen looks at me fondly.

"Oh Serena, how could you possibly feel that the beautiful thing you did for your friend makes you less Lycan?" I shake my head and smile at Sen, feeling far more at peace with how I'd been feeling lately, thanks to her.

"It doesn't and I get that now. You're right and Finn was right the night we camped; I do provide for and protect my pack, because it is who I am, it is my very nature. Just because others of my kind and age are narrow minded and don't consider humans to be worthy of their time, it doesn't mean that it's the correct way to be and to think. To protect, to embrace, to empathise with and to love those in your pack no matter who or what they are; that is what it means to be Lycan," I reply, wiping tears off my face.

"Precisely. It doesn't matter who makes up your pack, just that you have one and you do what you can to fulfil your innate instincts," Sen says kindly, "what are you going to do?"

I shrug, for I feel very conflicted right now about it all.

"I...really don't know. In two weeks I have met a human and realised that we are so similar in our interests, despite the fact I am not entirely human. He intrigues me every day with the things he does and definitely the things he says. Singing with him...Sen, it is just the most wonderful thing. It sounds great, it feels greater. To think I could soon be turning off the way I feel, for a mate I have never met, who I may not have as much in common with...that idea hurts me right now. I will have no choice in the matter...I will feel the way every Lycan feels when they sense their mate and it will be instinctual and powerful. I won't be able to control it. It is upsetting that how I feel right now will just be...wiped from me, as if it didn't exist. Equally...what is the point? Our laws are our laws, feasibly it could never happen even if I didn't have a mate out there," I say, feeling a sad ache in my chest.

"I have never understood it; the destined mate and the process of completing a bond through physical acts. It is more thorough and real than marriage of course. But the vast majority of Lycans miss out on one of the most beautiful and wonderful feelings in the world; to fall in love. Naturally. By the time they are of an age where they could fall in love with someone; along comes their mate. I have fallen in love and had people fall in love with me throughout my existence...and I would not trade that experience for a Lycan mate bond. Which is why, Serena, I think you are lucky, in this instance, even with the hurt and conflict that will likely follow, you are experiencing something that is inherently beautiful. Try and enjoy it while it is here. Enjoy the experience, because as I said, not many Lycans get that. They grow to love their mate very quickly, but...I know it is not the same kind of love. For some couples...it does become the same. Austin and Ella for example do now have a strong natural love, but that has taken time. As an aura reader, a real love versus a new mate bond kind of love...they are different," Sen says, smiling serenely as she stares up into the wisteria plumes once more.

"You're right. I should try to enjoy it. When I allow myself to feel it, to not be in denial about it, to not feel guilty for doing so...it is a wonderful feeling, to feel for him," I say before I utter a loud sigh, "too wonderful. Because right now, Sen...I don't want to find my destined Lycan mate when I come of age. I am sure I will likely feel differently when it happens, but right now? I just want...him."