The Bridge (Golden Lycans Sequel)

Ten Days

***Serena***

It's been a few days since I went out with Christa and her friends for our long walk and picnic around the local area.

I should stop myself there: for they aren't just Christa's friends...they are officially mine now, too.

It's Thursday and I've met up with them for every meal this week and have seen at least one of them for almost every free period- and I couldn't be happier.

"What have you got on this morning?" Joel asks me. He's been talking to me quite a bit and I can see in his eyes that he's a little keen on me. I am not sure how I feel about it. Joel is hot, but he reminds me a little of myself with how flirty he is, or at least the version of myself from last year. That in itself is a bit of a red flag for me right now.

"Law with Christa for two hours, then a free before lunch," I inform him before taking a bite of my scrambled egg and smoked salmon bagel.

"Pity, was hoping you might've been up for a walk and a coffee, my free period is the second hour," he sighs. My Lycan biology is cursing that poor timing right now.

Serena you can have fun with a human, I don't see the problem, Hera pipes up in the back of my mind.

It's quite frowned upon at school. We aren't supposed to get attached, just in case we reveal...something, I tell her.

So what is it you think you're doing right now? Currently getting attached to six humans...

Hera has a point. It isn't an actual rule and is more of a social expectation.

Plus I'm not looking to date any of them. Looking at Joel, right now, I wonder why not, though. Finn is also quite handsome in a charming way as opposed to an obvious way like Joel, with his Hollywood smile, buff body and great hair.

"Good weather is predicted for the whole weekend again. Twenty degrees on average, dry..." Alice says as she looks at her phone while she eats her cereal.

"Ooh..dare I suggest it?" Theo says slyly with a big grin as he looks around at the rest of us.

"Dude, you are actually obsessed," Joel says.

"I'm actually really up for it, honestly. Sorry everyone," Christa says.

"I have never done it," Finn says.

"Done what?" I interject.

"Theo wants to go camping," Stacey laughs, "every year he suggests it and we've never given in."

I look around at everyone aside from Christa and Theo.

"We should absolutely do it. I'm game. Camping is great!" I exclaim. Theo looks at me in disbelief, as does everyone else.

"You know you can't take a curling iron with you?" Joel says to me. I look over at his cheeky face.

"Joel, I actually wake up like this," I inform him with a c****d brow. I'm quite proud of my natural barrel curls, thanks to my mum's genes.

"Come on, it'll be fun. I can bring food again, I can build a campfire, catch us some fish...a night under the stars? It would be so good," I implore. Camping was one of my favourite pastimes, usually on my own or with family, but I bet this group will be a good laugh, too. I'm met with a momentary silence.

"I'm in," Finn suddenly says. There are some surprised expressions being fired his way from the others, but he's looking at me right now, not them.

"Huh, that's interesting, cool...so that's four of us...come on Alice, do it for Theo!" Christa says. Theo looks lovingly at Alice and she bursts into laughter.

"Okay fiiiine, how can I say no to that face. But when it sucks, you don't get to ever ask again, deal?" Alice says, looking at Theo fondly herself.

"Not possible. Trust me it's going to be a night we will never forget," Theo nods, "plus...by the time it's good weather again we will be elbows deep in exams, so this is our last shot, baby."

"The only thing is..." Christa starts to say tentatively as she turns her head toward me, "we would need permission from the headmaster since most of us are under eighteen..."

I nod slowly as the realisation dawns on me...she's right.

What would Dad say?

"I'll have a chat with him later," I reply.

"Excellent!" Theo says happily. This the most excited I've seen him so far, "I'll sort the tents guys, don't you worry. My dad can drive them down, it wouldn't take him long."

"I've got lots of good camping equipment, actually. Quite a lot of it. I can get it here by Saturday," I begin to say, but Theo now looks even more excited, so I hold my hand up at him, "BUT we need to get permission first, so hold off until I've talked to my Dad."

...

"What an effect you've had on the group already!" Christa exclaims as we walk to Law class, "Theo has been trying to get us to go camping for years, and I am floored that Finn is up for it."

"Why? You guys are a lot of fun, I'm amazed you haven't been, it's so good," I say in surprise.

"Well...things change, apparently."

"So, how prepared are we for this trial court, as a class?" I ask her as we enter the classroom.

"It's going to be interesting for sure. Joel would kill it in something like this, pretending to be a victim on the stand," Christa jokes.

"Yeah, I really should find what he's in and watch some of it, I'm quite intrigued," I say as I take my seat.

"Yeah...I think I've noticed..." Christa says slyly. I turn to look at her and I raise an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"Joel is definitely interested in you. He's a pure flirt, but you're not exactly pushing him away..." she says with a grin. My expression falters and I smirk at her before turning my head away and looking down to my lap.

Busted.

"Okay...yeah, he's very attractive and he's super charming. But...he reminds me a little of how I used to be last year," I admit to Christa.

"What do you mean?" she asks, looking puzzled.

"I...went a little wild last year, and that's all I'll say on the matter," I say quietly, feeling so embarrassed about it lately. Christa's eyebrows rise and her eyes widen a little.

"Wow...okay, yeah...I can see why you'd be a little dubious. But people grow up, right? I know he gives off fuckboy vibes but I think he has genuine interest in you," Christa says kindly.

"I don't know. I'm not really looking for that, right now," I shrug.

The mock trial turns out to be more than a bit of a disaster, but mostly due to the defence rather than our team; the prosecution. They crumble after half an hour and their arguments haven't been well researched at all.

"Okay, let's cut this short," our law teacher Mr Summers says with a loud sigh and a palm to his face, "good work to the prosecution, but the defence...guys, get down to the library now. You've clearly not worked on this at all. Prosecution team, you guys can go have a coffee or something, we will try again next double period."

Mr Summers slumps into his chair dejectedly.

"Ohh...just in time for you to have a walk and a coffee with Joel," Christa teases with a laugh, as we pack our things up, "it's like it's part of some higher plan or something."

I roll my eyes a little at her, but I smirk.

Who am I kidding?

Joel is hot, and he's interested.

But then something is nagging at the back of my mind, and it doesn't seem like the right thing to do at all. Not because he's human, but because he's not...mine.

Interesting perception, Hera suddenly says as I come to this conclusion to myself.

Don't make fun, I reply.

Who is making fun? You're finally on board with the idea and I'm happy, Hera says.

Apparently so, I reply, unsure when I came around to the idea of meeting my destined mate. Perhaps it was just then.

"Yeah... you're thinking about it, I can tell," Christa says, sounding gleeful. Well, that chat with Hera was poorly timed.

We leave the classroom and we do end up heading down to the hall.

"Oh look..." Christa says quietly with a hint of hope. I'm not sure why she's pushing this, but whatever. Joel spots us and wanders over having just made a coffee for himself.

"Oh my goodness, has our woman of justice finally ditched a class?" he asks Christa with a grin.

"Of course not," Christa replies indignantly, "we just happened to do the work too well compared to the opposition."

Joel turns to me and his eyes keenly meet mine.

"Oh...I guess you're free for a walk now, then?" he says with a husky edge. I find myself quickly at war with myself.

On one hand...I'm there, I'm all there. He's gorgeous...but I can't. I just can't go there.

"I'm always up for a walk with a friend," I say warmly. I'm still me, a walk can just be a walk, and I just hope he's clocked onto the word 'friend'...

"Ouch, you're a challenge aren't you?" he says, his eyes bright for a moment. Christa giggles. Persistent bugger.

"I'll just go grab a tea," I tell him as I put my bag down.

"A tea? Not another one..." he sighs.

"Another one?" I ask, confused.

"Yeah, Finn likes his tea, won't touch coffee. Strange guy, that one," Joel says with an exaggerated eye roll. I guess coffee is the 'in' drink when you're all about Hollywood.

"Well I am British, it's in my blood," I say with a wink before I go to get some tea.

Probably shouldn't have winked, Hera laughs at me.

I can't help it, he's really hot, I sigh wistfully to her.

Just go for a walk and see how it goes...

I find it strange that she's not trying to turn me in the other direction, but Hera is a bit of a mystery at times.

She's six hundred and fourteen years old, so she's been around a long time. I come back over with a takeaway cup of earl grey and I look over at Joel with a smile.

"She'll come around," he says to Christa, "just wait, we will come back and she will be wanting to share a sleeping bag with me on Saturday."

"Joel-" I begin, but he cuts me off.

"Serena. I know, I come across a certain way and the girls have undoubtedly already warned you, but please, give me a chance?" he says with a grin. I can't really argue with that. I purse my lips for a moment before I relent and nod my head.

"Fine, charm away, give it your best shot," I tell him, sounding a little flirty myself now. Oops. He grabs my free hand...something I wasn't expecting.

"Bold," I say with a laugh.

"Necessary," he replies lightly. He keeps a hold on my hand as we walk around the beaten track that goes around the perimeter of the grounds. There is no set path, but people have run down it so often that nothing grows on the ground there.

"So, have you seen any of my films yet?" he asks.

"Well, I was just saying to Christa earlier that it's on my to-do list," I tell him. He looks delighted at this idea.

"You need to watch 'As the Snow Falls'," he says firmly.

"Why that one in particular?" I ask him. He smirks at me and squeezes my hand.

"Because, I play the love interest, and I get my abs out," he says, "give it a watch..."

I probably don't need to see a film of Joel getting physical with someone. But, given his age, it's not going to be anything other than a teen romance film. Definitely not the genre I've gone for any time I have watched a film.

"Romance films aren't really my thing when I do sit down to watch one," I tell him apologetically. He looks surprised.

"What? Every girl likes romance. Okay, so what was the last film you saw that you just really enjoyed?" he asks. I think about it for a moment.

"Honestly? The best film I've seen in a long time was...Interstellar. It was just...well, it really made me think, it moved me, and the soundtrack was just incredible...it's definitely one of my favourites. I watched it every day for a week. I like astronomy so any film about space and the stars always wins me over," I tell him before taking a sip of tea.

"What?" he says suddenly, sounding irritated. I look at him and bite my lip.

"I'm sorry? Is there something wrong with that?" I ask. He shakes his head at me.

"It's just...nah, ignore me, it's nothing. It is a great film," he says, but he looks a little defeated somehow.

"Are you into a lot of sports?" he asks, "I've definitely seen you in the gym a lot."

"Oh yeah. Mixed martial arts is a big one. I can run long distances very well, I can play tennis, basketball, golf, roller blading, just got into horseback polo, lacrosse...loads. Too many to actually mention,". I say happily.

"Wow, that is quite a lot," Joel says, looking alarmed.

"I'm a very physical person," I shrug. Joel's cheeks go pink at this comment.

We come across one of my brother's favourite spots on the grounds of the school; it's where he had his first proper conversation with Ella.

"Bet this looked good in its heyday," Joel comments as we enter the ruin of the old stone gazebo which hugs a large willow tree.

"My brother met his fiance in this very spot," I tell him.

"Oh yeah? Childhood sweethearts?" he asks with interest.

"Not quite, but they are due to marry next year," I say, looking up through where the roof used to be and up into the canopy of the willow tree instead. Joel leans back against one of the pillars and looks at me like I'm a puzzle.

"So...you have a brother...any other siblings?"

"Yeah, an older sister and an identical twin," I tell him. He looks surprised at the latter.

"You're a twin? Does she go here? I feel like I'd have noticed two of you walking around here," he asks.

"That's interesting, because you act like you'd never noticed me before you met me on Sunday," I joke to him with an arched brow, "Serafina goes to a different school. We are identical in appearance, but we are two very different people."

"Well, if she looks just like you but she likes coffee and romantic comedies, sign me right up," he jokes.

"She would probably adore you, actually," I admit. Joel noticeably pauses before he starts speaking again.

"I did notice you before Sunday, in all honestly. But...I didn't think I'd have a shot. You are an awkward level of stunning."

I'm a little taken aback by his statement.

"That's very kind of you to say Joel, but I think you don't give yourself enough credit."

"I have to bust my ass in the gym an hour a day to keep looking the way I look. Without it I'm quite average."

His comment makes me feel a little sad. Lycans tended to be fairly attractive people, a trait I have often taken for granted as my particular genetics are excellent. I haven't had to work hard to look the way I do. I could at least try and make Joel feel good about himself.

"Beauty attracts the eye but personality captures the heart," I say, giving him a genuine smile, "looks aren't everything. I haven't known you long, Joel, but you've definitely got a good heart. Also that amazing smile of yours has nothing to do with how hard you work in the gym. You are a very good looking, charming, kind guy and you shouldn't think of anyone as being out of your reach, even if you didn't hit the gym every day."

"Gorgeous and nice," he says with an audible sigh, "please just don't tell me you like to sing and play the guitar on top of everything else."

I raise my eyebrows at him.

"That was random...but...I actually do! Singing and playing my guitar is something I do pretty much every day. I love it! Why?" I ask tentatively. Joel laughs and bows his head to his chest as if in defeat.

"What?" I ask, wondering why that was important to him.

"It's nothing, Serena. You're just the whole package really, aren't you?" he says forcing a laugh, "but not for me."

I'm not sure why he's come to that conclusion all of a sudden, we haven't even said much.

But all I can do right now is offer him a kind smile.

"You'll still watch one of my movies, won't you?" he says as he begins to start walking again. I follow, sensing that he's now cutting our walk short, and I still don't really know why. It's better for him this way, but I'm perplexed, all the same.

"Of course I will. Joel, I'm sorry if I have said something to upset you," I say as we head back to the hall, side by side.

"You really haven't, it's my own issue, don't worry. Honestly," he says, turning his megawatt smile back on. I believe him, but I feel like I'm missing a vital piece of information.

...

***Ella***

It's my day off after working an unreasonable amount of hours over the weekend. I'd finally made it through the doors of an operating theatre, but I'd mostly stood back and watched Stephen do his thing.

Devon and I had done another shift in the emergency department on Saturday. While anything to do with bones was a blind spot for him, he was an amazing help during a crash call in the resus room. The patient had a rare heart issue that he'd actually heard of, thanks to his placements at a cardiac hospital. He'd acted quickly, efficiently and somehow the patient was now on a recovery ward and due for discharge tomorrow. It had really helped his self confidence.

It had been a great week, in the end.

I am wandering around the gardens of the pack house, which while beautiful before I'd arrived, were now more diverse and always thriving.

I needed lots of life around me and I liked that I could do so in the expansive privacy of the pack house grounds.

"Good morning, Ella," I hear a melodic Jamaican accent. I smile as I turn my head toward Amoya, one of our 'Seers' who lives here at the pack house. She can glimpse the future, or possible futures, and she often guides us in some matters without divulging too much.

If she did she'd lose her powers entirely, so I never pressed her for information. I learned the first time I met Amoya, that there is a fine balance in what she does...and because of this I have been deliberately blind when it comes to certain things, as I don't want to involve Amoya just yet.

At the same time though, I know why she's come to me, and I don't think I can continue to deceive her. She is wearing a shocking pink jumpsuit with bright yellow earrings. She wears the boldest colours out of the whole pack, and always looks amazing, as they look so bold and happy against her rich, ebony skin.

"Morning Amoya, how are you?" I say politely.

"I'm good, thank you," she says, while looking at me through slightly narrowed eyes.

"Is everything okay?" I ask innocently while trimming one of the plants in front of me with some secateurs.

"I do not know. That is the problem I am having," she says delicately. I look up at her again.

"What are you up to, Ella?" she asks, her expression is a little stern.

Yep, it was time to come clean. Mostly.

"I'm sorry. Yes, I am doing something. Yes, I am being deliberately evasive with my actions so you can't See..." I admit to her. She perses her lips and looks at me like she wants to scold me.

"I See, Ella, to guide this pack and to ensure its safety. But our Luna being purposefully deceptive? That concerns me," she says with a hint of irritation.

"I'd hope that you would simply trust me, but...here we are. Follow me and I'll show you what I am working on," I say to her, and she wordlessly follows me toward one of the three large greenhouses we have further down the garden.

The garden is split into several levels, and the greenhouses are somewhere in the middle.

I open the doors to one of the greenhouses and we go in. Toward the back there are six hydroponic stations.

"I am not sure what I am looking at here," Amoya says, looking at me skeptically. I open up one of them and gesture toward one of the plants.

"This is a splice between two Fae plants," I say to start, "both of which have healing properties in particular ways. We want to see how they do together, to serve a very particular purpose."

"Will's father," Amoya correctly ascertains.

"Yes. I am hoping that Fae plants hold the key to curing cancer; the aggressive one that Will's father has, in particular," I say, prodding the leaves of one of the plants.

"That would be...groundbreaking. If you managed to do that, the ethical implications of-" Amoya begins to say, but I hold up my hand and look at her in earnest.

"I know, which is why I have something else I am working on. But that is very sensitive and it's complex. I assure you though, it doesn't affect the pack's safety and it is for the greater good," I explain to Amoya, hoping she doesn't press further.

"Is Austin aware of what you're doing?" she asks. I nod.

"He is. He knows it hasn't worked so far. But we still have many more to try. The normal plants have managed to keep the cancer under some sort of control, but there are signs that it's beginning to fail."

Amoya's eyes suddenly turn white and she begins to breathe deeply for a few moments. When her eyes return to normal she looks confused. I know better than to ask, so I wait while she processes whatever she's just Seen.

"It has always been said that white wolves are the instigators of great change. They will be the Bridge. But the bridge can only be sturdy and strong when its strength is earned, pure and true. Ella. You need the Bridge to cross to the other side," she says, before she tenderly squeezes my upper arm. She then turns away and leaves, while I'm left as puzzled as I usually am, after a brief conversation with Amoya.

I consider what she just said about white wolves, which is a very rare colour for Lycans. My friend Annabelle's wolf Rose is pure white and together they have definitely had a hand in change in recent years. I wonder if Amoya is referring to her. Annabelle is an omega, mated to my half cousin Will, who is the hybrid alpha who leads the largest pack in the country. Together, they had worked hard to bring awareness to the treatment of both hybrids and omegas in other packs across the country, something our pack and a few other of the larger packs had also helped with.

Rose is the only white wolf that I know, but something tells me that she isn't who Amoya is referring to.

My stomach growls and I check my watch; it is definitely time for lunch.

...

***Serena***

Lunch was more relaxed than it had been during the first half of the week.

Joel had calmed down with his flirting and he wasn't being as obviously charming toward me since our somewhat awkward walk this morning.

I wondered why the fact I played a guitar, suddenly made him look so defeated.

I wanted to ask Christa but I hadn't been alone with her yet. Joel was still being friendly and fun, but he'd suddenly given up on trying to flirt with me...which to be honest, was probably for the best.

"Well, I'm going to go and have a chat with my dad about this weekend," I inform them all as I stand up. They all make a variety of 'goodbye' gestures toward me before I exit the main hall.

I get into the lift that takes me up to my dad's office, and I realise my mind feels a lot lighter than I did the last time I was here. I step out and knock on the door, hoping he's actually in.

"Come in, Serena," he calls through the door. I turn the handle and walk in. There are a number of paper rolls littering his desk and other surfaces around the room.

"Wow, what is all this? Are those blueprints?"

dad nods and rolls up the one he's just been looking at.

"Blueprints and architectural drawings. Just keeping busy," he explains with a sigh. I know better than to ask so I sit down.

"All set for your first combat class on Saturday morning?" he asks. I wince; I had totally forgotten about that. Luckily, the class would be over before I'd meet everyone for breakfast anyway.

"Well...no, but I will. I might put a bit of a Serena spin on it; add some gymnastics moves to mix it up a bit," I mused.

"As long as it's still effective-" he begins to say before I interrupt.

"Oh, it's highly effective. Haven't lost a single spar during hand to hand training for two years, have I?" I say proudly.

"Er, well...Austin..." he reminds me.

"Oh come on, he doesn't count," I say while rolling my eyes. Sparring with Austin hasn't been a fair fight for anyone since he bonded with Ella, but I did my best.

"Why are you up here, Serena?" dad asks, leaning back and fiddling with a pen.

"I've made some new friends, the ones I went for a walk with," I inform him, "and...we want to go camping somewhere locally on Saturday night. But, we need permission from you, given that most of us are all still under eighteen..."

Dad looks surprised and also very curious at this, but I can't blame him.

"Last week you snuck out on Friday night to drink and party with other Lycans. What's happened this week for you to want to go camping with a group of humans?" dad asks, curiously.

"They're kind to people, they love being outside and enjoying real stuff like I do, they're all smart and...I feel so much happier than I did after the first day of being back here. In the ten days since I met Christa and since she introduced me to her group, I feel different. Lighter, more relaxed, because I'm not treading on eggshells around Kate anymore and listening to her negativity and the horrible things she says about other people. She is not kind, and she is very narrow minded," I say, going on a bit of a ramble as if I'd needed to get it all off my chest, "She has stopped speaking to me now anyway, ever since she called me a 'Narc' once I got back from this office, that night. Anyone who went to the barn that night all seem to think I had something to do with Ollie busting us, so none of them are talking to me either. In one night I lost all my psuedofriends, but on Sunday...I gained six real ones," I explain. Dad has nodded along with everything I've just said and his expression is kind. I look up into his eyes.

"Dad, I regret how I behaved last year in a variety of ways, but I'm really trying to change things now. I can't explain it, I just know this is the right path that I'm on right now, even if that happens to be with a group of humans," I tell him. I fiddle with a loose thread on my new school skirt and drop my eyes to my lap. I'm not sure how he's going to respond.

"In ten days, you've somehow done a one-eighty?" he states, sounding rather pensieve. I can't blame him, I'm a little surprised myself.

"Well, a lot can change in even a single day," I reply. He takes in a deep breath and then lets out a long exhale.

"Well, I can't think of anyone they'd be safer with than my daughter, even if she seems to think that backflips are somehow an essential part of combat," he says with a laugh, "so...yes, you have permission. But they need to make sure their parents are fine with it."

I smile broadly at him.

"Amazing, thanks Dad!" I reply, "but there is one more thing...I've changed my mind. I could really do with a car."

He chuckles at me and nods.

"About time you took me up on it. I'll ask Stephen to drop off one of the spares before lunchtime tomorrow," he replies.

"Thanks dad," I gush, getting up and giving him a spur of the moment hug, something neither of us expected.

I leave the office, eager to tell my new friends the good news.