Connection - Golden Lycans Sequel 3/3 [in progress]

Bowled Over

***Ophelia***

It had been a fortnight since the start of term, and I am chilling with an e-book on the balcony on Sunday afternoon. I was appreciating the quiet after Ash had started doing floor exercises to loud and energetic music in the living room.

I lean myself back on the lounger and stare up at the bare arbor above me for a moment, wondering how I could liven it up a bit.

The door back into the flat opens, and Ares comes out, sitting himself down opposite me on the lounger.

"Ash and Madeleine want to go and do something called bowling," he says, his expression curious. I sit up and stare at him oddly.

"Something called bowling?" I repeat with an amused look. He looks a little ashamed for a moment and then smiles, his eyebrows raising just a little.

"Could you please tell me what it is, so they do not make fun of me again," he says quietly. I am surprised, but my surprise is overrun by the fact that he has decided to confess to me about this serious gap of knowledge.

It is something I find endearing, because apparently, he trusts me.

"Ten pins standing up...one heavy ball...you use it to knock ‘em all down," I say succinctly with a wry smile, gesturing the action with my arms.

"That's it?" he asks, looking relieved.

"Ares, considering how you somehow shot a ball from centre court, over the back of your head the other day, without even looking...I think you'll be just fine,” I laugh.

"That was just luck,” he says before he clears his throat, “but...okay, that is good to know. Also...Madeleine has said that you need to drive us.”

"Why? Maddy has her own car," I remind him.

"Yes, but Madeleine is a little tired after her shift at the campus cafe this morning...and she just had some wine with Seth an hour ago in his flat," He reveals.

"Er...I thought Maddy was going out with Jason?" I ask. He looks confused for a moment.

"No, she stopped courting Jason a week ago. Now it is Seth. Perhaps next week it will be Gareth," he suggests diplomatically.

Did he say courting?

"Gareth likes men," I inform him with an amused smile.

"I do not think Madeleine is that picky," he replies seriously.

"Ha. But, I think Gareth might be, though. In any case, I don't fancy being driven by a potentially intoxicated Maddy into town," I laugh.

"Exactly. So, if you are happy to drive, bowling with others from downstairs is an activity we can participate in this evening. With something called hot-dogs," he adds. I look back at him a little fondly. He is harmlessly weird.

Sometimes, it is like having a kid brother around, yet he seemed and felt older with some of his mannerisms and definitely the way he looked.

"I am happy to drive us, Ares…and to have hot-dogs, which incidentally, are rubber textured sausages that barely approach real meat, served in a long bun with fried onions and sauce," I confirm.

..

An hour or so later, we are entering a local bowling alley.

It had been a long time since I had done this. I didn't particularly enjoy it, and it was mainly because I was very good at it and therefore, there was no challenging element to it. But, I have only come for the social aspect, and perhaps a challenge might present itself?

We pay for two lanes and collect some highly questionable bowling shoes before settling into our lanes.

Being a clear and natural sportsman, Ash steps up first and knocks down every pin efficiently with a single strike. He tries not to look too chuffed with himself as he heads back to the bench amongst all the cheers from Maddy and Natalie in particular.

Ares positions himself to go toward the end, just before me, clearly watching those before him for clues on how to bowl. For perhaps the hundredth time, I can't help but wonder what he had been up to for the past few years, to be completely clueless about something as basic as bowling.

"Do you think you've got it?" I ask him quietly. He laughs lightly and nods.

"It is simple, you were right. I think Ash will have competition," he says pensively, narrowing his eyes as he watches Natalie gracefully skid the ball down the lanes, knocking down nine of the ten pins.

"Wow, you're pretty sure, huh?" I ask in amusement.

"Have I missed a front-facing basket, yet?" he asks in response.

This is a bold comment for him.

"Touché. No, you haven't," I admit before I smirk back at him,"-yet. Don't get cocky, Ares, it doesn't suit you."

He laughs and shakes his head at me in response just as Ash calls out for him to take his first shot.

"Just watch me," he says confidently, looking rather keen as he gets up and heads over to where Ash is standing by where the balls come out. I see them confer over the idea and Ash shakes his head with a laugh.

He kindly helps Ares select a bowling ball, something the others aren't paying attention to.

Ares feels the ball in his hands a little and moves it back and forth. I can see it in his facial expression and his eyes, a look I have seen many times now on the court and definitely during chemistry class; he is gathering information about this new object. It is fascinating for me to watch.

He turns toward the lane, and I just know he's going to do it...I know he's going to get a strike. He was impossibly good at throwing a basketball through a hoop, so this seems straight forward...

...but…he misses.

His disappointment is tangible and obvious as he stares in disbelief at the fact it has skidded into the gutter.

"Ares, don't worry! You can have another shot for a spare!" Maddy shouts out at him, kindlier than I would have expected from her. He stretches his foot out and rubs the lane with his shoe, evidently considering the material that the lane is made of.

"Come on, Ares, knock em down!" Ash chimes in enthusiastically. Ares draws his arm back and sweeps the ball forward as he bends down a little, aiming the ball. It was like he hadn't considered the surface of the lane the shot before; but now he knew.

All ten pins go down, and he seems very satisfied at the outcome. The others cheer his progress, and he returns to the seating area to sit back down next to me.

"That first one...I had no idea how slippery that surface was. I completely misjudged the friction. But, now? I know," he explains.

"Come on Lia, it's your turn," Ash announces.

"Well, Ares, god of war,” I begin with a smirk, earning a chuckle from him, “before you start thinking that Ash is your only competition, you ought to prepare yourself.”

I get up and go over to the ball stack to select one myself. It was important to get used to the weight before throwing. I move it from hand to hand as I approach the lane, keeping my eye on the pins ahead. I draw my arm back and shoot the bowling ball straight down the middle, skidding a little before it rolls straight into the centre of the pins, knocking them all down at once.

No wolf be damned, I still had excellent coordination. Ash stands up and looks down at me, looking a little impressed as I walk back to the seating.

"Guess I have to keep an eye out for you," Ash comments, smiling at me rather keenly.

"Probably a good idea," I remark back with a grin of my own.

My attention is then drawn behind the seating area toward a well-built, auburn-haired guy standing just outside the lane. He is staring right at me, his arms crossed as he leans against a pillar. Probably wondering how a girl just got a strike on her first bowl, I imagine, with an internal eye roll.

..

It isn't long before Maddy and Seth abandon bowling entirely. I wasn't sure if Maddy was trying to make a statement that she hopes will make its way back to Jason, but right now, she is straddling Curtis on the lane bench and kissing him rather ferociously.

Ash rolls his eyes a number of times, but Ares keeps staring at them with a somewhat fascinated expression.

"It's kinda rude to stare like that," Natalie says to Ares as she sits opposite him, "unless, you're hoping to join in?”

The idea of naïve Ares stepping into the ring with Maddy and Seth sounds rather comical, and I am clearly not the only one who thinks so, as Ash roars with laughter. Maddy peels herself away from a rather dazed looking Seth and looks back at Ash.

"Can we help you?"

"Perhaps you could have waited until you were back at the flat before you mounted Seth? We are still mid-game and it's your turn," Ash replies, gesturing up at the scoreboard.

Maddy sighs and climbs off Seth before dragging him off the bench and out to the arcade area.

"Oh. Well, I guess they're giving up?" Natalie exclaims.

"Neither are doing even slightly well," Talmira points out, gesturing to both scoreboards with a shrug.

It wasn't too long before the competition was now down to Ares and I, after Ash had guttered the ball twice during one turn.

Ares had gotten a strike for every go since his first one, and I couldn't help but be impressed. Part of me kept wondering if he really was human, but nothing else about him suggested otherwise. My mum had also told me that everyone in my flat was human, after all.

It comes down to the last bowl each, with me and Ares leading around twenty points ahead of Ash. While I'm waiting, the tall auburn guy who was staring at me earlier is once again looking at me from the next lane over, his eyes rather intense as he watches me.

It is quite unnerving, as I am not used to guys looking at me like that.

I get up to do my final bowl and can still feel the guy watching me. It really puts me off, and I end up bowling the ball down the gutter.

"Argh!" I exclaim, not happy that I was potentially about to lose. I glance back at Ares as I wait for my bowling ball to make its way back.

He is staring back rather intensely, his usually soft dark eyes now rather fierce as he looks back at me with a slight smile on his face.

He is enjoying the competition, that was for sure; behind the innocence was a natural competitor that Ash and I had managed to draw out.

I arch a brow back at him before I turn away, heading back to the lane.

I shoot the ball down the lane, praying I hit them all. Because at this point, I now had to hit them all to draw and then hope that Ares misses his final go to win. The ball hits the pins and a bunch of them scatter, leaving only one wobbling around on its axis before it resolutely remains standing.

"NO!" I exclaim in annoyance, shortly hearing the others begin to congratulate Ares on his near perfect game. He comes up to me, a big grin on his face, holding his hand out to shake mine.

"Well played, good sir," I joke to him with a smirk as I shake his hand, "shaking my hand is a little weird, Ares."

"No, it is the proper thing to do with a worthy opponent. Perhaps it was simply beginners luck, once again?" He suggests with a lopsided smile, his eyes travelling all over me in a curious way.

I step closer to him, squaring up a little, feeling my competitive spirit awakening.

"Maybe we will see after the next game?" I retort, now more than up for another round, maintaining eye contact with Ares as I give him my best challenging look.

He is looking at me in a similar way, but before he can answer, Ash interrupts.

"Before we even contemplate another game," Ash says in my ear, "I am going to need one of those big, foot-long, sloppy chilli hot dogs filled with onions and covered in cheese sauce."

"Ooooh, excellent suggestion," I reply, my stomach grumbling.

..

I use a finger to mop up the remaining cheese sauce on my plate. It was a bloody good hotdog.

"This was strangely delicious. I never had a hotdog before," Ares says happily. Maddy and Seth had joined us for food, having had their fill of the arcade games in the corner, and perhaps of each other. Maddy had of course, eaten her foot-long hotdog in a decidedly filthy way as she made eyes at Seth, who had sat opposite her.

I get up to get a napkin and one of the bowling alley employees approaches me.

"Excuse me, miss, are you the owner of the dark blue Nissan?" he asks.

"Er...yeah, I think that's mine. Why?" I reply with a frown, wondering why he is asking me this.

"I am so sorry to tell you this, but I've just had a report from someone saying that they saw somebody cutting your tyres. We don't have CCTV out there so I cannot confirm or help if someone has," the employee says in dismay, his expression more than sympathetic.

"OH," I exclaim immediately, before annoyance quickly sets in, "wonderful! Thank you for telling me?"

I feel a little bad about my sarcasm as the bowling alley worker shrugs at me before wandering away. I run my hand through my hair in frustration as I try to remember who my break-down company is with.

"Umm...I just need to go check on my car, we might have a problem," I tell them with a loud sigh.

Normally, I'd have called my dad, but it was time to be a grown up, now I was at university.

I head out into the car park, hoping to the goddess that they've got the wrong car.

I check around my car, noting that the tyres are all perfectly fine.

Had they contacted the wrong person? I stand there in the chilly darkness, wondering if I'd misheard. But I was very sure that the guy had said it was that someone had been seen cutting my tyres.

I check each one again and they feel fine.

Perhaps it was someone else's? I walk around the car park, checking for another car just like mine.

I wish I could see better in the dark, like proper Lycans could. I rapidly start to feel uneasy, like a sixth sense has been piqued.

Because, I now feel like I am being watched.

I stand with my back to the car I am checking, and I look around the car park. It is silent out here, and the car park appears empty. Even so, my gut is telling me that it is time I go back inside.

My car is fine, and while I can't find the supposedly damaged car, I'll just tell the guy on the desk that it wasn't mine. I start walking briskly across the dimly lit car park.

A tall, burly figure abruptly steps out in front of me and I halt immediately. I recognise the figure to be the tall auburn guy who had been standing around staring at me in the bowling alley all evening.

I knew someone had been watching.

Closer to me now, I can sense that he is Lycan, and an alpha at that.

I feel my blood go cold...but...why?

My brain helpfully harks back to when my father had told me I was a commodity, that I needed to keep myself safe. Something about this situation isn't right. I instinctively know it.

"Goodness, you made me jump! Excuse me," I say, feigning surprise and being polite. I go to step around the guy, but he steps right in front of me, his breathing and exterior so calm as he does so.

"Umm..." I mumble, unable to think about what to say or do at this point.

He has made his intentions rather clear with this move. I look up slowly into his face, and he is looking rather contemplative as he looks down at me.

His eyes are glowing pink, and he suddenly leans down to inhale deeply at the base of my neck, grabbing my shoulders roughly as he does so.

I let it happen, frozen in sudden fear. I can only hope he believes I am human like the rest of the Lycans at Vale.

But then...none of them have been alpha, and none of them have been close enough to do this...there is no way I smelled human up close.

He growls deeply in my ear, and his large hands grip me harder, holding me there as he continues to inhale, his nose pressed fairly hard into my neck. I can smell the musky odour of his cologne, and it isn't a nice one.

Perhaps the wolf-version of me would be intrigued, I didn't know, but this version of me now has adrenaline coursing through her as I start to feel a high level of panic. I try to struggle against his grip, but he is incredibly strong.

I let out a single sob as I then feel him slowly lick me up the side of my neck.

Gross.

Natural for Lycans, but for me, right now?...just gross.

I feel disgusted, scared and worried about what else is about to happen. With his hands still on my arms, he shoves me roughly up against the car behind me, so hard that my elbow is forced backwards and it cracks the glass of the car window. It is immediately painful but I have other things to worry about, right now.

"WHAT are you?" he growls lowly by my ear, sniffing deeply again, "your scent is alpha and...something...else...something...more...SO much MORE..."

He stands up, a hand gripping the back of my hair painfully as he pulls my head back to study my face in the dim light.

"WHO are you?" he asks roughly, shaking my head a little as his eyes glow even more brightly. I say nothing, resolutely staring back at this brute. His wolf knows I'm something he craves, but maybe I can just—

"WHICH PACK DO YOU BELONG TO?" he suddenly bellows at me.

I cry out loud, feeling thoroughly terrified now.

This wasn't us.

This isn't what Lycans are...what has become of us?

"WHO ARE YOU?" he bellows again, his eyes blazing fully, now.

"Ophelia Landry," I squeak, unable to stop myself, hoping in vain that admitting this might be better than angering him further.

His eyes widen in delight at this, and a triumphant growl rumbles in his throat.

He recognises my name...and now thinks he has a prize in his hands.

...More of a lower tier prize, in reality.

Thankfully, before anything else can happen, someone intervenes, shoving the guy hard out of the way.

Unbelievably, it's Ash.

I am immediately worried for him but so grateful to have him here, nevertheless.

"Get the f**k away from my friend!" he exclaims rather dangerously, toward the Lycan.

The normally kindly spoken and teddy-bear-like Ash is now standing tall in his six-foot-two frame, flexing his large human muscles as he stands his ground against Lycan. He is being so brave, but so utterly stupid at the same time. This guy could kill him easily, if he wanted to.

"Your friend?" the guy laughs incredulously, "she belongs with her OWN kind..."

"There is CCTV out here, I'd piss off if I were you!" Ash warns the guy, his arms spreading out a little protectively in front of me. He is lying, there is no CCTV, but the guy pauses for several seconds as he growls, glancing at me briefly before he then dashes off into the night. Perhaps he thought that as an alpha I may actually be strong, and he didn't want to take on two of us...

Free of my tormentor now, I collapse onto the floor and begin sobbing loudly, the adrenaline and immense relief messing me up entirely.

I have never felt this weak, this pathetic.

If Joshua saw me right now...it would be so embarrassing. I don't want my kind and loving parents to ever know about this.

No one.

None of my pack.

What an embarassment.

Ash crouches down in front of me and puts his hands kindly onto my shoulders. I cannot help but flinch as he does so, feeling fully on edge.

"Lia...did he hurt you?" He asks gently, his voice back to normal. I look up at him, his kind and handsome face blurring through my tears as I shake my head. He breathes a sigh of relief.

"Are you okay?" he asks. I don't need to lie to Ash.

"No! I am not okay!" I exclaim, wrapping my arms around my chest. Ash pulls me into a tight hug, and I feel myself relaxing a little in his embrace. But at the same time, I feel utterly ashamed. A female alpha shouldn't need to feel safe in the arms of any Lycan male, let alone a human one.

What a solid joke I had truly become.

"Thank you...Ash," I mumble, tears pouring down my cheeks and onto his hoody.

"What? No thanks are necessary, Lia, I'm just glad I got here in time. Who knows what that Lycan could've done to you?" he says, patting my upper back a little awkwardly, "let's get you back inside, yeah?"

I stand up with his help, and he puts his arm around me protectively as we walk back into the building.

..

The others were suitably shocked, of course, to find out that I'd been attacked in a bowling alley car park of all places.

We left not long after, with Ash driving my car back to campus instead of me. I was too mentally thrown to drive properly. I leant my head against the window during the journey home, feeling thoroughly miserable and uncomfortable.

My father had warned that this could happen, and I stupidly believed I was safe, just because I had no wolf. But my name was my name, and I apparently still smelled like an alpha up close, and still had the ability to draw the attention of another.

When we get back to the student village, Maddy immediately disappears into the bottom flat along with Seth, leaving the three of us to return to our top floor flat. I take myself straight out onto the balcony, wanting some air, wrapping myself up in one of the throws I had left in the living area.

I was safe on the balcony.

I sit huddled on one of the loungers, looking out and up into the almost full moon above.

I still felt no affinity with it.

Nothing.

Why was I so broken?

Apparently, I was Lycan, Fae and alpha enough to show up on another alpha's olfactory radar, but not enough to gain a wolf like a standard twelve to fifteen-year-old would have. I wipe some tears from my cheeks as the door to the flat opens.

"Lia?" I hear Ash's voice say tentatively.

I look up at him as he tentatively walks over to the spare lounger next to me and sits down. He looks back to his normal, charming self. It was funny for me to think right now, that there was a fearless warrior just beneath the surface. Kind and thoughtful Ash happened to look totally terrifying if he wanted to, but I was rather glad to know that side of him existed.

"Hi," I reply awkwardly, hugging my knees and the throw around me a little more.

"Lia...I am sorry, but I couldn't help but overhear..." he says quietly, glancing through the glass wall into the living space at Ares, as he looks inside a cardboard box. Ash then looks at me and raises his eyebrows a little. My heart sinks...

"You're Ophelia Landry. Austin and Ella Landry's eldest daughter. You're the heir to their pack..." he states quietly.

I breathe in sharply. I hoped he hadn't heard this.

"Only in name," I admit bitterly, staring up at the moon.

"So...you're...an alpha Lycan but you are also Fae...how...I mean...that is pretty potent. You could've kicked his ass? Why didn't you?" Ash asks curiously. I sigh and turn my head toward him. I was daft to think I could continue to hide this glaring fact about myself. It was time to fess up; I owed him that much after he saved me.

"If I could, I would have, Ash. I am an alpha Lycan. I am the heir to one of the most powerful packs in the world. And yet, somehow, I do not have a wolf," I reveal, feeling immensely sadder to have now invited my secret into my new home, right where I had been able to forget about it, for a short time.

"Really? I didn't know that was even possible," Ash says quietly.

"It usually isn't," I admit with a steely edge to my voice, "but...I am a little unique. There hasn't been someone like me before. A Lycan—Fae hybrid. Evidently, something about that combination isn't working. NEITHER side of me is expressing itself properly. In addition to no wolf, Ash, I also don't have my wings and I don't have any kind of magic. I am as human as you are. Except weaker, more helpless, and entirely mortal."

Ash says nothing for a few seconds, taking in what I've told him.

"That's...a lot. I get why you're not openly telling everyone who you are," Ash replies. I nod and sniffle a little, tears welling in my eyes.

"My dad warned me about this two weeks ago. I thought I'd be fine, but evidently...my DNA is still the same. Alpha Lycans have historically always had a 'thing' for Fae, because of how powerful we can potentially make a Lycan. I mean look at my mum. She isn't just any Fae, she is a Celestial, and that's because she came from a hybrid Lycan and a faerie. If I had a daughter...there is a high chance she could be exactly like my mum...and if she one day bonded to an alpha, that's another Golden Alpha. Even against my will, I could give someone the kind of power that shouldn't be given to just anyone. I can't defend myself, Ash. I can't be protected here without revealing who I am, because doing so would also put a big bloody arrow over this building, pointing right at me. I am SO grateful that you stepped in. It's a full moon tomorrow so the situation could have been very unpredictable if you hadn't."

"Gosh; you do not have to thank me, Lia. Ophelia. For the record that is a much better name, it suits you far more," he replies kindly, "but...look, maybe Maddy and Ares need to know? We can all look after you."

I shake my head.

"Maddy would not keep this to herself. And Ares...bless him, Ares is so sweetly naive to the world; I wouldn't want to worry him. No. I'm sorry, but I am human just like the rest of you. Please," I reply adamantly. Ash laughs and leans forward.

"Come now, let's be reasonable here, Lia. Maddy isn't that human," he jokes. I laugh out loud a little.

"She is definitely one of a kind," I agree with a sigh. The door opens and Ares steps out into the balcony. My hand immediately goes to cover my mouth to stop myself from laughing out loud at his appearance.

"Is that a Spiderman costume?" Ash asks with a loud laugh.

"Yes, I watched the cartoon many times as a young boy. I ordered it for Madeleine's costume party and it arrived today. But, it does not fit properly," Ares replies, coming towards us.

"Well...I agree. Makes your muscles look fire, but way too small for you, and it doesn't leave anything to the imagination, dude. I really think you should at least consider wearing underwear underneath," Ash laughs.

"Why? We are medical students, my anatomy should not be a shock to anyone," Ares comments thoughtfully.

Ash laughs again at this, and I can't help but giggle myself, my mood lifting a little. Ares may be naive, but I am a little jealous that he is able to be.

"You raise a valid point, but...unless you want Maddy all over you, I'd wear some underwear," Ash says seriously. Ares looks pensive for a moment before he turns to me.

"How are you feeling, Lia? I'm sorry, I was not sure of the best way to comfort you, because I have no experience of doing so. I suggested Ash came out instead," he asks, looking at me sympathetically.

"I am okay, Ares, thank you," I assure him, keeping my gaze fixed firmly into his after Ash’s comment about how revealing the costume is.

"I am glad that you are, and moreso that you were not hurt," he says with a quick smile at me, and then he promptly leaves the balcony.

Ash bursts out into laughter.

"Oh, stop, he is a very sweet guy," I say diplomatically, "he was homeschooled and clearly hasn't been around others that much. Be kind..."

"Honestly...it's like having a kid brother."