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

Welcome to Vale

***Ella***

As I land on the balcony of Austin's Zurich office, I am happy to see that he is alone right now. He looks rather thrilled by my presence as I wander through

the doorway.

"Well, this is unexpected but wholeheartedly encouraged," he says happily, his eyes excited.

"Noted," I tell him succinctly as I drop into one of the chairs opposite his desk, "I've interrupted because...Amoya Saw Ophelia."

Austin sits up in his chair and leans forward, looking a little concerned.

"What is it? I mean I can tell it's something," he asks.

"Remember the morning after our wedding, when Serena dropped that huge bombshell on us?"

"How can I forget? She interrupted us," Austin laughs.

"I mean, on the plus side of what she told us that day, we didn't need to be concerned about James’ safety around the vampires or the other two humans that Lycans have forged bonds with. James now fences with Augustus after all. But...what she said about the balance, I think it ties into what Amoya said to Ophelia, and it feels like a bit of a weird coincidence when I consider our meeting yesterday."

"It's been a long time. I don't really remember the specifics of what Serena said, just that we have never managed to confirm much," Austin remarks.

"Well, from what the goddess told Serena, we know that the vampires came into being through the creation of the Fae. Nature striking a balance; one species in the light, one in the shadows. Amoya said to Ophelia that it is easier to see in the shadows when we aren't bathed in light. Ophelia has no light, ever since she got sick. A fact that has been utterly ridiculous to me because she is our daughter, and she is very loved by us and our wider family. To be loved by us has given light to even our purely Lycan children. But separately from that, she is a good, kind person, and yet she has no light. It has not made sense to me. Ophelia then commented to Amoya that you cannot have shadows without light. A fact that is 'exactly the problem', according to Amoya."

"It's been a long while since we had a solidly cryptic message from Amoya," Austin muses, fiddling with a pen.

"Always seems to be when one of you Landry's have recently come of age," I laugh nervously. Austin leans back in his chair, and he appears to be conversing with Atlas.

"Okay. The initial thing that popped into my head: when you're in a lit room at night you cannot see out of the window. At sunrise or at dusk, the sky looks darker if you have light around you. Light can actually make it harder to see. I don't really want to consider my eldest daughter, who is arguably the most vulnerable out of our children, having any sort of issue with the shadows," he says.

"Intriguing. Why are you assuming the shadows are bad? Augustus has been reasonable, has he not? It's been seventeen years since the vamps revealed their existence, and aside from the odd blip here and there, as with any other species, they have really kept to themselves. We know very little about their society and what they can do. You and Sen have told me that Augustus comes to every Council meeting without fail, that he is always quiet and appears to spend most of his time just listening to everyone. I've met his sired son Atticus a few times, but that was mainly when we encountered that group who protested against my cure being freely given to the vampire population. But...I've just got this feeling that...Oh I don't know. I think I'm just a little nervous about the decision I made yesterday to allow his son to study at Vale," I grumble, tucking my hair behind my ears.

"Ella, what is it? There is something else," Austin asks knowingly.

"The date Augustus' son was born. Aus, it's the EXACT date Ophelia went into the hospital when she got sick. The same hospital Augustus's son was born at," I reveal. Austin looks taken aback for a moment.

"That's...an interesting coincidence," he remarks.

"It gets weirder, Aus. Obviously, you know that after that illness...her light had gone. But you might not remember what happened just before she got better. Lia suddenly got out of bed and just took off down the corridor. The nurses and I went after her and we eventually found her on the maternity ward, further down. We found her in some random side room where she was cooing sweetly over a newborn baby boy with black hair," I explain. Austin's eyes widen.

"I thought nothing of it at the time. Our daughter, who was previously so delirious with the fever she had, was suddenly found interacting so naturally and so sweetly with a newborn baby...and after that she was miraculously fine. I didn't question it, I mean why would I? I was just thankful she was better. She was alive. I didn't think about it again until yesterday, when seeing his birthdate just brought it all back to me."

"That's bizarre...Is THAT why you were so off when you were reading about Augustus' son yesterday? Your emotions were weird and your heart was racing," Austin says.

"Yes. Aus, I think that baby could well have been his son. Why did Ophelia run to him? More importantly...why was she was BETTER after I found her there with that baby? Why did her light disappear once she was; where did it go? Have I done the right thing by allowing him into Vale?"

"Come here," Austin says gently, gesturing me toward him. I go sit on his lap while he sits on his chair and I snuggle into him happily. This always made me feel better.

"I truly think you made the right decision, because you are kind and you always do. You followed your gut and that's all any of us can do. I think it'll be fine. Just...keep an eye out, that's all we can do, particularly when she's now an adult, Els."

"I wish she could use the trees. Instead, she's got to drive everywhere and be on the roads with utter idiots."

"But in no time at all she's going to be heading to Vale, and we will just have to see what happens..."

…

***Ophelia***

"Penny for your thoughts?" I hear someone ask beside me. I realise then that I'd been staring into space for some time. But it was probably natural, given that it was the day I was leaving for Vale.

"Sorry. Today is a big day," I reply, looking sideways at my uncle Ollie. He smiles and nods excitedly at me.

"It is. I wish I could've gone to university at the same age," he says wistfully before smiling more broadly, "although, I never dreamed I'd be putting my talents and my biggest interest into use the way I do now. So, if I have one piece of advice for you as you take this big step today, Ophelia...it's that this is just one path you are taking, and you can deviate from it at any time. There is always a new path to find, no matter how far you might wander."

"I like that sentiment," I say with a grin, "thanks uncle O."

"You're welcome," he says, getting up from the table and giving me a pat on my shoulder as he wanders out of the patio doors. I look down at my Greek yogurt and muesli and I cannot help but feel a little nauseous.

Zipping off to Exton had been daunting at the beginning too, but this was even more intimidating, in reality.

"Ooh—someone is feeling nervous," my mother says as she suddenly enters the room.

"Well surmised," I reply dryly, putting my bowl away, knowing damn well nothing escapes my highly empathic mother.

"What are you nervous about?" she asks.

"Are you kidding? Everything. I've never lived with strangers before. I had Lisa with me all throughout childhood, then at Exton, and now she's in Cumbria with Matt. I've never gone somewhere where no one knew me before...but then I suppose that’s actually a good thing."

"Some people will know you, Lia. By that I mean guest lecturers who you'll recognise, and YES...they know to treat you like you're like anyone else. It'll be a nice, gentle reminder of where you come from while you're away from us...forging your own path," she says, frowning a little.

"A path I am hoping will lead me straight onto the board of Gaia," I say happily as I start scraping the remains of my breakfast into the bin.

"Oh, she aspires high," mum says in jest as I put my things into the dishwasher.

"My high aspiring parents taught me how," I say fondly.

"Suck up. That only works if you're proudly Ophelia Landry at Vale, not...Lia River...is that meant to be based off my maiden name, by the way?" she asks, her hand on her hip.

"Reva was a bit obvious, mum. It’s on your bloody website bio," I mutter as I get my phone out of my pocket.

"That is very true,” she relents.

"Now, where is it I am driving to?" I ask, bringing up the map app on my phone.

"Ophelia, we can just-"

"-no we can't. How do I get anywhere else? There is no light in this dark soul, remember? Car travel only," I joke. She looks rather uncomfortable at my comment for a moment. She takes my phone, and she drops a pin over what looks like vast woodland on the map.

"Guess the satellite imaging hasn't updated in a while," I mutter.

"Satellite imaging goes live tomorrow. I wanted to keep the construction largely secret," she explains.

"Only an hour away...oh and it's by the sea!" I exclaim as I zoom out.

"Yes, well, it needs to be accessible for the mermaids," mum says casually.

"Mermaids are enrolling?" I ask in surprise.

"Two...and as you'll soon find out, what better way to learn about other species than directly from them?" she says with a wink.

"Really? I can't imagine you've got a vamp coming to talk to us," I challenge.

"Not yet. But I'm working on it. They kind of owe me," she says with a smirk.

"True. Well, I am excited to see it all. I can't imagine how it's going to look. I saw one of your plans a few years ago, and it looked pretty cool…" I ponder.

"You're going to love it…and I really think that the part of you that's Fae will love it too," she says before she sighs and looks at me with a tilted head, "it's going to be so strange not being able to just drop in. You're barely eighteen, you're still so young."

"I'll be fine. Dad has taught me how to cook many amazing things, so that's hopefully how I'll win my roomies over, at the very least. Goddess, I hope none of them are vegan, though," I mutter.

...

***Austin***

I stare vacantly at the large computer screen before me which is filled with about twenty different video feeds from people around the world.

I tap on my own for a moment to disable the camera and microphone, rubbing my face in my hands and growling lowly to myself. This UN meeting was becoming infuriating, and it was the only reason why I was missing Ophelia heading off to Vale.

Perhaps it was the world sorting itself out post-disclosure?

We weren’t sure.

Was it the removal of the mate bonds?

Again, we weren’t sure.

What we were sure of, was that there were more rogues than ever before. Stronger rogues, due to higher-ranking individuals being cast out of packs for their increasingly malevolent behaviour. Exton had needed to reintroduce patrols last year, and I was on the fence about introducing them again at the pack.

Life had become so much safer for us, and it was largely due to fear…fear of me. But somewhere along the way, I could feel it, that something had taken a dark turn. Now we were proposing new laws regarding rogues, and it was a long and arduous process, as Lycans without a pack needed to be regarded differently to the rest of us.

I take my phone out and call Ella, hoping her day was going better, but mostly because I was thinking about Ophelia.

"You okay? You don't usually call me in the middle of a UN meeting in particular," she asks.

"I can't believe I'm missing our daughter leaving home for university for this ridiculous meeting," I grumble.

"It isn't ridiculous. It's actually pretty important, Aus, and you know that. Rogues aren’t a joke anymore. Ophelia understands, and if anything, not having you there being all proud and…you…it actually made it a lot easier for her to leave," Ella reassures me.

"How is she doing?" I ask, my mind evidently on one thing today.

"She's great. She's just left, actually. I'll be sure to slyly check in on her later."

"Great. The house is going to be so empty and quiet without all the kids," I sigh.

"Not too late to have another," she jokes down the phone.

Yes please, Atlas pipes up.

"Atlas is on board with that idea, but we are getting a bit old for babies, Els," I laugh.

"I'm only joking, Aus. I am sure we can find some way to occupy ourselves in that big empty house," she says.

I swing around on my chair with a grin spreading across my face.

"Oh well, in that case, I still have two hundred and fifty left on my count," I tell her quietly. I hear her make a little noise at the other end, "you charge us both up when I'm home later, and I can get that at least halved in under a week."

"Fantastic. Now I'm going to be thinking of little else," she laughs.

"You're welcome, honey. Now I feel a little better about going back to my boring meeting," I reply.

...

***Ophelia***

I guess the council hadn't erected the right road signs yet, as it took me a little bit of time to eventually find my way to the Vale campus.

After my car emerges from a long road covered quite substantially by the canopy of many trees lining it, the start of the campus is finally in sight.

"Oh boy," I exclaim, slowing my car down.

It looks incredible.

The buildings are mainly of a smooth white construction, and feature a heavy amount of glass. Many of the buildings I am slowly driving past are curved, but there are clusters of square buildings too on the outskirts of the campus, all featuring shallow glass domes on the top. From what I could recall of the plans I had seen, these were accommodation blocks.

There are wisteria trees everywhere, providing beautiful purple and pink flowers among the white stone, the glass, the healthy lawns and all the other foliage and flowers I can see.

It's an architectural masterpiece, that’s for sure.

On the other side of the main road into the campus is a huge reservoir with giant lilypads across its surface, large rock formations in the centre...I could tell my mum had certainly thought of as many other species as she could when she came up with the design of the campus.

I follow some proper signage for the student village, going around a series of spectacular circular fountains which serve as roundabouts, until I see a sign directing me towards the 'Carphallus' building. Of course, mum would put me there. Carphallus was a little, innocent-looking blue flower from the Fae realm with tiny black seeds; seeds which had utterly changed the world of medicine and had formed the basis of her cure for cancer and other maladies ever since.

I park my car in one of the four bays for Flat A and I get out. It is so quiet here and I can see only two other cars. I guess I am quite early. There were no other cars here for my flat, so I could well be the first to arrive.

I take my suitcases out, and I wheel them to the entrance door, which is made of thick glass. A sensored camera above the door directs itself towards me automatically, and there is a beep as a screen near a fingerprint reader by the door suddenly turns on to show my photograph.

"Oh that’s fancy," I mutter as the screen shows a greeting.

Photo ID confirmed for LIA, please present palmar aspect of middle digit for finger print scan.

I placed my fingertip against the reader, adjusting it a little each time for a series of scans, much like my phone always has whenever I got a new one.

Thank you, LIA. You may enter FLAT A.

The door clicks, and it starts to slowly swing open.

With two suitcases in tow, I was pretty happy with the automated door. On one wall is a mailbox system for each of the three flats, and on the other wall there is a small lift. I manage to get my suitcases into it, and it shortly goes to Flat A, which is on the top floor. This building only houses twelve students, I guess.

I get out of the lift and there is a large full-length window to the outside world, opposite a front door with another fingerprint scanner. I press my finger against it and the door clicks open, opening slowly like the one downstairs.

"Gosh, the power requirements of this place must be insane," I mutter to myself as I walk across the threshold.

Wow.

The flat is larger than I was expecting, and it is so light and airy, mostly due to the domed skylight that dominates the majority of the high ceiling. Spotlights run along the beams between the panels of glass. It reminds me a little of the main hall of Exton, and I am sure it is what inspired my mother.

The dark grey sofas look very comfortable, and they're a modular kind in a U-shape configuration, just like the one we have at home. The sofa is facing a television which is on a wall bracket above. One wall is made entirely out of glass and leads out to a large balcony with four chairs, a table and two loungers. On the opposite wall is a sleek looking kitchenette along with a breakfast bar and four bar stools.

On the far end is clearly where the bedrooms are. Six doors in total. One for each of the four rooms and one bathroom per two rooms.

"Oh mother...you have seriously outdone yourself," I mumble to myself, wandering further into the main living room. The colours are simple and light, and as I look up through the domed skylight, I can see plumes of wisteria from one of the giant trees next to the building. It is all just stunning.

I go toward the doors and I can see they've already been labeled:

Lia

Madeleine

Ash

Ares

I open the door to my room and I step through.

...

***Ella***

"There is someone here to see you. One of the new students," my personal assistant Christina tells me as I faff around getting my laptop set up on my desk within the administration building at Vale. I look back at her and make a face.

"Already? God, I hope it isn't a complaint," I mutter as I look out of the window of my office, seeing groups of students arriving. I was more nervous to open this place than I was to open the doors of Gaia.

But somehow, setting up a university had taken more money, more time and more planning than setting up a string of international offices and factories. I look back at Christina, and she looks at me expectantly.

"Oh...yes, please, send them in…I suppose…" I tell her, feeling anxious.

She nods and wanders away. Just as I am pondering whether to have the same door policy that Austin has, Christina is gesturing for the visitor to come in. I hold my hands together in front of me on the desk, as through the door steps a tall, handsome young man with jet-black hair, incredibly dark brown eyes and warm, olive skin. He has the same build as a gamma, but I don't get the feeling that he is Lycan. I study his aura immediately, and I am surprised to see a large amount of light within him; more than most people I met; but then, medical students were usually well-intentioned, good people.

Perhaps it wasn’t that bizarre?

"Good afternoon, please, take a seat," I say to the young man. Christina leaves the room and I hear the door click.

"I am Ella Landry, Vice-Chancellor of Vale. It's a great pleasure to welcome you here," I say formally, holding out my hand for him to shake. He obliges and on contact with his hand I can feel a mixture of emotions. Joy, anxiety, nervousness, a tinge of underlying sadness…but largely this young man was very happy to be here.

"Thank you, it is a great honour to meet you, Mrs Landry. My father is Augustus Katz. I believe I owe you my immense gratitude for allowing me to enroll here at your institution without a formal application. I came here to thank you, but also to assure you that I will work very hard. You will not be disappointed," he says, looking remarkably sincere. I am shocked, to say the least.

Augustus' son?

I would never have guessed. Indeed, for an apparent ten-year-old he looks very much like an adult in his early twenties. He has a short amount of dark stubble on his jawline and more dark hair on the exposed parts of his forearms. Aside from the black hair, he looks nothing like his father; particularly when his father is paler in comparison.

Thankfully, it is far easier to understand him than his father. I nod and smile at him warmly.

"Welcome, Ares. I am pleased to make your acquaintance. Have you found your apartment okay?" I ask.

"I have. It is not as grand as home, but it is much nicer than where I have lived the last few years," he says with a slight frown. I am perplexed by this comment, but it is too soon to question family dynamics. Where had he lived other than home?

“I am glad to hear it is nicer than what you have been used to in recent times,” I reply kindly.

"Thank you again for your great kindness. As much as I have wanted this for so long, I do hope that my father did not oversell me," he says a little anxiously.

"He did not, do not worry. He merely said that you wanted to help people and that was all I really needed to hear, particularly with your outstanding test scores. Admittedly, I am also very keen to encourage your people to enroll here, and I am hopeful that if you find your time here more than worthwhile, more of your kind will follow.”

He nods and his expression is encouraging.

"As do I. I wanted to come here and thank you for your kindness in person, and now I have done that," he says, standing up from the chair a little stiffly.

"You're welcome. Just make sure you keep up," I say pointedly.

"Yes. Admittedly, my test scores aren't perhaps the complete reflection or what I can achieve with the correct tuition. But, I assure you, I will excel demonstrably," he says, once again in such a serious way that I really feel like I believe him.

"Can I ask one thing?" I ask. He nods and shrugs a little, "you're technically ten years old...how on earth do you appear to be roughly over twenty? How have you studied what you've studied and managed to test so highly?" He chuckles a little nervously and looks back at me as if considering his reply.

"Age can be a rather fluid concept for my kind, as I am sure you are aware. I am ten years old...and yet I am also approximately twenty-one years old," he says, evading my question.

His answer irks me a little.

"Why are your people so secretive? I want to learn more about you all. Your people came into being as an answer to the creation of mine...I can't help but feel so intrigued by you. I want to know, and I want to understand," I state honestly. He purses his lips a little and tilts his head offhandedly.

"I do not believe it is for me to give you the answers that you seek. My father is clearly indebted to you, now more than ever. But...I ought to go. I am excited to meet my new companions," he says with a polite nod.

"Oh no...Ares...please, call them your roommates. Don't be weird on your first day," I add. He laughs.

"Ah. Thank you for the advice, Mrs Landry."

He exits the room and I lean back in my chair, contemplating what he'd just said.

"According to reports, everything is going pretty well so far," Christina then says, poking her head around the door.

"So far...so good," I agree, turning around to stare back out of the window.

...

***Ophelia***

I begin to unpack my three suitcases, slowly, methodically—as though taking each item from its place might somehow anchor me here, in this unfamiliar but strangely welcoming space.

It’s clear Mum has been in already. Her touch lingers in the details, and I’m quietly grateful for it. An electric blanket lies neatly folded at the foot of my bed—an unspoken understanding passed between us. Our house never kept the heating on. Lycans and Faeries never needed it. But I always did. The odd one out. The anomaly. She never said it, but she remembered.

There are other touches too—two oversized floor cushions, inviting in their plush comfort, and a pair of impossibly fluffy throws that seem made for cold nights and soft silences. Around the edges of the room, fairy lights glow gently, framing the space in delicate warmth. Simple. Pretty. Just enough to feel like home.

But the crown jewel is from Dad.

My very own telescope, standing proudly near the floor-to-ceiling window. It gleams under the light, sleek and untouched, the metal cool and new beneath my fingers.

It’s beautiful—perfect.

Star-gazing has always been a family thing, a tradition threaded through generations, and I can’t help the smile that curls at the corner of my mouth. He remembered.

The window it faces is a marvel—one of those new eco-tech panes that shifts with a touch. It filters UV radiation, doubles as a solar panel, and can change its transparency with a touch of a button.

I’m hanging the last piece in my wardrobe—my favourite old hoodie—when I hear it: a sound outside my room. A low click, followed by the whisper of movement.

The main door?

My stomach tightens.

Roommates?

I take a deep breath, trying to smother the nerves crawling up my spine. My palms are damp—I wipe them discreetly down my jean shorts, casting a quick glance at my reflection. Not bad. Human, definitely. Maybe even kinda cute, in an effortlessly casual way. White tank top and denim shorts—a safe choice.

Hair’s behaving.

Thank the stars.

I slip from my room, flip-flops slapping softly against my heels, the sound oddly loud in the hush of the apartment. The living space stretches ahead, bathed in soft daylight, but it’s empty. Not a soul in sight. I pause, brow furrowing. I know I heard something.

A glance upward and I catch sight of the enormous skylight overhead. The pale branches of a great wisteria are brushing the glass, knocking gently in the breeze. That must’ve been it. My heart settles—just a little.

I drift toward the vast outer window, drawn to the view like a tide. The campus outside glows in gold and green, sunlight spilling across manicured paths and living walls thick with ivy and blooming colour. Mum’s influence is unmistakable—organic, modern, alive. This place is lush.

And yet…

I ache.

Ache to connect the way she does. To feel the roots of trees and the pulse of the earth like it’s part of me. I want that. I’m meant to have that. To belong to both sides of myself.

But I don’t.

I swallow the ache. Push it down. I’m here for a reason, and longing won’t change the facts. One step at a time.

Then, there is a flicker at the edge of my vision.

I spin...someone is there.

Tall. Right beside me.

I jump, air catching in my throat. I hadn’t heard a thing—not a footstep, not a breath. But he’s standing there, silent as a shadow, watching me with unreadable eyes.