Chapter 9

Josie woke up with a start, shooting upright and heaving with anxiety.

She quickly glanced around her and found that she was in her bed in the room she shared with her sister. There was light streaming through the windows, though she knew very well it was evening the last time she was conscious. She was in full-blown panic mode, images of Hope crumbling to dust still fresh in the forefront of her mind.

She threw the blankets from her sweat-soaked body and jumped out of bed. One more feverish search around the room with desperate eyes, which revealed nothing out of the ordinary, and she shot out the door with determination.

Her first stop was Hope's room. She didn't bother knocking. She didn't even consider it, as she threw the door open with a wave of her hand – the magic nearly knocking the slab of wood off of its hinges.

Hope's bed was empty. The spot the sleeping tribrid had occupied for weeks was now void of any sign that she had even been there.

Josie shot from one end of the room to the other, searching for any sign of Hope, but coming up empty handed.

She flew out of the room once more and down the steps, around the corner and to her father's office.

"God damnit!" Alaric nearly fell off his chair as the heavy double doors that lead into his office flew open violently, crashing against the wall on either sides, as his daughter stormed in with tears streaking her face. "Josie! What the hell!"

"She's gone, dad!" Josie's arms flailed as she choked on her words.

"Who? Who's gone? Baby, calm down…" He stepped around his desk and reached for her tentatively, but she was skipping across the room, pacing, before he could even lay a finger on her in comfort.

"Hope! Dad! I saw her in my... I found her…" Josie started crying, struggling to hold back her anxiety-ridden emotions. "But she… Oh god…"

"Jo calm down!" He reached for her again, gripping her shoulders to get her to just stop and look at him, pain etched onto his face as his heart broke for his little girl.

"Dad, I don't…" He quickly cut her off before she could sob out another syllable, pulling her tightly against his chest.

"She's fine. Jo, she's awake. She came back around early this morning." He sighed deeply and cursed inwardly at himself, figuring he should have been with Josie when she woke up, or at least have had Lizzie stay with her.

Josie stopped breathing and pulled back to look up at her father's caring eyes while quickly and angrily wiping the tears from her own. "What? What do you mean? Where is she? Is she okay?"

Alaric lead his daughter to the nearest chair and allowed her to sink into it and relax, before he himself stepped back to lean against his desk. "She's fine. A little confused and dazed, but she's normal. She has a lot to deal with, I guess. She went out for a run."

"I need to find her." Josie said immediately and stood from the chair, but was quickly pushed back down by her father's firm hand on her shoulder.

"She's running in wolf form. You're not going near her right now." He arched his brows in warning.

"Dad…I have to." She whined irritably, but Alaric wouldn't budge, shaking his head at his daughter.

"Tell me what happened. In your subconscious. I had Jade hammering on my bedroom door in the middle of the night due to a werewolf bite!" He uttered in frustration.

"Oh my god, Jade! I forgot!" Josie felt terribly guilty when she was reminded of the vampire and how she had gotten herself pumped full of venom and nearly had her arm torn off from trying to help Josie. "How is she?" She asked sincerely, her stomach suddenly feeling a little queasy.

"She's also fine. Took Hope's blood, healed up fast enough. I'm not sure where she is right now…" He shrugged and then crossed his arms in front of his chest. "So tell me what happened."

"She wanted to help me find Hope, so she took the conscious me into my subconscious so that we could search together." Josie started, brows furrowing soon enough. "But Hope found us first. Well, her wolf did, and she attacked Jade. Jade left immediately."

Alaric's eyes grew a little wider with concern, his heartbeat picking up at the thought that Josie was left alone with an aggressive werewolf. He silently urged her to continue her explanation.

"Then… the wolf lead me further into the forest, until we reached a set of ruins." Josie casually skipped over the part where she and Hope had forged an inexplicably deep bond. She figured now was not the time. "I found Hope there – she was a statue. Stone. I touched her." Josie sucked in a deep breath and held it for a second longer than usual, making sure not to break into tears again at the memory. "But she just crumbled. And that's the last thing I remember before waking up."

"Interesting…" Alaric eyed her, his blue eyes always easily reflecting his suspicion. His gut feeling was telling him there was something his daughter was neglecting to mention, but for now he would not press the issue. "Well, you must have fallen back into an unconscious sleep state after that, allowing you to only wake up some hours after she did. It might have been the trauma you experienced in that moment." He sighed then and allowed his hands to slip into the pockets of his trousers. "What I don't get is why she finally woke up at that moment. Any ideas?"

Josie had a theory.

"I don't know, dad. I'm just glad she's back." She ran her hand impatiently through her hair and slowly stood back up, trying not to seem too eager in front of her father. "Can I go for now? I want to talk to Lizzie." She lied.

Ric nodded and moved upright completely from where he was leaning against his desk. "Jo, just give Hope time. She needs it. You'll probably see her soon."

(…)

"Damn right I'll see her soon…" Josie mumbled as she carefully meandered through the back woods of the school property. There was no way she was going to wait to see Hope. She simply couldn't. Not only had it been weeks since she was able to look into those beautiful blue eyes or hear that sweet-sounding voice, but the tug she felt inside her to find and be near Hope was undeniable and could not be ignored.

It didn't take too long of her searching before she saw the flash of white swiftly moving between the trees. Josie's heart soared immediately as the wolf approached and she slowly eased out a soothing sigh she had been holding in while anxiously searching. She could sense the excitement within the wolf at seeing her as well. It bounded towards her playfully and upon reaching her she quickly spun around Josie in repeated circles. Hope brushed tightly against Josie as if to transfer her scent onto the witch, then nuzzled her nose into Josie's neck. Werewolves were somewhat larger than the average wolf, so Josie didn't need to bend down much in order to wrap her arms around the stunning creature. It was officially one of her favorite feelings in the world – being able to slide her fingers through the silky fur and hiding her face within the fluffy mane. The playful affection felt heavenly to both of them as they simply soaked each other in, no questions asked.

After a few minutes of physical bonding, the wolf trotted off in the direction of the old mill and Josie happily followed. The witch watched as the wolf slipped in underneath a blanket that had been bundled up to one side, and when her head poked out the other side it was a head full of auburn hair, messy and wild from the transformation. After wrapping the blanket around her body to secure her modesty, Hope spun around and skipped towards Josie.

Wordlessly, Josie wrapped her arms around the shorter girl in the tightest embrace she could muster, Hope undeniably happy to simply sink into the younger girl's arms with a sigh. So they stood for an eternity and saturated the atmosphere with the effervescence of their divine connection. Eventually, and reluctantly, they pulled apart, allowing brown to meet blue as their eyes sparkled at one another, electricity crackling in the air between them.

"Hey…" Josie finally whispered with a goofy smile, while Hope gave her one to match as she answered in the same manner. "Hi…"

Destiny never felt so right.