Chapter 23

"What do you mean she's gone?!" Ric bellowed loudly at the collection of people gathered in his office.

There had been a plan in place that had been laid out perfectly over the past few days. The gang was well aware that the full moon was finally upon them and that no one had any idea what would happen with Josie. Lizzie was supposed to stay by her side all day long, and Josie was supposed to have been taken to her own comfy shifting-cell by the time dusk arose. Hope would see her through whatever awaited her, but there would be the safety of the cell and there would be backup and extra measures in place just in case.

But by the time it was late afternoon, Josie had slipped away and off of everyone's radar. Hope had warned them that she would grow wilder as the day grew long and that instinctually she would do everything in her power to be free of any and all confines. Hope was almost proud of the resourcefulness that Josie had shown in escaping her so-called captors.

"Look, all we can do now is damage control." Hope stepped forward and warned urgently. "I'll find her, I promise, and I'll take care of her. Dr. Saltzman, you need to take care of the rest."

And so, they divided their efforts: Kaleb and MG would see to all of the vampires staying in their rooms for the night, needing a strict curfew in order to keep them safe from the wolves. As for the wolves, Dorian would oversee them as they remained locked up in the shifting cells for the night, including Rafael. Emma was tasked with making sure that all the witches also remained indoors and out of harm's way, while Lizzie was given the responsibility of keeping an eye on Landon (which she desperately resented). Alaric would assume overall command, while Hope went after the wayward Josie.

(…)

"Are you in love with her?"

The words Lizzie had asked kept echoing through Josie's mind throughout the following days. While she was desperately avoiding Hope, as well as mostly everyone else, she had to face the truth of the situation. Was she, or wasn't she?

And in there lay the crux of their problem. Was the bond simply a connection established between Hope's wolf and the wolf-presence it had awoken within Josie? Was there an actual conscious emotional attachment between her and Hope, or was it all instinctually driven by their inner-animals? And if that was the case… was that really so bad?

Josie had never considered herself primal, but ever since Hope marked her she knew she had become thus. And there was something utterly intoxicating about the primordial. Josie wanted more of it and she wanted to live it. She wanted the wolf inside of her and it was difficult to imagine it being gone. However, she knew, should she break the bond with Hope that she would lose her wolf.

When she had spoken to Hope in the clearing and the tribrid had asked Josie why she felt like a freak, she was horrified at the thought of being violent and aggressive should she shift into a wolf. But the more she thought about it, the more Hope's words inside her mindscape came back to her.

"Your subconscious made a fairytale: that the good you is weak, and the powerful you is evil. Tell yourself a different story."

This was so very much the same. Why could she not be powerful and still maintain control? If Hope was sharing her wolf curse with Josie through the unification, then wouldn't that mean she'd be an evolved wolf like Hope as well? She'd be able to shift and be in control. She'd be able to perform magic without having to siphon it first. She'd be a rarity. She'd be special. Why did she have to feel bad about that?

And then she felt anger overwhelm her. Intense, unbearable anger. Josie lifted her hand where she stood alone in the old mill, and with her rising hand she levitated a ceramic lantern that had been resting on a tree stump to one side. She suddenly balled her hand into a fist and the lantern exploded into nothing but dust. A strangled noise escaped her throat as her eyes started watering.

Hope could not abandon her. Whatever this thing between them was, it was not done. She couldn't allow it to be. She needed to remind Hope of what burned so intensely between them.

Glancing upward towards the slowly darkening sky, Josie's eyes lit up in copper flames as the edge of the full moon started to become visible.

(…)

Hope set out into the woods, worried about how quickly it was getting dark and knowing that she had to find Josie as soon as possible. She had a bag with her with some things they might need, including changes of clothing and a blanket. She couldn't help but have her father's words run through her mind the first time she shifted. It had saved her an immense amount of pain, and that was all she wanted to do for Josie.

Josie… Sweet, beautiful Josie…

Hope's mind had been filled with the brunette over the past few days, even though she didn't even manage to see her once. The last time they had even spoken to each other was with the situation with Jade in the bathroom. Hope had been so hurt; she couldn't believe that Josie would side with Jade over her. But the more thought she gave it, the more she realized that if Josie had not done what she had done, there would probably have been a physical altercation between her and the vampire.

But did Josie have to be so cold about it?

And then Hope realized that there were colder things in life. Like the absence of Josie in it.

As afraid as she had been about her developing romance with the siphon, she was having even more trouble at the thought of it not happening at all. It always seemed so simple to juggle something with uncertainty, until the option wasn't there anymore. And Hope felt untimely robbed of her opportunity to decide exactly what it was that she wanted.

It was easy enough to guess that Josie's avoidance was due to Landon having returned. And there was the biggest current issue that they faced.

Landon.

Hope had spent most of her time over the past few days with him down in his cell. In between some general tests to check exactly how alive he was (for lack of a better explanation), the two of them would just talk and talk. Hope would tell Landon about the things he missed. She told him about her own ordeal with her delayed awakening. She tried to explain the situation with Josie possibly turning into a hybrid as well, but she chose her words carefully, making sure that she did not reveal any of the truth of what was going on between Hope and the witch. She wasn't sure there was any easy way to explain to your boyfriend that his ex- and current girlfriend was possibly engaged to and having make-out sessions with his most recent ex-girlfriend.

Spending time with Landon was comforting and it made Hope happy. When she was sure no one would interrupt them, she would slip into his cell and let him simply hold her close in his arms. It felt nice. But was 'nice' enough? They kissed and his lips were warm. Again, it was… nice. Everything about Landon and the feelings he gave her were 'nice'.

And that was it.

And she didn't know what to make of it.

And the simple fact of the matter was – if she had to be brutally honest with herself – he just wasn't Josie.

(…)

When Hope approached the old mill, she could see the signs of Josie having been there – not the least of which were the broken pieces of random objects. She dropped her bag on one worn couch and carefully observed the surroundings for any signs of where the girl might have wandered off to. She quickly spotted a set of tracks leading off into the woods. Then she spotted a second pair following the first.

"Damnit…" She mumbled, not sure who it was, but knowing they were either posing a danger to Josie, or placing themselves in great danger.

She didn't have to follow the tracks far before she found the owners.

"You've got to be kidding me right now." Hope growled as both Josie and Jade snapped their eyes towards Hope. The situation she found them in was not too compromising at least, but Hope still hated the way Jade had Josie's face in her hands and they way in which her body leaned towards Hope's mate.

HER mate.

Hope blinked at the thought as her heart skipped a beat. She could feel her wolf coming alive inside of her, the wolf's power suddenly coursing through her veins.

"Either you are exceptionally stupid, or you WANT to die tonight." She uttered through her teeth at Jade as she stepped closer, her presence alone causing the other two girls to separate from each other.

"We don't need you here, Mikaelson." Jade set her jaw tightly as she stepped in front of Josie.

"Are you kidding me? It's a full moon! And I promise you…" Hope paused as she looked over to Josie's glowing copper eyes behind Jade, her own finally lighting up a bright gold. "If you don't get out of here, one of us WILL tear you apart."

Jade's canine's elongated, turning to fangs as her eyes grew bloody, the vampire taking another step towards Hope. "For Josie, I'll risk it."

"Josie is the only reason I have not ripped your throat out yet." Hope's own canines grew threateningly as her wolf started pushing its way out. "Get out of here. Now!" She barked with authority lacing her voice.

"Hope…" Josie started and paused, Hope's eyes flashing at her. She wouldn't be able to deal with being shut down by the brunette again. "Hope is right…" Josie directed her gaze to Jade. "It's not safe for you here. You need to leave."

Jade scoffed, the veins beneath her eyes popping underneath the skin as her gaze never left Hope. "This isn't over, Mikaelson. I don't give up on the things I want."

The hairs on the back of Hope's neck stood on end from anger and her whole body buzzed as she strained to keep her wolf under control. "You better give up when what you want is MINE."

Before either girl could get in another threatening word, Josie dropped to her knees, screaming. She was in very obvious pain. Hope, startled, glanced up to the sky to see the full moon now in clear view as it started rising to its apex. She rushed to Josie's side, and when she looked back to Jade, she was relieved to find that the vampire was gone.

(…)

It was to be the longest night of either Hope or Josie's life.

Hope had carried Josie back to the mill and laid her down on the couch. Josie was running a high fever and would scream out in pain intermittently. The sounds of agony made Hope's blood run cold as she tried to comfort Josie. She had told Josie what her father had told her: "Concentrate on the air in your lungs and the ground beneath you… If you let it in, if you allow it to swallow you whole, then it cannot break you."

But Josie was breaking and nothing was helping. Josie tried to allow the wolf to consume her. She could feel it inside, agonizing to break free, but no matter how much she willed it, it just would not happen. Josie' bones would not break, but it seemed like they kept cracking and healing and cracking again, over and over. It was not Josie that was preventing the shift. It was something else. And all Hope could do was hold her as it happened for hours on end.

Every once or so an hour, the pain would seem to subside just enough for Josie to be able to catch her breath. Hope would give her water and make sure she stayed hydrated, but she knew there was no amount of medication that would be able to lessen her pain. Hope couldn't eve use magic, as it was the shifting magical transformation within Josie causing the pain to begin with.

So, Hope would remain holding Josie, stroking her hair and pressing soft kisses to her damp forehead as they curled up together on the couch underneath the soft blanket Hope had brought with. After a particularly bad bout of insufferable pain, Hope came to the conclusion that heat may help soothe some of it. She crept just out of Josie's view and shifted into her wolf, knowing that her body heat was much higher that way. She crawled back onto the couch and under the blanket with Josie, allowing the girl to curl her fingers into Hope's fur as she tried to bear the coursing pain in between cuddling into the warmth that the wolf provided.

Eventually, some time just before dawn, Josie passed out exhausted as her pain finally subsided.