Chapter 27

"So, what do you two have planned for today? Anything specific that you'd like to do?" Keelin asked as she popped a few slices of bread in the toaster, speaking to Hope and Josie over her shoulder. Freya was seated in front of Nik's baby chair, cooing at him as she tried to get him to eat his breakfast.

Hope finished filling two cups of coffee and slowly slid the one over the counter at Josie, meeting her gaze unwillingly, her eyes immediately lighting up.

*Hope breathed heavily as the blankets fell to the floor, ripped away by eager hands so that her body could make contact with Josie's. Straddling the younger girl's hips, the tribrid soon had a wrist clasped in each hand and pinned them above Josie's head, trapping them down into the pillow on which brown waves of hair were splayed out. Josie looked up at Hope with hunger, rolling her hips ever so slightly in anticipation.

Hope cleared her throat as a wave of heat washed over her cheeks. "Uhh I don't… we haven't really decided yet." She muttered in response to Keelin's question.

Josie focused her gaze down at the coffee that sat between her curled hands, trying to hide the bright glow of her eyes, though she knew it was impossible. The next best thing was at least to hide her gaze from Hope. She idly took a sip and shrugged her shoulders, "It's a nice day out."

"Well maybe you should take Josie sightseeing, Hope." Freya suggested right before catching some scrambled egg that Nik had decided to fling from his plate. She made a face at him and wiped his mouth gently with a soft cloth. "You could go show her the Bayou. Take a boat ride." Freya knew that the Bayou held a special connotation for Hope, regarding her mother's roots and the place that was once the home of Hope's actual pack, the Crescents.

Josie dared to glance up at Hope who had by now come to take a seat at the kitchen counter next to her. She smiled faintly before having to wet her lips as she locked into those glowing golden orbs, her mouth suddenly feeling very, very dry.

*Josie's hands slid underneath Hope's shirt and up her back, before the siphon raked her nails back down again, causing Hope to grind down on Josie's hips and squeeze harshly at her wrists, her lips pausing their movements against the hot skin of Josie's neck to growl out a low, "Oh my god…" When she finally released Josie's wrists, the younger girl was quick to tangle her fingers in auburn locks and tug Hope's mouth into hers forcefully, swallowing up a collective moan of pleasure.

"What do you think?" Hope arched a brow at Josie at Freya's suggestion.

Josie flushed and stuttered out a simple "Sounds nice."

Keelin put a breakfast plate in front of each of the girls and leaned onto the counter as she eyed the two conspicuously. Josie blinked down at her food and idly started eating, while Hope tried to play it cool at least. "What?" She smirked nervously at Keelin as she took hold of her fork.

Keelin smiled knowingly and glanced over to her wife, who grinned back at her and then at the two girls. "It's coming off you two in waves." The older wolf said as she rested onto her elbows, continuing to watch the two. Josie swallowed some toast down the wrong hole and coughed, spluttering as she took a few desperate sips of coffee to ease her throat.

*Josie gasped for air as Hope lay her body down on top of her, heat emanating and accumulating between them like two suns about to melt together. Their legs tangled together as thighs settled between thighs and hips locked into hips and fingers grasped at exposed skin eagerly. Hope tilted Josie's face to hers and pressed their lips together, moving wantonly as tongues soon slid out to duel in a battle for domination over the other.

"Wh- What do you mean, aunt Keelin?" Hope stuttered and tried her best to not show the extreme discomfort she was currently experiencing.

"Your connection." Keelin said simply and tilted her head. "It's palpable."

"And it's not just your energy," Freya added from the side, "but also, somehow, it's magical in nature. It's commanding. The bond you two have formed… it's powerful."

"Like I told Alaric, there is only record of three times where something like this has happened before, in the wolf lore that Freya and I could find." Keelin continued to explain as she reached for the girls' hands. Even as she touched them, she could feel the strength of their wolves pulsating through to her. "In these cases the couples all turned out to be twin flames with their mates."

Hope blinked at Keelin, and then over at Josie, both looking equally stunned. They knew what twin flames were and it was not the first time that the thought had crossed their minds – subconsciously at least – but it had seemed like such a beautiful mythological story that was too good to actually exist.

"Wolves are exceptionally intuitive… and extremely territorial…" Freya grinned at her wife as she moved to join her by the counter, leaving Nik for a few minutes to play with his spoon. "Hope's wolf must have instinctively uncovered the connection when she was in Josie's subconscious. We believe that is what finally allowed Hope to wake up – it was the fact that her wolf was satisfied with the discovery that she had found her other half and wanted to explore the opportunity for unity to take place."

"So we… we're like…" Hope started, her brows creasing in thought.

"Two sides of one coin." Josie aided her, her eyes a little watery even though they were still illuminated.

*As Hope's teeth sunk into Josie's shoulder in a dominant and territorial display, the siphon arched her back and her body further into Hope. When she hit the ground again there was no matrass beneath her, only soft grass and moss. She opened her eyes, confused, and saw the mixture of snow and night between her and the body atop her. Josie writhed and turned to the side, trying to stretch as she suddenly felt the difference in her joints, but she couldn't move as Hope's jaws clamped down around the skin at the back of her neck. Josie whined as she dug her paws into the ground, but Hope growled deep within her chest as she hunched over her mate.

"Josie, you've had dreams of your wolf before, yes?" Keelin asked the younger girl, who nodded in answer. "Is your wolf black, by any chance?" Keelin smiled then, suspecting she already knew the answer.

"She's like pitch." Hope again felt a blush coloring her cheeks. She thought Josie was absolutely breathtaking in either form. "The exact opposite of me."

Freya nodded in acknowledgement of what Hope said. "She's your mirror, as you are hers. You've seen her in your dreams – you have shared dreams and transcendental experiences exactly because of what you are to each other. You two together make one whole."

"And you can run from each other. You can even live your lives with other people if you want. But the connection between you will prevail." Keelin raised her brows as she looked serious for a second. "Your union is supposed to serve a greater purpose: not just for you, but for the betterment of humanity in general. And I will be honest with you – whatever you decide to do with what's going on between you, your wolves have made it clear that they will not stop until you have been fully united."

Hope swallowed, feeling like a little girl as she considered the implications of what her aunts were telling them. "And h… how do we… I mean, are we talking about the unification ritual here?"

Keelin shrugged as she leaned back from where she was resting on the counter and wrapped one arm around her wife next to her. "Perhaps, but this is all out of the ordinary."

"We're still looking into a few leads." Freya assured, then sighed as she smiled at the girls. "I could try another illusion spell for your eyes, but I suspect you'll just break right through it again in a matter of under an hour. Whatever you decide to do today, may I suggest that you ty to avoid the common folk."

"Now come on love, I think these two have a lot to digest and talk about. I have to get to work, and Nik needs to get dressed." Both women smiled reassuringly at the pair of girls and exited the room with their son.

*Hope held her grip. It was authoritative and purposeful and she refused to let go until Josie showed signs of submission. The black wolf whined and whimpered, then relaxed and gave herself over to the white wolf on top of her back. Eventually Hope eased up and let go, before finally starting to lick over Josie's head and ears in a grooming motion. It was not too long before the two were off again, weaving in and out of the trees, black mixing with white, like snow in the night.

"Last night…" Josie cleared her throat as her face burned, gaze carefully shifting to Hope next to her. "It… I mean… I was… We were… dreaming?"

Hope grinned shyly and ducked her head, then nodded as she looked up at Josie from beneath her lashes again with that golden gaze. "Yeah… I guess… I guess the wolf wants what the wolf wants…"