Chapter 31

"Why is it not something you can just consider, Hope?" Josie cried out at the other girl in frustration, the two of them still in the car they borrowed from Hope's aunts to get around in, on their way back to the house.

"Why should I, Josie? I don't know them whatsoever! They could be bad people for all we know." Hope answered in equal measures of frustration. The two had been arguing since they had left the Bayou and their tempers were rising more quickly with every passing minute.

"They're Crescents. You know as well as I do that they are just simple – and decent – people. I could sense it and I KNOW that you could as well." Josie fired back, getting so extremely tired of Hope's half-assed excuses to not be who she was born to be.

"Even if that's the case, Jo, I still don't know them. How am I supposed to build the familial bond that comes with pack life with a bunch of strangers?" Hope shook her head and stepped just a little harder on the gas pedal in order to speed through an amber light.

"Simple, Hope – you get to know them. That's generally how people make friends, ya know." Josie snarked and gripped the edge of her seat in response to Hope's speeding.

"I don't want to. I don't need to. Why should I? I've got what I need." Hope dismissed in response.

Josie glanced over to Hope next to her and scowled, then chuckled darkly. "We both know that's just a lie you like to tell yourself. Yeah, you have family and you have friends, sure. But you're a goddamn wolf, Hope, and you come from two very long bloodlines of not just wolves, but of alphas. Simply saying you don't need to, because you've got what you need, is a damn copout and you know it!"

Hope snapped her glowing eyes back at Josie when she came to a sharp stop in the driveway of the house. "Why does this even mater so much to you?" She frowned deeply, extremely aggravated by Josie's persistence.

"Because I'm not just going to stand by and watch you not reach your full potential." Josie spat as she exited the car, slamming the door a little too harshly. "You are the single most amazing person I have ever met in my life, and I am so unbelievably proud of who and what you are." Her voice softened then as she stepped around the car towards Hope. "But you are not yet who you're meant to be. And if I care about you the way that I do, it's my job to push you in that direction."

Hope froze, staring back at Josie, her heart pounding in her ears. Even though Josie was trying to do good and to help Hope, all she was currently achieving was to intensify the fear that Hope felt overtaking her chest like cancer, growing and twisting through muscle and sinew and twisting around her ribs, hampering her ability to breathe.

"You could assume the alpha position of the pack and leave River in charge, come back for them. But they're in danger here and I don't see why they cannot come back with us to the school. They're our age, some of them probably haven't even finished their schooling yet. You could lead them to a new and better life."

The tangles of anxiety tightened further in Hope's chest as she listened and considered what Josie was saying. Her? Lead a pack? Provide for and protect them? Until the next big bad guy comes along and executes them? Is she supposed to grow attached to these wolves and build up her pack as alpha, only to inevitably lose them again? Is she supposed to just agree to such heartache? How much heartache would she have to experience before she breaks completely?

Hope's thoughts and emotions quickly spun out of control as she leaned onto the hood of the car for support.

"I can't do this right now." Hope muttered lowly. She felt like she might pass out.

"Hope, just – " Josie started but she was immediately cut short.

"I SAID I CAN'T DO THIS!" Hope growled out, almost shouting at Josie, before turning and starting to run. Josie could see Hope taking a leap as she reached the side of the house, clothes shredding from her body as her wolf burst through them. In a single white flash Hope was gone, running off into the forest adjoining the back of Freya and Keelin's property.

(…)

Josie was sitting right next to Hope on the couch and yet she had never felt so far away from her.

They were faced with Freya and Keelin who had wanted to talk to them about everything else they had uncovered before the two girls were set to return to school the following day. Josie's stomach had been doing unbearable flip-flops because of it and all she wanted to do was hold Hope's hand.

Hope, however, had wrapped herself in an airtight bubble since their argument that afternoon. In fact, she seemed like she was in a daze ever since she returned from her run. She was completely quiet and withdrawn from everyone in the house, though she had admitted to her aunts what they had uncovered in the Bayou. The older women reserved their own opinions on the matter, aware of the fact that their time was passing while Hope's time was rising, and she was the only one who could decide what to do with what she was presented with.

"Before we tell you what we're about to, we have to admit that we've known more than we've been letting on for a while. It's not that we were purposefully trying to hide information from you, but we were not sure whether you'd be ready to receive the information." Freya started off, then looked to her wife next to her to continue.

"We wanted to see you two interact. We needed to observe the bond that exists between you in order to find the best way to explain the information to you. And regardless of our feelings on any of this, it is completely up to you what you decide to do with the information." Keelin smiled softly. She didn't want them to think that there was terrible news awaiting them, but the conversation would be a serious one none the less.

"You girls must understand first and foremost that there are a lot of factors at play here, and everything fits together like a puzzle, and every one aspect has an effect on every other aspect. Please do ask questions if you get confused." Freya reassured the two as she joined Keelin in presenting them with an encouraging smile.

"We've already explained a lot of the twin flame connection between the two of you. It does have its role that it plays in this whole ordeal – It was Hope's wolf that uncovered the connection and therefore initiated the bonding that took place between you two. This bonding is what allows Josie to experience some lycan symptoms, such as the glowing eyes, the anger outbursts and willful dominance, and of course the cracking bones during the full moon. You need to understand that this is very uncommon and is only happening because of your twin flame connection." Keelin explained slowly and carefully, then paused to look from the one girl to the other. "There is absolutely no breaking of a twin flame connection. As you've been told, twin flames are two parts of one soul. That soul will fight to unite itself, even if you fight against it."

"Even while the two of you, on a conscious level, might still be figuring out the ins and outs of your relationship and feelings towards each other, your wolves have other plans. Because your wolves are so primeval and instinctual, they are mostly the ones driving you two together to unite and complete the bond that they started. Your wolves have found their mate in each other and that's that. Just like the twin flame soul fighting to unite itself, your wolves will join in the fight to unite the two of you." Freya took her turn to speak and emphasized what she felt was needed to be emphasized, that mostly being the fact that the girls' wolves were very much in charge of their emotions – conscious or not.

"Now, should it be what you decide to do eventually, the obvious way to complete the bond initiated by your wolves is through the unification ceremony. However, there's a slight difference." Keelin inhaled deeply and slowly let out the air as she tried to get her explanation in order. "Modern day unification rituals, like the one that took place between your mother and Jackson, "Keelin motioned to Hope, "very much resemble a normal wedding and a general marriage between two people. There is a big difference, for wolves, between a wedding and-or a marriage, and a true unification. Any wolf can get married, sign the papers, etcetera, but a true unification involves a type of antiquated mating ritual that is much more primordial and draws back to the start of the first bloodlines. Remember – wolves mate for life, and so a true unification is rooted more in a type of mystical unifying moment between the bodies, minds and souls of the two parties, rather than the type of unification rituals we are used to that was mostly done for solidifying power between packs."

"Is this what you two did?" Hope asked, confused. They were the first words anyone had heard the girl speak since that afternoon.

Freya shook her head slowly, though she reached for Keelin's hand and gently entwined their fingers. "What we share is still as special as any loving bond between two people, but no. Certain conditions have to be met in order for the true unification rites to take place."

Keelin nodded and again gazed thoughtfully from one girl to the other, as if to check whether they were still doing okay and were ready to receive the next bit of information that she would offer. "First off, this only happens with a twin flame connection. Because of the transcendental nature of the connection between the two individuals to begin with, it's the only time that such a transcendental type of ritual is used."

Keelin then settled her gaze on Hope and the girl knew what was coming. Her stomach started aching. "And secondly," Keelin began, keeping her focus on the girl, "At least one of the two parties needs to be an alpha."

Hope felt like she might throw up.

Josie inhaled deeply next to the tribrid and felt the blood in her veins run cold. What this essentially meant, as she could piece it all together, was that the entire future of their possible relationship and soul-binding connection rested on whether or not Hope Mikaelson had the guts to step up to the plate and be an alpha of her own pack. It was like their afternoon argument all over again, playing out mockingly in the back of Josie's head.

"I'm sorry Hope, but it's about to get even more difficult." Freya uttered softly to her niece as she could see how her face paled. She leaned forward and took Hope's hand for just a moment to squeeze it encouragingly. She then smiled softly – or was that sadly – at Josie and leaned back, allowing time for Keelin to explain the crux of the situation.

"It is also only through completing this unification that Josie will be able to complete her transition into a full hybrid. Until then, the lycanthropic symptoms will continue." Keelin explained as she watched Josie closely, watching as the girl let it sink in.

Now it was Josie's turn to feel like she couldn't breathe. Unless Hope decided to step up, she herself was doomed to struggle through tell-tale glowing eyes and fits of anger and cracking bones. Josie scratched at her chest and her throat then, as if she needed to make more holes to let the oxygen through. She didn't even want to look at Hope.

Hope for her part was stunned. She had come to the same realization that Josie had – that basically she was most definitely responsible for what Josie was going through, but as if that level of guilt was not enough, she now also had to suffer through the guilt of knowing that she could not simply solve Josie's agony unless she faced her own demons first.

It was utterly overwhelming.

"There is a possible way to help somewhat – a way that could possibly buy you guys just a little bit of time as you digest all of this and work through it." Freya spoke after a while, noticing with pain settling in her own chest that neither of the two girls seated before them were doing okay at that moment. "Josie, I could use a spell to isolate your wolf within your subconscious and stop it from trying to break through. It would take away the symptoms: the eyes, the anger, the pain."

"So why not just do that then?" Hope spoke quickly. Too quickly. Josie snapped her gaze towards the other girl and hurt and anger flashed through her copper hues. How dare Hope? How dare she be so quick to make such a decision on Josie's behalf when she wasn't even willing to consider Josie's suggestions that afternoon! She wanted to snap at Hope. She wanted to scream at her. She wanted to express just how hurt and disappointed she felt. This Hope before her at the moment was not the Hope she fell in love with.

Instead of saying anything she wanted to, she simply turned her gaze away from Hope and back to Freya and swallowed hard. "What's the catch?"

Freya sighed and shrugged slowly. There was always some sort of catch. "Well, like any magic, it has a certain level of unpredictability. I don't know how long it will last or exactly whether it will be effective enough. Your wolf could just break through it again, but I reckon I'm more familiar with your little beast now in order to adjust the spell accordingly." She smirked for a second, but it soon faded and she seemed worried as she kept her gaze locked on Josie. "You know how repressed memories can sometimes burst forth at unexpected times with traumatic force? Well, your repressed wolf could do the same, as it would essentially function like a repressed memory." She paused then and inhaled sharply before adding the last bit. "Or, at other times, some repressed memories… well they… can disappear forever." Freya spoke softly, implying that Josie could lose her wolf completely, though a lot of what might happen was unknown. The possibility was definitely there.

"Isn't that what you wanted? What you preferred? Not being a hybrid? Not being an outcast?" Hope directed her words at Josie, as if she wanted to grab onto this alternative measure and run with it so that she wouldn't have to stress about being an alpha and committing herself for the rest of her life at the tender age of 18.

Josie's eyes flashed dangerously at Hope right then. A litany of insults flew through her head: 'Screw you!' being the most prominent, though she said nothing. She couldn't believe how it just seemed in one single second that Hope had not paid a moment's attention to Josie and how she truly felt and what she truly wanted since this had all started. Hope was apparently clueless as to the fact that Josie wanted to be with her, that she loved her, that she was in love with her and wanted to be with her in all shapes and forms and that Josie herself was willing to give away everything she was and all comforts she held – even her status as a Gemini witch – all for Hope.

And if Hope had been listening carefully enough, she would have been able to hear Josie's heart shattering into millions of pieces as she rushed past Hope and out of the room.