The sun was just beginning to rise, casting a warm glow over the gloomy graves, when Hope began to growl. It started quietly, growing in volume as she suddenly stood, positioning herself over Josie, while staring towards the path that lead to the gates. Fear overtook Josie, though not towards Hope, who clearly heard something off in the distance.
Josie was suddenly exceedingly happy to have Hope by her side. In her grief, she forgot that there was a monster out there who wanted her dead. Though she couldn't understand how she could have possibly forgotten that. Josette and what the monster had forced her to do was all she had been thinking about for hours.
Hope's growls grew louder as voices could be heard in the distance. She couldn't make out who it was, or how many there were, but Hope seemed displeased by their presence. As the voices grew louder, Hope crouched lower over Josie, so that the wolf was practically laying on her, while still ready to pounce at a moment's notice.
Josie saw her father, sister, and Emma before they saw her. It was Hope's snarl that alerted the trio that they were not alone. As one, they froze and looked toward the snarling wolf petrified.
"Shit," Alaric gulped, as he pulled his daughter behind him.
"Dad," Lizzie shrieked, peering out from behind him. "Who is that?"
"Hope," he answered quietly. "It's Hope. Don't move. Okay? Just stay here and don't say a word." He took a few hesitant steps towards the wolf and his other daughter. "Hope. It's okay. We're not here to hurt you or Josie."
Hope snarled at the man, and then barked aggressively, causing Alaric to trip backwards, falling on his back. Emma took a step toward him but froze when Hope rose from Josie's body. She put her hands in the air, and soothingly spoke, "It's okay, Hope. Josie's safe. We're not going to hurt her."
Hope laid down on Josie, who was lying very still, and let out a long whine.
Emma took a step forward, then froze, waiting to see what the wolf would do. When Hope didn't growl, she went to help Alaric up.
Alaric brush himself off, then moved towards Hope and Josie slowly. "Josie, are you okay honey?"
"Yeah dad. I'm fine," she answered shakily.
Hope jumped to her feet again, but instead of heading towards Alaric, she turned to look at Josie and then laid back down in her little spoon position, blocking Alaric from getting to Josie.
Alaric stop walking towards them. "Are you sure?" He asked while looking at the wolf wearily. He had only ever seen Hope in this form once, when she had snuck out to change and he caught her. She had been less hostile then.
"I think she's just trying to protect me," Josie answered his unspoken question. She gently stroked the wolf's ears, while murmuring, "It's okay, Hope. I'm okay. We can go back to school now. Is that okay?"
Hope whined as she looked into Josie's eyes, and then stood and circled around Josie before making her way to Alaric, her bushy tail wagging as if to put his anxiety at ease.
Lizzie took this as a good sign and made her way past her father and the wolf, to help her sister up. "What are you doing Jo. I woke up and you were gone. I was worried sick."
"I... um... I..." Josie started, but she had no clue how to explain how she ended up in the graveyard or why. Thankfully Hope chose that moment to turn towards them and growl at Lizzie.
"Alright weirdo," Lizzie said to Hope. "I won't question her. Geeze. I thought being in wolf form was supposed to mellow you out, not make you more hostile."
"Lizzie," Josie chastened.
"Yeah. I would dispense with insults before you make her angry," Alaric agreed, while looking at Hope wearily. "Let's go back to school."
Hope barked at them, then took off towards the school.
Josie watched as she left, disappointed that she wasn't going to stay by her side as they walked home. Lizzie wrapped her arms around Josie, giving her a small taste of the warmth Hope had, but not enough to ease the storm of emotions still raging inside her.
Other than the occasion howl coming from Hope in the distance, their trip back was quiet. Which gave Josie plenty of time to sort through her emotions. Unfortunately, the only thing she was sure of when she stepped into her dorm room, was how confusing Hope's behavior was and how badly she wanted her mom to come home.
Alaric told Josie to rest and that he would be back to check on her later. He had to go make sure Hope wasn't still out in the woods terrorizing the locals. His melodramatic words, not hers. He gave her a kiss on the forehead, told her he loved her and then rushed from the room.
Hope watched Josie walked home with her sister, father, and Emma from afar, then ran back towards the cemetery. She knew Alaric would be coming after her once he got his girls settled. She was acting aggressively, uncontrollably, and he would want to make sure she wasn't a danger. She didn't care, though. She needed time to think. Time to process what was going on in her own head, before she attempted to explain it to him.
She didn't know why she had acted so aggressively towards them. Hell, she was still trying to figure out why Josie lying on that grave, crying, affected her so strongly. Why she felt the intense need to sooth her pain.
Yes, she cared for Josie. She had always cared about her. It had just been easier to keep, not only her, but everyone at arm's length. There was so much about her life that made it impossible to get close to anyone.
For eight years, she had to keep her identity a secret, not only to protect her and the other students from anyone who wished to harm her father by getting to her, but to keep her life as normal as possible. She lived a lie for years, sitting quietly as her father was painted a monster, while knowing he had good in him. She could never have been friends with the Saltzman sisters, as much as they did try. Her father's history with their father prevented that.
Even after everyone found out who she was, she had been too broken to let herself care about anyone. The last thing she wanted was to bring death and darkness to their lives. It was just easier to keep herself locked away, avoiding everyone.
Things between them had changed over the last few weeks. She blamed it on Landon, as sweet as he seemed. He'd brought a darkness to the school when he stole that knife, shifting the course of their lives. She just didn't know how much yet.
She felt the shift happen between them. First the night she did black magic with her, and then the day she shared with Josie in town. It was the first honest conversation she had since she came to the school. What Josie said to her sunk in, made her see that she had the power to hurt people in other ways. In a very human way. Once she realized that, it was hard to not let the brunette in a little.
There was still so much about being a wolf she had to learn, and even more about how being a tribrid affects her wolf. Her intense feelings towards Josie could be a normal part of being a wolf. Unfortunately, she had little in the past to go on. Hope had only ever seen five people while in her wolf form. Her father, who had talked her through her first transformation, Alaric, who had caught her roaming the woods a few weeks after she returned to school, Landon, who she had nearly attacked when she saw him, her aunt Freya, who usually is around when she changed in New Orleans, and her aunt Freya's wife Keelin, who runs with her when she's home. Never had she felt so over protective of anyone before.
She heard him before she caught a whiff of his scent, and instead of making him search for her, she decided to go to him. He was on the dirt path that led away from the school, in his hand was a gun, which she assumed was loaded with tranquilizers. He froze when he saw her and raised the gun.
She sat down and lowered her head in the submission, making it clear she wasn't a threat. Alaric lowered the gun slowly, though kept it ready just in case. "What the hell, Hope?" he asked, and she wondered if he actually wanted an answer. He continued, so she assumed this was going to turn into a lecture, instead. "You know you are not allowed out here unless you okay it with me first. Anything could have happened. We have a monster in the cellars right now. I don't need you off galivanting around town, especially with my daughter."
Hope stood suddenly, causing him to flinch. She simply walked away from him though, and after a moment he followed her ranting as they went. When they neared the old mill, Hope stopped, turned to Alaric and growled at him, then sat. He looked at her questioningly but didn't move when she disappeared into the old structure.
A few minutes later, Hope came walking out a fully dressed human again. "I found her there," Hope said, not giving him the chance to speak. "I needed a release, and knew you would be busy dealing with everything, so I went out. I didn't think you would mind. I went to the cemetery to bury the zombie remains. When I was finished, I was heading back through the graveyard and I found her there."
Hope paused and took a deep calming breath. "She was crying, Dr. Saltzman. She was lying in her own grave and crying. What was I supposed to do? Leave her all alone? I couldn't do that, so I stayed with her."
Alaric stood, quietly observing her. "Thank you," he said after a few moments. He put his hand on her shoulder. "You did the right thing. I was just a little worried because you seemed out of control there for a minute."
"I was just protecting her," Hope said, and then quickly changed the subject before he could question her further. "Is she okay?"
Alaric sighed. His entire demeanor changed from concern for his favorite pupil to weight of the world on his shoulders dad. "About as well as can be expected. She's with Lizzie now. I need to call their mother and tell her what's happened. Not a conversation I'm looking forward to. I... Just... Thank you Hope. I'm glad you were there for her. Just, the next time you head out without asking, send a note, so I don't worry or get caught off guard like today. Okay?"
"Sure Dr. Saltzman. I can do that," Hope said.