Surreptitious

Chapter 17: Bad Girls!

“I can’t help but feel a little freaked out, dad.” Josie sighed as she slumped down into the chair, her twin sister occupying the one next to her as they sat facing their father.

“But how cool would it be if you were a hybrid?” Lizzie chirped and waved her one hand around. “It’s like being a Heretic, only less bloody!” Her eyes went big then as she realized something and grabbed her sister’s arm with both hands. “You wouldn’t need to siphon magic anymore!” The prospect clearly excited the blonde, though her expression turned sad within a second. “Damnit, I want to be a hybrid too!”

“No one is a hybrid, Lizzie. Calm down.” Alaric sighed and scratched his head.

The family had spent the past half an hour discussing elements of the dream Josie had experienced the previous night. Josie had explained to them how, when she became aware, she was in wolf form. She explained the full moon and running through the woods. She mentioned Hope being there. She did not, however, give detail on the bonding, once again feeling foolish about it and feeling that it was too personal to discuss just yet.

“What if there is more to it? Dad, there will be a full moon soon. What if…?” Josie trailed off, shivering at the thought of the pain she might have to endure if she had miraculously become a hybrid.

“Sweety, it’s just not possible. Wolves are born; they can’t be made – just like witches. You either have the gene or you don’t. I can’t see any possible reason how or why you would suddenly have the wolf gene.” Alaric tried to allay the fears he could see creeping over his daughter’s features. However, he had been around the supernatural long enough to also realize that there was a lot that seemed impossible that were not. Until 18 years before the notion of a witch-werewolf-vampire tribrid was unthinkable, and yet now Hope Mikaelson very much existed.

“What if Hope’s powerful enough to create wolves through biting them? She bit Josie!” Lizzie exclaimed, trying to be helpful but not really adding too much value to the discussion.

“She didn’t even break her skin. I highly doubt it.” Ric shook his head, unconvinced.

Josie looked panicked. She knew she should tell them. It could possibly help them solve the puzzle. That’s if there was a puzzle to be solved. She knew that right now everything was mere conjecture and there was a very good chance that she was still just a simple Gemini siphoning witch and nothing more. She would rather wait it out. She couldn’t even imagine having the bonding conversation with Hope herself, much less having it with her father!

“Just… Do you think it’s at all possible that something happened while Hope was in my head? Could she have somehow transferred the curse to me?” Josie spoke in a low and careful tone, thoughtful of the possibility of such an occurrence.

“I don’t know baby.” Ric sighed and stepped towards his daughters, placing a hand on each one of their shoulders. “But I don’t want you to stress about this. Everything will be okay. Your sister will stick close to you in case anything strange happens, and in the meantime, I’ll get Kaleb and MG back in here for some research, okay?”

Lizzie turned her big blue eyes towards her sister and leaned closer as she reached for Josie’s hand. “I swear I won’t let you out of my sight!”

Josie swallowed. Hard.

Just then, as if saved by the bell, there was an insistent knock on the office door. “Come in!” Ric called out.

“Hello Alaric, it’s good to see you again.” Emma grinned at the man as she entered the office and also cast a kind smile at the twins. Dorian had reunited with Alaric earlier upon their arrival, when they negotiated the terms of the pair’s return to the school.