can you blame me for wanting a little bit more?

Secrets and claiming

Freya's been explaining the claim to them for about fifteen minutes. Hope's been bouncing her leg the whole time, desperately trying to ease her mind while occupying her body. Josie's been holding Hope's hand the whole time, and it's the only thing that kept the Mikaelson girl from standing up and pacing around.

"How do you suggest they do it?" Caroline asks, nervousness clear in her voice.

Freya glances at Hope, then at Josie, just to let her eyes go back to Caroline.

"Well… we could have Hope do it while being fully in control of herself. She could try biting Josie, and see if her wolf is satisfied with that." Freya sighs and her eyes go to Hope. "But, I don't think it'll work."

Hope is frowning now, nervous about what her aunt is surely about to suggest.

"Our best shot is to trigger Hope's wolf. I think the wolf won't be satisfied until it claims Josie."

"You're treating my wolf as a totally different individual." Hope says because she's not sure she understands. 

"It kind of is. Since you're not in control when the wolf takes over, it means it's not really you. However, it seems you share Josie as a mate. Let it claim Josie, and it'll calm down." 

"It's not a good idea." Hope says as she shakes her head. "What if the wolf hurts Josie? We can't be sure it won't hurt her if it's not me."

Freya sighs. "I told you. The wolf considers Josie as its mate, it won't hurt her."

Hope feels so far from sure about what her aunt is saying. Suddenly though, a thought strikes her. She quickly turns to look at the brunette still tightly holding her hand. Josie's eyes are a little wide, and she looks a little lost.

"Jo… what do you think?" Hope softly asks. "We'll do whatever you wanna do, okay?"

Josie turns her head, and soft brown eyes meet tumultuous blue ones. 

"I don't want to get bitten twice." Josie says with a wince. "I say we do what your aunt Freya thinks is best."

Josie's words make Hope's whole body tense up and she quickly avoids her soulmate's eyes to look at the floor. She feels like she can't breathe anymore. Fear is take a hold of her. 

"Hope, look at me." Josie says, but the Mikaelson girl doesn't look up. "Hope Andrea Mikaelson, look at me!" 

Josie's demanding voice startles Hope, and she quickly looks up at the brunette. Josie's tone of voice was stern, but her eyes are as gentle as ever. The Saltzman girl lifts a hand and gently places it on Hope's neck to make sure the auburn haired girl doesn't look away again.

"I trust you Hope. I trust all of you, understood?" Josie says as she looks Hope straight in the eyes.

Her words have little to no effect on Hope, and it makes Josie sigh and look down. She knows there's one thing that could help the tribrid right now, and the idea makes her a little uneasy, but she's willing to do it. For Hope.

"How about… we go to the flower field together?" Josie suggests as she looks back at Hope with a soft smile. "You could run around for a few hours, get some pressure out."

Hope's eyes brighten. "Y-you'd be okay with that?"

Josie's smile widens. "Yeah. Let's go."

The two teenagers stand up, but Alaric is quick to stand in their way.

"Where do you think you're going? We're trying to settle everything down right now."

This time, when Hope's eyes flash gold, it has nothing to do with a loss of control. Hope does it on purpose. If Josie's father doesn't get out of their way, she might do something she'll regret later.