Wolf Woes

Chapter 5: The Truth (pt 2)

Josie was sitting at her desk, staring at her diary unsure of what to write. There was so much information that she had yet to fully process. She was bonded to someone. No... Not just someone. Hope. She was bonded to Hope. Well... Not fully apparently. She had to decide if she wanted to break the bond that Hope created or complete it.

How was she supposed to choose when she wasn't even sure of how she felt? There were so many things swirling inside of her creating a mess of emotions. Did she have feelings for Hope? Did she want to pursue a relationship with her? Did she want to essentially get married to Hope? What would happen if they did complete the bond? What would happen if she broke the bond? Would things change between them? Would things go back to how they were before, with Hope barely speaking to her? She didn't want that. She wanted Hope in her life. She liked having Hope to talk to. She liked having Hope there.

She just liked Hope.

Josie growled and threw her pen on the desk. It was all too much. She was only sixteen. She shouldn't have to worry about something like this. Not yet at least.

"Josie? Josie?" she heard Lizzie calling her from the hallway, then a few seconds later, the blonde walked through the doorway. "There you are. I've been looking all over for you."

"You found me," she commented.

"Only because your emotions were screaming out for me," Lizzie said. "What's going on? Who do I have to hurt? Is it Penelope again?"

"No," Josie said with a light chuckle. She liked when Lizzie got all protective. It was this side of Lizzie she wished more people would see."

"Well, who then? MG?" Josie shook her head "Mom?" She shook her head again. "Dad?" Again, she shook her head no. "Hope?" Josie bit her lower lip this time. "It's Hope isn't it? What'd she do? Did she hurt you? Did she turn you down? No... Did she break up with you? I'm not stupid ya know. I know something was going on. She's the only one you talked to while we were in Europe, and then she barged in here in the middle of the night because you were having nightmare. Tell me the truth. What's going on?"

Josie stood up and placed her hands on Lizzie's shoulders to calm her. "Breath," she said. "It's nothing like that."

"Then what's going on, because I haven't felt this much conflicting emotions coming from you since the night you broke it off with Satan."

Josie pushed Lizzie backwards to her bed, then sat across from her on her own. She carefully told Lizzie about what had been going on with Hope, and all the information Penelope had discovered. When Josie finished, she quietly watched as an array of emotions crossed her sister's face.

Once she had absorbed everything her sister had told her, she looked at her and rasped, "She imprinted on you. That dirty wolf imprinted on my sister."

"I don't think it's like that, exactly," Josie demurred. "I think it's more like she's asking me to go out, in her own wolfly way."

"And what happens if you don't want to 'go out' with her?" Lizzie grunted.

"Mom says I can say no if I want, and then the bond will break, but only I can choose to complete the bond," Josie sighed.

"I'm gonna kill her," Lizzie declared. "How dare she imprint on my sister without your permission first."

"It's not like she knew what she was doing," Josie said in Hope's defense. "This isn't something that happens very often."

"Why are you defending her?" Lizzie asked.

Josie opened her mouth then shut it again. She had to think about why she was defending her. "Because I care about her."

"Well that much is obvious," Lizzie mocked, then relaxed a little. She sighed loudly, letting all her pent-up frustration leak out through it. "Are you going to complete the bond?"

"I don't know. I care about Hope. It's been nice having her to talk to, and she clearly cares about me, but it's only been a few weeks since we started talking. I mean, she ignored us for ten years. That hurt. I'm not sure if I'm ready to jump head first into something as heavy as this with her."

"You're not going to make me be nice to her, are you?" Lizzie asked.

"I won't force you to do anything you don't want to do, but if I do go through with this, I would love it if my sister and my girlfriend got along. Penelope's issues with you is one of the reasons we didn't last."

"I suppose, if you allow the wolf to keep her imprint on you, then I could, maybe, be cordial, as long as she is too," Lizzie drawled.

Josie smiled. "Thanks Lizzie." She leaned across the space between their beds and wrapped her arms around Lizzie, who hugged back.

"If she hurts you, all bets are off," Lizzie declared.

Josie chuckled. "I haven't even decided what I am going to do, so you have a little time to get used to it. There is so much to think about, but it's hard because I think I might be feeling a little of Hope's feeling too."

"Say what now?" Lizzie asked horrified. That meant some of what she was sensing from Josie was also from Hope.

"It's the bond. I think it's not as strong as what Hope has been feeling, but I can sense it now. Ever since we got home yesterday. It was little at first. I didn't notice it. Then last night, she couldn't sleep. I think I sensed that. I called her and read to her because she likes that. I know that because I could feel how content she felt as I read. Then this morning, when she fled our room. I could feel how embarrised she was and how nervous. I thought it was just me, but I think it was her. It's growing stronger. I'm having a hard time sorting out what I am feeling and what she is feeling."

"Well what do you think she is feeling?"

"Right now..." Josie bit her lip and she sifted through the feeling. "Guilty. I have nothing to feel guilty for. I'm upset over the situation and worried, but I'm not guilty. She on the other hand thinks she is."

"As she should be," Lizzie proclaimed.

"None of this is her fault," Josie insisted, then bit her lip again. "Now she's feeling love. And happiness. She must be with someone. Her aunts maybe."

"That's weird," Lizzie commented.

"It is a bit strange," Josie said. "It's not a strong connection. Ours is much stronger at times, when we listen to it."

"But it's still there."

Josie nodded her head. "I can't feel her anymore," she said with relief. "Maybe there's a way to shut it off."

"Yeah, it's called deny her and her freaky wolf imprinting," Lizzie said.

"I want a little time to decide," Josie said.

"Fine," Lizzie huffed. "I'll be nice and won't say a word while you decide."

"Thank you," Josie said.

"Just remember how creepy it was when Jacob imprinted on a baby," Lizzie said and then fled the room before Josie had a chance to scold her.

She flopped back on the bed with a huff. Of all the things that could have happened in her life, this had been the strangest.