Surreptitious

Chapter 28: The Pack

“A reverse lycanthrope curse?” Josie asked as she glanced over to Hope walking next to her, the pair strolling through the dryer parts of the Bayou, but not too far from the river. Hope had given into Josie’s pleas to show her more of where her roots lay.

“Yeah, so instead of turning into wolves at the full moon, the pack would turn into humans instead while being wolves the rest of the time. My mom only escaped it because she was pregnant with me. That was before it was lifted.” Hope glanced around the trees and the river nearby, amazed at how much history there was in the area that she had hardly even been a part of.

“Could you imagine what that is like? Didn’t you say that the longer you spend in wolf form, the more the wolf takes over?” Josie asked curiously.

“Yeah, but I’m not sure what it was like for them. Crescents had always been special because it’s one of the first packs; they could show exceptional control in wolf form. But even so, the Crescents only became evolved wolves when my mom went through the unification ritual with my step-dad. She was a hybrid at the time, so she passed her ability to shift at will onto the whole pack.” Hope seemed wistful as she explained some of the wolf logistics to Josie, her own mind stooped in memories of the past – or rather the stories she had heard of the past.

“What happened to the Crescents? Shouldn’t the pack still be in New Orleans?” Josie continued with her curiosity, most of it simply stemming from her desire to know everything she could about Hope.

“The pack kind of disbanded after my mom… yeah. I’m sure there are still Crescents around, but the pack isn’t really a unit anymore.” Hope shrugged, wondering herself how many were still left.

“And Keelin? Isn’t she a Crescent?” Josie frowned, carefully stepping around some thick swamp undergrowth and feeling her weight sink slightly into the moist ground.

“No, she’s from the Malroux bloodline. Her bloodline wasn’t a part of the Crescent pack.” Hope answered as she slowed down the pace they were walking at, moving deeper and deeper into the Bayou. She could see what seemed like lived-in shacks and tents some distance down the river.

“And you? What bloodline are you from?” Josie smiled sideways at her and matched her pace, then followed her gaze to the signs of occupation in the stretch of swamp they were currently in, unsure of whether they had to be weary or not.

“She’s a Lebonaire.” An unfamiliar voice spoke behind them, appearing out of nowhere. The girls spun around to observe a young woman, about the same age as the two of them with short black hair and piercing blue eyes. “And the first naturally born tribrid – currently the only of her kind.” The girl smiled confidently, but her body language was guarded and her tone had a slightly menacing ring to it. Neither girl received any warm and fuzzy feelings from the stranger.

“Hope Mikaelson. And you are?” Hope half stepped in front of Josie, ready to protect her should the need arise.

“Nimyra. I’m Gastuan.” Another strange voice came out of thin air, again behind the pair. When they turned to see the young man who had spoken, this one tall with wild blonde hair, they spotted several others also approaching – all young and clearly agile. They were being surrounded. “And these are Kaylin, Velles, Quin and Dolin.” He motioned to the other four nubile characters: two females and two males.

The girls could sense the hostility surrounding them.

“And what about you, pretty?” Nimyra nodded towards Josie. “You have a name?” She grinned more widely as she eyed the dark-haired girl.

“Josette.” She answered from behind Hope, moving slightly closer to her companion. If they were about to get into a confrontation, she knew she would need to be within reach of Hope in order to siphon magic from her to use. “Can we help you?”