"You need to dodge my attacks, or at least block them!" Hope says.

Josie wipes the sweat on her forehead with the back of her hand, and sends a glare in Hope's way. It's their first training session since Josie's been a werewolf, but the new hybrid can safely say that she absolutely hates it. Hope is doing her best to teach her basic anger management tricks in hopes that it would help Josie control herself, but the brunette just feels even more angry than before. If she wasn't sparring with her soulmate, she'd seriously consider ripping her opponent apart. Honestly, Josie feels like she's doing her best. Hope is trying to push her too hard. It's her first lesson as a werewolf, she can't be perfect!

When Hope throws another punch and it ends up straight on Josie's jaw, the brunette stumbles and ends up on her knees, her hands over her jaw.

"Oh my god, Josie, I'm so sorry. I thought you were paying attention and that you'd-"

Josie stands up, and when Hope sees her golden eyes, she immediately stops talking. The tribrid takes a step back and tightens her jaw. She has absolutely no idea of what's going to happen now, or how she should react.

Josie walks closer, and in one swift motion, she charges. Her movements are quick and precise, nothing like the clumsy ones the brunette was previously using on Hope. The Mikaelson girl dodges the punches, and does her best to fight off her soulmate. Soon enough though, they end up on the floor with Josie pining Hope to the ground. The usual brown eyes are still glowing gold, so Hope decides to put her foot down.

She needs her soulmate back...

She needs her back now.

Using all of her power, Hope wrestles Josie and soon enough she straddles the brunette. The tribrid pines Josie's wrists on the floor above her head, which makes her lean her body close to Josie's. The brunette is breathing heavily, and her golden eyes are staring right into Hope's blue ones.

Hope's own eyes flash gold for a couple of seconds. The flash is meant to be intimidating and dominating, but it ends up like a plea. It still works though, because when they turn back to blue, Josie's eyes turn back to the warm brown that Hope loves so much.

Hope is immediately relieved, and she tries to show it by gently touching Josie's face, but the brunette quickly pushes her away. In fact, Josie's rejection is so hard that Hope ends up falling to the side. She's surprised her soulmate would push her with so much strength. As she sits up and tries to bring it up, Hope realises Josie's already on her feet and rushing out of the gym.

The tribrid only sees the brunette's back, missing the hot tears streaming down Josie's cheeks. The Saltzman girl doesn't really know what just happened, but one thing is for sure : she blacked out again. Josie heads out of the gym without even glancing back at Hope, she just can't deal with her soulmate's worried eyes right now.

Josie heads straight to the only person she thinks could help her. She taps three times on the door, and it quickly opens. Keelin's smile turns to a worried frown. Gently, she pulls Josie into the room. She's a little surprised when the Saltzman girl immediately wraps her in a hug and buries her face in her neck. The woman doesn't hesitate to slowly return the embrace, giving away all the comfort she can.

After a long moment, Keelin manages to guide Josie to the bed. Together, they sit in silence for a while. Josie is playing with her fingers, silent tears still falling from her eyes as Keelin gently draws circles on her back to soothe her. Keelin waits for Josie to be ready to talk, she doesn't wanna push the teenager.

"I blacked out again." Josie quietly says. "Hope was trying to teach me self-defense to help get some edge off, but all it did was anger me. She threw one too many punches and I lost it."

Keelin hums. "Did Hope get hurt?"

Josie quickly turns to look at Keelin, her eyes wide. "No! I'd never hurt Hope. Even in that state." The woman nods. "Keelin, you... you need to help me."

"What do you want me to do Josie?"

"You know what it's like to be a wolf. You know how it works, so just tell me!" Josie pleads, her voice sounding more desperate with every word getting out of her mouth.

Keelin sighs. "Josie... You wanna know why I think you can't remember things that happen when your wolf takes over?"

Josie nods, an eager look on her face. Keelin gives the girl a soft smile, but she knows what she's about to say will probably shake the young girl in next to her.

"I think you don't trust your wolf. You're so scared of this new part of yourself that you're trying to repress it, and it's making your wolf very angry." Keelin gently places a strand of hair behind Josie's ear. "Your wolf is a part of you, it doesn't have to be a different entity. Maybe your wolf doesn't trust you either. I think you need to connect with it in order to make one. Because, if you are one with your wolf, there'll be no reason for you two to be so disconnected."

Josie listens to everything Keelin is saying with all her attention. She's not sure she likes what the woman is subtly suggesting. She knows Keelin is speaking the truth. She doesn't trust her wolf, and she is scared of it. She wasn't supposed to be a werewolf, she wasn't born with the gene.

"How do you suggest I "connect" with my wolf?" Josie anxiously asks.

"Let it out. Let it run free, and blend with it. Make sure it doesn't push you out when you shift. You're the strongest one, Josie. Never forget it."

Josie swallows with difficulty, and looks down, but she still nods.

"Go to the forest... The flower field where you ran the first time. It'll make your wolf happy to be in a familiar place. " Keelin smiles, and then she stands up, offering her hand to Josie. "I'll inform your parents."

Josie does her best to smile as she takes the offered hand and stands up too.

"Thank you Keelin."

"No problem kid." She places a hand on Josie's shoulder. "How is it going with Hope?"

Josie looks down. "That is a complicated question. We're good, I think. I just... left her behind in the gym earlier. I felt so... ashamed because I lost control again."

"You should have a good conversation with her. Tell her exactly how you feel. Hope... she just wants to help."

Josie does her best to smile, then she thanks Keelin one more time before walking out of the room. She makes a quick stop to her room to get a change of underwear since she doesn't know how long it might take her to shift. The brunette really doesn't feel like standing naked in the middle of the forest for hours. Then, Josie goes straight to the flower field, not letting her doubt and fears get the best of her. She needs to do this, or else she'll be scared forever and black out again. She already lost the memories of her first time with Hope, she won't let that kind of thing happen again.

When she's standing in the middle of the flower field, Josie suddenly feels a wave of comfort go through her. This place really feels like home now. She quickly gets her clothes off, and when the chilly air hits her skin, she can't stop the shiver from running down her spine. Josie sits on her knees, and then tries to start the process of shifting, but nothing happens. She tries and tries again, but it feels like her wolf is refusing to make an appearance.

"Come on!" Josie whispers-yells at her wolf. "I'm ready to let you out, you stupid beast."

"Insulting your wolf isn't gonna trigger the change."

Hope's voice quickly makes Josie turn around. She quickly blushes when she sees her soulmate walking up to her with a tentative smile. Hope looks so hesitant, and it literally breaks Josie's heart. She knows how snappy and rude she's been to the tribrid since she discovered that she's a werewolf. Josie hates that Hope feels this way.

The brunette stands up, and lets out a chuckle when Hope quickly looks elsewhere.

"You've seen me naked before, Hope. I don't mind you seeing me in my underwear."

Hope scratches the back of her neck as she stops walking.

"I just didn't want to make you uncomfortable."

"I think we're past that." Josie softly says.

Hope nods. Josie looks at all the space between them, and it's not that much, but it's enough to show there's a wedge between them at the moment. The brunette takes a couple of steps closer to Hope, causing the tribrid to quickly look back at her.

"Josie..." Hope starts, and it seems the words get caught up in her throat.

"No, let me talk." Josie says as she shakes her head. "I've been so angry and scared lately that it affected us. I'm sorry about that, Hope."

"Scared? Of what?" The Mikaelson girl asks with a frown.

"Of... everything. My wolf, myself, the black outs. I'm just terrified of everything that's been happening." Josie takes Hope's hands in hers. "And I've been a really bad girlfriend. I used you as an emotional punching bag. That should have never happened. I am so sorry."

Hope squeezes Josie's hands. "I just wish you would have trusted me enough to confide in me."

"I do trust you. I just thought I could deal with this on my own, but it kept getting worse."

The tribrid forces a smile. "Okay. So, what now?"

"I talked to Keelin." Josie sighs. "She thinks I need to accept my wolf and that everything will be fine if I do. To show my wolf I accept it, she suggested I should let it out, but I can't shift."

"Maybe... we could do this together? If you want, of course. If not, then I can tell you how I trigger my wolf and-"

Josie giggles and gently pulls on Hope's hands, getting her girlfriend even closer than before. To silence Hope, the brunette leans in and initiates a long and deep kiss. It takes no time for Hope to reciprocate the kiss. Their tongues meet and dance together. They let go of each other's hands. Josie's hands go to Hope's hips, and she makes sure there's no space left between their bodies. The tribrid let out a deep sigh when their bodies are pressed together. She tangles her hands in Josie's hair, getting completely lost in the kiss. Josie's touch feels like a burn on Hope's skin, and she just wishes she was wearing a little less clothes. At least Josie isn't wearing much.

When Josie understands that Hope is getting all hot and bothered, she gently breaks the kiss. Hope doesn't even try to stop the whine escaping her lips.

"We'll get back to this later, I promise." Josie says with a wink. "But we really need to wolf out first."

Hope clears her throat and nods. "So... you want me to shift with you, right?"

Josie playfully rolls her eyes. "Yes, Hope."

"Okay. Good."

The auburn haired girl doesn't miss another moment. She quickly takes her shirt and pants off. Josie doesn't tear her eyes away from her soulmate's body, appreciating every little part of skin exposed. She does turn around when Hope takes her underwear off, knowing Hope might be a little shy about completely stripping in front of her.

"So, uh, follow my lead, okay?" Hope says, and Josie nods.

The tribrid explains every step to her soulmate, and Josie listens carefully. She's about to tell Hope that they are exactly doing what she was doing on her own earlier, which didn't work at all, when she feels her first bone breaking. The sudden pain surprises her, but what is even more surprising is that the shift doesn't last long at all. After a couple of minutes, Josie and Hope are both standing in the middle of the flower field in their wolf form.

Josie wrestles internally with her wolf to keep control over herself. She can feel her wolf there, and she does her best to show it that they both have their places. That they make one.

The soulmates run together for hours. When they're not running, they play or even just cuddle together. Hope even takes Josie deeper into the woods until they reach the lake. The Saltzman girl swims as a wolf for the first time, and probably the last. She hates everything about it. Her fur is so wet, and so heavy!

When they shift back, Josie quickly feels the change within herself. She feels her wolf, just like she does since it's been there, but now the wolf is at peace. It's no longer angry, and ready to tear everyone apart. The brunette puts her clothes back on as fast as possible, making sure to be clothed before Hope. As soon as she's done, she runs to her girlfriend and hugs her from behind. Hope has yet to put her shirt on, so Josie's hands rest on the skin of the tribrid's stomach, making Hope momentarily stop. Josie buries her face in the back of Hope's neck and closes her eyes.

"I think it worked, Hope. I feel so much better."

"I'm glad." Hope covers Josie's hands with hers. "Do you... remember what happened during your black outs?"

Josie's eyes suddenly open again, and her heart sinks. "No. I don't."

"Oh."

"I'm sorry."

Hope takes a deep breath before turning around in Josie's arms. The brunette's face is sad, but Hope gives her a little smile.

"It's okay, Josie." The tribrid softly says. "You'll remember one day, I'm sure. In the meantime, I guess we'll just have to do it again."

Hope says those words with a teasing tone, and it quickly gets a little blush out of her soulmate. Josie lets a little laugh out, and then she releases her hold on Hope to let the tribrid put her shirt on.

They walk back to school together, hand in hand. They feel closer than they have since Josie turned into a wolf for the first time. Hope draws small circles on the back of Josie's hand with her thumb. Sometimes, they make eye contact before looking away shyly. It somehow feels like they are a newly formed couple, even though they've been through a lot.

As they walk through the halls of the school, the couple comes face to face with Josie's twin. Lizzie looks at them with curiosity, and maybe a little bit of jealousy. It suddenly dawns on the brunette twin that she's been neglecting her sister since she found out that she has a soulmate.

Lizzie walks past them without even saying "hi", and Josie really can't have that.

"Lizzie, wait!" The brunette turns to her girlfriend. "I'm gonna spend some time with her, okay? I'll see you later."

Hope looks a little sad for a second, but it's quickly gone.

"Of course." Hope nods. "Are you gonna sleep in my room tonight?"

Josie nods quickly. "Yeah, I will."

Hope smiles. "Good."

*

Later that night, Josie walks into Hope's room with a little smile. The tribrid quickly looks away from her canvas and returns her girlfriend's smile. It's late, and Hope is standing right by the window. Josie stops breathing for a moment when the moonlight hits her soulmate's blue eyes, making them shine.

Josie wanted to tell Hope about the time she spent with her sister. She wanted to talk about the day they spent together. She even wanted to ask about what the tribrid has been up to in the time that she was gone. But all of this flies out of the window when Josie sees Hope's sparkling blue eyes.

This time, she'll remember everything that happens. She'll remember how beautiful Hope is when she doesn't wear clothes, and how smooth her skin feels under her fingertips. Josie makes sure to register every little sound she manages to get out of her soulmate, and every sensitive spot on Hope's body.

Josie briefly wonders how she could have forgotten the way Hope's naked body feels against hers. She quickly pushes that thought away though. She might have forgotten once, but she'll never let it happen again.

Hope's back is pressed to Josie's front, and the brunette knows Hope is already asleep. Josie can't surrender herself to sleep yet though. Not when she feels this good, this content. So, she gently caresses her girlfriend's skin and peppers her neck with kisses.

Josie has no idea of when she fell asleep. All she knows is that she wakes up a couple of hours later, gasping for air. She sits up in bed and does her best to catch her breath as tears slide down her cheeks. Hope quickly wakes up too, and wraps Josie up in her arms. She whispers comforting words in her girlfriend's ear until the brunette suddenly starts laughing.

Hope stops everything and moves away from Josie, looking at her with a confused frown. The brunette keeps laughing for a while, and when she eventually stops, her eyes lock with Hope's. She quickly leans in and captures the tribrid's lips in a feisty kiss, before she pulls away and leans her forehead on Hope's.

"I remember."