chapter 15

Allison pulled the car up just behind the bus and quickly hopped out the car, barely having enough time to place the car in park. Stiles was helping Scott move by taking most of his friend's weight as he half carried Scott towards the bathroom. Allison joined the pair as she lifted Scott's other arm over her shoulders to take the rest of his weight so they could move faster.

Hope sighed a little but asked her other soulmate if she could go with them so she could heal Scott, since they have already informed the group that Daphne was the known Witch in this world and not Hope. The Lady Greengrass groaned a little but trailed behind the small group of Allison, Scott, Stiles and Lydia.

The Tribrid's sea-blue eyes landed on the bus and scoffed loudly. "Yeah… There's no way in hell I'm getting on that bus with that hallucinogenic wolfsbane terrorising Werewolves. That's a hard pass from me."

Hope got out of the car and moved around it and hopped into the driver's seat. Allison in her haste to help Scott, forgot to remove her keys from the ignition. Hope put the car in reverse and edged the car back until she was parallel with the gas pump.

Daphne entered the filthy bathroom and scrunched up her nose at the smells within the barely ventilated room. The Ice Witch would have preferred to stay by Allison's side as the ravenette certainly smelled a hell of a lot better than just about everything else in the room but the Huntress was kneeling down by Scott's side.

If Scott wasn't in so much pain Daphne may have been pissed that Allison was hovering over her ex like a concerned girlfriend. The blonde quietly sighed at Lydia's side. Lydia turned in surprise as she didn't expect Daphne to have joined them nor did the strawberry blonde expect for the Ice Witch to be standing so close to her.

"Oh my god…" Allison's' disturbed voice echoed in the small ceramic filled room as she stared down at the nasty looking gashes along Scott's right ribs. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Scott looked pale as he weakly spoke. "Sorry."

Allison nervously looked from Scott's pain-filled face to the deep scratches oozing black blood. "Okay, just give us a second, okay?" The Huntress shook her head in concern. "This shouldn't be happening… I've seen him heal from worse than this."

Ice-blue eyes regarded everything with a meticulous eye for detail as she quietly wondered if her healing spells could even heal this kind of wound.

"Daph? Where's Hope?" Allison wondered as she scanned the rest of the bathroom.

"Outside." The blonde simply answered as she moved away from the safety of Lydia's very Irish scent of morning dew, seasalt air and bonfire with a small slither of death that lingered on Lydia's skin from her Banshee descent.

Daphne squatted down on Scott's injured side in curiosity as she felt self-pity radiating off the Werewolf in front of her. "Lydia? Could you help Hope stall the bus from leaving?"

The strawberry blonde's eyes widen as she nods before leaving silently.

"I think I'll need the two of you to talk to Scott… Make him understand that Derek is not his fault. I can heal him but I'd prefer to ensure that this won't happen again." The blonde murmured as she placed one of her hands just below the wound and pushed some of her soothing cold magic against the overheated skin.

Scott moaned at the wonderful relief from the constant burn from the Alpha's claws. "Thank you…"

"You're welcome." Daphne glanced over to see Scott's grateful brown eyes and nodded before turning to the other two people in the room and motioning down to the bleeding boy on the ground as an obvious prompt to dissuade Scott's guilt over Derek.

Allison coughed awkwardly as she glanced back and forth between her ex and the girl who's emotions were cut off from her as she understood wordlessly that Daphne was only helping Scott because of her.

To the Huntress' complete surprise and shock, Stiles was leaning back against the wall of the filthy bathroom tiles as he stared blankly ahead at Scott in quiet fear. Allison sighed as she placed a compassionate hand on Scott's knee.

"Scott… You can't beat yourself up over Derek. It's not your fault." Allison murmured quietly as she moved closer to her ex.

"It is my fault." Scott replied resolutely as he couldn't meet Allison's pitying russet brown eyes.

Allison frowned as she pulled Scott's closest hand into her hand to hold as she used her other hand to tilt Scott's weakened head to face her. "It is not your fault! Do you hear me? This was not your fault. Derek made a choice to ambush a meeting that you had set with Deucalion to make peace. That was his choice. Don't blame yourself for the actions of others that are beyond your control, Scott."

Scott shook his head weakly and Allison internally groaned to herself as she quickly realised that she would have to beat it into her ex's thick skull, that Derek's fate does not rest on his shoulders.

"You know… There is a possibility that Derek's still alive and knowing my luck he probably is. He lives to hate us Argents." Allison rolled her eyes as Scott coughed out a pained laugh at the Huntress' dark humour.

"That would be in true Derek fashion… Did I tell you how Peter nearly killed Derek the night that we were trapped in the school?" Scott's soft voice bounced off the tiled walls.

Allison thought back and shook her head. "No… But that proves my point. We don't know if Derek died. He survived his uncle… my aunt. He's probably back in Beacon Hills doing broody Derek Hale things like staring out a rainy window in deep thought."

Scott actually took a moment to think about it. "I mean, it may be possible."

Daphne realised that Allison was getting through to Scott during her little speech and started muttering under her breath as her magic flowed down into her hand. Daphne's hand glowed with a soft golden glow as she used Hope's healing spell.

Allison immediately noticed the chance in Scott as her blonde soulmate started to heal the other Werewolf as he no longer looked to be perspiring dangerously and his skin was starting to gain some colour back.

"Scott. You are a good guy… No, a good man. You care so much and this is – was… One of the things that I loved about you." Allison remarked as she gave a quick glance to Daphne to see how she reacted to this but all the blonde did was subtly ground her back teeth together.

"But not anymore?" Scott picked up on as he locked eyes with his ex who looked unbelievably uncomfortable as she worried over him but noticed that the ravenette kept checking in with the blonde girl each time she spoke, like she didn't want to offend her.

Allison gulped as she met Scott's placating brown eyes, showing her that he was okay with Allison not choosing him and that he was more than content to be there for the Huntress if she ever needed him.

"What did I ever do to deserve you, Scott?" Allison muttered as she pressed her forehead against Scott's shoulder.

Scott moved his arm that was closest to Allison and stroked her silky hair as he rested his chin on the crown of her head. "I have asked myself that same question everyday since the moment I met you."

Daphne ignored the pair in front of her as she finished healing the Werewolf Beta and retreated out of the bathroom while dragging a semi-reluctant Stiles out of the room and pushed him towards the school bus in dismissal.

Allison had enough spacial awareness to feel that Daphne had left her alone with her ex to give them the space they needed.

Thankfully enough for the ravenette Daphne released her tight grip on her emotions but Allison couldn't stop the sharp inhale of breath as the blonde's uncertainty of her place in Allison's heart.

Scott had glanced down to his ribs and ran his fingers over the newly healed skin in utter surprise before hearing Allison's gasp. "Are you alright?"

Allison blinked as she pulled away slightly as she whispered sadly. "I am. I am so sorry, Scott."

"I understand… But can you make me a promise? Don't block me out or ignore me to spare my feelings. I don't think I could handle it if you were suddenly cut out of my life like that." Scott quietly pleaded with his first love.

The ravenette nodded strongly as she believed that she could keep this promise to Scott.

"Remember that whole thing that we talked about last night? Where I wasn't accusing you of being there and if you were there, you shouldn't be?" Scott mentioned after a few moments of silence between them to change the subject.

Allison tilted her head to the side and hummed in affirmation.

The brown-eyed Werewolf smiled half-heartedly as he apologised for his actions the previous night. "Thanks for not listening… But maybe next time bring the Witch with the ability to heal?"

The Huntress snorted as she lightly whacked Scott in the shoulder and he feigned a gasp of pain at the swat on his arm.

"Maybe next time I will, but I doubt she would be willing to help out until you stop treating Daph and Hope like they are the enemy and maybe start including them in your Pack meetings." Allison partially joked with her ex.

One of Scott's eyebrows rose up to his hairline. "Both of them?"

A blush spread over Allison's cheeks as she pushed the shirtless Werewolf with an embarrassed laugh. "Shut up!"

"Allison. I would have to blind, have a broken nose and have all my enhanced senses fail me in order to ignore the obvious attraction between the three of you." Scott remarked with a half-hearted smile.

"Oh my God! Scott…" Allison shook her head as she stood back up to her full height.

"Not ready to talk about this with me yet?" Scott offered knowingly.

"No." The Huntress replied with a soft voice almost like she didn't want to speak about this.

Scott used the wall behind him as an anchor as he pushed himself off the ground with a quiet grunt. "... One day?"

Allison looked back to her first love in deep thought before genuinely smiling. "One day… And Scott? Please never think that you aren't worth loving because I will never regret a moment that I spent with you. Someday you'll meet someone who will see the wonderful man I do and they will fall deeply in love."

Scott locked eyes with Allison and for the first time since he entered the worn-out and battered bathroom he actually gave a real smile.

- - -

Hope jumped a little at the indignant squawk from behind her just seconds before sharp talons latched onto her left shoulder. "Good God Alexandria! A little warning would be nice!"

Alexandria blared a loud tweet into Hope's ear causing the other girl to flinch away from the noise with a 'ow'. The Thunderbird was not impressed that she was locked in a car for a minute, leaving her all alone in Allison's car after waking up at the sound of closing doors and a new location.

"I know! I'm sorry! But it was just a minute alone, little one. I didn't even go more than 10 metres away!" Hope defended herself as she placed the car in park and turned off the engine before exiting the car while pocketing the keys.

Hope leaned down to pull the gas cover lever beside the car seat before straightening up with Alexandria moving along the Tribrid's back to keep herself at a vertical position while her Familiar was moving about.

Alexandria was back on Hope's shoulder as the brunette pulled out her wallet and inserted her credit card into the pump and set it to $100 as she didn't think Allison's car was big enough to hold more than this amount of gas.

Hope was idly chatting to the eagle-like bird on her shoulder, not bothering to hide Alexandria with her magic as they were out in the middle of the desert and the kids from the bus already noticed Hope's newest addition on her shoulder. So hiding the bird now would only draw unwanted attention to her. Although now that Alexandria was awake she was planning on flying for the rest of the trip, stretching her wings and getting some fresh air.

Lydia eventually joined the Tribrid with a raised eyebrow. "If I didn't know that Alexandria could actually understand you and that your lovely bird can also screech your ear off, I'd be a little concerned that you were going insane and that you are talking to yourself."

Hope chuckled as she glanced over to the strawberry blonde with an exaggerated eye roll as she made a snarky observation of her own universe. "In all honesty, the kids from my school would more than likely run with that theory. Just another thing to hold over the Mikaelsons."

"Wow… You are a ball of sunshine." Lydia snapped back in a deadpan.

"I know." Hope remarked before her head tilted to the side to listen to Alexandria's quieter cheeps now that the Thunderbird had calmed down a bit.

Lydia pursed her lips as she wondered if she had just been dismissed by the Tribrid or not before noticing the amount that Hope had prepaid in the pump. "Uh… Hope? Why did you put so much money in for gas?"

Hope blinked as she turned to face the strawberry blonde in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"It's $3.50 per gallon and Allison's car has about a 12 gallon tank. You've paid practically double what you needed to." Lydia explained with a frown as she assumed that Hope knew basic math.

"Oh… Right. Well, you'll hate this… But inflation will hit the U.S hard by 2030. $4.50-$5.00 per gallon… Sorry." Hope admitted as she noticed her mistake when paying for the gas.

Lydia groaned at the news. "Damn! All of a sudden I'm not looking forward to the future with all these price inflations."

Hope had a small smirk that ticked up on the corner of her mouth at Lydia's annoyance as she felt the pump click off automatically as the tank was filled. The Tribrid tapped the nozzle a couple of times against the side before returning the nozzle to the station.

"Do you want to join me? I'm going to get some food and drinks for the rest of the ride." Hope offered as she pointed her thumb towards the service station behind her.

Lydia grimaced a little and shook her head. "No, thanks. But I wouldn't say no to some water and Reese's cups, if you're offering?"

"Sure… Don't you have a tendency to steal Allison's twizzlers?" Hope answered before coming to a stop to turn back to Lydia.

The strawberry blonde blushed a little. "... Sometimes." The Banshee responded with a hint of guilt.

Hope laughed a little as she walked back towards Lydia with a smile and placed a hand on the strawberry blonde's shoulder in mock humour. "I'll get you your own pack of twizzlers, clever girl. In the meantime, look after Alexandria for me."

The golden bird took this opportunity while Hope was talking to hop down Hope's arm and perch herself on Lydia's denim covered shoulder. Lydia's head moved to the side with wide eyes at the sudden appearance of the Thunderbird on her shoulder but before she could bring up any objections Hope was already halfway to the general store.

Lydia blinked slowly as she awkwardly spoke to the bird. "So… What do we do now?"

The Banshee jerked a little at the long stare Alexandria was giving her and Lydia was feeling like the bird was judging her. The sunlight coloured bird made a soft whistling sigh as she rolled her eyes at the other girl before lifting her wing.

The strawberry blonde's gaze followed the direction of the golden feathers on instinct and saw the school's cross country team. Lydia groaned a little as she looked back at the bird. "But I don't want to get into a confrontation with the Coach. He doesn't listen to anyone."

Alexandria continued to glare at her and Lydia was starting to feel undeniably small under the Thunderbird's judgemental stare. "Stop doing that!"

The brightly coloured bird whistled once, almost like she was doing something. The second slow repetitive whistle clued the Banshee into what Alexandria was doing. "Oh my God! Are you literally counting down from 3!"

Alexandria raised her own eyebrow as she showed her incredible intelligence.

"How rude! You know what, how about you go do something to stall the bus getting cleaned out– And I'm arguing with a bird while in full view of 3 Werewolves… I hate you a little bit, Alexandria."

Daphne managed to sneak up on the distracted Banshee as she overheard Lydia complaining animatedly with her usual amount of sass and the blonde couldn't help but to snort in amusement. The other girl jumped at the sound and pivoted around with an angry look on her face but upon seeing Daphne she calmed down.

The blonde tilted her head to the side as she called Alexandria to her. "Come on, pretty bird. Stop terrorising the genius. She hasn't been with us long enough to take our form of craziness yet. Give her another month or so Alexandria."

The bird whistled gleefully as she flew over to Daphne's open invitation before standing regally on the blonde's shoulder, almost blending into the Ice Witch's luscious blonde waves with a shockingly similar smirk on her beak that reflects Hope's Mikaelson smirk.

Daphne rolled her eyes at Alexandria. "Stop mimicking Hope. She's a terrible influence."

The Thunderbird feigned offense as she squawked as though she was giving the blonde a monologue of her thoughts on the subject which was absorbing Lydia's attention as she blurted out. "I know that Hope can understand her, but can you?"

Daphne shrugged slightly. "Most of her noises I can extrapolate into words or emotions and I make the assumption that of what Alexandria is saying… Although, most of the time I cheat. I ask Hope to open a line of communication between Alexandria to me."

"Cheater." Lydia announced with an amused grin.

The blonde Witch looked over Lydia's shoulder and towards the bus with an evil glint in her eye as she allowed her magic to flow out from the soles of her feet. A thin layer of ice coated the tan coloured dirt as the ice trailed out towards the bus.

Before the ice could touch the bus the Tribrid rejoined her wife as she walked out of the gas station with a small bag of snacks in hand. "Love, you don't need to do that. If you've already healed Scott then he's ready to hop back on the bus. Besides, Stiles seems to be doing enough stalling from the lot of us."

Daphne's nose twitched as she pouted sadly before noticing Isaac approaching Ethan. "Aw… Oh? Hang on. It looks like shit's about to go down."

Hope and Lydia turned to watch Isaac launch an unrestrained punch against the Alpha Twin and Lydia sucked in a pained breath at the hit. The Tribrid watched as Stiles paled and ran towards the bathroom to get help since he noticed that Boyd was just staring at the fight with a satisfied smirk on his face.

"Aren't you going to break that up?" Lydia wondered as she looked at Hope, fully aware that a single growl from the Tribrid would stop the fight as Isaac landed another hard punch on Ethan's jaw dropping him down to one knee.

Hope considered it for a moment before shaking her head. "Nah. Scott's got this."

Scott, Stiles and Allison walked out of the bathroom with a bit of speed on them as Scott approached the curly haired Beta as he landed another solid punch of the Alpha causing him to start bleeding from the mouth with a partial grin on his mouth as this attack was down in plain sight of their classmates and the Coach. Coach Finstock was yelling at Isaac to stop but the young Werewolf was filled with rage after hearing that Scott wasn't healing from a scratch made by the Alphas last night.

Scott managed to grip Isaac's arm as he tried to pull him back but Isaac was solely focused on Ethan until the shaggy haired Werewolf yelled out the Beta's name with an echo of Scott's Werewolf growl. "ISAAC!"

The curly haired boy froze in his next strike as he turned to see a healthy looking Scott standing beside him. Isaac took a subtle sniff in Scott's direction and tilted his head in confusion as his friend no longer smelt like he was dying.

Allison placed a friendly hand on Scott's shoulder before leaving him in Stiles, Isaac and Boyd's more than capable hands. The ravenette frowned slightly as she noticed that her car had moved from the place where she had haphazardly parked in her rush to help Scott.

"Did you fill my car?" Allison questioned the Tribrid after noticing the bag that Hope was holding.

"Yep… And I got you twizzlers." Hope proudly stated as she pulled out a packet of twizzlers and a bag of Reese's cups offering them to Allison and Lydia respectively.

Hope also pulled out a couple of bottles of water as she passed them around before grabbing one more bag of candy out of her shopping bag and tossing it to Daphne who caught it with a smile.

"Sour worms? You shouldn't have." Daphne stated with a pleased smile as she immediately opened the bag and ate one of the gummies with a moan.

Daphne opened the rear passenger door and hopped in with a smile on her face as Alexandria skillfully jumped onto the roof of the car, waiting patiently until the girls were ready to leave but since the bus was quickly filling up with school students, it wouldn't be long until she could start flying.

Hope passed the bag over to Lydia who looked shocked to have the bag shoved into her arms. "Lyds, you're the DJ and navigator if I lose track of the bus."

The Tribrid reached into her pocket and twirled Allison's keys on one of her fingers with a grin as she stared at the ravenette's wide eyed expression as she locked on to her car keys. "I'm driving. Allison, you've been awake for nearly 30 hours straight. Get some rest. Please. I promise I won't crash your car love."

Allison's mouth opened and closed as she tried to think of a rebuttal but instead she shut her mouth and got into the back seat with Daphne officially changing seats with Hope.

The Tribrid slid into the driver's seat and glanced over to Lydia who just got into the car, placing the plastic bag at her feet before noticing Hope's intense stare on her with a jolt. "What?"

"Nothing. Well, actually, when was the last time that Allison ever willingly relented control to anyone other than her family?" Hope queried the Banshee with a large teasing grin plastered on her face.

"Oh, shut up." Allison mentioned from behind the Tribrid and slapped her over the back of the head.

Hope laughed as she started up the car as she murmured a responsive 'ouch' to placate the Huntress' annoyance.

Hope trailed behind the bus in relative silence as Lydia had originally played with the radio until she realised that Allison had fallen asleep in the back of the car. In fact, Lydia noticed that Allison had lifted the top strap of the seatbelt over her head so she could lie down along the back seat.

Lydia smiled as she couldn't break her gaze away from the peaceful look on her best friend's face as she was resting her head on Daphne's thigh. The blonde was completely immersed in the vision that was Allison and threaded her fingers through the archer's slightly tangled locks and smoothly unknotting any tangles that she came across.

Hope was feeling a sense of serenity coming from Daphne and Allison putting Hope's Wolf and Witch at complete ease for the first time since entering this universe. The Tribrid could feel the change within Allison as soon as they entered the car, like a huge weight had been lifted off the Huntress' shoulders and Hope couldn't wait to find out what this means in relation to their Soulbond.

Occasionally Hope would look in the rearview mirror to see Allison's relaxed features resting on her wife's lap and a smile would grace the Tribrid's face for nearly 5 full minutes until her cheeks started to hurt. But it never stopped the brunette from looking into the rearview mirror every 15 minutes.

- - -

Allison got nearly 3 hours of sleep before she woke up with a strange dream filled with images of Daphne from when she was a young child, maybe 5 years old, with a man with dark hair and piercing ice-blue eyes that could easily be Daphne's father. Along with a lovely woman who could've been an exact duplicate of Daphne in her late 30's, the only difference were the eyes.

The older woman's eye colour was a warm chocolate brown. Then there was a toddler that Daphne adored every time her eyes landed on a brown haired, brown-eyed menace with a sickness that no one could cure.

The Huntress noticed how much pressure the young blonde girl was under. Her father was grooming his daughter into the perfect political asset with a heart of ice. To never trust another soul who wasn't family. Coming into her sexuality but repressing it as she knew her father would never allow her to be with a woman due to her position of Heiress to a Most Ancient and Noble House.

Daphne was a lonely child growing up, only having one friend, Tracey Davis, whom she had an unrequited crush on for the last couple of years until a freckle-faced auburn girl entered the picture and Allison immediately knew that this was Hope.

Unfortunately for Allison she didn't learn any more about Hope's introduction with Daphne except for that first visit where they hardly spoke but the Tribrid drew a life-like drawing of the blonde girl. Starting the epic love story Allison was sure that it began since that fateful day. Since Allison felt the same need to be near Hope and Daphne that her other two soulmates felt upon meeting one another nearly 5 years ago.

Allison sighed as she felt cool fingers tracing comforting lines down along her sensitive scalp as she curled her fingers over Daphne's knee. "Mmm. That feels wonderful, Daph."

Daphne smirked from her spot above Allison and Hope had a similar smirk on her face as well at the archer's relaxed expression. Lydia on the other hand rolled her eyes, silently wondering when Allison would finally let go of her reserves about trying to keep the girls at arms length due to her father's overbearing concern and give them a little taste. Just kiss them already Allison!!! God!

"I'm glad you like it, darling." Daphne replied through a large smile and gently placed her other hand on Allison's shoulder.

Allison yawned but remained where she was as she was comfortable where she was and the Huntress wanted to shower Daphne in affection after witnessing some of her life.

"I don't mean to pry Daph and you don't have to answer if you don't want to… But I couldn't help but notice how tactile you are with me and Hope." Allison observed as she lightly trailed her nails nervously over the blonde's knee.

The Ice Witch tilted her head to the side as she was curious to know where Allison was going with this. "Yes?"

Lydia turned her head over her seat as she wondered what was about to happen as she was getting slightly sick after reading her book for most of the trip while Hope was driving.

Allison noticed Lydia and gave her a quick smile before asking her question with a little hesitation in her voice. "Do you keep touching us because of your upbringing?"

Daphne's fingers froze in Allison's hair for a fraction of a second before forcing her fingers to start moving again but somehow this non-verbal action sobered everyone in the car until the ravenette spoke. "I think I saw some of your childhood memories during my nap."

"Oh…" Daphne muttered.

"You don't have to answer…" Allison tried to backtrack as she pulled herself up to a seated position as she glanced awkwardly over to the stoic looking blonde girl and felt immediately guilty at disrupting the peace in the car.

Daphne placed a reassuring hand on the Huntress' knee. "It's fine, Allison. My childhood was quite… lonely and demanding. I was set to a strict social structure. Intelligent. Dutiful. Obedient… Submissive."

Lydia and Allison frowned at this description as it didn't remotely sound like the blonde woman whom they have gotten to know over the past month.

"My father… My father was a caring man but he had to hide his love behind a stoic mask, which is something I learned after he formally acknowledged mine and Hope's relationship. Before this, he appeared cold and disinterested in my life. Only paying any attention to me when he wanted me to learn all of the political knowledge of my world and to… parade me around like a precious jewel." Daphne admitted in her direct but emotionless way, hiding behind her own ice mask that her father taught her as Hope's grip tightened around the steering wheel at the memory.

Allison's mouth opened and closed as she didn't know what to say in regards to that information.

"Due to this, my father rarely wanted me to interact with other kids. I managed to make one friend but it was only because she was a family friend. Tracey Davis. But even with her, I still kept to myself as I knew I was… Hope?" Daphne veered off as she frowned slightly as she forgot the No-Maj term for a Witch's Witch.

"Gay. Lesbian… Homosexual." Hope filled in helpfully from the driver's seat.

"Yes. That. I realised from pretty early on in my life that I was only interested in girls but this was highly frowned upon in my universe and especially for someone with my political status. It would've been a scandal of the highest proportions if I started going out with another girl. Thankfully Hope figured out how to bypass the scandal to some degree. We did get some unsavoury backlash from the public but not as much as I expected if I wasn't marrying into Wizardry royalty." Daphne mentioned as she filled in some of the pieces of her life for the other two girls in the car.

"Before Hope the only people that I willingly cuddled up to were my mum and sister." Daphne smiled at the thought of her family until she turned to look out the window at the sunset landscape as a stray thought crossed her mind.

"Not your friend, Tracey?" Lydia wondered.

Daphne gave a quick smirk before looking at Lydia first and shook her head, "No. Nothing happened between Tracey and I. I didn't have the courage nor the strength to go against my father like that when I was 11."

"What are your mum and sister like?" Allison queried as she shifted in her seat to fully face the other girl.

The Ice Witch turned to Allison with a bittersweet smile. "Lovely. Mum was always supportive of me and was my closest confidant. My sister. Astoria, she is a massive pain in my ass but she was also sick for most of her life."

Allison and Lydia both regarded Daphne with an inquisitive gaze as they didn't know this about the blonde girl.

"Stori used to be this frail, pale kid with a terminal illness with no possible cure even in a world filled with magic. My family is one of the most wealthy and politically powerful but there was nothing we could do to save her until Hope. Stori was my reason I remained subservient to my father's wishes as I didn't want her to be subjected to the same treatment I was. I couldn't put that pressure on her along with her illness." Daphne informed the pair with slightly wet eyes as she didn't allow her tears to fall.

"Don't get me wrong. I love my sister and I would do just about anything for her including kill for her but after Hope cured her Stori came into her own person for the first time since she was born. My sister wanted to experience life and all it has to offer. Hope spoke to my father about this and well… Hope has her ways to demand respect even from those older than her."

"Like my father? A mixture of respect, promises and thinly veiled threats?" Allison remarked with a raised eyebrow to the driver.

Hope chuffed out a laugh. "Something like that… Marcus was surprisingly more than understanding after he realised that it was better to work with me than against me. Thankfully he listened to me and we got along well. Here's hoping that Chris can learn to trust me… Although he must trust me to some degree."

"Really?" Lydia snorted from her spot in disbelief.

"Just a little bit. He trusts that I would never harm Allison at least. Chris accepts that our soulbond is real. He's seen it in action." Hope inputs with a shrug that Allison noticed with a thoughtful expression.

Daphne took this opportunity to reach over and pulled one of Allison's hands into both of her hands as she locked eyes with those expressive russet brown eyes. "Anyhow, back to your question. Yes. I do take as many liberties as I can touching– comforting the people I care about because I was touch starved as a child. But you'll never see me willingly touch someone I hate… Unless it is to–" Daphne trailed off as she noticed the disturbed looks on both the Teen Wolf girls. "Never mind."

"Kill them?" Allison finished with a slow blink.

Daphne hummed a little as she turned to face out the window again, noticing that night had finally fallen.