In our stars (Break)

(Cafe) Pillow Talk -3

Chapter 3:

There was another silence, Cassidy needed to formulate the words. When she began she looked out into the distance, like she was sharing a daydream.

"I feel like every pack has their secrets...or traditions as some would put it. Things that they hold sacred. Things that some accept can't be changed."

 She paused, choosing her words carefully. My pack was run by some very corrupt people, to put it nicely." Cassidy now turned to face Liam, he could see the hidden truth in her eyes.

"I was supposed to be the pack doctor and take after my parents. I spent the last few years; until I left, learning how to become one." Liam was surprised. Werewolf doctors were rare and sought after.

"Because of their profession, they can't leave the pack. I have only seen them once or twice since I left, but I know they are doing whatever they can to make things better, although some part of me resents them for not trying hard enough." 

 "I planned to leave long before anything terrible happened...but then..."

Liam interjected. "You don't have to tell me anything. Not yet." Cassidy nodded, a lump in her throat.

She took another sip from her drink, It gave her some strength. "I tried convincing as many people I could to come, to help. I tried to make them see the truth, but not just any werewolf has the strength to just get up and leave."

 Liam knew that this would have meant, losing half your soul and identity. The ingrained need for belonging and community was how werewolves were designed. It would have taken more than a little willpower for her to survive as long as she did. She was so strong. 

Her voice trembled slightly as she continued. "I had to leave. I had to leave my friends, my family, my-" Cassidy stopped herself from revealing too much. "My life."

Looking at her now, Liam couldn't peel back some layers to see her brokenness, why she was so reserved. He didn't pity her, not at all. He thought she was brave, braver than anyone he had ever met.

"I was only 17, I hadn't finished high school, had no work experience. So I went and stayed with my Aunt, she was half werewolf. When her husband died she was permitted to leave the pack."

"I got a job, completed high school and part of college online. During all of that, she took great care of me. She helped me learn how to fit into the human world."  

Cassidy had unshed tears in her eyes. "She was so sick, herself, but she still did her best. She passed away a few years ago. Since then I have put all my energy into my job, I have always been ambitious. After I left my pack, I needed something else to live for."

Cassidy's sadness seemed to dissipate as she took a sip of her drink. "And you know what, I have a great job! A decent home, friends, I've travelled. I am happy! The life I have built for myself is more than anything the pack could have given me.  Constantly reminding herself of this helped her keep her head above water. She had made it this far and built a life for herself, without the help of a pack, or an Alpha.

Liam looked like he wanted to ask her a million questions. Cassidy sensed this and let him probe a little further. 

"I know you have questions, I will let you ask one. This whole looking back to the past thing is difficult for me, I don't like dwelling."

Liam thought carefully, he knew he would eventually find out the answers to his burning questions, but for now, he needed to satiate some of his curiosity.