Betrayed By My Doomed Mate

CHAPTER 15 - THERAPY

The union between New Shadow and Lightning offered psychological help to the employees. The entire service was offered as an option, except for a few. Cassie had been forced to consult, given her situation regarding the slaughter; she liked the idea. Jack, on the other hand, was not on the list until he had beaten Ronan in front of everyone. The team agreed that it wouldn't be a bad idea if he consulted as well. Scarcely any people knew about Jack's past, including his superiors, who knew nothing. Jack didn't like therapy, his problems couldn't be solved by mere conversation.

“Good afternoon, Jack. I'm Camille, and I'll be taking care of your psychological follow-up for the next few months,” she said, smiling and friendly. “First of all, let's get to know each other, tell me a little about yourself, about who Jack is,” she asked, using the standard of communication.

Jack didn't have that much patience for that. “It's in my file,” he said, direct, but without being rude. “I already have a treatable history,” he confessed. She looked astonished for a few seconds, but asked for his entire name and threw it into the system. It was real, he had a history. Camille, surprised by this, questioned him about stopping the appointments without having received permission from the professional. “They weren't helping me, I felt it was a waste of time,” he replied. In a way, this was true.

“What is your opinion about therapy these days?” she questioned, curious. Jack replied that he believed therapy could help some people, but that this was not his case. “You must have heard that the professional can only help you if you cooperate, right? Do you think in your case, the professionals didn't deliver, or maybe you weren't very open about what you needed?” she pressed. The truth about therapy with Jack was that he didn't doubt the therapist's ability. In the beginning, when he was not yet transformed and possessed his violent episodes, he thought he could get better if he kept consulting, however, after acquiring the ability to change, he had lost hope.

“Maybe both,” he replied. Cassie questioned him if he would be willing to open up more. “I don't know,” is what he said.

“You have issues to work through, Jack. I'd like to understand them to assist you on your journey,” she offered. Jack certainly wanted help, but the biggest problem in his life currently was carrying the burden of the death of his colleagues, which he had done while he was a wolf, a matter that should not be possible outside a fantasy tale. That was the issue he experienced. He said it wasn't so simple, it was complicated.

“I've lost count of how many times I've heard those words, Jack. At least try, it's okay to go slowly, after all, slowly you go far,” she quoted.

“I can say that I don't know myself completely,” he confessed. It wasn't a lie. Working with certain kinds of metaphors and half-truths might work for a while, as he knew he wouldn't be able to escape consultations with the professional anytime soon.

“So we'll have a journey of discovery? You're young, Jack,” she celebrated. “Is there something currently bothering you, Jack? Something you need to resolve?” the therapist asked. He wished he could say that his whole life was bothering him, but that would open up a whole range of loopholes for her to ask hundreds of questions. Jack understood a little about how sessions worked. Take the problem, talk about it, think about it, and find possible solutions to solve it. How could he do that when almost all of his current issues revolved around being a wolf? Jack was silent. “It's pretty common at that age to still be confused. It's also quite common at that stage to be discovering yourself,” she explained. Jack thought to himself, 'Most young people are discovering themselves to be gay. I've discovered myself an animal'. “I want you to bring to me some questions that are bothering you about this subject. Our next meeting will be in two days, at 6 pm,” she said, marking it on a piece of paper, which she handed to him soon after.

“At 6 pm?” he asked, worried. Camille questioned him about the question. “I would prefer it to be earlier,” he asked. That time was too dangerous. During all the periods of transformations he had spent with Kurt, they had tried to find some pattern in the changes, but there was none, there was no rule that said which days would or would not transform.

“I can write down the interest here, if a new time comes up I'll let you know, and we'll reschedule; otherwise it's going to be this one,” she warned. He didn't answer, just left the room. Jack was thankful that he didn't have to discuss the murder at that first moment, but it was only a matter of time before Camille brought the issue up for debate.