Cassandra Blade huffed as she returned her phone into her purse. She pushed the window button to let in air. She was seated with her best friend, Maia Reyes in their white Audi A6, driving back from their office, earlier than usual. It was Cassie's aunt that had just called. Precious Aunt Rosie, Cassie thought to herself as she looked out the window. But why does Aunt Rosie not just get it? I don't want to go back there!
Maia glanced over her. "Was that Aunt Rosie?"
Cassie nodded in response. She already knew what Maia would say.
"You know, chica, you should visit Blue Falls this year at least. How long's it been? Eight years.....nine years?"
"Ten years, sis." Cassie said dryly. It's been ten good years since she left Blue Falls for a boarding school. She had sworn never to return and had kept her word till date. The only two family members she had left, her elder brother, Caleb and her late mother's sister, Aunt Rosie had always been the ones to come over to visit her. Now Aunt Rosie had just called her, inviting her for her brother's birthday.
"Oh, chica, that's a lot of time." Maia threw her a quizzical glance. "Let's do this. I will clear out your schedule this weekend. You should catch the next flight home. Bills on me."
Cassie shook her head. "It's not that simple, Maia."
"Yes, it is. You're the one overthinking it. What's the biggie in visiting one's family? It is something normal people just do without a thought."
Cassie scoffed, "Well, you know I'm not normal people."
Maia glanced at her once more and smiled. Silence resumed in the car again. That was one of the things Cassie loved about Maia - she knew when to push it and when to drop it. Without judgement, Maia was always a safe place for her.
Going home was a rough patch for Cassie. It meant so many things to her, but it was also a part of her life she did not like to think of. Home was not just Caleb and Aunt Rosie. Home was the werewolf life too. Yes, Cassie Blade was a werewolf. Something she hid from the world she had built for herself. Something she hid away from too. She hated it all. The werewolf life with its hierarchical system and culture. Ever since her family was dealt a treacherous hand by the pack.
The day of the bloody war that had wrecked her family was ever so vivid in her mind. She remembered how Caleb was forced to fight along with the warriors, although he was just fifteen and had not got his wolf yet. However, the Alpha's son, Christian who had come of age and got his wolf had been hidden away with the likes of her that were still considered the pups of the pack. Her father, the late Beta who had been fighting alongside with the Alpha had been abandoned at the battle field when it got too heated. Only the Alpha was helped to escape by the rescue warriors while her father was left to fight their enemies alone. Their words still rang in Cassie's head - "The Alpha is of principal priority." Well, I guess every other person is fated to die like a chicken because we're not the Alpha, Cassie rolled her eyes at the thought.
Her mother had also died in the same war. She had been the one protecting the safe house where the kids had been kept. Cassie had watched through the window how her mother had been torn apart by a rogue warrior. Her hatred and anger towards the pack only grew more after war when Caleb was not responding well to treatment and the Alpha went back to normal like nothing had happened. He threw parties almost every night. It seemed only Aunt Rosie cared about the misery Cassie and Caleb suffered. It was Aunt Rosie who decided to send her to a boarding school in London, very far away from home, thinking a change of environment will help Cassie get through the trauma of the events. But Cassie swore to herself that she would never return. And right now, she was proud of herself for how long she had kept her word.
