"And that's how it ended. After I overthrew my mother, I became ... Alpha of the pack. It was terrifying, but I was tired ... of being a doormat." I finished, re-telling my abuse.

Theo's eyes were sorrowful, "I'm so sorry you had to go through this, Kronos. No human or any supernatural creature should ever experience such hardship. It must have been painful to be alone through it all?"

I shook my head, "No, in fact, quite the opposite. Azrael, my beta, told me that I was going to find ... my mate soon. He was one ... of the few people who never laid a hand on me, and actually protected me from my mother. You see, when I was being punched and kicked, he dove in and stepped ... right in front of them, taking the beating instead of me."

The doctor nodded, listening to my story with fascination.

I took this as a cue to continue my story with a smile of nostalgia. "He wasn't in the pack for long, even ... though his mate was Coco, a female beta. Yet, he stood up for me despite not knowing me well. He did know that he ... had to protect me since he was in second in change while Coco was away with Rhea. I mean, it made sense ... in then end because Rhea was searching for her mate."

Then my features turned dark, as I closed my eyes briefly. "Then... one day, Mom was tired of Azrael jumping in to protect me. She ordered- no, shrieked ... for him to no longer help me when I'm in need. Since she was the Luna and current highest rank in the pack, he had no choice but to obey her command. The rest ... was history, as I soon met Rhea."

Silence followed, along with a sound of a clearing in the throat from Theo.

"It's extraordinary that you had someone with you through this experience, Kronos. I believe that with this, you can now start recovering from your trauma." He said, blinking twice.

I tilted my head, not understanding how my story could start my process of recovery. "What do you ... mean, Theo?"

He chuckled, pushing his glasses up. "The cycle of healing is different for every individual. From my diagnostics, you have PTSD. Otherwise known as, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. One of the first steps of working yourself up again, is to talk about it. Which, of course, we've done just now."

I nodded, taking in all the information.

He flips through the pages on his clipboard, eyes scanning the words as he continued to speak. "Now, onto stage two. We'll work on therapy. You'll be introduced to Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, known as EMDR, and Cognitive Processing Therapy, known as CPT. We'll also touch bases on Exposure Therapy, Group Therapy, Brief Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, and possibly have you take Antidepressants or any other medication."

I had no idea what any of those mean.

Apollo grumbled, fazed by the vocabulary Theo had spurred out.

Theo looked up from his board and tapped his paper, "I can tell you're a bit confused. Do you want to know what each of them are?"

I curtly nodded, "Please."

He inhales and lets out a breath, leaning back into his chair. "Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is a integrative psychotherapy that stimulates the information processing part of the brain. It seeks to address any past disturbances, current triggers, and future triggers. It was originally designed to alleviate the distress from the traumatic memories. Cognitive Processing Therapy, on the other hand, is a type of therapy that retrains the brain to think about the traumatic experience differently." He explained, pausing for a quick breath.

"And the other types of therapy?" I asked, curious.

"Exposure Therapy is to make you less sensitive about the fear in your memories. Group therapy is where a group of people who had a similar experience or diagnostics talk about their story and you will gain insight from it. Brief Psychodynamic Psychotherapy is how you'll learn how your past trauma can affect your current or present emotions. Family therapy will probably be the most difficult since I'll have to have your abuser and your father there with you." Theo ended, gesturing his hands as he spoke.

"But... the medication?" I chirped, hoping to have good answers since some medication can badly affect your health.

Of course, the thought of my mother made me feel sick to the stomach, but I ignored the feeling.

It was as if me being not afraid of my mother during the hospital was a spur of the moment. After all, Rhea was in danger and I was thinking rashly.

I knew I was still afraid of her.

Theo placed a hand on his chin, thinking. "Well, the Antidepressants and the other recommend medication will only help to improve your sleep, reduce the anxiety you feel on a daily basis, and prevent flashbacks of the traumatic event."

I sigh, combing my hand through my hair from all the knowledge given to me.

"Anymore questions?" He asked, tilting his head.

"No."

Theo then gets up from his chair, smiling, "Now, shall we begin?"

I shook my head in disagreement, "No."

Theo seemed taken aback, eyes wide as one of his arms dangled onto his side. "No?" He repeated, confused of why I would deny his offer.

Notifying that I had made him misunderstood, I jump back into elaborating on my word. "I ... just don't know when ... I'll remain like this. Why do ... I keep ... talking like this? I assumed werewolves ... healed faster. Especially since ... I'm an alpha."

His face that was in shock was now morphed into a joyful face. "Whew, you frightened me there, Kronos! The reason why you're not talking clearly is because your vocal cords are not used to it. After you became mute at age 14, you were still in development of puberty. Yes, you've developed your vocal cords to a deeper tone of voice, but they're not used to being tampered with on a day to day basis."

My shoulders sagged, feeling defeated. "Will ... I ever ... speak normal again?"

He throws a hand in the air, discarding my question briefly. "Definitely. It just takes time, do not worry much about it."

Apollo barked, tail wagging,

'APOLLO! Not now! W-We can't do that to Rhea! What if we accidentally hurt her in the process?!' I spattered back to him in a fluttered manner.

'And... that's the last I hear from you, my friend. Goodbye.' I mind-linked him, cutting it off.

I could have swore that my face was slightly red.

How could he think of my Rhea in such a dirty way?

Shaking off my head and regaining focus, I notice Theo waiting for me. Quickly apologizing I say, "Sorry, Theo. My wolf is just... thirsty for my mate."

Theo burst out in laughter, nearly rolling over on the floor. "It's okay, that's how I am to my wife sometimes. One morning, I had to wake her up with a Italian kiss to her kitty since she graciously and skillfully did me a blow job the night before."

Frowning, my mind didn't adjust to what he said. "What do you mean by, 'kitty'? and, 'blow job'?"

Realizing his mistake, he shook me off, smirking in the process. "Oh, don't worry about it right now. You'll learn it later when you're with Rhea."

I just nodded, unsure of what he meant still or referred to. Maybe they owned a cat and he kissed the kitty because he loved his mate so much? I'm assuming that a blow job is a career where you blow things. It seemed strange to me when I brainstormed about it.

Sighing in exasperation, Theo reversed back into his professional phase and got straight down to business.

He sat back into his chair, brought his arm up just a bit as his eyes focused on his watch. Reading out loud, he read, "6:09pm. We have until 10pm. Kronos, how do you feel about yourself? Do you blame yourself for what happened to you?"

I inhaled a breath in, my heart and mind in pain as I thought carefully about my answer.

"I feel... like it is ... my fault for how ... everything turned out. If I had been ... stronger, maybe things ... would have turned out ... differently."

Theo listened grimly, his finger clicking the pen. "Do you know why I asked you this question, Kronos?"

Shaking my head, I show signs of no.

He places his clipboard onto the side of the seat, motioning his hands as he explained to me. "Victims who suffer from PTSD show signs of blaming themselves for the outcome of the ordeal. Which in most cases, is not your fault whatsoever."

Biting the inside of my cheek, I spoke, "It is my ... fault. You don't understand ... me or what I went ... through. If you've crawled into ... my skin and walked ... around in it, maybe you will."

Theo cocked a brow, "That maybe so, but one of the reasons why I don't understand you is because you don't tell me what I need to know about you."

'We should burn him alive, erase the evidence afterwards. He is irritating me.' I mind-linked Apollo.

He only scoffed in return,

Sighing, I apologized. "I'm sorry, I'm ... not used to this."

He waved his hand around, dismissing it. "It's okay, that's what I'm here for. You don't need to open up right away and I won't force you to. These things take time and I'm willing to wait, Kronos. My apologizes for my comment previously."

We both smiled as we continued the session.

He grabbed his clipboard again and flipped through the pages, pausing on one sheet as his eyes skimmed through the words.

"Kronos..." He begins, giving me the weary eye. "We're going to have you recall your memories about when the abuse started and when it ended. This is where Cognitive Processing Therapy begins. Remember where I told you it makes the brain rethink differently about the trauma?"

I vigorously shook my head this time, "No, no, no. Please, I ... don't want to live ... through that again."

He leaned back, waiting for me to calm down as I started shaking.

"I understand that." He spoke in a softer tone. "But... you need to get over this trauma. What sets you off or gives you a goal in the end to do this?"

I stopped shaking immediately, my wolf calming me down as my thoughts filled with Rhea.

My Rhea.

Theo smiled, clapping his hands together in delight, "Who is it?"

"My mate, Rhea. I want ... her to wake up proud ... of me, to see how far ... I've come and I wanted to be convinced ... that I'm more than ... worthy to be by her side." I whispered slowly.

"Then use her as your goal. You can do this, Kronos. It is painful, but you will thank yourself in the long road ahead." He lectured, clasping his hands together.

I blinked, finally agreeing.

I had to do this.

Not just for Rhea, but for myself.

I thought, awaiting for the moment to begin.