When the cat was felt brushing against his legs, he reached down and scratched the animal on the top of the head. It was more of an unconscious effort on his part, but that was probably to be expected considering his thoughts were currently focused on more pressing matters. "And my sister," he said with a nod. "Though I'm not sure which you should worry about more." There was a teasing grin on his lips and he forced out a laugh. "I am sure they will both love you." As long as she was okay with eventually reproducing at some point. His mother entertained the idea of grandchildren far too much for his tastes.
Her sister? Had he known that she had had a sister here? No, it wasn't ringing any bells. Obviously she hadn't been a huge presence in Cassandra's life if she wasn't asking questions. "Take your time." The last thing that he wanted to do was rush her while she was struggling with opening up with him. Though the effort alone on her part meant a great deal to him.
An audible sigh fell past his lips when she assured him that she had been unharmed. The amount of relief he felt was somewhat surprising and only proved to cement his belief that even though he barely knew her, that she was something special for him. A frightening yet intriguing turn of events all at the same time. The rest of her story however, did not sit well with him. Religious fanatics weren't his favorite people anyway and how anyone could treat their own child like a leper? Well, he just couldn't understand.
As her story continued, he found his fists balling once again. "He used you." It came out a bit more harshly than the had intended but it was what it was in the end. Wait, she had tried to stop it and was in the hospital? His eyes went wide and he couldn't fight back the feeling to destroy whoever had pushed her to such extremes. Suddenly the thought of ripping the man's spine out seemed tame compared to what he was now considering.
Pushing to his feet, he crossed the space between them and took a careful seat next to her. Reaching out, he pulled her into his arms and pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head. "I won't let anything happen to you," he promised. "Tell me who he is and I'll make sure of that."