Caged

Chapter 25

**| Sang's POV |**

The moment we passed into pack territory, my wolf relaxed. I frowned at that. This wasn't our land. This was Blackbourne Pack land, and yet my wolf felt completely comfortable here, as if this was where we belonged.

I glanced at Silas, our eyes meeting briefly before I looked away. "Want to go for a run?" he asked.

"I want to go hunting," I said. I wanted to feel my canines sinking into meat, fresh warm blood flooding my senses. My wolf stirred with anticipation that swirled down to my stomach, warming my core at the excitement.

"I need to go on patrol, and the others will be meeting with the Toma pack. I think Gabriel will be free," Silas said as he pulled out his phone. His fingers flew over the screen and he paused. He nodded after a moment. "Gabriel is free and will go with you."

"I want to go too," Luke said from behind us.

"I can go alone," I replied.

"Not right now. Alpha's word. He doesn't want anyone alone right now. Not until we figure out why your old house was set on fire," Kota said. "We also exposed ourselves when we went there. The people who did that could have still been around and saw us. Until we know more, we're tightening our defenses. Gabriel will go with you."

"Fine." I turned to watch the trees, my skin tingling, ready to shift. The greenery flashed by, blending together. My mind brought up the memory of the branches brushing against me, the leaves crunching under my paws, the feel of the wind, the sound of the wildlife. I squirmed in my seat.

"Aggele, you need to calm down." Silas's hand went to my knee and I stilled at his touch, his energy running along my skin, heating me. His touch has always been a comfort, but right now it wasn't helping. He was just getting my wolf more worked up, wanting to expel all the energy coursing through us.

"I can't," I whispered. My wolf was ready now. We needed to release our tension, let out our frustration, to push ourselves to exhaustion so our minds would calm down. The confines of the SUV was bringing forth my claustrophobia. Shifters never did well in confinement for long, and after getting free, I had been revelling in the extra space and being able to freely move around. I needed that now.

"Shit, she's going to shift," someone mumbled.

"I'm hot," I mumbled.

"We're a couple minutes away, just hold on," Silas said.

I shook my head and before I knew how it happened, the shirt they gave me was off, leaving my chest bare, rising and falling with my rapid breathing.

Then I managed to shimmy out of sweats they gave me and I was completely naked. With that step done, my wolf took control, surging forward. In moments, I was my wolf, my wolf was me, and the SUV was swerving as someone swore.

My wolf shook out our fur and sniffed the space, taking in all the scents, finding no danger, and then we turned toward the door.

"Shit, wait, Sang!"

We didn't wait and slammed into the door. Pain erupted through my body.

We wanted out.

We needed space.

We wanted freedom.

To hunt.

To feed.

To not think, to seek exhaustion, to release our frustrations.

The door popped open, someone standing outside. We didn't wait and shot out of the vehicle. Our head lifted to the side and we released a howl. The hunt was on. We pushed forward, our strong legs giving us the speed we wanted as we headed straight into the luscious green, surrounding ourselves with life and energy and freedom.