Caged

Chapter 26

**| Sean's POV |**

Gabriel was pacing in the living room and mumbling to himself when I came in. I paused and stared. What got him all twisted up this time? Maybe North burned the clothes Gabriel was always trying to get him to wear. If it wasn't black, North was not interested.

"What's wrong?" I asked, tired of seeing him wear a path in the rug.

"Sang."

I waited him out but he just kept pacing. Back and forth. Back and forth. I was patient. I learned it. But this was too much.

"What is going on, Gabriel?" I said, deepening my voice and letting my dominance do its magic. He froze, his face paling. Maybe I laid it on too thick. I wasn't an Alpha, but there was speculation that if I ever decided to challenge Kota, that I might win. I definitely couldn't win against Owen. I'd tried once before. That was enough for me and my wolf's ego was still bruised because of it.

"She's still in her wolf form," he said.

I jumped on that piece of information. "How long?"

He winced and glanced at the floor. "Since we got back."

That wasn't good. Sang was an emotional wreck. Staying in her wolf form was too dangerous right now, putting her at risk of never being able to shift back. I ran my hand through my hair, swallowing the growl forming in my chest. I refused to let her go wild. Something about her pulled at me. She didn't feel it, but I could. And so could the others. When she became healthy again, she'd feel it too.

At this point, I refused to name the bond forming between us and her. There were too many risks and voicing the truth only made it all the more real. And painful. For now, I need to take care of Sang and anything that arises. There wasn't exactly a medical textbook I could go to to find a solution for Sang. I didn't want to imagine what she went through. I knew enough and it made my wolf bristle. Owen was about to crack too. In a few days, I'm sure the pack was going to go on a hunt.

"And she can't communicate with us," I said out loud.

"Nothing."

"Okay." I nodded. I couldn't jump to conclusions until I saw Sang. She just had a blow. From what I was able to put together, she had visited her family's home only to find it burning down. Others probably would have rejoiced in her situation, but I recognized the fury in her eyes while she watched that house burn. She was cheated out of her revenge. She had all these emotions built up inside of her and no way to release them. "I'll go see her. Keep everyone away until I can assess her mood. I don't need to deal with another dominance fight."

"Fuck...yeah, I can do that."

I frowned. If push came to shove, he wouldn't. He was the baby of the pack, ranked the lowest. He'd give Luke a run for his money, but the others were clearly more dominate. I shook my head. They'd respect what needed to be done.

Oy, stay away from Sang. She needs space. Gabriel's voice rang through my head and I rolled my eyes as I drew in a breath, picking up her scent.

What's wrong?

Different voices asked the same question and I winced. I glanced at Gabriel.

She needs a break from you fuckers.

I shook my head and walked out, his voice still echoing through my head.

Give the she-wolf space and let her do her womanly shit, he said.

I choked on my spit. I couldn't believe he went there. Especially since we all knew it was a lie. She wolves went through heat twice a year. I groaned, realizing I'd need to determine when Sang went through hers. Our pack would tear each other apart if we didn't prepare. The only one who would be able to hold himself was Owen. The man was a different kind of monster.

I followed Sang's scent, going up to the top floor and to the room Luke used to calm down. I put my ear to the door and then cursed myself, forgetting that the darn thing was sound proof. She could be screaming bloody murder on the other side and I wouldn't be able to hear. We locked this place down tight to withstand our heightened hearing.

When I tried the doorknob, it turned. She didn't bother locking it, which made sense if she was in wolf form. Sang's beautiful wolf was curled in the corner, a rainbow of earthy colors dancing around as her fur rose and fell with each breath. I loved staring at her wold. She achieved the impossible, with the shades of red and brown starting at her head and yet by the time the fur reached her tail, it was a white blond.

"Sang," I called out softly.

Her ear twitched.

"Gabriel is worried about you. He's wearing down the rug downstairs."

Still no response.

"I'm worried too. We both know you can't stay this way for long. Not with the shape that you're in. You can hide all you want. You can pout. But at least do it in your human form. Let me see that gorgeous face of yours. It's better than the ugly mugs I have to put up with every day."

Her head lifted and she glared at me, her lip lifting into a snarl.

"Oh, really scary. The puppy has claws."

She got to her feet and stalked toward me. I wasn't intimidated. Owen was my best friend after all. Hell, even North could get scary. I ignored the pressure coming off of her to make me submit. It was a challenge, but one I was able to handle. Barely.

"You forget, I'm a pack doctor. I've dealt with scary, and you, Pookie, don't scare me."

She was only a couple feet away. This could go either way. She could lunge and try to tear my throat out, or back down. I focused on her muzzle, not challenging her but not backing down either.

She needed to understand that I was just as stubborn as the best of them.

"You remind me a bit of myself right now."

She tilted her head to the side, realizing I wasn't there to intimidate her. I didn't need to fight with my jaws and claws. I had practice talking teenage wolves out of the crazy. I'd do the same for her. No matter how many times she needed me to. She wasn't alone anymore. She'd realize that soon enough.

I crouched until I was her height and smiled. "I think we're destiny babies. I was abandoned too. When I was little. Before my current adoptive parents found me, I was taken in by a man. He wasn't the nicest. Have to say, those first few years of my life were hard. I was a pet, a show dog for him. He would make me prance around in front of others just so I could get a scrap of meat for dinner. I didn't get my revenge on him for a long time too. I became short-sighted and almost missed out on the best opportunity in the world."

I sighed and smiled, knowing she was listening to me carefully. Her jaded eye color never looking away. I didn't talk often about my earlier years. I liked to pretend it never happened, but sometimes, I was reminded of the horror show I had to live through until I was six.

"Owen found me," I said. "He was part of an attack on the man who took me. He found me in a cage and got me out of it. I stuck around him for a while, but I was angry. The man had gotten free. He slipped away in all the chaos and the trackers couldn't find him. Finally, I broke. I shifted and took off, tracking the bastard." A growl rose in my throat and Sang stilled. I forced myself to stop, breathing in and out to control my emotions. "I stayed wolf the whole time. I was half feral by the time Owen caught up to me. He beat my ass and made me shift back to human. Knocked reason right back into me. Then we found the bastard and tore him apart. I got my revenge."

I reached out to her and froze when she growled in warning, moving away from me. I sighed. Not yet.

"You didn't get that yet. The men who kept you and turned you into violent entertainment are still out there. The woman who sold you to them is still out there. Don't lose yourself now to your wolf. Hold onto your human side, because that's the side that's going to find them. Then, when you have them in your sight, release it all. Release your wolf and let her have them. The wolf doesn't understand the human world and how it works. She needs you to do that part for her. Please. Shift back."

Sang whined and then her body shimmered. Her skin boiled briefly and then she was back.

My Pookie.

That's my girl. Strong. She was so strong.

She's okay, I sent out to the pack.