Caged

Chapter 27

I just did a reread for this. Wow, thank you for keeping up with this story! I noticed some contradictory information (yikes). Anyways, here's the next chapter!

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**| Sang's POV |**

I stared at Sean, my heart tearing into two. He was just like me, trapped, forced to do things we didn't want to do. He just stared back, not quite meeting my eyes but staying focused on my face. I licked my lips and he followed the motion. My insides warmed as he did that and confusion swept over me. I wasn't sure what I was feeling, I just knew it was there.

"I can still get my revenge?" I asked.

"Yes. And we'll help you."

"They say revenge doesn't achieve anything," I said, my voice soft. "That once you get it, you'll be left empty, with nothing. Was that true for you?"

His eyes darkened as his wolf came to the surface. My own responded and I held in a snarl. She was always so close, right at the surface, waiting for me to slip so she could take control. And she was so angry. At everything. At everyone. The slightest mistake on someone else's part and she was ready to tear their head off for it. I wasn't just battling all my memories and fears, I was battling her too. And I was so darn exhausted from it all.

"It helps. It's a step to knowing you're safe now. That the person can't hurt you ever again. It's the relief in knowing they aren't out there, putting you and your loved ones at risk, or others."

"So if I can find my stepmother and kill her, I'll feel better?" I asked.

His eyes finally met mine, but there was no challenge in them. Still my wolf bristled before I calmed her down. "Yes. She hurt you. She'll continue to hurt. We'll find her and we'll find the men who kept you, and we'll make sure they get what's coming. They won't be able to hurt anyone else ever again."

I nodded. I liked that. I liked that a lot. I thought about all the other wolves who were trapped like I was, forced to fight for survival. If I could, I wanted to help them. They deserved freedom too.

"Thank you," I said.

He nodded and stood up. "Will you come down and eat dinner with us?" he asked. "The Toma pack is still here."

I wanted to go back to my cabin and hide, but something told me that wasn't acceptable. I couldn't stay hidden for the rest of my life. I was free. I had options. I needed to use that. And one of my options was to make friends. Sean and this pack gave me that opportunity. And they'd been so nice to me. Besides, if they allowed the Toma pack on their property, then it went a long way in saying how well they trusted the other pack. I needed to expose myself to others outside of the Blackbourne pack.

"Okay." I nodded.

Sean grinned as he stood up and went over to a closet nearly hidden in the room. He pulled out some clothes and tossed them my way.

"Meet us down there when you're ready."

He slipped out of the room as I quickly dressed myself and then just stood there for a few minutes, trying to recollect myself. Once I had a tight control on my wolf, I headed downstairs, already picking up on the voices talking.

In the dining room, everyone was already sitting at the monstrous table weighed down with enough food to feed more than a hundred people, or a small group of shifters.

"Sang, glad you could join us," Victor said, smiling.

I smiled back briefly before glancing at the Toma team. Everyone was relaxed, no one felt threatened and it went a long way to making me feel safe. I walked over and sat in the empty chair between Silas and North. Once I was settled, people began passing around food and I took enough to fill my plate, but not overflowing like everyone else.