Caged

Chapter 29

I'm going to try to speed up the posts for this story. I really am going to try. I've just been so fricken busy. So thank you for your patience. I hope you enjoy.

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**| Sang's POV |**

I found her at a stream, lapping at the water, her fur glowing in the darkness. Her ears twitched when I approached, but I was her and she was me, so she continued to just take a drink.

My breaths were slowing down as my body calm from the sprint I had just taken through the pitch darkness. My skin felt like it wanted to sting from the slap of branches, but this realm wouldn't allow it. I couldn't feel pain here since it wasn't physical. Everything was my inner self, my prickly, angry self. Even the wolf before me was me. Our years had separated us a bit, but I knew the truth. She was only me, a part of me. I had pushed her away, separated us more and more to help ease the pain of what we had to do.

That was my mistake.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

Her ears twitched as she turned her head, meeting my eyes, a warning growl escaping her curled lips.

I ignored it, saying what I should have said a while ago. "We went so long being told we were beasts, nothing better than an animal, and I pushed you away." My hand went to my chest, wanting to grip the ache inside of me and tear it away. "You're always there, always protecting me, always at my side, and I still pushed you away. I was so angry at everything, and so desperate. But we aren't normal."

She turned now and took a step closer to me, eyes watching, waiting. Her anger pushed against me, but she didn't react. I allowed my pain and confusion to rise, allowed her to feel the emotions I fought against so long. The need to belong, to trust again, and the fear. All my fears, right there for her to see. She paused, and I could feel her consideration.

"You kept me alive, kept me sane, and what have I done for you? Nothing," I whispered. "I keep punishing you, hating you, because you're me and we're both stuck in this horrible life. It was easy to blame you. If I didn't have you, I wouldn't have shifted." My voice cracked and her eyes narrowed on me, her chest rumbling in a growl. I shook my head and held out my hand, motioning for her to listen. "I wouldn't have been locked in the caged, starved, whipped, treated like an animal. I wouldn't have had to tear out throats and taste blood. I took it out on you."

I glanced around, at the blanket of darkness pressing in on us. I wasn't even sure how I could see her so clearly. The moonlight didn't reach us here, and yet here we stood, in a little bubble, just her and me. Us.

"You're good," I said. "I'm not."

She stepped closer, her head butting my hand, as if to say that wasn't true. Confusion rolled through both of us, neither of us fulling understanding what was going on or why. I just knew it needed to be said and she needed to listen.

A bite of bitterness tickled inside of me. She was still so wary, but her instincts told her to comfort me because that's what she'd always done, no matter what, no matter what I put her through. She always delivered. I never did.

"It is," I said, swallowing the sob that wanted to free itself. Tears cooled my skin as they made their way down my cheeks "I broke us. You don't care about people, what they think. You don't care about my family or that you're a wolf. You're better than that. You follow your instincts." I motioned toward the water. "I stunted us. You should be able to connect with other wolves, but because of me, because of how I hurt us, you push them away. I push them away. And now here we are, with a good group of wolves. An entire pack, ready to help us heal, and we can't even connect with them."