Caged

Chapter 12

"My name is Gabriel Coleman. I'm the asshole who makes everyone look nice." Victor's voice was deep but Gabriel's was even deeper, not matching his appearance at all. I would expect a voice like that to come out of someone like Silas or North, not someone as lean as Gabriel. He was probably the only one closest to my height by half a head.

I took stock of his crystal blue eyes, the way two blond locks framed his face but the rest of his hair a rich brown, falling down to his chin. The living room light caught the earrings in his ears and I noted the two studs, one in each ear and the three black rings in his right ear. I was curious to how the earrings stayed when he shifted but I didn't think that was something I could ask right now. Something told me those earrings meant something to him and that wasn't a story I was ready to poke at.

"Here," Luke said, breaking my concentration as he placed more food in front of me.

"You know, I can't eat all this," I said, staring down at the club sandwich.

"Eat what you can," Sean said.

I nodded and grabbed a fry to nibble on. I still wasn't used to eating so much variation of food. At The Gallows, if they ever decided to feed me, it amounted to overcooked oatmeal, but I was pretty sure it wasn't oatmeal.

So, I wasn't used to being given meat, or soup, or sandwiches, or pizza, or everything else. I'd gone so long without all these foods that the first time Silas came back to the cabin with a pizza, I stared at for five minutes.

Before devouring it.

And then throwing up for eating too fast.

"Sang," Sean said. "You need to eat more than just fries."

I eyed my plate. There was half a sandwich, a burger, more fries, a slice of pizza, a bowl of salad, another bowl of soup. I didn't know what to eat or where to start. I was actually overwhelmed with all the options before me.

"Sang, here," Silas said and passed me the bowl of a soup. "It has a little bit of everything in it for nutrients and won't be heavy on your stomach."

I flashed him a thankful smile and shifted the plates a little so I had room in front of me to eat. I ate slowly and while everyone else finished in a matter of minutes they didn't seem to mind that I still ate.

I only made it halfway through my bowl before I became full. Sean looked into the bowl and nodded. "Don't worry, you'll be eating like a wolf in no time," he grinned at me.

"You really should eat more than that," Kota said with a frown.

"She can't," Silas said, narrowing his eyes as he glared at Kota. "They fed us just enough to be useful. I only ate like that for a few months but Sang has been barely fed for the last two years. She needs a little bit more time to adjust to having a full stomach."

I reached out and touched his arm, noting the stiffness in his body. He was being overprotective again.

"Silas," I whispered. "Relax. He was just expressing his concern for my well being."

I must have said something right because he relaxed, his shoulders loosening.

"Sorry," he said and looked down at his empty plate. Most of the food on the table had been devoured by the six wolves before me.

"We'll get her back in top shape in no time," Sean said with a smile and climbed to his feet, grabbing a couple of plates. Victor and Luke helped, stacking the plates on top of each other before taking their loads into the kitchen. I stared after them for a moment before Kota grabbed my attention.

"So, Sang," he said, pushing up his glasses. "How are you doing?"

"Do you want the typical 'I'm fine' response or the truth?" I asked and flinched at the hardness in my voice. I didn't mean to sound so unforgiving. In my opinion, no one ever asked how you were doing and wanted the real answer. They just wanted the typical 'I'm fine' response.