The Broken Queen

Chapter 27; Searching:

Outside the Cabin

(Night-time)

Quinn's POV:

Once Dominiqué is injected, the rest of us follow suit and roll up our sleeves. Though out of the corner of my eye, I notice the hesitation on Fionn's face, and I wonder what is going through his head but brush it off as it's my turn to be jabbed. Once we are outside the cabin, the pack and I huddle up to chat, while the Alpha and Erin are having a private conversation through their mind link just a few feet away from us at the side of the building. We all go silent when the Alpha clears her throat from behind us. I turn around to face her.

"Right, Erin owns a secret armory and has granted us permission to borrow a few bits, but you have to earn them, so each one of you is going to do two-hundred push-ups and three-hundred sit-ups" she voices. So, groaning with dread, we all get down on the ground and start with our push-ups and sit-ups while the witch takes Alpha Brown inside the cabin, leaving us outside.

A few minutes later they both shuffle out the door carrying a large metal chest between them. They gently plonk it onto the ground and the witch takes out a huge ring of keys, opening it. Inside there is a vast range of weapons.

The Alpha removes them one at a time, inspecting them as I look back down and continue my push-ups. "One hundred and ninety-eight, one hundred and ninety-nine, two hundred" I huff, gasping for air. Then I get in the position to do my sit-ups when Alpha Brown calls my name and gestures to me to come forward. I jump up, wiping my hands on my pants, and walking up to her at the other side of the cabin door where she stands with her back turned to the others. I feel a link being made with her, so I open my mind to it, curious.

'Quinn, I need you to take this and protect it, there's no need to give our enemies the advantage of a weapon if you fail to do so and it ends up in the wrong hands' she says pointedly. 'None of you are allowed to talk to anyone but me about what weapon you have or what it can do okay, even each other. If you do, you will be stripped of your weapon and will sit out of pack meals for however long I deem fit, do you understand?' she asks. It comes across a bit stern but I can understand her reasoning and feel it would be a fair punishment for not respecting this new boundary. She holds out a thin pen-like blade the length of my hand and gives it to me. 'I will Alpha, thank you...and okay, I understand' I reply with a smile.

Hulu's POV:

Quinn is called forward by the Alpha and I look to the side as she jumps up, walking over to her. They seem to be in a conversation, but they're silent, so they are obviously mind linking. I decide to respect their privacy, and focus back on the exercise. One after the other, each pack member is called up to Alpha Brown and Erin at the trunk of weapons facing away from the group at the side of the cabin. After a while, I wonder if she is going to call on me at all or if our alpha feels I'm not worthy of a weapon for some reason. I finished my sit-ups quite a while ago at this point and am just sitting on the ground with my knees bent towards my chest, chatting to the others.

Though the thought of our Alpha not deeming me as worthy as everyone else is making my stomach turn with anxiety. As I sit on the hard ground I fold my arms on my bent knees. At the sound of my name I look up, my anxiety immediately subsiding. I jump up and I instinctively open my mind, letting her link with me easily. Once our backs are turned to the pack, she begins to talk to me through the link. 'Hey Hulu, I am after giving everyone a personal weapon to carry on them at all times. None of you are allowed to discuss your weapons with anyone except me, including each other' I nod for her to continue.

'You are the only one I am telling but all of them have been given an advanced dagger or blade, although I did give Fionn a blunt smaller blade as he has been acting weirdly and has yet to gain my full trust, unlike you Hulu' she says, her smile reaching her eyes. 'You have earned 100% of my trust. That's why I am giving you two weapons and will give you access to my weapons in the near future once we have a packhouse. Your first weapon is this poison' she adds as she holds a small vile in her palm. It had a red-ish orange liquid in it and had a dropper cap.

'It is very effective. You only need three to five drops for each use, using the dropper. You can add this to food, drink, weapons themselves, or even use it directly on the skin to poison our enemies. This is fast working and will only take three whole minutes to take full effect, meaning it will debilitate them' she explains. I nod, intrigued. 'Although I'm warning you Hulu, this poison is only for extreme circumstances and will be one of your last resorts okay?' she clarifies. 'Of course, Alpha. I can understand why you don't want us talking about our weapons. It's to protect us and to avoid betrayal with them within the pack, right?' I question, to which she nods, urging me to continue.

'I have also noticed Fionn's suspicious behaviour recently, I honestly think one or two of the others have as well. He was always quiet and had his own agenda when we were in Edgar's pack, but he has been more...weird to put it plainly, ever since you killed Edgar and took us in. In fact, he actually smiled when you killed Edgar and I didn't think anything of it at the time but also out of all of us he was by far the most hesitant to take Erin's serum. He looked like a panicked cornered animal. If you want me to, I can keep an eye on him and report whatever I find back to you...' I offer.

'Thank you Hulu, I'd really appreciate it. I, unfortunately, don't have the time or energy to watch him that closely myself with everything going on with...Bree' her eyes sadden as she says his name. I know she blames herself for his capture and likely confinement. 'Anyways, here you go' she hands me the vial of poison and I carefully wrap it in a cloth Erin gives me and tuck it into my small side pouch.

'Now, your second weapon is this. A hand-crafted bow and arrow that Erin is amazingly willing to give us. This bow and it's arrows are magic, as they are carved from this rare species of oak and are enchanted to always find your target so will never miss. You just have to picture your target and release. I know you were an archer in your old pack, so you can put those skills to use yeah' her eyes gleam with pride as she gives me the bow and quiver of arrows. I grin with joy and genuine gratitude to both of them.

"Thank you Erin, I will treasure it' I turn to her, smiling, which she happily returns. "No problem at all darlin" she replies. I glance over my shoulder. The group is huddled in a circle on the ground with their arms on their knees like how I had been sitting. They're quite loud and engrossed in their conversations, so I know they didn't hear me thank Erin. I'm about to turn and leave but Erin puts her hand on my arm, grabbing my attention. I glance back at her, and she says "Here, I forgot about this" handing me an oddly shaped duffle-type bag for the bow and arrows. 'Ohhh, to hide them from the others, I almost forgot' I realize after a moment of confusion.

I quickly pack them in the bag before turning around and walking back to the group, unable to prevent that grin that forms on my face. The bow and arrows are beautifully crafted and I feel some strange emotional connection to them. I must ask Dani about that when I get a chance, I wonder what it is I'm feeling...