The Broken Queen

Chapter 31; Bree!

Near Wolf Border;

Dani's POV:

I feel Hulu pushing on the link that was created after the power transfer. I immediately open it and straight away my head fills with his Panicked voice. 'Fionn is on his way back right now. I thought I would have enough time to meet you and talk first but I don't, so you need to make your way back to the group. I need you to make an excuse for my absence. Fionn will be back at the cave in six or seven minutes. He will wonder why I'm not there, so just tell him I went on a job for you or something. I'll explain everything when I get back, I'll be about ten minutes. Keep an eye on Fionn Dani but whatever you do, don't let on that you have even noticed his behaviour.' I agree and close the link before breaking into a sprint and running back to the cave. Goddess I know I have my suspicions of Fionn, but what on earth has Hulu found to make him sound so worried?!

He is usually pretty chill in moments of chaos. He has a steady head on his shoulders and is able to keep his cool in time of crisis, so whatever it is, has to be seriously bad to get him this worked up. It only takes me about ninety seconds to reach the cave again.

Once I reach it, I sit on a large boulder just outside the entrance overlooking the forest around us as I wait for Fionn and Hulu. My ears twitch in curiosity as I hear the guys all asking Sophia about her life growing up as a Beta's daughter.

The topic of their conversation reminds me to ask Sophia about the time of her father and brother's banishment from our old pack, as well as her mother's death. I hate that I wasn't able to be there for her through any of it, which I plan to correct as soon as possible. About 2km away from the cave, I spot a dark shadow moving through the trees, snapping me out of my train of thought. Kayla's hackles immediately raise in warning, but we force ourselves to relax when we recognise the wolf as he trots into my clearer line of sight. It's Fionn's blood-thirsty wolf Dev.

I fold my arms and wait, preparing to fake concern. This is going to take a shit ton of willpower now that I know he is up to something shady, but Kayla reminds me how badly it could go if we react without having all the facts.

Whatever he is doing, we will know soon and then we will make a plan on how to deal with it going forward. I just hope it wasn't any of the worst possibilities currently running through my head. As Fionn approaches me cautiously, he shifts back into his human form. "Where were you?" I ask quietly, forcing myself to frown slightly and soften my features to avoid him perceiving it as threatening. "I went for a run, Dev was getting angsty" he shrugs nonchalantly. I drop my arms, acting like I was totally oblivious.

"Is everything okay? Is something wrong Fionn?" I ask, with a faux concerned expression. He turns to look down at me, searching my eyes for something, I don't know what. Fionn nods before looking inside the cave, noticing Hulu's absence. "Where's Hulu?" he asks, sniffing the air around us. "I sent him out on a errand for me. He'll be back soon" I tell him with a small smile. He nods absently and walks inside the cave, brushing our brief exchange. FA few minutes later, Hulu appears in the distance. I watch as his wolf Steph trots up to me before licking my face, grinning a wolfy smirk. I pat Steph's head as he lies down beside me and rests his head on my lap. I lean back against the wall outside the cave.

After reassuring myself that Hulu is safe, I push on our link and he and Steph connect with me. Steph lifts his head to look at me when he feels Hulu open the link, his head angled to the right, curiosity swirling in his eyes. 'So, what happened? What's the big news, Lu?' I ask. Steph answers first. 'We followed Fionn to an abandoned building surrounded by magic it seemed.' I get agitated by his words. 'Magic? What the hell is he up to?" I growl. 'Fionn is the leader of this group of rogues Dani...' Hulu says slowly, gauging my reaction. I'm surprised, but I also feel a wave of dread wash over me in anticipation of what I'm about to be told next.

'Is there anything else?' I ask, already knowing the answer. 'Yes, we em...we found Bree Alpha.' I jump up with fresh, salty tears pouring down my cheeks, releasing a furious growl through the connection. Steph bows his head as my Alpha command flows through the link. 'You what? You better not be messing with me...' I say sternly, my eyes flashing as Kayla comes forward to support my rage. Hulu shifts back into his human form and watches me silently before replying. 'He is chained up in the basement and Fionn has had his men torturing him and has participated in it himself.' He grimaces.

'They force fed him after Fionn left Alpha, I heard it all, and saw most of it.' I feel pure fury build up inside me as I drop to my knees and Hulu catches me just before I hit the ground. I continue to sob silently in his arms, gripping onto him to stop my body from falling.

Hulu's POV:

'...I heard it all, and saw most of it' I say glumly, bile rising in my throat once more as the images flood my mind. Before I can say anything else, Dani's knees buckle, and she drops. I catch her before she hits the hard ground and hurts herself. She clings to me for support with her arms around my neck as she sobs quietly, crying angry tears. My heart instantly aches for her as her body trembles.

There is so much pain in her eyes, but I can physically feel her rage bubbling just beneath the surface. She's furious like Steph and I, but our ferocity can't possibly compare to her and Kayla's. Bree is their best friend, and they've known him and Sophia much longer than any of the rest of us. A part of me fears they will do something hasty and reckless, but I also know that Dani is incredibly intelligent and strategic, and Kayla is calculated, patient and pragmatic so that would be quite out of character for either of them.

Just look at how long they planned their successful escape from their old pack. I'll have to keep a close eye on them. After Dani's cries settle down to sniffles, she asks me to tell her where Bree is being kept so she can make a plan to rescue him. 'Dani, you can't go after him right now, we do not have the numbers yet. Bree even said it himself, we have to rescue him safely, without being reckless and losing others to save him. We need to wait for the right time. You had a plan to get bigger numbers, so we need to follow through with that plan first...' I explain. 'I know, you're right Lu, I just hate it, but neither me nor Kayla are willing to put anyone's lives in unnecessary danger by being emotionally rash about this' she sighs, wiping away her tears. 'We need to do this right' she grits her teeth and decides 8 am is late enough to start our busy day. It's time to get moving...