The Broken Queen

Chapter 42; Witness:

Sophia's POV:

I have never seen Dani like this before, and I have seen a lot in the last week since we fled our old pack. Dani has always been a gentle soul, but this is a side of her and her counterparts that is shocking to me. She is enraged, cold, bloodthirsty, and maybe even a little sadistic. I must admit it is scary to see, especially with her eyes. Goddess her eyes, they are mesmerizing but in a terrifying way, I definitely wouldn't want to trade places with Fionn right now. I haven't gotten a single good vibe from him since we met, and from how the others talk about him, he isn't exactly a good guy. He was Edgar's right hand and would never hesitate to engage in the most heinous acts. It is clear Dani made a mistake in taking him in with the rest of their group, but I can understand why she did. We needed the numbers, we still do, we were on the run, and she had yet to gain her vampire or dragon at that point. I know she gave him the benefit of the doubt because he surrendered when given the chance, but in whatever way, it seems to have been the wrong choice, because Dani would not act like this for no reason, that I know for sure.

The crazed look in her eyes when her dragon Reno takes control, and breathes scorching flames at Fionn's torso, making his skin blister and sizzle is truly chilling. He screams as Reno's dragon breath burns through layers of tissue before Dani takes back control. With a straight face, she asks him the first question since this horrid scene began. "Now that you have had a small taste of what me and my counterparts want to do to you, maybe you will choose a swift death to avoid dragging out the agony. So, I'm gonna give you a chance to end it before my vampire's venom reaches your bloodstream, at which point, there will be no breath in between the seizures and convulsions. You will cry and beg me for death." She smirks as Fionn's face falls slightly. Getting up in his angry face, she whispers, low and cold in tone. "Where, is, Bree?" Bree?! What does Bree have to do with any of this?! His breaths come out in pants as he snarkily responds to her. "I don't know...what you're..on about...Al-phaa". Growling, Dani sends a sharp punch right to the centre of his chest, winding him. Spitting and coughing up more blood, Fionn stays silent.

"Alpha Timmothy?" she calls over her shoulder with a smirk. "Yes, Alpha Brown?" He chuckles, looking happy to be of use to her in any way. "Do you have that dagger I asked you to grab before dinner?". Laughing, he reaches into his back jeans pocket and pulls out a razor-sharp dagger with a gold foil handle, slapping it handle first into her open palm. Turning back around, Dani addresses the guards for the first time. "Unbind his wrists and hold him still, put his right hand flat on this..." she drags over this wooden barrel in front of Fionn as she skillfully twirls the dagger in between her fingers and slaps the wood. I gulp nervously suspecting where this is going. After quite a struggle, the guards have Fionn secured and in a chokehold, on his knees, with one hand pinned down to the top of the barrel. As Fionn grunts in frustration and squirms in a weak attempt to get out of the bulky guards' grip, Dani harshly grabs his thumb, holding it in place, moments before slamming the dagger straight through it. "Where is Bree?" She demands, her voice void of anything but darkness. Hissing in pain, Fionn answers her in a mocking tone. "I don't know." Dani screams, infuriated by his answer. "YES, YOU DO YOU BACKSTABBING BASTARD." He knows where Bree is?! How could he? We have had no leads since he went missing...

A sadistic smile slowly spreads onto Dani's face as her and Kayla fully split control, their clawed fingers sprouting small patches of fur. Grabbing his thumb once again she slowly slices through the flesh and bone until it's completely severed, pumping blood all over the barrel. She throws it in the hay before spinning the dagger, pulling her arm up, and slamming it down in the centre of his hand, making his knees buckle as he screeches. Twisting the blade as she takes her time dislodging it, she then stabs and cuts off the other four fingers on that hand, taking it slower and slower with each one. Though when she gets to his smallest finger, once severed, she has the guards hold open his mouth as she forces it down his throat. Fionn gags as he spits it out, his body swaying. He is going into shock from the blood loss, trembling all over, but Dani just laughs. "I'll ask you one more time, where are you holding Bree?" Panting, Fionn grins at her as he responds. "Somewhere far from here, 'Alpha'". This earns him a vicious back hand across the face. "You betrayed me, your pack and your beta. I know more than you think, I am no idiot Fionn. That's why I had you followed, to make sure my suspicions had merit, and why I didn't do this until we were here, where I could get some assistance, in more ways than one. As of the moment you were taken by Timmothy's guards, you have been severed from this pack for harming your beta. And in case you think you can spin this like the snivelling rat you are, when I heard you leave the cave that night while everyone slept, I had Hulu follow you. He saw Bree first hand, chained up, dowsed with wolfsbane, gravely beaten and tortured. He saw you with the rogues and saw how they followed your orders. I will find him soon, don't you worry. I just need to know why. Why would you do this to me, to your pack, to Bree? You only have a little over eleven hours left to live now that my vampire venom is in your system. But trust me, I can make those eleven hours feel like an eternity if I don't like your answers."

I gasp and slap my hand over my mouth. WHAT? Fionn is working with a group of rogues? And he had Bree kidnapped?! Ethan, Quinn and I all look at each other in shock and rage. I nudge their minds, and they allow the three of us to make a link. 'What the fuck?!' I all but scream through our link, shaking with the anger. I feel a ripple make its way over my body as I begin to piece the situation together. Dani steps back all of a sudden as both her eyes glow bright red. Its terrifying. She takes a deep breath and bending forward, blows smoke towards an old torch on the cell wall to her right, in our direction. The smoke sparks and after a few moments, the torch sets aflame. Whoa..

"Gag him and give me his maimed hand" she orders. Between the three of them, the guards manage to contain Fionn as his eyes go wide and he pulls back as much as he can. Dani burns his injuries to stop the blood, making Fionn scream through his gag and his eyes water. "Alpha Timmothy, you're welcome to take a shot if you would like." Smirking he pushes himself off the cell doorframe and jumps at this presented opportunity. He immediately takes his stance and uppercuts so Fionn hard, his head snaps far back enough to send his entire body backward. Alpha Timmothy then steps back and grabs a bucket that was off to the side of them, chucking it directly at Fionn's face. He gasps and his eyes shoot open as the water shocks his system alert.