The Howling Heart's Forgiveness

Chapter 115

Sitting in the Dining Hall, a mug of hot chocolate in my hand, I watch as Devlyn refills the buffet table. He has grown thinner since last week when me, Ashton, and Rune went to visit him the day after finding out he and Ashton are Mates. He sang like a canary that day, explaining all of Valor’s plans in detail to us, including how he wanted Rune and me dead so that the pup Tanya carries will not have to worry about Rune staking a claim to Pine Moon. Ashton was silent the whole time, watching Devlyn for any hint of a lie. Thankfully for him, Devlyn was truthful and even gave us some suggestions on how to hack into Pine Moon’s cellphone network in order to help us spy on Valor and Tanya.

Rune was able to relay this to Gale, who quickly put these suggestions into action while Ashton and Devlyn took some time to talk. When Gale confirmed an hour later that our tech team was able to get into Pine Moon’s network, we decided to call it a day before leaving the dungeons. Ashton seemed happier, and more hopeful than the night before. I even felt like Devlyn really had no choice but to spy on us and so with a promise to talk to Asteria for him, Ashton went off to form a hunting party and promised to be back tomorrow night with new prey to fill our freezers.

The talk with Asteria ended favorably for these two Mates with Asteria agreeing to a probationary service. Devlyn was given a room in the Pack House that was guarded day and night by our own spies. From there, Quincy with Jett and two other Warriors transported Devlyn from the dungeons to his room where he was told of his second chance. For the next year, he will be stuck as an Omega who works in the Pack House. A tracker will be put on his ankle that would shock him if he went ten meters from the Pack House's outer walls and a silver collar will be placed around his neck to keep him from shifting.

The silver will not kill or burn him as the collar is inside a leather band. But he will be unable to shift until it is removed. The only way that would happen is either the year has passed or he earned our trust and his freedom back. So far, Devlyn has been compliant with this deal. I have been told by our Spies assigned to watch him that he takes each task seriously no matter how menial or degrading they may be. All for the sake of proving to Ashton that he is serious about being in his life.

“How is he doing?” Jumping at the question, I turn to find Rune smiling at me. Gale had taken him from our cottage early this morning for impromptu Beta training and the toll of it can be seen by the dark circles under Rune’s eyes.

“Good. He has kept up with the demand for food well and seems that no one is giving him a hard time.” I answer, smiling when Rune bends down and places a soft kiss on top of my head. Ever since he moved into the cottage, our relationship has taken a turn for the better. We spent the last week with me teaching Rune how to clean and cook. It’s helped us bond and become closer than we’ve ever been.

“He looks like a weight has lifted off his shoulder.” Rune muses with a chuckle and I can’t help but agree. After stating he plans to grab food and asking what I want, I watch Rune make his way to the buffet table, stopping to talk with Devlyn for a moment before returning with two plates filled with food and a bottle of apple juice tucked under his chin.

“Devlyn asked if he could have the tracker taken off for tonight for a date with Ashton.” He mutters as soon as the food has been put onto the table and the bottle is no longer under his chin. Reaching for a sausage, I think over this request. It’s been a week since the tracker was placed on Devlyn’s ankle. In that week he has been compliant and well behaved.

“Link Asteria and see what she says. If she says yes, you can get Ashton to take it off of him. I am sure those two would appreciate this gesture.” I finally answer, taking a bite of the breakfast sausage and scrunching up my face. The honey garlic flavor is disgusting. Rune chuckles as I push the sausages onto his plate, taking his hashbrowns instead and happily munching on those.

His eyes glaze over before his lips turn into a wide grin.

“Asteria said yes to this request.” He says with a wink, making me smile. We manage to eat half our food when a frazzled-looking Quincy comes rushing into the Dining Hall, making a beeline to our table.

“Asteria’s office. Now.” He spits out, grabbing Rune’s wrist and dragging him away. Confused, I stand from the table, abandoning my meal. The urgency in Quincy’s voice is something I haven’t heard in a long time. It sends shivers down my spine as I follow the two males up the stairs.

“Brynlee, you could have stayed and finished breakfast.” Quincy calls over his shoulder as we reach the second-floor landing, making me roll my eyes.

“You took my mate without any explanation. There is no way in hell I am staying back left to worry about what’s going on.” I retort back. By now, Rune has managed to free himself from Quincy’s grasp to grab my hand and bring me closer to him. Quincy sighs reluctantly before leading the way to Asteria’s office where the sounds of hushed angry whispers reach my ears. Quincy reaches the doors first, knocking on the wooden slab.

The whispers end before a quick “enter” is called from the other side. Quincy is the first to push the door open, stepping aside for Rune and me to enter first. Inside a flustered Asteria sits at her desk while an angry Jett paces the length of the room.

“Oh good, you brought Brynlee too.” Asteria sighs with relief, her tired eyes taking me in. Jett stops pacing, his body turning to face us as anger stews around him.

“What happened this time?” I ask, unease settling inside me.

“Gale is on his way to explain, but long story short, our tech team managed to hack into Pine Moon’s internet service and he found something disturbing.” Asteria answers, motioning for the three of us to join her at her desk. It isn’t long until Gale comes bursting through the door, a laptop tucked under his arm and a scowl on his face. He marches to Asteria’s desk, places his laptop on the surface, and fiddles with it for a moment before turning on the large television. On it is Gale’s laptop screen and what I see pisses me off.

“Valor Mated Tanya?” I say through clenched teeth.

“Yep. Last week he initiated her into the Pack and marked her as his.” Gale answers equally as pissed off.

“But that’s not the worst part.” He adds. His fingers move along the keyboard, bringing up what looks to be an active chat exchange.

“Valor has been messaging Jonnah Cross and two other Alphas they are allied with.” Gale continues, a growl following his words. Watching message after message pop up on the screen, my eyes widen in horror as I read what is being discussed before us.

“What are they talking about.” Quincy asks, seeming confused by the codded messages.

“War.” Rune answers, his body shaking as he pulls me tighter to his side.

“They are planning a war as we speak. Their target is us.