Page 15 of Petals and Strings (Broken Melodies #1)

Chapter Thirteen

Audrey

E very step I took was torture. A week on the new medication routine and I was barely functioning. Nancy practically hoisted me out of bed and helped me walk to get ready.

She promised it was temporary.

I wasn’t sure I believed her.

At this point I felt like Malik saw us thriving and cut us back down. And I had only been here a few weeks, I couldn’t imagine what everyone else was feeling.

By the time she dropped me at the breakfast table and walked away, I was forcing myself to breathe through my mouth so I didn’t throw up and ruin everyone’s breakfast.

“Ah, Dr. Malik asked me to come check on you,” a voice I didn’t recognize said. It was a hollow tone, devoid of any sort of concern.

“Nausea. Headache. Dizzy,” I managed to croak out. He could take one look at me and see I looked like hell, but from his shrug he wasn’t concerned.

“Noted.”

That was all I got before he went off to another patient. Glancing around the room I realized the cafeteria itself had a somber mood. There was a sea of vacant stares and dazed movements.

We were a herd of zombies, barely coherent and completely submissive. He’d started slow, but worked on us all week to turn the entire facility into… this.

Kane walked in next, no smile in sight. Instead his lips were in a thin line and he looked borderline aggressive. His gait was stumbling as he walked toward the line.

When he made it back to the table, his face was a storm of fury and resentment. He didn’t give anyone a second look, his full focus was on his plate.

The longer I sat, the more worried I grew. A jittery feeling was taking over. My limbs felt restless as my mind raced with all the implications. My legs bounced, fingers fidgeting together frantically.

My blood felt like it was rushing through me at a strange pace, hyping me up with every pump of my frantic heart.

Every cell in my body felt like it was shifting, my insides vibrating at a frequency that made no fucking sense.

The need to move had me launching out of my seat and rushing to the line. Apparently, this new sensation was keeping the dizziness at bay long enough to spoon random portions of food on my tray.

When I turn away, I nearly run into Ansel. His face was gaunt, skin pale and drawn. Even his hair was limp instead of soft like usual.

“You, too?” I whispered. Okay, it was more like a hiss. He winced, but nodded, not needing to explain anything.

Not that he would. Ansel never spoke.

This was insane. They couldn’t keep getting away with this.

Was it a ploy to keep us docile, a way to keep bodies in the slots that were filled, not wanting to lose out on a payday… or something even more sinister?

A shrill, piercing sound had Ansel dropping his tray. The plates clattered to the ground as he folded in on himself, crouching down and putting his hands over his ears. I sat my tray down on a nearby table before crouching with him.

“Hey, it’s okay, let’s get out of here.” He didn’t protest as I helped him to his feet and toward the door.

There was a crowd forming in front of the door before we could reach it. Nurses barked out orders, refusing to let us pass.

“Everyone get to a seat. Lockdown. No one leaves.”

“What the hell?” I muttered as I led him back to our table. I walked away long enough to snatch my tray before making his. The alarm was still shrieking in the room but I figured if he was going to crash out, food could only help.

Neither one of us touched a single bite as the omega rocked, a low whine escaping his mouth. Alphas nearby reacted, inching forward to stop the distressed sound. I knew damn well he wouldn’t like that.

I’d seen the way he worked to avoid them, always keeping his distance. Scooting back in my chair, I made room before pulling him my way.

Ansel was limp, too compliant, as I pulled him into my lap. He didn’t protest or fight it, he straddled my legs and buried his face in my neck. My hands went to his ears, creating what barrier I could as the alarms screeched around us.

Ledger, Rydell, and Caspian were led in. Gone was the Caspian that was aware and happy. All three looked just as haunted as the rest of us as they dropped into their chairs.

Ledger looked up at me holding Ansel. He nodded once, but said nothing else as the noises in the cafeteria increased. I tucked my chin over Ansel’s soft hair, holding him tight and breathing in the soft scent of blood orange, jasmine, and wood that was so burnt it was almost acrid.

My protective instincts were going insane. He always looked so soft and fragile and right now I was ready to tear this place apart to protect him in any small way I could. Even though I fought the truth, I knew he was my scent match.

Even if he never wanted anything more than this, I couldn’t ignore the draw to be near him. The burning need to keep him safe.

More guards poured in, bodies and expressions tense with worry.

First med changes, now some sort of lockdown? Something was wrong with this place, and I was going to find out what.

Starting with not taking my meds.

What if the delusions come back?

The unhelpful, nagging thought had me groaning. Maybe with the demons I’d already faced I’d be able to cling to reality this time.

Minutes passed as the staff shuffled in and out, hissing out orders and barking us into staying at our tables.

Ansel’s whine slowly faded to soft whimpers. Each one broke my heart and hardened my resolve.

Director Cross finally walked in an hour later, the alarm cutting off as he moved to the middle of the room. The cafeteria fell into a strange quiet. The only thing left behind were the noises of distress from not just the omega in my arms, but several other patients as well.

I moved my hands from Ansel’s ears so he could hear whatever Cross had to say, but the omega shoved them right back, so I left them where they were this time, my fingers toying with the soft hair that fell over them. The hold wasn’t as harsh now that I didn’t have to block out the world.

“I need everyone’s attention!” Director Cross yelled out as he stood on a chair to see over the crowd.

Every single patient seemed to be here today, the dining hall packed to the brim in bodies. They’d collected the entire facility.

“Jade Valencia from the North East Ward is missing. She has long, dark hair, blue eyes, and is about five foot six. Does anyone know anything? We want you to raise your hand if you do and me or one of my colleagues will come to you.”

A few hands shot up and I watched Cross deflate a bit as he gestured to a few of the therapy staff to go around.

My eyes tracked Theo as he walked, looking the picture of calm.

Shouldn’t there be more urgency and concern in the air? A patient was missing from a facility that was deemed impossible to escape.

“Why are they so calm?” I asked, glancing over at the alphas and beta at my table. Caspian was gone, his expression miles away and face the picture of raw, unfiltered pain. I wanted to reach for him but my hands were full.

Rydell was glaring at the room, not listening to our conversation.

Ledger gave a shrug. “Not the first time someone went missing. Every so often, someone goes missing and we get locked in for a few hours.”

“Are you kidding me?” I hissed, horrified. Ansel flinched at my tone and I squeezed him tighter.

“No,” he said. “They never come back, either. They’re marked as escapees or runaways.”

This felt far too familiar. Missing without a trace and no one truly looking for them. If she was outside of these walls, looking through every room and shadow wasn’t going to make her show up.

I had a feeling the guards outside were walking perimeters and ‘tightening’ security.

This had to be from someone who knew their routines, the weak points.

Fear hit me and I buried my nose in Ansel’s hair to avoid it. Even the char to his scent was a welcome distraction.

We sat like that for hours. Eventually my arms grew tired and his whines ebbed away, so I rested my arms around his back, holding him to me instead of squeezing. He was shorter than I was and thin, so he fit perfectly in my arms.

I hated to think of the trauma that had haunted my poor omega before he ended up here. Alphas could easily overpower him.

The harsh reality of being an omega in this world.

“I’ve got you,” I promised him. “You’re safe. Wherever your head is at, it’s wrong. You’re at ARC with me right now.”

“Say it again,” he whispered. His voice was so rough it sent a shudder through me. My eyes flickered to Ledger who looked ready to fall out of his chair in shock.

But I didn’t hesitate to give him what he needed.

“You are safe. I’m with you, Ansel. No one is going to touch you.”

Safe, a feeling that most people take for granted.

Not us. It was a fleeting feeling, one you grasp to with all your might but you knew deep down it could be yanked away from you without warning.

When Theo finally made it to our table his eyes immediately found Ansel and I clinging together. His lips curled up and I saw it then. The cold darkness under the surface of his hazel eyes. A barely contained sneer twisting his lips.

He hated us.

But why?

Did he hate all omegas? Or just the broken ones? Anyone ‘weaker’ than he was?

“What is this? No touching like this. Put him down,” he bit out, the harsh tone making Ansel whimper again. He frantically reached for my hands and put them back over his ears to block out Theo’s harsh tone.

“No,” I said. It wasn’t defiant, but it was stern. “We aren’t hurting anyone.”

My gaze, however, held every bit of judgment and determination that I felt coursing through me. Not just for him, but this entire fucking place.

Theo gaped at me before his lip curled. He moved forward like he was going to grab us, to yank Ansel from me.

Bracing myself for impact, I tightened my hold. I didn’t need to. One growl from Rydell when he got too close to us, had Theo’s hand falling away and his skin turning a bit green. He was scared of the alpha. A coward at heart.