Page 18 of Petals and Strings (Broken Melodies #1)

Chapter Fifteen

Audrey

T heo and I were having a silent stare off. He hadn’t spoken a word since the door closed behind us.

There were no pretenses of kindness or compassion now. The mask had been ripped off and I was staring at the darker side of him, the one he hid from Director Cross and everyone else.

“You know,” he drawled, breaking the silence. “Making an enemy of me isn’t wise.”

“It’s strange that you think us refusing to be abused is ‘making an enemy’ of you,” I said casually.

“I was comforting a fellow patient that was in distress when not a single staff member tried. In fact, you tried to take him away from the person who calmed him down. That is more damaging than anything I could do.”

“And the alphas who seem to think they have a right to you?” he asked, just as calm.

He’d noticed their protective side. This was getting complicated.

“They’re keeping me safe. You tried to force me to let in the trauma then wanted to sedate me when I was trying to face it head-on. Last time I checked, your job is to guide us through those episodes, not take the easy way out.”

His nostrils flared, eyes flashing with fury as he glared at me. Otherwise, his posture stayed the same, unmoving and rigid.

“You know, if you cause trouble there are plenty of ways to make your life hell. That little omega you seem so fond of? I’m sure an all-alpha floor could be a good fit.

The beta who is lost half the time might need a little time in solitary to reflect?

Actually, come to think of it, solitary is a good fit for that feral alpha as well. ”

I didn’t let a single thing show on my face as he continued to list all the ways he could hurt us, one by one, then moving back to me.

“Maybe you’d like solitary yourself. Or perhaps long sessions with yours truly,” he mused.

Each word had my blood boiling and my nails digging into my skin until blood was beading up in the shallow crescent-shaped cuts. The sharp sting of pain grounded me and kept me from letting panic start.

“I think it might be time to go see the good doctor,” he finally said as he stood. “Up. I’m sure Dr. Malik wouldn’t mind a drop in on my recommendation.”

“Dr. Malik just changed my medication,” I said as I rose to my feet. It took everything in me to keep my stance neutral as I envisioned slamming his smug fucking face into the wall then letting the alphas have him.

As we walked out, Rydell was waiting. He stood, angry eyes on Theo who ignored him and clicked his fingers at me like I was a fucking dog.

“Let’s go.”

I turned to Rydell. “He’s forcing me to go see Dr. Malik because he thinks I’m working you guys up and defying him. If I walk out of there sick or sedated, go to Director Cross and let him know I was compliant and calm the entire time and absolutely against the sedation.”

My words were loud enough that people nearby heard us. Theo twisted around so fast he nearly toppled, a low snarl echoing out before he shifted forward, finger inches from my face.

He was so angry he didn’t care that Rydell was at my back, daring him to touch me. Damn, it was nice having a man as large as him as a bodyguard.

“If you think you get to control anything here, Audrey Walker, you’ve got another thing coming. I own you here. I call the shots. You step one inch out of line, are late a single fucking minute to therapy, and I will follow through on my threats. He won’t be here every single time to protect you.”

“One of us will,” Ledger said easily as he joined us, boxing Theo in. A few nurses hurried over but Theo had stormed off, spitting mad but defeated.

The moment he was out of sight, I nearly deflated.

“Come on, we’ve got you,” Ledger promised, the alphas moving to my sides as they practically carried me across the atrium to our wing. Ansel was still waiting and he stood quickly as he took us in.

Then he was in my arms, hands sliding around my waist as I curled in on him, letting him hold me up this time.

“My room?” He was offering me a chance to recover without having to be alone. I could decline, but I’d much rather curl in sheets that smelled like him while I faced the reality of the fresh hell I’d found myself in.

I wondered if the pack paying for me to be here knew what really went on within these walls.

The alphas let us have our moment, opening Ansel’s door long enough to let us slip inside before closing it behind us.

There was a screeching of armchairs moving ending with a thud as the alphas settled outside, giving us peace and protection.

“You alright?” Every time Ansel spoke I was almost startled by the deep husk to it. For such a small omega, his voice was rich and deep, a low rumbling you’d expect from someone far bigger than him.

“No,” I admitted. He nodded, eyes shining with understanding as he kicked off his shoes and laid down, lifting the covers for me to join him.

How did we get here? Days ago, we barely spoke, now we were here sharing a snuggle after an awful therapy session?

Yet, I couldn’t resist the pull as I breathed in his scent and kicked off my own shoes, diving into the soft escape he was offering.

We were quiet for a moment, bodies entangled and the only sound in the room our breathing that was starting to calm.

Our scents mingled together. The extra sweetness of his mixing with my floral and clean spice.

“Do you think we’ll ever get out of here?” I asked as I buried my face in his shirt.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “Before, I didn’t care.”

“And now?” I found myself asking, bracing for the impact of his response. He ran his fingers through my hair, tangling there as if tethering himself for the answer.

“All I want is to be somewhere far from here, blocking out the world with you. Why?”

“I think we’re scent matches. Does that scare you like it does me?”

“Yes,” he whispered into my hair, the warmth of his breath fanning over me. “And no. I tried to resist, to ignore it and deny it. Then… you…”

His breath turned shaky and pained.

“You saw me through that. Didn’t let anyone touch me. Protected me. No one has ever done that, Audrey. Ever. In your arms, letting you take charge, it just felt right.”

“It helped me, too,” I admitted. Here in his arms, in his dark room that smelled like him, I found myself admitting more than I ever had. “No one has ever touched me with kindness. I found myself wanting to start by giving you some of that care.”

“Same for me,” he admitted. “I was a bait omega, injected with heat-flaring drugs and used to rile up alphas as they raged within the cages, fighting until the death. Every day was brutal and when it was done I was thrown into a room. It had no windows, locked doors, just a bed and a bathroom. All the clothes I was allowed were shorts that were loose enough to accommodate my body in heat.”

My soul shattered for this beautiful omega who had endured far too much. The world was fucking cruel.

“I can still hear the screams, the growls… the awful smells. There was a thick cloud of pheromones in the air and copper from the blood. So much blood.”

I held him tighter, keeping him with me the best I could.

“When were you taken?”

“I was fifteen, an early bloomer to my designation. No one likely missed me. My scent is wrong. Too strong, too sweet. It caused issues no matter where I went. At school, I was sent to a room alone. My family couldn’t even be near me without gagging.”

What assholes. It seemed neither of us won in the family department. Did his even look for him?

“Their reaction to something you can’t control was never on your shoulders, Ansel,” I said. “It’s not too anything, it’s perfect. Sweet and gentle.” I nuzzled in closer, taking a deep breath.

He laughed then, a sound that seemed so jagged, yet unfiltered.

“No one has ever said it was gentle in my entire life.”

“They weren’t scent compatible,” I said, trying to downplay this crazy connection.

“Matches,” he corrected. “What’s the point in denying it?”

We were silent again, our hands tracing over each other, gentle touches grounding us in the moment.

“I was taken when I was seventeen,” I admitted. “Ten years in and a year out now.”

“You’re older than me,” he said, a small smile playing on his lips as I pulled away to look up at him instead of speaking into his shirt. “By four years.”

Something sparked between us as he looked down at me. My body reacted, as did our scents. We were so intertwined that I could feel his body wake up. His eyes widened and nostrils flared, our scents swelling in the air. Our breathing went from even to ragged, though not from fear.

“That hasn’t happened on its own since I came into my scent,” he admitted, almost terrified as it swelled around us.

“I get it,” I told him as I felt heat burning between my thighs, begging for a touch I wasn’t sure I would get. I’d never push it, but I was dying for someone to give me back that control. To have a moment that I chose.

“What if I’m bad at this? What if I can’t give you what you need?” he croaked out, worry lining his features.

“I could ask those same things. I’d never want to contribute to your torment,” I whispered. The thought had my stomach churning with nerves. “But you would be my real first time. One I choose. I would be just as satisfied having you without this aspect, Ansel.”

“I want it, Audrey. I want you.”

His hips canted forward and we both groaned, a soft, low whisper of the longing we both had.

“I want you, too, Ansel,” I said as I met his blue-green eyes. They were shining with heat, echoing the depths of need and desperation I felt burning in my own body. I wanted to trust, to try, but I was terrified.

“Can I touch you?” he asked. The hand resting on my hip clenching just enough to ground me.

I nodded slowly.

“Guide me?”

I had touched myself before, though never back then, but I wasn’t sure I’d guide him well. However, didn’t that give me the control I craved? And him the submission?