Page 30 of Petals and Strings (Broken Melodies #1)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Audrey

“ E veryone file in,” the guards barked out as they ushered us into the dining hall. I stumbled as someone pushed into me, nearly sending me sprawling. Ledger growled and helped me stay upright, while I grabbed onto Ansel before he could face the same fate.

“Dicks,” I muttered as I held Ansel’s hand in mine. I could feel his tension already and squeezed his hand in support as we took our usual table.

We were on day eight now of Rydell missing.

Now the guards were pulling us out of morning gardening to drag us in here. I knew what it meant and my stomach sank.

Please, don’t let it be Rydell. My omega whimpered in response, just as terrified as I was.

When everyone was settled, I realized it wasn’t everyone here, just half the patients here. We all sat in our little clustered groups and waited.

Director Cross walked in when we were all seated. His face was hard and unreadable and I felt my breath catch.

Caspian scooted closer, his shoulder pressing into mine. He’d never offered or asked for contact and it caught me by surprise. I looked up and we shared a worried glance. I wasn’t the only one thinking this was bad.

“Thank you for coming in and cooperating. This shift shouldn’t take long,” Director Cross promised, still grim. He wouldn’t look at my group, but his gaze bounced around the room. “We’re having to do some room juggling with room assignments. You’ll get your new room numbers when you leave.”

Protests rang out from not just us, but everyone else in the room. Ansel was visibly shaking next to me and Caspian looked damn near catatonic.

“This is my fault,” Ledger said. He sounded so broken that I turned his way. His eyes pleaded with me to understand.

“What, of course it’s not,” I argued but he shook his head, blue eyes pleading. The guilt there was making me nervous.

“I told him we were scent matches in an attempt to get Ry out. He used it against us,” he whispered, closing his eyes in defeat.

“We’ll fix it,” I said, even as my own panic was rising. I tried to stay strong for the others but I knew the outcome of this.

They were going to make sure we couldn't become a bonded pack. Stepping in where they had no right to.

My men would suffer the consequences.

Caspian would retreat.

Ansel would shut down.

Kane would have no one to keep his journal.

Ledger would drown in guilt.

Rydell would go into a rage.

I’d be lost without the others. Having them close, helping them find themselves, had kept me sane this long. They helped me in the same ways. I felt stronger now, more sure of who I was becoming.

My stomach churned as nurses stood, calling out their groups. Ledger was the first to go. Then Kane and Caspian.

Everyone trudged off in a funeral march, somber faces and slow steps. It wasn’t just our group that was freaking out and shutting down. This could be catastrophic.

We were powerless and this was just another way to prove as much.

Tears streamed down my face as Ansel’s name was called with a new group. He turned to me, refusing to move as he silently pleaded for something to change.

“Stop, this isn’t okay. He needs me!” I yelled out at Cross.

The man I thought I knew just shook his head no and gestured for the guards. The two alphas put their hands on Ansel and I watched the life drain right out of his eyes until there was only dullness left.

He didn’t fight anymore, just retreated as my soul shattered all over again.

My chest was aching fiercely, pain lancing through me as our group was torn apart without a single ounce of empathy.

When it was finally my turn, I refused to look at the director. He tried to say reassurances as I passed but I didn’t give him the time of day.

“It’s for your own good,” he finally tacked on in defeat. That had my blood running cold as I turned back.

“I hope you can’t sleep at night when you see the impact this has,” I said evenly before turning away and refusing to look back for his reaction.

This plan would backfire. Surely, they would all see it happen.

I just had to last until then.

My new room was the farthest wing from the original one. It felt so fucking pointed. Like they knew this would hurt us more.

I pushed open the door and there it was. The same setup, same plain clothes hanging in the wardrobe.

The artwork was different. This room held more reds than greens.

My violin sat on my desk, along with the journal I’d been updating for Kane. Apparently, they didn’t even let him keep that.

Assholes.

This wasn’t home. They were nowhere near me.

I felt vulnerable, like someone was watching me. Running hands over my arms where goosebumps were erupting, I glanced around.

A guard stood outside my door, watching me closely.

“You’re ordered to stay inside tonight,” he intoned as I caught his stare.

“Why.”

“Orders,” he said with a shrug, turning his back on me but standing right there. So close I could scent his alpha musk and bitter scent.

Were there guards outside of all of our rooms? God, Ansel had to be freaking out and feeling so unsafe.

Rage burned within me but I was powerless here.

Instead, I closed the door so I was truly alone and sat on my bed. I pulled open my violin and started a song, hoping to drive them all crazy.

The sad, melancholy melody was loud in this hollow room and I hoped that everyone else could hear it.

That way they knew they weren’t alone.

I was still here.

There was a loud bang on my door that I ignored, continuing to play until my fingers ached as sharply as my heart.

When I couldn’t keep it up I finally tucked the violin away and passed out in my bed, awful dreams carrying me through the night.

A sharp knock on my door startled me awake. I blinked a few times in the early morning light, frowning as a nurse burst in.

“Meds. Take them and don’t fuss,” she bit out, shoving the cups in my hand. I eyed the pills, counting one, two, three, all the same size as before. “Take them.”

I tossed the cup back with a glare, drinking the water and handing them back.

“Open.”

I did as she asked, her rough fingers clutching my chin and tilting my head around to inspect every inch of my mouth for deceit.

Bitch.

She shoved my face away when she was satisfied and a sick part of me wanted it to bruise. So I could punish her for being so harsh while we were falling apart.

It seemed I always attracted the bad seeds.

“Get dressed. Breakfast in fifteen minutes. Group therapy after.”

She stormed out, likely to spread her sunshine to others. I took my time getting dressed. I was over letting this fucking place play around with us and our fragile minds.

Let them punish me. It couldn’t be worse than this.

When I stepped out of my room, Director Cross was waiting. He looked rough, dark circles under his gray eyes and he looked disheveled.

“What do you want?” my voice was laced in venom that had him recoiling.

“Don’t talk to the Director like that,” the nurse bit out. I hadn’t even realized she was nearby.

He turned to her. “After our last staff meeting, I thought I made it very clear that you weren’t to speak to my patients with anything less than respect.”

“She already put her hands on me. Respect isn’t going to be found here,” I said in a dull tone as I waited. “And again. Why are you here?”

He sighed. “I had to do it, Audrey.”

“Are you here to absolve your guilt?” I asked. “That’s not my job to do for you. This was a choice you made, now you get to watch the consequences roll in. We both know it won’t be pretty.”

He flinched at my words but shrugged. “I regret that it is going to be an adjustment for you all, but I did this to protect you, Audrey. We can’t have you bonding in a vulnerable state.”

“Sure,” I said evenly. There were liabilities involved.

But again, they were viewing us as if we couldn’t make judgments and decisions on our own.

Hell, half of us here were stable with meds, just locked in.

We might come here broken beyond compare, but not all of us stayed that way. Malik brought me out of the fog.

Did he abuse it after? Yes, I knew he did. I saw those after-effects. We weren’t people to men like Malik.

I just didn’t expect Cross to be the same.

“Audrey,” he said, trying again to get through to me.

“No. Go watch the rest of my group crumble. Shut down. Know that every single step back they make is on your shoulders. I’m an adult, Cross.

Just because someone broke me doesn’t mean I deserve to have every future choice taken from me.

I think I’ve more than proven that my mind is my own again.

If you refuse to see it, refuse to see it in all of us and know that your people are the issue, not us, then I can’t help with that. ”

I pushed past, refusing to stop as I walked to the dining hall.

No one said we had to sit with our new groups so I went to our usual table, smiling when I saw Ledger and Kane waiting.

Before I could sit, someone grabbed my arm and yanked me back.

“Not here.”

The same nurse from before. I yanked my hand away as the group stood behind me.

“Don’t fucking touch me,” I bit out. “I’m not a fucking child. If you can’t control yourself, then maybe you shouldn’t work here.”

Her look was feral, the beta’s teeth baring as if she were gearing up for a fight.

“I fucking dare you to touch me again,” I told her, voice even now even as rage coursed through me.

It had been a while since I felt this on edge, my emotions whiplashing around me. My omega was closer now, protective this time, instead of retreating like she’d done in the past.

We’d almost forged a new bond. One that rose from the ashes of the pain we’d endured.

My omega knew we were safe now and was coming out more, giving me a sense of feeling whole, and refusing to let us ever be in that position again.

This time, I wasn’t going down without a fight. No one would push us around again.

We’d had enough.

“You’ll do nothing,” she sneered. “Sit down with your new group or you can go to isolation.”

“Then send me there,” I challenged. She hated that I was nonchalant, not giving her a rise like she wanted or was likely used to. Now, if she threw me in, she’d look unhinged.

With a tight grip on my arm, she shoved me toward the guards, several patients outside of my group started standing up and protesting. The guards caught me, hauling me easily toward isolation.

Did I feel untouchable? No. I just refused to be used and walked on. This entire place was a fucking joke and I was going to do everything in my power to get it shut it down for good.

Fuck every one of the assholes who just wanted us as mindless zombies. This couldn’t be an easy job but it wasn’t our duty to make our pain and trauma more palatable for anyone else.

“Should have known she was a bad seed when she got Theo kicked out,” she said to the guard as she took the lead.

“What, was he fucking you?” I asked. It was crass but I had to know.

Was this just retaliation?

Her sharp eyes narrowed at me over her shoulder. “What we do is none of your concern.”

That was answer enough.

“You do know he wanted me on my knees for him,” I continued on. Her hands tightened to fists as her entire body tensed. “He uses patients to get off. You want someone like that?”

“Lies,” she hissed.

Our conversation ended as I was shoved unceremoniously into an isolation room. The plain, white room with barely any furniture was far better than my own room that was all wrong.

I sat down in the corner of the room farthest from the door. My eyes slid closed as I sank down, choosing to use my voice since I knew damn well I’d get no violin in here.

Music was my escape and I used it now to calm my rising emotions and racing heart.

They couldn’t break me any more than I already was. I’d take every med change, every bad staff member, and every effort to keep us apart.

Endure. Survive.

Then when I was out of here I’d do anything to burn this place to the ground.

Did the Omega Network have any idea how far this had fallen from their purpose?

When my voice turned into an aching rasp, I leaned my head back and let my mind slip into blissful sleep.

I knew I wouldn’t be in here long and I hoped like hell it drove our point home. That they couldn’t keep us apart.

As much as I was terrified to admit it, our group was a pack and I knew I’d take everything this place threw at me just to make sure they were safe.