Page 33 of Petals and Strings (Broken Melodies #1)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Audrey

C ross was fuming when we walked back into the atrium, most of our pack in tow. I couldn’t come to terms with the man standing before us, losing control, and the man I thought I saw good in.

Had he changed? Or did this run deeper than I expected?

He didn’t speak as we walked in, Ledger and Kane leading us while Rydell walked behind like an avenging angel, promising pain to anyone who interfered.

I needed to seek out Caspian, but I needed Ansel and Kane settled first. I wasn’t sure if it would be safe for them to see him if he was even worse off than the rest of us.

A low, warning growl had me glancing back to see that Cross was following us and Rydell wasn’t happy about it.

This time he was alone, at least.

We stopped in the common area. I wasn’t sure if the rooms were fixed yet, and none of us wanted to be alone.

Rydell stood slightly in front of us, letting Cross say his piece before we most likely ignored it.

“Speak.” Ledger was the one to give the order. It was a harsh demand, one that promised pain if he stepped out of line.

Cross let out a breath, gripping his hair before pacing back and forth.

“This is not how things are run here. You’re going to cause chaos. Whereas, I think you can handle it, not everyone here has the support or the mental faculties to do this.”

“Then move us to one of the other buildings,” Ledger countered. “Why do you seem to want to keep us here forever? If we’re capable… let us fucking leave, Cross.”

He let out a sigh. “I can’t, son. I want you healing and happy but this isn’t how we achieve it. Now, I have guards thinking we’re about to have a riot and a board that is losing trust in me.”

“That’s not our problem,” I challenged. “We aren’t here to fix all the problems you ignored until they reached this level.”

“You’re right,” he said. “But I’m breaking so many protocols with you that it’s going to raise questions.”

“Let me be honest here,” I said. “We didn’t come in here to find a pack, but we are, in fact, already a pack. There’s no turning back without causing damage. You can tell them what you want, but we won’t be going back to the way things were.”

He let out a breath. “I can’t keep you out of routine appointments. You have to see Dr. Malik and do counseling.”

“And we will. Though, I won’t be adjusting my medication unless we have an actual conversation,” I told him firmly. “We deserve basic respect.”

“I agree,” he said. “I think I have someone in mind to come in for therapy, and I’ll be assigning him to just your group and shuffling Theo’s overflow to other therapists.”

I didn’t react. It didn’t matter what he did at this point.

“Where’s Caspian?”

He flinched, then tried to hide it.

“Stay here,” I told Ansel gently. “With Kane. I’m going after Caspian.”

“No, we stick together,” Ansel said, his eyes flashing with determination. “We can’t let them separate us again.”

I studied him for a second, making sure he meant what he said before nodding.

“Okay. Now, again. Where. Is. Caspian?”

Cross sighed. “Infirmary. He didn’t take it as well as the rest of you.”

“As well?” I scoffed, glancing around at all of us pointedly.

“Yes,” he said before turning. “I’ll take you to him. Maybe you can get through to him.”

My heart was pounding as we entered the infirmary. Dr. Malik’s assistant was sitting at a desk, startling as we walked through.

“Director Cross?” he squeaked out.

“We’re going to visit Caspian Donovan,” he said. He flounced around for a second before looking worried.

“Dr. Malik said no one is to enter until he stops,” he admitted with a wince.

“I don’t answer to him,” Cross said as he moved past. I glanced back in time to see him running off. Likely to tattle.

“He’s going to tell Malik,” Ledger warned him but Cross looked angry, not worried as he nodded in affirmation.

Instead, he nodded at a door. There was a strange scratching sound on the other side that had me glancing back at him, startled.

“What is that?”

He said nothing as he scanned his badge, the lock clicking open and gesturing for us to go inside.

My mouth fell open as I stepped into the small room. The hospital bed was empty, the cabinets closed and locked, and the alpha in question sat on the floor next to the wall, writing.

In fact, nearly every inch of space was covered in his blocky handwriting. Walls. Wood furniture. Door. Hell, even his white sheets.

“Caspian,” I breathed out in shock. Confused by what I was seeing.

He glanced back, eyes almost manic until he saw me. Clarity was reflected back now, the storm seeping away slowly.

“Audrey.” He gestured me over. When I was close enough he pulled me into his lap, my hand falling away from Ansel’s.

His body was coiled so tight it was almost uncomfortable. Then his nose was in my hair and he breathed in deep, letting out a soft sigh as his body deflated with it.

“You’re here. Tell me this is over?”

“Rydell got us back together. We’re here to take you back to our wing,” I said. He squeezed me once and leaned in close.

“I didn’t want to be on a floor without you.

The patients there were awful so I feigned mania, started writing on walls.

I put memories there,” he admitted. “Figured I’d make use of my time to keep me from actually losing it.

I couldn’t let myself slip away again. I think it worked. Malik was so angry.”

I couldn’t help but let out a startled laugh. “Caspian, I thought they broke you.”

“Never again. I wasn’t sure how long it would be, so I started writing to keep me grounded. See?”

I focused on the writing in front of me, reading from where I thought might be a beginning. The first letter was bold, edged into the wall so hard that little remnants of the graphite were left behind.

Audrey sat against the tall glass, a halo of stars and petals surrounding her as she played for us. She might not know we were all there, but we watched anyway, a silent audience.

Didn’t notice that we all were attuned to her without meaning to be.

The omega was a light among the shadows of this facility and I never wanted to be without her warmth.

“These are about us?”

“All of them,” he confirmed. “I wanted to be grounded in reality this time. I refuse to let the world take anyone else from me.”

“Come on then,” I said, standing up and turning to hold out a hand for him. “Let’s head back to our wing.”

“Home sweet home,” he said with a chuckle. Then he blinked around at the walls. “God, I did look insane, didn’t I?”

Laughter bubbled out of me as I nodded. “Just a bit. But who could blame you.”

He sighed and glanced at the director who was watching us with pure shock on his face.

“Can we go back now?” Caspian asked. “I’m good.”

“Yes,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ve go?—”

His words cut off as his phone blared, the ringtone, apparently, not a good one from the way his face paled.

“I have to take this. Head to your wing now before lockdown,” he said as he waved for us to hurry.

We didn’t need to be told twice. Our entire group rushed out, Ledger and Kane cutting our way through the frantic crowds. It seemed Cross wasn’t the only one alerted to whatever was going on.

Lockdown likely meant that someone else was missing. What better time than when rooms were shuffled around and we were causing a scene.

Fuck.

We headed toward our rooms, my heart slamming in my chest. Nancy was bustling around the small nurse’s station at the entry to our wing.

“There you are,” she breathed out. The relief didn’t calm my worries any. “Stay put. Another missing girl. This wing has been swept so just stay here. Meals will come your way in about an hour.”

Her face was grim but she looked relieved to see us all in one place again. Truthfully, I was more than happy to see her.

“We’ll behave now,” I reassured her.

That had a small laugh bursting out before she covered it in a cough. “See that you do.”

She hurried out, closing the main door behind her.

“I’m not going to my room alone,” Rydell said. “I can’t be alone.”

His voice broke, words strong yet vulnerable at the same time.

“Agreed,” Ansel said, already moving to my side. “Audrey is the only one I want, but my omega accepted the rest of you as pack. I realized it when you came to get me. Every other alpha has me ready to crawl out of my skin. You just feel… safe.”

“We are safe,” Rydell promised. “We want you as pack, Ansel. We just worried we would freak you out if we got close.”

“Is that why you hid away before Audrey got here?”

“For the most part,” Rydell shrugged. “That and I didn’t have a lot of faith in anyone. To the world, I’m just a monster.”

“You’re not a monster. They are,” Ansel said, his eyes cast to the floor. Rydell grinned at me, looking so damn happy at that one simple compliment.

“So, what if we turn the common room into our room,” I mused as I looked around. “The singles aren’t big enough for everyone.”

“We’ll just bring out the mattresses and set it up,” Rydell said, gesturing for Caspian and Ledger to help.

The alphas made quick work of carrying out mattresses and the simple frames. Everything had fresh linen thanks to the room swaps. By the time they were done, the beds were lined up and the couches and chairs had been moved to one side in a small, cozy sitting area.

“Not bad for my first nest,” I joked. A bit of dark humor that had the alphas and beta in the room looking horrified.

“Wait… really?” Caspian asked in a broken tone. “Never?”

“I was taken almost a week after presenting,” I admitted. “They didn’t exactly give me anything soft in the cell I spent the next ten years in. After that my omega retreated, so I didn’t have the urge.”

“Same,” Ansel said. “Unless you count a few extra blankets on my bed.”

“No,” Rydell said, shaking his head. “You’ll both have a nest someday. I’ll make sure of it. Blankets, pillows, plushies, the works.”

Warmth spread through me. I didn’t know if I’d ever felt so seen, respected, and safe in my entire life.

That might be the only reason we would make it out of ARC alive.

There was no other option.