Page 35 of Petals and Strings (Broken Melodies #1)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Audrey

A shrill whistle cut through the early morning silence. We all let out a collective groan after the late night, Ansel snuggling in closer as I pressed my face into Caspian’s back, breathing in his scent and wishing I could stay right here.

The whistle went off again, heavy footfalls stalking closer. “What the hell is this?” It was half alpha bark, though without the command.

Like he wanted us to listen on our own, not force it.

I sat up, eyes locking onto the imposing figure. He glared down at us, ready to open his mouth again but I wasn’t about to let him send Ansel into a panic. I flew out of bed, facing off with the alpha before me.

He was handsome, in a rugged, ‘I could kill you five ways with a spoon’ kind of way.

“Don’t bark at us. In case you missed it, this isn’t fucking boot camp, it’s a broken bond rehabilitation facility. And if you trigger my omega, I’ll make your life hell.”

“ Your omega?” he asked, deep voice echoing loudly. He reached over to the wall, flicking on the overhead lights. It was blinding at first but I blinked it away, keeping my gaze on his the best I could. “I think you’re mistaken who is in charge here.”

“Not you,” I said, not backing down. Rydell let out a growl behind me, his animalistic rumble easy to distinguish.

“I’m warning you now, watch how you speak to her,” Rydell said as he moved, putting himself between us. “We’ve been through enough and aren’t about to let anyone put us back in line.”

They had a stare off. The new guy was the first to break. “It seems I’ve got my work cut out for me,” he bit out. “Up. Now.”

“Or what?” Ledger asked. His voice was calm and even, but he looked ready to pass back out. The middle of the night wake-up did nothing to help that.

He ignored Ledger and crossed his arms, leaning against the wall. “I’m Ares. Your therapist and your full-time guard now. A bit of both worlds to keep you from causing more issues.”

“The last therapist tried to assault me to keep me in line. I don’t think it’s us causing the issues,” I growled.

A flicker of fury flashed in his eyes before it was gone in the next blink.

“That’s not a worry here, Audrey.” I hated that he knew my name. On principle, I wanted to hate him right off the bat. I stood my ground, crossing my arms. Mostly to keep him from seeing more than he should. “Someone care to catch me up on everything?”

“You seem to already have all the facts, right?” Kane drawled. He wasn’t usually combative but he seemed to be present now, and ready to defend us.

“We’ll see,” he said.

While the others rose, I took him in, not bothering to hide that I was studying him. He wasn’t dressed like the rest of the staff. He had on black cargo pants and a hunter green tee. His combat boots were worn in.

Dark red hair hung down his back, the sides shaved down. He had a thick beard but it was trimmed. In truth, nothing about him was out of place.

He screamed military and discipline.

This would definitely be interesting.

None of us spoke until we were all standing side by side, a united front.

The doors opened and Nancy walked in with a tray of medicine cups and waters.

She didn’t look directly at the alpha but her tension gave her away.

She offered small smiles as she moved down the line, each of us obediently taking our medication after inspecting it.

“Caspian. Your sister called and asked for you to call this afternoon,” she said when she finished.

“Thanks,” Caspian said but she didn’t stick around for anything more.

It didn’t bode well that even the staff was uncertain with this imposing alpha.

“Okay. I have their version, now give me yours.” He sounded bored now, like he was impatiently waiting and had other places to be.

Maybe he was simply guarded. Trying to remain impartial.

“I’ve been here the shortest time. When I arrived I was given meds, which were necessary.

Things seemed okay at first. Then during one of my early therapy sessions, our old therapist forced me to re-live my past, then tried to sedate me when I got stuck in a flashback.

After that, it fell apart, one thing after another.

Med changes that were widespread, turning the entire place into zombies.

When things escalated with Theo, Rydell defended me and was put in isolation. ”

“‘Defended,’” he snorted. “I hear he had to have surgery to fix the severe breaks.”

“Good,” I said, not missing a beat. There would be no remorse to find here.

“He deserved more,” Rydell agreed.

Ansel’s hand found mine, giving it a squeeze. He didn’t speak but thankfully, Ledger took over for me.

“He was in isolation for around ten days while the rest of us worried. They decided to break us apart when I told them we were scent matches and he was defending his omega. That didn’t go well and Rydell broke his bracelet and hers. After some… persuasion, we were put back together,” he concluded.

“Oh, and we had a therapist that was utterly useless in between. She was terrified of us,” I tacked on. “Didn’t even last a day.”

“I’m not afraid. We will be facing issues head on and getting to the bottom of all of this,” he said.

There was something that didn’t seem to fit right. He was… invested. What stakes did he have in this place outside of job security?

“We won’t be going back to our rooms,” Rydell said firmly. “We’re a pack. Not one of us has ever been against healing. It’s just impossible to do with therapists who didn’t give a fuck and a facility that punishes us anytime we make the wrong move.”

“Noted,” Ares agreed. “Let’s dive right into some group therapy, then. Get our footing since I’m with you twenty-four-seven now.”

We all moved back to the beds, sitting up and waiting while he dragged a chair out of the corner where we’d shoved it.

“I haven’t read your histories. I don’t want whatever version was in there outside the facts of your intake,” he said. “Cross has given me a bit of a rundown, so I’m not completely blind, but I like to make my own conclusions.”

“What about medication changes? Will you be overseeing them?”

He studied me as he considered my question. “I’m a licensed psychologist and can, in fact, handle meds. I’ll be overseeing them. I’ve approved temporarily what you have but we can assess that again after today depending on how up-front you all are.”

To say I was skeptical would be a fucking understatement. We’d given him a chance, but he had to prove his worth before we divulged even more. We wouldn’t be used again.

“So, you walk in and we’re just supposed to divulge our darkest fears and trauma?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “That’s a tall order.”

“Fine, pick one thing about yourself, just one of you, and see how I handle it,” he offered. The fact he was willing to compromise was a good sign.

I looked from side to side, taking in all of my packmates, seeing if anyone was willing. To our collective surprise, Kane raised a hand.

“I’m Kane. Been here… I don’t know how long,” he admitted with a shrug. “My memory is a mess. After my brain blocked off the trauma it’s like I can’t remember much, even now.”

Ares took a breath and nodded. “From your notes, you were sent here by a former pack.”

He glanced down at the open portfolio in his lap and looked disgusted for a moment, barely hiding it from the beta.

“They paid at first then turned it over to the state not long in.”

“That’s what they tell me,” Kane snorted.

“Not much of a pack, clearly,” Ares muttered. I hated that I was starting to appreciate him. He was absolutely hiding something, but he also seemed genuine. After my time in captivity, I was a good judge of character. Or at least I thought so before Cross did what he did.

“I wouldn’t know. All I remember is her face, I painted it enough they almost kicked me out of art therapy,” Kane admitted. He let us see the pain in his eyes, the way he hunched in on himself a little. It hurt, and he’d been hiding it.

My sweet beta never deserved this.

“I’ve worked with trauma-induced memory loss,” Ares said.

“My suggestion is we do one on one, or you can have another person there if that helps. I help you relax, talk you into a half-asleep state and then we dive into those blocks. The aftermath isn’t always pretty.

I’d rather not do that our first day, but I’m more than willing to take you there when you’re ready. ”

“I’d like to do that sooner, rather than later,” Kane said. “It’s been years, Ares. I need to know if it’s my fault.”

Ares didn’t show pity, just understanding. “Tomorrow, then. Just be ready to face it. I’ll ask again tomorrow morning. You have plenty of time to back out, just know there is a point of no return. Once it starts, your brain won’t just block it again.”

“Okay,” Kane agreed, looking relieved. His hand sought mine out and I squeezed it gently. He wasn’t next to me but Ansel didn’t flinch as we held hands over him. Even he had changed a lot after our separation.

“Now, I’d like to do some individual assessments today as well. If you want to do it as a group since you’re supposedly a pack, that’s fine, too.”

“Not ‘supposedly.’ We are a pack,” I clarified. He didn’t argue this time.

“Together works for me,” Rydell said. I nodded along with him as the others let out their own agreement.

“Alright,” he said, flipping a few pages. “Let’s start with you, Rydell. I have in here that you were mandated here and they continue to label you as a danger to yourself and others.”

“Always a monster, right?” he asked in a hollow tone.

“I’ve worked with plenty of alphas with the dominance gene. You’re not a monster unless you let yourself be,” Ares argued. Again, no pity or sympathy, just saying what he thought was true.

This alpha continued to surprise me.

“My suggestion is we work first on anger management. Talk techniques, discuss what sent you here, and work through actual feelings,” he suggested.

Rydell simply nodded.