Page 37 of Petals and Strings (Broken Melodies #1)

Chapter Thirty

Ares

A udrey froze, her scent hitting me right in the chest. All these years of writing off having a mate and here she was.

Locked away. Abused. Broken before but finding her strength. Gorgeous in a haunting way.

Fuck.

The sweet, floral hints of rose, sandalwood, and rain hit me. Sweet and revitalizing. A soothing balm to a jagged soul.

She blinked for a few moments before letting the others drag her away.

I let her go, staying rooted in my chair until they were out of sight.

Fuck. This wasn’t just complicated, it was fucking disastrous.

Yet, I wasn’t upset. I’d found her. Finally. My omega.

And, apparently, a pack. I knew from that moment I’d be getting them out. No matter the cost.

Then I was moving. Making a beeline for Holden’s office. He startled when I moved in, slamming the door closed and locking it behind me. I knew I looked insane, wild eyes and a flushed face.

“Aeron, what happened?” He was startled. I was, too.

“It’s Ares here,” I reminded my old friend. A name to protect myself as much as him. His name was Holden, but not Cross. We all took on a new alias for this assignment. Our records fixed and scrubbed where necessary.

“Sorry, yes,” he laughed, though it was a frail amusement that was gone as soon as I heard it.

“You swept in here?” He knew I meant for bugs, nodding once in response.

“Daily,” he said, always a bit paranoid. “Report?”

“They’re definitely a pack, Holden. What the fuck has this place done to them, though? The things I just heard were spoken with pure fucking honesty. This is so much worse than I thought. Probably even worse than you know.”

He sighed, resting back in his chair. “I know. It’s been a fucking mess fighting between my morals and not blowing my cover. Once the staff overheard the pack thing I couldn’t keep it to myself. The board demanded separation. Has it hurt them beyond repair?”

“They’re all using the common area in their wing as a bedroom, so I’d say they’re sticking together. More vigilant and paranoid, probably, but even the male omega talked to me. They seem to trust me and I don’t take that lightly. You, however, might be in hot water.”

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Fuck.”

“You can’t hold it against yourself. However, I have something else. Something that complicates things. Can I trust you, Holden?”

My eyes burned into his gray ones, demanding that he give me his word this was just between us.

He nodded. “I want to take this place down, Aeron. Now more than ever.”

“Oh, we will. Because I won’t be leaving without my mate.”

He blinked at me before his eyes widened. “Audrey?”

I groaned, gripping my long strands and tugging for a sense of grounding.

“Yes. I just scented her and I know she is. Audrey does, too, but walked away, not mentioning it. I don’t doubt she’ll share with her pack, but they’re careful.

They’ve been burned before. And let me be very fucking clear, Holden.

I’m not starting our connection with lies. ”

He leaned forward, eyes frantic. “Do you need reassigned?”

“And leave her?” I laughed, the sound full of the promise of pain. “Not a fucking chance, brother.”

“You’re going to tell them the truth? All of it?”

“Yes. I’m converting two of the rooms in the wing, one for a bedroom, the other for an office. We can call it extra security in light of recent events. I’ll do all the reports, they’ll go to their other therapies as usual. I’ll do my job if she’ll allow it after all this. We have no other choice.”

“At least you’ll be invested in fixing this for her,” Holden said in disbelief. “Chief will kill us both if this goes south, Ares.”

“I know,” I admitted. “But I refuse to lie to a mate. She can lie with me, but I won’t keep her in the dark. When this is over, I’m going to give her… them, a good life.”

We studied each other, both letting the weight of what was about to happen settle over us.

“Are you cluing in the chief?”

It was a fair question. We both knew the Chief of the Alliance would not take this lightly.

“No. He’d take me off this, Holden. That’s not safe. They already trust me. I can help them. Truly.”

He sighed. “The lines we are about to cross.”

“I know,” I said. “I’m not taking this lightly, either.” I was too invested, and by moral standards, shouldn’t be their therapist. Someday, I wouldn’t be. For now, I had no choice. I could separate it, and, hopefully, they could, too.

“I’ve been here long enough to want healing and peace for them, too. I’ll keep it to myself, but if this goes south, don’t drag me down with you. Until then, or until this is resolved, I’m with you.”

I let out a breath and nodded. “Thank fuck.”

“When’s your next check-in?” he asked.

“Tonight at 19:00. Figured dinner, wind down, then take the call.”

“She’s usually playing in the conservatory around then. After your call, go listen. She’s incredible.”

“Listen to what?” I asked, confused. What would she be playing in the conservatory?

He smiled. “Just wait. It’ll be better if it’s a surprise.”

With that I shook my head and stood, heading out to get through this day. The call with our chief was weighing on me. We’d been studying this place for years.

Ever since the third disappearance.

It never made sense that a place with security like this could simply lose patients. There was never a struggle, a sign, or a trace of them.

We knew there were secrets to uncover. It started with Holden stepping in. Hired by the Omega Network thanks to one of our own on the inside.

The board was corrupt. We smelled that one from a mile away.

The reality was this facility had become a prison of shame, a place the wealthy could hide their embarrassments.

Anything that could tarnish their reputation.

I had a hunch that was the reality behind the changes in medications and constant setbacks. Though, according to Cross, he was unsure who all was behind it and just who had reach beyond him.

He admitted that it felt like someone was working in the shadows. I was here to sniff out who it was.

Now, my focus was on saving my own pack. Every one of them spoke today. They trusted me with their trauma and were giving me a chance to help fix it.

From the pack Cross described and the one I met today, something had shifted. I’d find out just what had changed, and form an alliance that would ensure our escape.

If all else failed, I had contacts and could eradicate the infestation in this place the not-quite-legal way. Though, that was a last resort.

All I knew, was that Audrey was going to be safe now. I’d make fucking sure of it.

As I walked back to the therapists’ offices, I felt eyes on me. I was subtle as I looked around. It didn’t take long to spot the doctor. He watched me with narrowed eyes. The man was creepy as fuck, and likely livid after finding that I’d be prescribing them meds, he’d just be filling the orders.

He’d lost control, even if only a fraction of it, and clearly, wasn’t happy.

I continued walking, not sparing him a real glance. The man couldn’t know that I was here to watch him and the others. To figure out who was corrupt and just how far they were willing to go.

Nancy was waiting outside the wing, typing away at her computer. She looked up at me, eyes widening, but she tried to hide it.

“Can you send me some orderlies or guards to help move furniture around, by chance? Or is that something I need to see the director for?”

“I can handle it,” she said easily, pulling out a comm and putting it in her ear. “Hey, I need someone, or a few someones, to come help move some furniture for the new therapist. He’s outside the West Wing. Director Cross has already approved the move.”

“Thank you, Nancy,” I said, giving her a salute before walking into the wing to start clearing out two of the rooms. With all the recent switching around and my group’s refusal to separate, they were all recently cleaned and ready to go.

I chose the first room on either side of the common area, closest to the doors. It didn’t take long for orderlies to start walking in and I directed them to take the extra furniture from the office space into storage, then start bringing in what I needed.

This wasn’t exactly conventional but convincing the board they needed twenty-four hour observation by someone with the credentials to do it wouldn’t be hard. Outside of Holden and my pack, no one would know our secret.

I spent the afternoon moving in my things once the furniture was in place. In just a few hours the office was taking shape. Knowing my pack would be in here often, I tried to make it a little cozy. The bookshelves were lined with books, the armchairs comfortable and arranged nicely.

My desk wouldn't be where I spoke to them. It was impersonal. No wonder they were all still such a mess after being here for years. Apparently, Theo liked to use intimidation and discomfort to keep them in line.

I’d asked around and they were lucky I didn’t walk right out to cause even more pain than Rydell did.

Though, I was subtle with my questions. I didn’t know quite who I could trust. The turnover rate of this place was abysmal. Between that, the closely acting board, the payoffs we’d uncovered, and the disappearances, this was a sinking ship.

Chief seemed particularly invested in this project. I never asked why, but I had a feeling he wanted it shut down. Permanently. Not just purged and re-opened.

I’d only been here a day, heard the stories of just six of the patients, and I couldn’t agree more.

My phone buzzed as I was unloading boxes in my bedroom, and I knew I couldn't ignore the Chief. The only one who’d be calling me. Even if it was hours early.

Closing the door gently, I answered the call.

“Hey, Chief,” I said. “Already swept and safe.”

“Good,” he grouched. The man always sounded so gruff. “Update.”

Every word was a harsh demand but I knew not to take it personally. I’d been around long enough and done enough missions to see his merit.

“As bad as we thought. I’m going to be staying full-time in my ward, standing in as live-in surveillance due to their recent behaviors."

“And the real story?” he demanded, seeing right through my fake reasoning. I wasn’t going to admit what Audrey was to me, what they all were. Instead, I went with the detached truth.

“The doctor has been changing and increasing meds as a means of control. They described last med change the entire building was affected like some kind of mass drugging. Setbacks, more trauma, triggering the patients. None of it sounds good,” I admitted.

“And another patient went missing only a few weeks ago.”

Something crashed, then the tense silence was filled with his heaving breaths as the alpha tried to control himself.

“I’ll be sticking with this group. They’re receptive to me already because I treated them like humans. I think I can do some good work while also gaining intel. My presence here and my dedication will be irrefutable.”

“I know it will,” he said, letting out a breath. “I can’t stress enough how important this is, Ares. I’ve been after this corruption for years. They took my daughter, and I’m going to burn this fucking place to the ground.”

“It deserves it. The female omega in my unit was the one in the news. She was taken for ten years into an omega breeding ring, released, then once she got here, they just added to that hell. I won’t stand for it.”

“Then we’re on the same page. Next check in is on Friday, I’ll call at five and seven, answer whichever one you can. Just make sure you answer one.”

“Done.”

He hung up without another word and I tucked my phone away after seeing the time. The group was due back for group therapy in ten minutes. Then dinner. If I was going to be their shadow, then I was going to make my presence known.

Taking care of the wing today was necessary but I refused to let them out of my sight more than I already had.

Especially with their visits to the doctor. He was top of my list, along with just about every fucking staff member here.

Even Holden was questionable at this point. To his credit, he was the monkey dancing for the board, he had to be or he’d be out. We needed a man on the inside. I just hated this version of him.

I preferred the brother that was at my back during our early years. Out in the field with me, breaking up the very rings that sent half of these patients here.

Life was fucking wild sometimes.

Soft chatter announced my pack’s arrival.

When they walked in, I took in the six people I’d be risking my life and position to save, and I knew I made the right choice.

They deserved more than this.