Page 39 of Petals and Strings (Broken Melodies #1)

Chapter Thirty-Two

Audrey

I t felt like we were being marched to the principal’s office. There was something so dominant and commanding about Ares and I couldn't wrap my mind around how he could possibly fit in with this pack.

He was above us. In station, status, money, freedom… just about every way that mattered.

It was hard not to feel like a teenager here, with our strict schedules and lack of say in our lives. I was growing to hate it more and more each day.

Ares stood just inside the door to our wing, waiting until we were all in before locking the door behind us.

“The guards can kiss my ass. You won’t be out here sleeping and have just anyone walking in,” he muttered as he walked past.

We watched on as he pulled a device out of his pocket and went around the room, holding it out as if scanning something. Then he did the same for each room, including his own.

He approached us, holding it out. “I won’t touch you with it. May I?”

I nodded, holding my arms up like this was airport security. He scanned quickly, not meeting my eyes before moving methodically over us one by one. I reached for Ansel’s hand as he did his, then turned it on himself.

“Okay, what in the spy shit is this?” Rydell asked when Ares finally tucked it away.

“We have some things to discuss and I don’t need prying ears on us. Everyone just sit and we can talk. This will take a while.”

“Okayyy,” I said, dragging the word out as we moved toward the chairs he’d arranged for group chats like this.

I sat, tucking my legs under me. The chair squeaked as Rydell pulled me closer so my chair was touching his. A thick hand rested on the back of my neck as Ansel pushed his chair closer. It was nice to be wanted, needed, touched all the time.

Ares was on edge as he waited for us to settle. More than we’d seen so far, at least. The man was hard to read in general.

When we were ready, he dropped into his chair, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and hands folded under his chin, staring hard at us.

“For this discussion, I need your word that I can trust you all with the truth. If you can’t keep a secret, tell me now for my safety and yours. This is life and death. I can’t take chances.”

The words took me by surprise. What the hell could he possibly have to say that could risk our safety if we divulge it?!

“This is starting to freak me out. Do we want to know?” Caspian asked. He looked just as startled as I did. Honestly, Ledger and Rydell were the only ones who seemed unaffected. Then again, they both had impenetrable masks most of the time.

“It’s for the best,” Ares said firmly. “I think you need to know. But again, it’s a risk. For all of us.”

“Okay,” I said, bracing my shoulders. “I can’t speak for everyone, but I can keep whatever this is to myself unless you threaten us or something. Then you’re fair game.”

He snorted out a small laugh. “No, princess. You’re safe with me.”

“We’ll see,” Ledger said as he sat back. The picture of calm and deadly. How he pulled off both was beyond me but I loved it. He was the rock of the group, the steady force, and I was glad he was being that now.

“Ansel?” The omega nodded his head at Ares’s question. “Kane? Caspian?”

The others nodded, too, including Rydell.

“Alright, I’m going to just be blunt. Keep your voices down, though.

My name is Aeron Murphy. According to my paperwork here, the name is Ares Sinclair.

I work for the Alliance. It’s a government run group dedicated to putting a stop to designation related crimes, like trafficking, breeding rings, fighting rings…

and the disgusting plethora of other combinations there are out there. ”

He let those words sink in. My eyes widened and Ansel snatched my hand, squeezing hard.

“Breathe, omega,” Ledger told him, voice steady and strong. He rested his hand on the arm of Ansel’s chair, not touching him, but close enough his omega calmed.

“In and out, baby,” I urged, his own panic calming mine.

Caspian and Kane seemed stunned. Rydell was staring him down as if that alone would give him more answers.

When everyone was more or less together, Ares continued speaking.

“I’m here because of the disappearances that are happening.

They aren’t normal. These missing patients aren’t fucking runaways.

This place has too much security for that to be the case.

What I’ve found so far, only drives that point home.

Holden Cross is a colleague of mine, but he needed backup. That’s why I’m here.”

“You’re kidding,” I scoffed. This was out there, even for this place. He was so serious, though. His voice steady and eyes imploring us to listen.

“I’m dead serious. Speak nothing of this, or you’ll ruin this entire operation,” he warned. “It could put us back years and potentially cost innocent lives.”

“Holy fuck, Director Cross, too?” Caspian breathed out. The fact everyone believed him had me worried. Could this be a ploy?

Ares chuckled. “I see the skepticism on most of your faces. Let me ease those fears.”

He pulled out his laptop from a bag resting by his chair and opened it, pulling up the website and scrolling through to the restricted sections. His employee badge popped up, showing his real name, and a list of accolades.

The things this man must have seen.

“So, Cross knows all this and still lets all this shit slide?” I ground out. Any lingering respect for Cross fizzled away completely.

“Yes,” he admitted, running a hand through his trimmed beard.

He looked tired now, a bit defeated. How long had they been trying to shut down ARC?

“I am also having a hard time coming to terms with that. But if he was anything less, do you think he’d be able to gather as much intel?

He’s been here for years and is the only reason I’m able to be here.

We’re so fucking close. We need one slip-up, anything to show what’s really going on. Then I can shut this shit down.”

“Why risk all this to tell us?”

He looked right at me, eyes burning with the truth.

“Because she’s my mate and you’re my pack.

I’m not starting that dynamic with a bunch of fucking lies.

I can’t stand them and I refuse to spend a single minute outside of these walls having to grovel.

I would much rather start a solid life with a foundation we already started building here and now. ”

“Admirable,” Ledger hummed. “But that doesn’t get us out of here.”

“Between my connections, your cooperation, and you working through everything you can, I have full confidence we’ll leave here as a pack, Ledger.”

“Are you even qualified to be our therapist?”

He nodded, leveling us all with a serious look.

“I am both a trained federal agent and a psychologist. If you’re at all comfortable with it, despite the various moral boundaries we’re crossing, I can be professional for you.

At least until we leave here. But only if you trust me and put your full effort into your sessions. ”

“We already talked about that,” I admitted. “We want out of here as soon as we can. There’s something off and it’s so well hidden we aren’t sure who to trust.”

“I can say you can trust me until I’m blue in the face, but you’ll have to see it for yourself.

Outside this wing, I’ll be Ares. They’ll get the version of myself I’ve concocted for this role.

You will get more of me, just make sure to play your part as well.

The moment they suspect, is the moment complications set in. ”

“Which will only make it harder to get out of here,” Ansel said in a whisper.

“Exactly,” Ares agreed with a sigh. “I’m going to give you my all because you guys deserve it. As for everyone else here, they’ll get help when we have our villains in custody.”

“I’ll go all-in. Do what I need to, to get past these blocks,” Kane said. “Theo never helped me dig deeper and I have to know what happened before I can trust myself with this pack.”

“Tonight is your individual therapy, correct?” Ares asked him.

“It is,” Kane said. “I don’t expect to remember overnight, but I need to know what happened. I know we should wait and not dive right in headfirst, but for me… it’s been forever. I’m ready and I don’t want time to talk myself out of it.”

“Do you want someone there?” he asked gently. The way he looked so intimidating, yet was so soft when talking to us, was hard to wrap my mind around. He was right, trust would come with time, for now, we had to put our hope in his hands.

It seemed he was doing the same with us.

Kane looked around at us. We all met that gaze with ones of confidence and support. We were pack. No matter who he chose, we’d be ready.

“Can we stay right here? All of us…? Unless someone is afraid it might trigger something?” he asked more to us than Ares.

“I’ll be fine,” Ansel said. He was trying to be stronger, to not let things send him spiraling. I gave his hand a squeeze, proud of the omega for being so damn strong already. He definitely didn’t realize it yet, but he would see it soon enough.

“Alright,” Ares said, pulling out a notebook and resting it on his lap. “Do you have any memories of your past? We need a baseline.”

“Fragments. Faces, sometimes. Feelings.”

“Let’s explore those feelings, Kane. Can you elaborate?” His voice was a soothing rumble. Between that and the warm lights of our wing, it was an almost cozy moment, coaxing Kane into his past.

“They’ve never made sense. I feel happiness, but it’s fleeting.

Most of the time they’re painful. A sense of not belonging, of being hurt emotionally.

There was obviously a bond, my broken mind and scar are proof of it, but I worry it’s not what I thought it was.

That I was too blind to truly see what was going on. A big hint of dread settling in.”

Kane let out a breath, sinking further into his seat. The words had clearly been a burden he’d just released. The weights were lifting off.

“I’m terrified that I was at fault, that I’m a bad person and just don’t remember it.”

“I have my doubts on that, from these notes alone,” Ares said. “I tried not to read into the session notes, but your general admission notes state this pack dropped you off with no remorse. Moved on. Something happened, but I don’t think it was your fault, Kane.”

The beta shrugged, fidgeting in his seat. “Her face has been haunting me for years. I can see it clearly, but it’s never smiling. She’s always looking elsewhere, though I have no clue what she’s looking at.”

“Or who,” Ledger offered gently. Kane glanced over and nodded in agreement.

“Likely the rest of the pack. I know there were others but they are far more vague," he explained. “I don’t even have flashes or know how many. Not even what they looked like.”

“When you close your eyes and sink into those feelings. Do you feel unsafe?”

Kane let his eyelids flutter closed. His mouth was set in a grim line and I couldn’t stand it anymore, I had to move.

As quietly as I could, I stood up and tapped Rydell on the knee, gesturing to my chair.

He didn’t hesitate to swap with me. I didn’t touch him, worried it might not go well.

Instead, I just sat close, hoping my presence was enough for the moment.

“Yes,” he finally said. “The feeling of flying, then impact. Pain.”

My hands curled into fists at the thought of anyone harming this sweet beta.

“Why did they throw you?” Ares asked. The way his voice was deeper now, steady, helped push Kane deeper than he ever had before.

“Weak. Beta. Useless.” Kane’s voice deepened, a twisted malice mixing in.

I didn’t realize I was growling until Caspian rested a hand on my shoulder. It took everything in me to stay in my chair and not snatch the folder, committing every name associated with him to memory.

Something shifted in his head, his face going pale and his hands bunching in his clothes, fists clenched tightly.

“What are you feeling now, Kane? Describe it.”

“We didn’t need you. You were never part of the pack, just there out of necessity. Time is up, beta.” His voice was deeper again as he mimicked the voice in his head.

My heart shattered at the realization of what this meant.

He was never the problem and was doomed from the start.

When those amber brown eyes finally popped open, he sought me out, his words cracking with unfiltered pain.

“It wasn’t my fault. They left me, Audrey. Bit me, claimed me, then tossed me aside, didn’t they?”

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered as I wrapped my arms around him, holding him tight as he fought through the pain and devastation that made him shake in my embrace. I wasn’t ashamed to admit that I cried with him, his pain was mine, too.

“They fucking left me. Broke me on purpose.”

“That’s because they were the monsters, not you. You never deserved any of that my sweet beta. Never. We’ve got you now. No one will ever toss you aside again. You matter.”

“Promise me,” he begged. “Promise me that I belong. That you’re mine.”

“I promise, Kane. You’re my beta, my pack, and I’m never letting you go.”

He choked out a loud sob, tears soaking through my shirt.

Movement to the side was followed by a hand resting on his back. I glanced up to see Ansel leaning in, hugging Kane from behind.

“We’ve got you,” he promised. “Our pain brings us together. We belong together as a pack. It’s only whole with you here.”

Kane’s hand wrapped around Ansel’s arm, squeezing gently in acknowledgment, words escaping him as he fell apart.

When the omega moved back, the alphas moved in. Even Rydell joined, a strong hand resting on the top of his head. In fact, it was him who spoke up first.

“Fuck them, Kane. They were the problem and we all know your character and your worth. They will pay for what they’ve done. The world always has a way of making sure of that.”

“Karma,” Ledger supplied, his knuckles cracking. He and Caspian shared a look and a nod of agreement. One that definitely meant he had a very different idea of what karma meant.

Good. The world was a cruel fucking place and I knew first-hand that vengeance and safety were won through battle.

Kane’s tears slowly calmed and the truth was clear to us all.

For each other, we were willing to go to war.