Page 4 of Petals and Strings (Broken Melodies #1)

Chapter Four

Audrey

“ W ake up, dear,” a woman’s voice had me stirring. My eyes felt too heavy to open, crusty and burning with the remnants of whatever they gave me.

My pack. Where were they?

“Up we go,” she tried again. Light flooded the room as she unceremoniously yanked open the curtains. “You’ve been here a day already. That sedative kicked your butt.”

She let out a little string of laughter like this was a fucking joke.

When the court required me to stay I never expected to be treated like some crazy omega. All I wanted was my pack and I couldn’t wrap my mind around why everyone was acting this way.

The nurse treated me like a doll when I didn’t move, lifting me to sitting and dragging me to the chair. My mind was still so foggy that it felt like the world around me was moving in slow motion.

Fuck, what did they give me?

It was like I was at war with reality.

“Let’s get you to the bathroom then you can have a little tour,” she said with a hum, strapping me to the wheelchair and positioning me just right before wheeling me down the hall. “I’m Nancy, by the way. Your primary nurse.”

The beta exuded kindness, but it felt so misguided. Like she thought I was mentally incapable of understanding.

What the fuck was I even doing here?

I tried to focus on my hazy memories. Flashes of the pack. Their intense stares and soft smiles.

Hands on my skin.

Mates.

No.

Metal bars. Sharp teeth tearing at my flesh. Pain. Cold water.

Cages?

“Oh, don’t cry, lovely. We’ll get you cleaned up right as rain. Samantha is meeting us in the shower room to get you all clean and ready for your day.”

“I can shower myself,” I slurred, making her chuckle again.

“On a normal day, maybe. The first few days here are disorienting and we will be nothing but professional, sweetheart,” she promised, patting my shoulder before continuing on.

“No.” It was the most clear I’d sounded since I got here but she just tsked me.

“Here at Ash Recovery Center, we pride ourselves on taking exceptional care of our patients. You’ve all been through enough,” she said with a hint of sadness in her voice now.

What the hell had I been through except being ripped away from my pack. My alpha’s face slipped through my mind again, a whisper of my former life.

My last heat they were so sweet. Delicate.

Where were they?

Now, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to escape. I was in prison, even if it had a pretty name and a nice nurse.

“Ah, on our way to clean up?”

A growl echoed out at the voice. The one who I met yesterday who’d slapped this awful bracelet on my arm.

“I always get that reaction,” Director Cross sighed. How could he sound so upset by that? He trapped me here.

“Yet they always come around,” Nancy reassured him. I guess her kindness extended to him, too.

Then we were on our way again, the nurse chattering as she pushed me through the main hall.

“Usually, we’d use the bathroom on the floor, but since you just arrived and have a doctor appointment we figured it would be best to use the bigger bathroom in the common area.”

She pointed things out as we passed. Barber that came once a month. Commissary when we earned the ability to shop there. Common room, though each ward has a common area. Library. Dining Hall. Therapy offices. Art room.

The building was strange. Dark hallways and low lights. Shining floors and tall ceilings. A chandelier in the common area. Fancy, yet weathered.

Then I was pushed into a bathroom.

Nancy might be nice, but the whole shower was humiliating and did nothing to make me feel safe here. It was more unwanted touching and my cheeks blazed as shame replaced the dirt.

When I was clean, she took her time to comb through my knotted hair, using a spray that smelled like coconut until it was laying in its usual waves.

I was adult enough to admit I felt better now that I was clean, despite hating how they achieved it.

The steam and shock of it all had chased away some of the fog but my limbs still felt heavy and sluggish.

Whatever they did, I wanted no part of those sedatives again. Was it a warning? A higher dose than normal to get the point across.

Nancy put me back in the chair and we were off again. Her voice a steady drone as the wheels squeaked.

I just wanted to walk.

Then I was deposited in an empty infirmary room. Nancy stood by me, making sure I didn’t topple over after she helped me onto the exam table.

The door opened and the scent of stale coffee and antiseptic hit me, making me wrinkle my nose.

A man shuffled in, standing before me with a severe expression. His hair was dark and gelled over to one side. Glasses rested on his nose and his head was tilted to look down at me through them. The dark eyes behind them were steely and cold. Detached. It sent a shiver down my spine.

“Audrey Walker. You’ve been on quite an adventure.”

His accent was as thick as his scent. The way he spoke with a heavy lilt that lingered just a second too long on every word, like he wanted to lull you into a sense of safety.

No fucking chance on that. He gave me the creeps.

“I’m Dr. Malik. I oversee all the patients here, from general wellness to more pertinent issues. Seeing as you’re an omega, we have a few other things to discuss,” he said as he tapped the file in his hand.

“I don’t belong here.” He pursed his lips at me and let silence build until I shifted uncomfortably. He remained unperturbed outside the thin line of his mouth.

“Can you tell me your last heat?”

My mind helpfully replayed a heat, one with touches from my betas and my alpha, sweet words of reassurance and encouragement.

A smile played across my lips.

“A few months ago. Halfway through spring,” I said, keeping it vague. I didn’t trust him.

“Was it a suppressed heat? I took your labs yesterday and didn’t see any in your system.”

“No. My heats are fairly mild after…” I trailed off as my mind went blank, head tilting to the side as I searched for whatever was missing. It was like the moment I had the thought it was ripped away too quickly to make sense of it.

The room faded for a moment, replaced by the scent of bleach, the coppery tang of blood and sex and stale cigars.

Jarring sounds filtered through the shaky memory. Yells. Cries.

Terror had my heart pounding and a sharp slam wrenched me from the past to the present, the doctor looking at me a bit too closely.

“Stay with me. We don’t have time for this.”

Harsh. So much for taking ‘exceptional care’ of their patients like Nancy bragged out.

“I think it’s time to talk psychiatric symptoms. Delusions, that was noted. Auditory and visual hallucinations, as well. Do you feel anxiety?”

“No.” He frowned, but moved on smoothly.

“Nightmares?”

“Yes,” I sighed, unable to deny that. Even I knew I woke up screaming most nights, and they’d find out soon enough. “Sleeping meds make it worse. They tried that at the last clinic.”

He hummed in recognition but continued down a checklist, asking more invasive questions than I realized there were.

Finally, he finished writing and sat aside the file, informing me I had a treatment plan but giving nothing away.

My head was spinning and I had an array of new meds to try by the time I was wheeled into the dining hall.

It was loud in here. Voices yelling and talking, laughter and yells, everything compounding into a loud rumble that had me cringing.

Nancy stuck with me, feeding me bites of something I barely tasted until I was rolled back into the room I woke up in.

She left me alone then. I blinked at the dark gray walls filled with pictures of plants. The vines creeping over the window outside casting dark shadows in the space.

I had a full size bed with a thick, dark wooden frame, a bookshelf that was empty at the moment, a desk, and a closet.

“They let you add stuff eventually,” a deep voice said. I turned to the alpha with narrowed eyes, waiting to see what he’d do.

“I’m Ledger, my room’s next door. It’s empty when you move in but you’ll fill it soon enough.”

The alpha was casually leaning against the door frame. His arms were crossed and a lazy smile was aimed my way.

His hair was a short buzz and bright silver that stood out in the warm lighting. He had normal clothes on, a black shirt that stretched over his muscled chest, tucked into green camo pants that cinched around a narrow waist.

Vivid, blue eyes were watching me with open curiosity. He was unbothered but not guarded as he stared at me.

“Au-” I started, then had to clear my throat. “Audrey. Fuck this place.”

My head gave a sharp pang and I groaned, hands shifting to press against my aching skull. It was worse now as the meds faded, their hold was in the last desperate stages, as if not wanting to let me go.

“It fades,” he promised, moving closer. His steps were slow and when I didn’t react, he dropped to a crouch in front of me. “Open those eyes for me.”

I did as he asked, though I’m sure they were half-squinting still with pain. The low lighting made a whole lot more sense now.

“You fought, didn’t you?” he guessed easily. “Your pupils are nearly back to normal. Not long now.”

His voice was a low rumble and when I sucked in a breath, my eyes widened and I tried and failed to scramble back.

He smelled good. Too good.

“Don’t worry, omega. I won’t touch you without your consent. We’re all here for a reason, yeah?”

I nodded as his voice soothed me back to calm, though I kept an eye on the man that was scent-compatible.

Bourbon, vanilla, smoky leather, and pine. Strong, masculine, dangerous, but controlled. Nothing like the alphas I had before. The ones who let them take me away.

Of course, my body reacted without thought. Even as bile rose in my throat, threatening to expel everything I’d eaten.

No, I couldn’t have a mate. This shouldn’t be possible. I wanted nothing to do with it.

Fear hit me square in the chest, and he seemed to realize that, giving me a soft smile as he stepped further away.

“I’ll leave you for now, but I’ll be back at dinner, wildling. It will fade, just make sure that fight stays with you.”

He tapped his temple twice before giving me one last look and walking away.

His scent lingered in his absence. Strong enough to fill my room.

I’d never admit it to the stranger, but it was a lifeline in the darkness of this sedative, giving me something to cling to until I could shake this vulnerable feeling of helplessness.

Something I said I’d never let happen again.

Not after…

Gone again.

Fuck!

I let my eyes close and breathed in deep, biding my time until my mind was my own again.