Page 100 of Petals and Strings
No… wait. This was different. Something was off.
The mess was there as usual… but signs of them were not. The TV was gone, that was a prized possession here. No game systems or books. Just furniture and the mess.
Were we robbed? What the hell?
I opened the front door to realize it wasn’t just the truck gone, but both vehicles. They tookmycar, too.
“Hey, you ready?” Paul called out. I glanced over, shock settling in as I shook my head and stepped back inside. The door hung open behind me as I ran toward the master.
Dread was heavy in my gut. I knew damn well what I would find as I twisted the knob and pushed.
The door swung open with a creak, the bed bare of blankets and the drawers and closet hanging open.
All of it was empty.
I hadn’t set foot in this room in ages. Her nest was no longer an oasis she invited me into, their bed was for the alphas and her, not the beta.
My hands shook as I reached for the doorknob of the nest. I could vividly remember every detail of it.
The barren empty hole that greeted me was what brought me to my knees.
I woke with a loud gasp, tears streaming down my face and body covered in sweat. My covers were wrapped around me like a vise and I had to fight my way out of it.
My feet hit the tile and I rushed to the door, fingers fumbling with the lock. I was desperate to get out, to take a shower and pretend the crushing reality of my past wasn’t tearing me into fucking pieces.
“Hey, hey, what’s going on?” Ares’s voice echoed out before his arms wrapped around me, turning me away from the door and holding tight. “Talk to me, Kane.”
“They left,” I choked out, my voice going from a whisper to a guttural scream. “They fucking left me behind! After all I put up with, all I took, they left without a word.”
“Kane.” Audrey’s raspy voice had me turning, trying to make sense of the devastation I was feeling and the contrasting feelings she evoked.
Audrey brought peace. Calm amidst the storm. Kindness.
They all did.
What I had before paled in comparison.
“They left me, Audrey. I walked out of my room and they’d quietly moved out, leaving me alone with a mess and a broken heart that was already fracturing to fucking pieces. That was after casting me aside time and time again. Telling me I was useless, never meant to be anything more than a servant. And she let it happen.”
“They’re monsters. All of them. I told you it wasn’t you,” she said, pulling me out of Ares’s arms and into her own. I breathed in deep, soaking in her fresh, floral and spice scent. “If they could leave someone as good as you, they weren’t worthy.”
“I was going to leave, but I desperately wanted our bond to mean something. It did before they came into the picture. I kept trying to stick it out. My friend was there to pick me up when I realized what was happening. Everything was gone. Nest empty, clothes gone, nothing left behind… not even my fucking car. No goodbye, no note… nothing. As if I wasn’t worth the effort.”
“I’m so fucking sorry,” she whispered, holding me tighter yet.
“Paul tried to drag me out anyway, we thought it was fine. Then I felt it an hour or so later. The pain. My chest cracked open, like someone broke my ribcage and poured lava into the cavity. Then my head burst with pain. Blinding. I screamed like a psycho… then broke.”
“They forcibly broke the bond,” Ares summarized in horror.
That’s fucking barbaric. It takes an insane amount of willpower and an entire pack cutting off the bond. Hell, sometimes even medical intervention. No one escapes unscathed.
“How is that even possible?” Audrey asked, glancing at him. “With mine, they started a new bond, but we weren’t pack. It was single alphas. And one sided. I never bit anyone.”
“They would all have to collectively move on, cut off the bond mentally and let it snap. It was an active, intentional decision,” he said. Even he was affected. I could see the moisture in his eyes. Thecompassion.
How could I not trust him now? In one fucking session he achieved what I’d avoided. Sure, it took my willingness to go there, forcing myself deeper, fighting past the meds that dulled the pain, but he was there. Leading me. Guiding me.
“You know who you are now,” Audrey said, voice firm. “You get to decide now what to let go of and who you’re going to be from here on out.”
