Page 80 of Petals and Strings
If Ansel wasn’t there yet, that was fine.
I could be strong for the both of us.
This change had woken me up in new ways and I was going to show this whole fucking facility that we weren’t pretty dolls to drug and set on a shelf.
We were survivors. Warriors in our own right.
I had a feeling I knew just the alphas to make sure I could fight back, too.
“Hold your head up high, baby, we’re going to show them they didn’t break us,” I said. He let me help him to his feet then squared his shoulders.
Pride hit me right in the chest and I smiled at him. So fucking strong.
Ansel walked with me out of the room, his hands clinging to me as we passed the alphas, but his head stayed up and he didn’t hunch in on himself.
Only when my alphas stood between us did he calm enough to stop squeezing my hand hard enough to break it.
I don’t know if he even realized that his omega accepted our alphas. Not romantically, but as part of our pack.
As protectors.
Something neither of us ever had before.
“Let’s go,” I said over my shoulder to the alphas as we walked back to our unit. “I still have to find Kane.”
“This way,” Ledger said, moving around us to take the lead, veering down the next hall.
It was silent here, not a single patient in the common area. In fact, there was no sign of life to be found at all.
When my hands started to shake, Ansel squeezed them, offering me comfort even as he was trying to gain his footing.
It might be too soon, but I loved this omega.
Right now, I truly needed his reassurance. I was terrified that the man we found here in this hall, would not be the same one who was healing and remembering his past.
That he’d forget us. Orme, rather. I was the new one to the group.
Ledger walked up to the door I assumed was Kane’s. The alpha really had kept tabs on us all while we were separated. Watched and waited until he could bring us back together.
It would be insane to deny we were pack at this point. I thought I’d fight the notion, and I did at first, but now?
This felt right.
We weren’t your typical pack. Every one of us had skeletons in our closets and trauma to keep a whole team of therapists employed for years.
But that’s what worked for us. We understood each other like no one else could. There was no pity here, only acceptance and an underlying strength we saw in each other.
The door swung open and Kane stepped out. His face was set in a scowl until he saw Ledger standing there. His face softened, but when it flickered to the rest of us, he crumbled.
Ledger caught him, holding him as the tears flowed and sobs echoed out. Ansel sniffled next to me and my own silent tears streamed down my cheeks.
When he could stand, Kane walked over to me, his fingers drifting down my face. “I was lost without you.”
“We found you again,” I promised. “We always will.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Audrey
