Page 90 of Petals and Strings
“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.”
