Page 18 of Petals and Strings
“Yes,” he said as he led me through the common rooms and out a side door. “Just keep in mind that handy little bracelet you wear will sedate you the moment you try to run.”
I snorted. “And go where? They’d just drag me back here.”
He didn’t say anything to argue against that, simply kept his steady presence next to me as we walked out into the afternoon sunshine.
The grounds weren’t anything amazing. There was a field of perfectly cut grass, a few boring flowers, and some stones barricading them into clusters.
That was it.
Beyond the lawn was that large iron fence that separated us from the rest of the world. Trees blocked us from view, hiding us away from the world.
Too dangerous and broken for polite society.
“Is this place as bad as it seems?”
He glanced back at the door where a nurse was now watching, holding it open so we knew she was there.
“Sometimes,” he admitted. “Definitely at first. What Theo did was bullshit, though.”
“So, he’s not just an awful therapist?”
“That’s a hard question. It’s like comparing scorpions to spiders. He’s one of the few not-so-bad people here,” he admitted. “But are any of them trulygood? If they aren’t just oblivious like Cross, they’re monsters.”
“He forced me into my memories then tried to knock me out. How are we supposed to fucking heal if we’re zonked out every time they try to fix us?”
“Good fucking point, wildling.”
There was that nickname again. I didn’t question why he used it. I assumed it had everything to do with how crazy I was when I arrived.
I just worried that crazy was only going to get worse from here. The memories were coming back now, abrupt and unforgiving, and the pain they left behind was enough for me to wish my captors had just killed me like they planned.
Chapter Seven
Ledger
Ialways knew the moment I would find my scent match, a real one, that it would change everything.
I also knew it couldn’t happen. She didn’t know it, but I was a danger to her.
It came with the territory.
My family name was my curse. The mafia wasn’t the kind of thing you simply walked away from.
Nor were the teachings. My father raised me on pain and eggshells. Every word had to be precise, measured, and it had to follow his will.
Not mine. Never mine.
Every action, order, and request was followed blindly or there’d be hell to pay.
The day he told me he found me an omega I knew I couldn’t protest. It was my duty, as he always reminded me. I was born into this life, and I’d never escape.
Looking at my wildling, this gorgeous, strong, and unhinged omega, I knew I couldn’t take it further.
My alpha fought, shoving at the mental block I’d put up to cut off my reactions.
Even if I couldn’t have her, I’d protect her. No one would harm her here.
Not Theo and his sedation. Not Malik and his medication he used to test out our reactions. Not Cross and his beloved board he always tried to appease.
