Page 41 of Petals and Strings
She was exactly that. A bright spot in a dark place.
Audrey was multi-faceted. She was soft and scared, then strong as fuck and ready to fight. Last week, she had Ansel in her lap, holding him steady and bearing the brunt of the storm so it didn’t touch him.
Then she played for him. For us.
The notes that she pulled from that violin were as gorgeous as the omega herself.
She was defiant and wild, ready for anything. I wanted to see her with freedom. To watch her thrive.
Soft laughter echoed out, stunning us as it filled the air.
They leaned in close, Ansel breathing in her laughter with a grin I’d never once seen before. She was giggling hard enough, tears were leaking down her cheeks.
Kane drifted out of his room at the sound. He eyed them with amusement and wonder, taking slow steps closer as if unsure if he should interrupt.
She smiled up at him when he joined, gesturing for him to get closer. Ansel looked disappointed, but didn’t shy away as the beta pulled a chair up.
I got it. When her attention was on you, then gone, all that was left was an empty, gaping hole.
She was the sun, bathing us in her warmth even on the cloudy days, chasing away the chill clinging to our bones.
“She’s your scent match, isn’t she?” My question had Rydell freezing. Every muscle locked up, then his eyes slowly shifted to look at me.
“I think so.”
A lie.
“You know.”
His piercing, green eyes cut through me. I held it there, not backing away but not challenging him, either.
Then he nodded. The confirmation I already knew.
Neither of us had felt a stir for Ansel or any other omega here. It was just her.
Audrey was different.
Maybe fate knew we all had such different lives that there was no way to put us into a pack unless we were all broken first.
It was time now to piece ourselves back together. To be stronger for her, for them. Ansel might not be mine romantically but I’d always looked out for him like a little brother.
“Audrey. Therapy.” Theo’s words were barked. Rydell and I moved forward, making our collective presence known. “Alone.”
The last bit was tacked on as he narrowed his eyes at us.
“We’re simply walking her to therapy,” I said easily. When I stopped at her side she was whispering reassurance to Ansel and standing up, her mismatched eyes pleading with me to save her even though we both knew I couldn’t.
“We’ll be right outside.”
She didn’t say anything as she turned to join Theo. It was a mere second, not long enough for the beta to argue and cause issues.
I had a feeling we weren’t going to get away with this long. He was unravelling slowly and I wasn’t sure what the ending point would be.
One thing I knew was that I wasn’t going to give him a chance to take us down with him.
We trailed behind them, a steady force at her back as we watched and waited. Something I now intended to do with Ansel if he tried to bring him in.
Though, he gave up on the omega years ago. Outside of group therapy, he was left alone as long as he took his meds and went to meals.
