Page 79 of Petals and Strings
Even worse, using trauma against us. They knew I was locked in a cell and stuck me in isolation. Knew Ansel was terrified of alphas, and put him with alphas anyway. They knew damn well he was safe with us, had grown to trust Rydell and Ledger, yet had ripped him away anyway.
I glanced down at Rydell’s wrist where a pale indent still rested. It was gone. He truly had broken his restraints. There was nothing holding us back now, except mine.
“Can you break this?” I asked. He grinned, flashing his slightly pointed canines and I saw that beast resting within him.
It had an animalistic edge. But I didn’t fear it. In fact, I craved it. I held up my hand to my alpha. Despite the gleam in his eyes, he was gentle as he gripped the bracelet between his large hands.
“My fucking pleasure, omega,” he said as he flexed his muscles, the bracelet shattering under his grip.
Maybe this was the beginning of the end. Our ticket to truly healing and getting the fuck out of here. They could no longer control us like they did before. I wasn’t going to let them drug me or set me back.
Only moving forward. Finding out how to live my life the way I deserved.
When we reached the atrium again, Cross was waiting. He held up a bracelet to Rydell. His eyes spoke of a warning but Rydell laughed. It was a deep, rumbling chuckle that was genuinely amused.
“No thanks,” he said as we passed. I stopped just beyond and turned back, unable to bite my tongue.
“Maybe you should use this opportunity to learn you don’t need to control us in order to keep this place running. We deserve autonomy and you are required by law to provide us with a therapist. Try to get us one that can actually help us leave this godforsaken place. I won’t be controlled anymore. Nor willI stay indefinitely. Anarchy is coming, Cross. I suggest you get ahead of it.”
I held up my own wrist and Rydell let the remnants of my bracelet fall to the ground, clattering there in the stunned silence.
We walked away, turning our back on the director and his guards, Ledger leading us to the furthest patient wing.
I could smell the alpha pheromones strong in the air before we even reached the rooms. Both of my alphas moved closer, squishing me between them as we stepped into their common area.
Four big alphas sat in a circle, talking loudly. There were two betas on the other side, quietly reading, unbothered by the jeering alphas.
“Ah, are you here for our little mouse?" one asked, a smirk on his face. “We wondered when you’d be coming. I heard the big one broke his chains. Care to share the secret?”
They all four held up hands encircled in their own bracelets. Despite what I’d just told Cross, they deserved to keep wearing theirs as punishment. I had a feeling they reveled in scaring Ansel. There was only amusement and a shitty nickname, not compassion.
Let them rot in their own chains.
“No.” Rydell’s answer was sharp, cutting out all the amusement in the air. “Where is he?”
The assholes shifted back, lounging now in a show of disrespect. “Figure it out since you don’t want to help us out.”
Rydell growled, but I wasn’t ready for a brawl. It would just put us back in the staff’s clutches.
“Ansel?!” I yelled, startling my group and theirs. The alphas started to protest but Rydell flexed, his chest puffing up in a dare to even try it. He was itching to get out his aggression, I’m sure.
“He’s in that room,” one of the beta women said, pointing to a door to my right. She seemed far too sweet to be stuck with the four assholes nearby.
“Thanks,” I breathed out in relief as I ran for the room, shoving the door open and nearly crumbling as Ansel’s broken face peeked out of his covers with pure terror on his face.
“Oh, baby.” My whisper was followed by a broken whimper that had me rushing forward and pulling him close. He stared up at me with his dark blue gaze, eyes full of pain and fear that never should have been there.
Not after coming so far.
He didn’t say anything to me and I knew that even if it was only just over a day, the emotional pain of wrenching apart the shaky foundation we built, would last.
Just because I thought we deserved a say in our care and what we put into our bodies, didn’t mean I was going to say that we had no emotional issues. We all struggled with abandonment and our designations were so fucked up at this point we could barely survive without those we trusted.
“Audrey.” My name on his lips was perfect as he finally broke the silence.
“Come on, baby. We’re going back. Rydell made sure of it,” I told him, helping him to his feet. He felt impossibly more fragile and it only added more timber to the ever-burning fire of my rage.
Iwouldmake them pay. That vow only grew every second I spent putting us back together. We were done waiting around for them to hurt us again and again.
