The Four Beta Brothers
Chapter 106

JUNIPER

When I opened my eyes, Beta Burrell had Craig's arm twisted in the air. Nathan was unscathed, but his eyes were wider than I had ever seen before. My heart pounded against my rib cage with a ferocity that made it difficult to breathe.

"I told you that my sons were off limits. It was bad enough that you accidentally shot Axel. Now you're deliberately trying to shoot Nathan. Have you forgotten who you're working for?" Beta Burrell was furious in an unexpected way. I thought he didn't care about his "I haven't forgotten, but I have decided you're letting your own blood blind you to what needs to happen." Craig twisted out of Beta Burrell's grip.

sons.

"They are the future to my legacy," Beta Burrell said. "They will carry on what we start. Once that she-wolf is out of the way as a distraction, they will realize their place." He jabbed his finger towards me, making me flinch.

I shrank into the chair under his gaze. Beta Burrell still wanted me dead, and the need to run filled my bones. Only there was nowhere to run. If I tried, either Craig would shoot me or Nathan-or Beta Burrell would come after me.

"If you kill her, then none of them will listen to you," Craig said. "She is the tool you need to get your sons to bend to your will. You were the one who told me you were losing your grip on Ethan. If you kill her, you'll lose him completely, but if she's alive, you can convince him to follow your lead."

Beta Burrell clenched his jaw. His eyes fell onto me again, and the hatred he felt for me made my hands shake. He didn't have to tell me how he felt about me. One look screamed it all.

"She's the reason James died," he finally muttered.

"No, you're the reason James died!" I snapped, suddenly finding strength. The mention of James stirred the pain and anger from deep inside of me, and I refused to let Beta Burrell blame me for the incident.

"We were children, and you sent an assassin after me. Who does that?" I continued.

"You knew too much. You were trying to destroy everything I worked hard for, and you're doing it again," he snapped back.

"No." I stood up and faced him. I was tired of being blamed and bullied. No matter what came of it, I didn't want to sit back and take any of it anymore. "James was the one trying to destroy you. He's the one who discovered your plan to kill Alpha Williams. He's the one who broke into your office and stole all of those documents. He hated you, and he wanted to stop you. I was just there to support him."

"You're lying," Beta Burrell said in a dangerously low voice. I was aggravating a bear, and I knew it. Yet, I couldn't stop myself.

"I'm not. You sent an assassin after me, because you thought I was trying to destroy you, when it was your own son trying to do that. Even now, your sons want to stop you, and any harm that falls onto them is your fault. Axel getting shot was your fault. If you weren't so greedy, James would be alive, and Axel would've never been hurt."

Beta Burrell stormed towards me and grabbed my shoulders. He slammed me against the wall and seethed, "Shut up! You stupid girl. You know nothing. I ought to kill you right now."

"Try to kill her and I will put a silver bullet through Nathan's heart." Craig had his gun pointed at Nathan already.

"I told you that you work for me!" Beta Burrell snapped. He flipped me around and wrapped his arm around my neck. I struggled against his grip, but I wasn't strong enough to break free. I tried to transform into my wolf, but whatever drugs were in my system were still suppressing my wolf too much to transform. I felt her stirring beneath the surface, begging to be released.

"We work together," Craig said, "but I'm starting to think I don't need you. My family is the one doing all of the heavy lifting. You just bark orders at us. How terrible would it be for the alpha and his beta to die suddenly, forcing the beta's sons to take over instead? Of course, he would need the help of the well-renowned Clandestine family. I don't think anyone would question that."

"Do you really think you can control my sons with this omega? She is nothing," Beta Burrell said.

"Do you think you can control them without her?" Craig challenged.

The power between wolves made the air suffocating. Craig was from a strong alpha bloodline, and his wolf was strong. I could feel his power trying to bend me and everyone else in the room. However, Beta Burrell's wolf was even stronger. He was only the beta, second in command, but the Burrell family were descendants of lycans. Even a beta was stronger than a regular werewolf's bloodline.

Beta Burrell was the stronger of the two, and if he won, it meant my life was over. I let my body go limp in Beta Burrell's arms, acting like everything that was happening was too much. My hand brushed against his belt, and I felt a weapon attached to it. If I was able to grab the weapon, I might have a chance against him.

"So you think you can kill me and force my sons to take over what I was doing by holding this girl as collateral?" Beta Burrell laughed, and his voice sent a chill down my spine. "Fine. Then I'll just kill her right now. Then you'll have no choice but to keep me around, since my sons will be useless."

"I will kill your son," Craig warned.

Beta Burrell looked at Nathan, and hesitated. His body went rigid against mine, but then he said, "Kill him, then."

"Dad!" Nathan shouted, struggling against his restraints. "What are you talking about? You can't seriously be okay with that?"

"I told you to call me 'Father"," Beta Burrell said. "And I'm sorry, but I have bigger goals I must accomplish. I've already lost one son to the cause. What's one more?"

My heart ached for Nathan. My eyes watered, and I wanted to cry on his behalf. To have a father as cruel as Beta Burrell was a travesty, and Nathan deserved so much better.

The door burst open, and a small woman emerged from the hallway. "Sir, we're under attack."

"What?" Craig kept his gun pointed at Nathan and his eyes on Beta Burrell, ready to act if anything happened.

"We sent the guards after him, but he's taking them down like they're nothing. He's taken down nearly our whole team," she said. Sweat dripped down her forehead, and she was legitimately scared of whoever was attacking their base of operations. "Who? No one should be strong enough to get through our team."

"Ethan," she muttered. "The Beta's son."

My heart leapt after hearing Ethan's name. He found me against all odds, and he was coming for me. The hope in the pit of my stomach began to grow. With Ethan's help, Nathan and I had a better chance to get out of here alive. "Maybe you do need me after all," Beta Burrell said. "Clearly, my bloodline is superior to these goons you've hired."

"Let go of the girl now," Craig tried to order. "I don't think things will bode well for any of us if your son comes in here on a rampage. You may not care about this one, but I know you care about Ethan."

"I'm not releasing the girl just yet," Beta Burrell said. "If your theory is right, then I think I'll keep the girl for myself. Ethan won't have a choice but to listen to me, and you won't kill him. You need him as much as I do."

I wanted to kill Beta Burrell. I hated the way he talked about his sons. I hated how he blamed everything on other people, claiming he was doing it for a better person. I hated everything about him, and I wanted to see him dead.

I took advantage of the distraction caused by the argument between Craig and Beta Burrell, and I reached my good arm back and grabbed the hilt of the dagger in Beta Burrell's belt. I twisted my wrist as best as I could in this position and used every ounce of strength I had to jam the blade between his ribcage.

He let out a shout and loosened his grip on me enough that I slipped out from under his arm. I ran across the room to Nathan before he could get his wits about him again.

Beta Burrell pulled the knife out of his chest with a hiss. He pointed the bloody blade in my direction. "You're going to regret that."

Craig pointed his gun towards Beta Burrell instead of Nathan. "Looks like you just lost your trump card. Don't move, or I will place two bullets in you, one in your heart and one in your head."

"What about Ethan?" the woman reminded, standing in the doorway. She kept looking down the hallway, and it wasn't long before cries of pain echoed towards us.

"Let him come. He'll learn real fast who's in charge here. He won't dare to attack me with that pretty girl standing there," Craig said with an evil glint in his eyes.

The girl backed away from the door, putting as much distance between it and herself as possible. Whatever she had witnessed outside of the door had terrified her.

The screams outside grew louder, and then there was silence. All of us watched the door, waiting.

A moment later, Ethan stepped through the door, his blue eyes so dark they looked like the night sky. Red was splattered all over his shirt, and he held two daggers still glistening with fresh blood. He didn't look like the Ethan I knew. This was a raw, more feral version, somewhere between wolf and human.

"I'm only going to say this once. Give Juniper to me now, and I might let you live."