The Four Beta Brothers
Chapter 125

JUNIPER

It felt like the entire room was spinning, even though I was sitting in a chair. My throat was dry, and no matter how many sips of water I took, it didn't seem to help. Elijah sat on the opposite side of the table to me, and Asher and Axel said on either side of me. JUNIPER It felt like the entire room was spinning, even though I was sitting in a chair. My throat was dry, and no matter how many sips of water I took, it didn't seem to help. Elijah sat on the opposite side of the table to me, and Asher and Axel said on either side of me. "I'm going to need you to start from the beginning," I said, clenching my fists under the table. I didn't want him to see how upset I was over this.

Axel reached for my hand and held it. He didn't say anything, but I knew he was telling me he was here for me.

Elijah ran his fingers through his hair. "The beginning? That was a while ago." He paused, as if expecting me to say something. When I didn't, he continued. "I had recently been appointed as the new alpha, barely a year prior. My father-the alpha before me-told me it was time to take a luna to help run the pack. It was an arranged marriage with another prestigious pack. I didn't even meet Heline until the night before the ceremony."

"So that gave you the right to cheat on her?" I asked, disgusted at the thought. I never thought my mother was the type of person to destroy a marriage. She was one of the most loyal people I knew, especially to my father-well, the man I thought had been my father.

"No. Of course not," Elijah said. "I fell in love with Heline. She wasn't my fated mate, but she was beautiful and strong, and I loved her deeply."

"Loved?" I questioned.

"Love," he corrected. "I love Heline, but it's complicated."

"Because you cheated on her with my mom," I said bluntly.

"Yes," he said. There was a finality in his voice. He knew what he did was wrong, but that wasn't enough.

Axel squeezed my hand, and Asher placed his hand on my thigh. Their touch was keeping me from losing it, but just barely.

"If you loved Heline, then why did you do it?" I asked.

"Because your mother was my fated mate," he said. "Anthony was the one who hired them to be part of his assassination team. When Crissa and Bob walked through that door on the first day, she and I locked eyes, and I knew she was my fated mate. It took everything in me to not cross that room and sweep her off her feet, but I was with Heline, who had just given birth to Winston. And your mother was with Bob.

"For weeks, we pretended like there was nothing strange going on. We tried to act like we weren't mates, but the first time I walked in on her alone in the pack house, it was like time stopped. I walked over to her and kissed her before I realized what I was doing. She was the one to push me away, saying it was wrong. She was right, of course, so we agreed to officially reject the mate bond."

"If you rejected the mate bond, then why did Heline make it sound like I was the result of a love affair?" I asked. Nothing made sense. Elijah couldn't be my real father. Bob was the man who loved and raised me.

Elijah was silent for several seconds, but it felt like several minutes had passed. "Even after we rejected each other, it didn't make my feelings go away. I watched her from afar, falling in true love with her every time I saw her. It was slow and agonizing, but I kept my feelings to myself. She was happy with Bob, and I was happy with Heline. I knew it was never meant to be.

"But then one night there was alcohol involved while Heline and Bob were out of town. Neither of us meant for it to go that far, but we woke up in bed together the next morning. Your mother avoided me like the plague after that. She told me to leave her alone, because what we did was wrong.

"I respected her wishes until I found out she was pregnant. I had to know if you were my child."

"And?" I prompted. I wanted to know the full story, but I was eager for him to get to the punchline now.

"She told me it didn't matter, because even if you were my child, we had our own families. She told me we would never be together, so I should just drop the topic."

"So you did? Even knowing there was a chance I was your child?" I felt numb inside. This was too much, and I was still a little drunk. I didn't know how to process all of this.

"Not at first. I tried to pursue the topic. I told her even if we weren't together, I wanted to be a part of my child's life. She told me you were Bob's kid, and then she did whatever she could to keep me away from you. I tried to believe her, because believing you weren't mine made everything easier.

"It was easier, especially when Bob and Crissa left suddenly. I was able to put her in the back of my mind and focus on my family. Until her letter arrived, that is. It was years after she left. In the letter, she told me she lied to me and that you were my child all along. She begged me to take you in if anything happened to her. She said she didn't want you to grow up alone. It was a very strange and random letter. I didn't know what to think of it, until I heard about her car accident. It was barely a week after I got the letter." "My mom asked you to take me in if something happened to her, and then she died a week later. You didn't stop to think there was something strange about that?" The numbness in my limbs started to melt as a spark of fire lit in my stomach.

"Of course, I thought it was strange. I was ready to launch a full investigation to make sure there was no foul play, but then Heline found your mother's letter. I confessed everything to her and told her we had to take you in. Heline brushed it off as Crissa lying to me, saying she was just desperate to make sure her child was taken care of. I told her I didn't care. Even if you weren't actually my child, it was only right to take you in.

"That was the last thing Heline wanted. She said it would tear our family apart, and she would leave me if I took you in. She said it would cause a huge scandal, and as the alpha, I couldn't afford it. She insisted we leave the matter alone, since car accidents happen all of the time. Somehow, it was still leaked to the news, and everyone was spreading rumors about me having an estranged daughter. Heline convinced me we definitely couldn't take you in after that."

"And you listened to her?" I asked.

"I didn't have a choice." He sounded pathetic and miserable. I thought he was this amazing and kind alpha all the while he was the father who abandoned me when I needed him most.

"Of course you had a choice!" I snapped. I couldn't hold back my anger anymore. "You could've come after me anyway. I was alone, and I grew up thinking I had no one. I could've had you. I could've had Winston. Instead, you decided to abandon me for the sake of your reputation."

"I don't even know if you are actually my daughter," Elijah tried to argue, but he sounded weak.

"Look me in the eyes and tell me you don't actually believe that," I challenged. He looked me in the eyes, but he didn't say anything. He couldn't without lying. I stood up. "I can't face you right now."

I rushed for the door, knowing I couldn't stand another second around the man who abandoned me. I heard Elijah say my name and stand up, but Axel stopped him.

"Don't follow her if you know what's good for you."

I opened the door and came face to face with Ethan. His eyebrows furrowed the second he saw my face. "What's wrong? What happened?"

I wanted to fall into Ethan's arms and crumble, but I couldn't do that here. I still had a flame of rage fueling my actions, but I knew the moment I stopped, I'd fall apart.

"Ask him," I said, gesturing to Elijah. Then I slipped past Ethan and bolted for my room.

***

I paced back and forth in the room, unable to sit still. I went over the facts on loop, and there was so much that made sense and didn't at the same time. I was so caught up in my own thoughts that I barely heard the door when it happened. "June."

I tugged at my hair, trying to pull myself out of my thoughts.

"June," he said a little louder.

I stopped moving and looked at the door. Asher stood there with Axel right behind him. Seeing the twins standing at my door, made my walls crumble. "I don't know if I can deal with this right now. I don't know how. It feels like too much." "Tell us what you need," Asher said, "and we'll do it."

"We'll beat him up if you want," Axel offered. I knew they wouldn't actually beat up the former alpha for me-or maybe they would. Either way, I knew it wouldn't make me feel better. It would change the lies and the years thinking I had no one.

I didn't have anyone. Elijah may have been my biological father, but it was not my dad. He and I would never have that kind of relationship. That thought broke my heart, which didn't make any sense. I barely knew the former alpha. It shouldn't have mattered that he didn't want me enough to rescue me, yet the pain was too real to ignore.

I didn't want to deal with this. Not tonight. Tomorrow was Winston's alpha ceremony and our best chance at getting Nathan back. I couldn't spend the night worrying about something that happened years ago.

"Distract me," I said. "That's what I need from you.

Asher crossed the room as Axel shut the door and locked it. Asher's lips crashed onto mine as he grabbed my head, holding me as if I was about to shatter at any second. A moment later, Axel's lips found my neck, and as I was sandwiched between the twins' bodies, I knew I would be okay as long as I had them.