The Four Beta Brothers
Chapter 128

JUNIPER

Heline stumbled to her feet when she heard my voice. Winston grabbed her arm to keep her steady, but it didn't stop the woman from rushing over to me. The stoic and serious luna I met my first day here was not the woman standing in front of me. "You couldn't live with us. It was too dangerous," Heline said. The alcohol coming from her breath stung my nose. "What are you talking about?" I started to wonder if she was too drunk to make sense.

"When I told Anthony about you, I felt his anger flare up. I didn't understand why, but I knew you wouldn't be safe around him. That's why I knew you'd be better off staying with the Millers than coming to live with us," Heline said. "So you are working with Anthony?" Elijah said.

Heline turned to her husband. "No, I'm not. I told him about Juniper and your love affair after I f*cked him to get revenge on you."

Elijah stumbled back, as if he had just been slapped in the face.

"Crissa told me what the two of you did the day after you cheated on me," Heline continued. "She told me everything, because she was my friend, and she knew she had messed up. I waited for you to tell me the truth, too. I thought that if you loved me, you would be honest with me, but instead, I watched you fall in love with Crissa day after day. I thought that if I f*cked your beta, then you would finally notice me, but you were too caught up in your own world to notice anyone else.

"I didn't tell Anthony about your affair to hurt Juniper or anyone else. I was lonely, and he was there for me. I thought he was someone I could trust. That was it," Heline explained. Tears poured down her face as she explained everything. "But when I told him about Juniper, the look in his eyes scared me. She shouldn't be here. He's going to find her and hurt her."

I stared at the broken woman in front of me, and my heart cracked. I crossed the room and wrapped my arms around her, trying to soothe her. She wasn't cold to everyone because she didn't care. She was cold because it was the only way she knew how to survive. "He's already tried to kill me, and he has failed. He's not going to succeed now," I said, rubbing small circles on the former luna's back.

"You don't know what he's capable of," she whispered.

"Why didn't you tell me any of this?" Elijah asked. "Why didn't you tell me my beta was a treacherous bastard?"

Heline looked up, pulling away just enough to look her husband in my eyes. "Why didn't you tell me about your fated mate?"

"That's different," he said. "I was trying to protect you."

"You're right." Heline stood up straight, breaking free from all contact. "It is different. I didn't know what Anthony was up to. I only had a bad feeling, and I doubt you would've taken my warning seriously. You, on the other hand, knew exactly who Crissa was, and you never said a word to me. Instead, you cheated on me and tried to pretend nothing happened."

Elijah didn't say anything in response. He searched for an answer, but he knew there was nothing he could do or say that would make him look better.

"I'm tired," Heline said. "I think I need to take a nap."

Winston and Kalli were by her side a moment later, and the two of them guided the former luna up the stairs.

I wanted to believe everything Heline said. The tears on her face made everything she said seem believable. However, I didn't know what to believe anymore.

"I had no idea she was so hurt by this," Elijah said, his voice breaking the silence.

"Maybe you should've paid more attention to the woman you claim to love. We need to start preparing for the ceremony," Ethan said, his voice cold as he spoke to the former alpha. I felt his anger surge as he looked at the former alpha, a man he once looked up to.

***

I stood next to Ethan as the crowd started pouring into their seats. Warriors disguised as guests filled a third of the seats to help protect the pack if Anthony decided to start anything. Ethan scanned the crowd, and I knew he was only looking for one face-the same face I was searching for.

I took his hand and squeezed. I wasn't sure if I was trying to comfort him or myself, but Ethan squeezed my hand back. This was the moment of truth. If Anthony didn't show up here, then we would be out of ideas on how to find Nathan. I wanted desperately to see Nathan's face show up in the crowd, but I knew that would never happen. Even if Anthony showed up here, he wouldn't waltz in with Nathan on his arm.

Unless he planned on using Nathan as a negotiation tactic or a shield.

I knew seeing Nathan here would only be a bad sign, but I couldn't help looking for him anyway. I wanted to see his face to know he was okay. I needed to know he was okay. "It's time," Ethan said.

All of the seats were filled, and warriors lined the grassy field the chairs were set up on. Only a fool or a mastermind would even attempt an assassination with the number of warriors here.

"Are you sure you don't want me to go out there with you?" I asked. I felt like a coward, waiting on the side while Ethan stood in front of the pack with the new alpha and luna.

"I'm positive. I would rather keep you away from the crowd until I know it's safe. We can't afford to put you at risk, especially knowing you are the former alpha's daughter," Ethan said. His explanation made sense, but I knew it wasn't the main reason he asked me to stay out of this ceremony. He wanted to keep me safe because I was his mate.

"I will make sure she stays safe," Asher said, placing a hand on my back. He was assigned as my personal guard, since he had more training than Axel. Axel had been assigned to watch the guests as they entered, since he would recognize Nathan and his father instantaneously.

Ethan placed a kiss on my cheek and then walked to the arch set up at the front of the crowd where the ceremony would take place. No one in the crowd knew this ceremony was fake-not even the warriors. There was a good chance Anthony had moles in the Moon Warriors, so any important information about the plan was limited to very few people. As far as the Moon Warriors were concerned, there was an added layer of protection to ensure nothing went wrong.

Elijah stood at the front of the crowd with Heline by his side. After a short nap, she was given several cups of coffee and water to sober her up. The bags under her eyes showed her exhaustion, but she expertly placed a mask on her face, hiding everything that had happened this morning. She had several years of practice putting on a fake smile when her position called for it.

There are no reports of anything suspicious yet, Asher linked, keeping me informed as he received warrior reports.

My heart raged like a thunderstorm. If Anthony was going to attack, he was running out of time.

Elijah stepped forward and started addressing the crowd, talking about his time as alpha and various other things I didn't care about. I hardly heard his words as the blood pulsed through my ears. I couldn't breathe as I scanned the faces of the crowd, hoping I had missed some sort of sign that Nathan was here.

I had let my hope build to dangerous levels, despite telling myself not to hope at all. I hoped my missing mate would show up here, and we'd rescue him from his father. I hoped that after today, everything would be okay. We would rescue all werewolves from Anthony and his evil ways, and I could start the happily ever after I craved.

However, each peaceful second that passed by made that hope start to crack piece by piece. I didn't know what I would do if I had to continue on, always looking over my shoulder, wondering when Anthony would show up and try to take everything away from me again. I knew I would get through it with Axel, Asher, and Ethan by my side, but I had hoped that everything would be okay after today.

Winston took a step forward to take his vows as the future alpha in front of his crowd, and my hope shattered into a million pieces. Time was up.

Only a fool would try to attack the alpha during his ceremony.

Or a genius.

A scream startled the crowd, and a woman covered in blood ran past the warriors who were supposed to be stationed at the entrance.

Get Juniper out of here. Now! Axel ordered, creating a link between Asher and me.

Asher started pulling at my arm, ready to drag me to safety, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from the woman.

"It's a trap," I muttered.

"Juniper, we have to go." Asher pulled on my arm, but I refused to leave.

My gut was telling me not to leave yet, despite the crowd starting to rush and disperse. I knew the woman was the start of the distraction. She was there to start a panic, making it easier to attack the real target. "We have to go. Now," Asher insisted.

I looked at him, and he was trying to drag me along without hurting me. The fear in his eyes was exactly what Anthony wanted. When people were afraid, they made mistakes.

Juniper.

The voice hit my head like a ton of bricks. I slipped out of Asher's grip and looked back at the crowd. Nathan stood in the middle of the crowd, looking at me with terror in his sunken eyes. I blinked, and then he was gone.