The Four Beta Brothers
Chapter 134

JUNIPER

DAY 1:

Everyone stood in the room as Remy tried to navigate the tangled webs of Nathan's mind. Ethan, Asher, and Axel took turns standing by my side, handing me drinks and snacks throughout the day. I only left the room to use the restroom.

Even when Remy stopped to take her own breaks, I couldn't bring myself to leave the room. I had abandoned Nathan for too long, and I wouldn't let myself do it again until he was himself.

It was dark when Remy took a step back and let out a long sigh. "I've done all I can for today. I will continue tomorrow."

"Did you make any progress?" I asked.

Remy bit her lip and looked at Blade. "In a way, yes, but not enough to get your hopes up. Moving through Nathan's mind is like walking through a tangle of spider webs in a maze. I learned the paths I can take and paths that I can't. I've discovered important things, but I haven't been able to get to the real Nathan."

I tried to keep my face neutral as the disappointment washed in. Remy made it very clear that she might not be successful. I knew the expectations going into this, but I couldn't stop myself from hoping it would be over soon.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" I asked. Standing around and watching felt like a waste of my talents.

"Being by his side is all you can do for now. As his mate, you give him strength," Remy said.

"We haven't accepted the mate bond yet. We didn't get a chance to before...before all of this." I looked at Nathan. He was still under a light sedation spell. When he looked like this, it made it easy to forget the monster he became when he was conscious. "Being by his side will still help," Remy insisted. She grabbed my hand and gave me a sympathetic smile. "Get some rest tonight. There's nothing you can do by staying here." With that, she left with Blade in tow behind her.

It was just the brothers and me in the room now. Winston and Kalli had left some time ago. As the new luna and alpha, they had a lot of work to do, especially with the vampire attack on the pack house. They had to navigate the situation carefully to prevent tension growing with the vampires to the north.

Ethan filled me in on all of the details, but it was difficult to retain the information when my mind only wanted to focus on Nathan.

"I'll take the first shift watching Nathan tonight," Ethan declared. We had decided Nathan was not allowed to be left alone for even a moment. Winston had offered to assign warriors to the task, but the brothers instantly rejected it, refusing to let anyone else handle the well-being of their brother.

"No," Asher protested. "Axel and I can handle it tonight. You need to get your rest. You are the official beta now, which means you can't afford to be sleep deprived."

Ethan hesitated. He wanted to refuse to let the twins take the shift by themselves. He felt personally responsible for Nathan's condition, despite everyone telling him there was only one person at fault, and he was dead now.

Sensing Ethan's hesitation, Axel stepped forward. "Take Juniper and rest. Like Remy said, it's important for her to rest, since tomorrow is going to be another long day."

This was enough to convince Ethan. "Link me if there are any changes to Nathan. No matter how small they are, wake me up."

"I'm not going to wake you up if it's minor," Axel said.

"Don't make me order you to listen," Ethan said, completely seriously.

Axel scoffed. "When have you ever been able to control me? Besides, we are more than capable of handling him for a few hours." Ethan gave him a look, so Axel changed his tune. "I promise to wake you if anything important comes up. Now will you take Juniper and go rest? She looks like she's about to collapse."

"Fine," Ethan muttered. He wasn't happy, but I was enough of a motivator for him to drop the subject.

Ethan grabbed my hand and led me to our guest room. I felt numb as we left Nathan. I wanted to protest and insist I stay with him, but my body was too exhausted to argue. The idea of a comfy bed suddenly became more appealing.

Ethan and I didn't say anything as we got ready for bed. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, but our fears and exhaustion flowed between our bond. What was the point of speaking, when we both had the same thing on our minds? "I spoke to Elijah today about CUW," Ethan said, pulling back the bed covers.

"Oh?" I climbed into the bed next to him, but I stayed sitting up. I felt too on edge to lie down right away. We hadn't talked about school before the attack.

"He is postponing the finals due to everything with the Clandestines, so you don't have to worry about missing anything while you're gone. I also talked to the professors. It is okay if you and my brothers turn in your work late, even if it's through winter break. I explained your situation, and all of them are okay with giving you however much time you need-that is if you still plan on returning."

We hadn't spoken about school since before the fake Alpha ceremony. The original plan was for me to return to CUW with Axel and Asher the day after the ceremony. However, with Nathan's condition, no one had brought up the idea of returning. We all knew none of us were going to leave while Nathan was in his current state, so no one had even broached the topic of school.

"Okay," I said, unsure if I would return to school. Part of me wanted to go back. I wanted to walk across the stage and graduate college for the sake of my parents. I knew a college degree was small compared to the life I was destined for, but I didn't want to give it up just because I had found my mates.

However, I couldn't stand the idea of going back to school and leaving Nathan behind.

I felt Ethan's eyes on me. He was fishing to see my thoughts on going back to school, but I didn't know what to say. He seemed to sense this and moved on.

"Elijah also told me that he has decided to take over as principal," Ethan said. "He feels that it is his responsibility to clean up the mess Charles Clandestine left behind. Plus, I think it's his way of taking a separation from Heline." "They're separating?" I asked, suddenly more interested in the conversation. It was easier to worry about other people's problems than my own.

Ethan nodded. "After everything that was revealed between them, I think they decided to get divorced. They don't have an obligation to the pack anymore-at least not in the same way-so there's nothing holding them back anymore."

It was a little strange thinking the former alpha and luna were getting a divorce. They weren't fated mates, so there was no celestial obligation keeping them together, and it was clear their relationship was a shame at the end-even if there was a time it was genuine.

"Promise me that won't ever happen to us," I said. I knew our relationship was completely different than Elijah and Heline's, but I knew it wouldn't be without our arguments and difficulties. I couldn't stand the thought of letting our relationship break like that. Ethan furrowed his eyebrows. "I will never let us reach that point. I don't care how difficult things get. I would never cheat on you, and I will never give up on us."

I already knew what he said was true before he said the words, but it was different hearing them. Tears filled my eyes. "I will always fight for us."

Ethan pulled me into his chest and kissed the top of my head. "Good, because so will I.”

I wrapped my arms around his torso and nuzzled into his body. Everything with Nathan was exhausting in every way possible, and it was a relief to take a moment with one of my mates and just breathe. "Nathan is going to pull through this, right?" I asked.

"Of course," Ethan said with surprising confidence. "He is one of the most determined and strongest people I know. Not anyone can become the most promising wolfball player at his age."

"How can you say that with so much confidence?" I asked. I had gone back and forth between being hopeful and trying to accept that the Nathan I once knew would never come back to me.

"Because if I stop believing my little brother will get through this, I will completely fall apart, and I can't afford to do that right now."

DAY 2:

The room was less crowded on the second day. Kalli briefly swung by to check on me and brought me a protein bar. Winston didn't show up at all, although he sent his best wishes through link. Even Ethan wasn't able to stay as long, since he had to assist Winston with his official duties. There was something about setting up a meeting with the vampire king to smooth things over.

Asher and Axel were the only ones who stayed with me the entire day.

By the end of the day, there were still no changes in Nathan's behavior.

"Don't give up hope," Remy said. "I'm making progress. I promise."

I spent that night with Axel.

DAY 3:

The moment I walked into Nathan's room, Remy jumped up. There were dark circles under her eyes, making it clear she had hardly slept.

"Juniper! You're finally here!" She was practically vibrating, despite the exhaustion in her eyes.

"How many cups of coffee have you had?" I asked.

Remy waved her hand. "That doesn't matter."

"Four," Blade said. "I tried to stop her after two, but that didn't go well."

Remy rolled her eyes. "Don't mind that. I think I figured out how we can help Nathan. Well, more like how you can help him."

I straightened my back, no longer tired. She was right. The amount of coffee didn't matter if there was a way I could help Nathan. "What is it?"

"The first day I was here, when you held Nathan's hand and spoke to him, he had a moment of clarity before falling back into his current state. I think you were able to reach him because you're his mate." Remy's words spilled out of her mouth frantically, as if they would disappear if she didn't get them out of her head fast enough. "I couldn't stop thinking about that moment. Then it hit me in the middle of the night. If you mark Nathan, you can create a stronger connection between the two of you. Then I could use that connection to get to the root of the spell placed on him."

"Do you really think that will work?" I asked, looking at Nathan hesitantly.

"I really do."