The Four Beta Brothers
Chapter 135

JUNIPER

I pushed Nathan's hair out of his face and looked down at him. He looked peaceful on the outside, but on the inside, I felt his turmoil. Our connection was the weakest out of all of the brothers, but I wanted to change that. If I could just bring him back to me, then with time, I knew we would get to know each other and build a bond just as strong as the others.

I didn't imagine marking him like this, but none of the other brothers marked me in the way I had imagined. Ethan and Axel marked me to save me and to heal me, and Asher marked me to help heal the hurt of our past. It was my turn to mark Nathan to help and heal him.

I placed a gentle kiss on his lips and whispered, "Please come back to me." Then I leaned forward, extending my canines. I hovered over the crook of his neck, knowing this was the place I was meant to bare my mark on my mate. A tear fell from my face, splashing onto Nathan's collarbone as I hesitated.

Please come back to me, I linked him, grateful I was able to do so now that we were part of the same pack. I didn't know if he could hear me in his state, but I couldn't say the words out loud.

Don't leave me. Nathan's voice filled my head, making me inhale sharply. He was still in there somewhere, which was enough for me to burn my hope.

I leaned forward and plunged my teeth into the crook of Nathan's neck. A familiar copper tang filled my mouth as I sealed our mate bond with a bite. Nathan's back arched, and I felt his pain more sharply. There was a slight burning sensation pulsing through my heart, as if Nathan was trying to resist the marking.

"Don't stop," Remy said, placing one hand on my back and the other on Nathan's shoulder.

I wanted to pull away, knowing I was causing Nathan more pain, but I resisted the urge. Remy needed to use this moment to break through the spell and find Nathan.

My back started to warm where Remy touched me, reminding me of the warmth of her touch when she was breaking my memory spell. Then my mind pulled away from the moment. My body was frozen in time, and I felt my consciousness move from my own mind and into Nathan's. I wondered if that was what Remy felt when she dove into my head to break the memory spell.

It was dark and cold in Nathan's mind. I didn't know where I was going, but I was being pulled along as the magic took twists and turns, trying to navigate through the shadows.

"Please kill me. Please kill me." Nathan's voice echoed all around me and the immense pain made it impossible to keep moving.

"Nathan?" I called out.

"Please kill me." He repeated this phrase over and over again. It was the sound of a broken and hopeless soul.

"Nathan, where are you?" I called out. I was desperate to find him. If I could just hold him, I could save him-at least that was how it felt.

"This way," Remy said. I couldn't see her, but I felt her presence next to mine. She pulled me along with her, leading me through the darkness.

A faint light appeared in front of us, illuminating what appeared to be a jail cell. In the middle of it, Nathan lay curled into a ball. He was shirtless, and his back was covered in fresh gashes. "Please kill me," he continued to mutter.

I ran over to him and fell to the ground in front of him. I lifted his head into my lap. "I'm here now. It's going to be okay." I stroked his head, but he kept muttering the same phrase repeatedly. "This is his memory," Remy said. She knelt next to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "He won't be able to hear you."

I held Nathan tighter. His father did this to him, and it was horrifying. I couldn't imagine torturing anyone, let alone my own child. "This is what Nathan had to endure while he was away from me?" I could barely say the words. I was furious and devastated. Nathan deserved none of this.

Remy nodded her head. Her lips were tight. "Unfortunately, yes." She stood up and held her hand out to me. "We have to keep going. There's nothing we can do here."

I didn't want to leave Nathan in this state, but I trusted Remy. If she said we had to keep going, I had to believe it was how we would save Nathan.

I leaned forward and pressed my lips against his forehead. "Don't give up. I'm still here, waiting for you."

Nathan stopped muttering, and for a moment, it felt like he had heard what I said. However, only a few seconds passed before he went back into his incoherent state.

Remy helped me to my feet, and then suddenly I was being pulled through the darkness again, like a leaf in the wind. I felt Remy's presence beside me the entire time, but it was a strange and unsettling feeling to fly through the darkness like this. It wasn't just a lack of light, either. This was the epitome of despair, and it made me feel cold in the deepest part of me.

It was no wonder Nathan had lost himself if this was what it was like inside of his head. I had to find a way to bring back the warmth and love again.

"We're close." Remy's voice came to me like a whisper in the wind.

Another light flickered ahead, but this one was different than before. Just looking at it evoked a sense of fear. My wolf stirred, wanting to run as far away as possible, but Remy kept leading us forward.

As we got closer, I saw Nathan strapped into a chair. There were fresh wounds covering his body, and his eyes were far away as he tried to disassociate from the moment. In front of him stood Anthony and a woman with red hair. The hair on my rose on my arms as I stared at her. My wolf made it clear she was my natural enemy.

"Vampire," I whispered, focusing on her fangs.

"No," Remy said, stepping forward. "At least not solely. I can sense magic from her. She has the blood of a sorceress."

"This is going to be fun," the woman said, licking her lips.

"This isn't supposed to be fun. This is supposed to get Nathan on my side," Anthony growled. "You promised me you could get at least one of my sons to support me."

The woman clicked her tongue. "Relax. I will not break my promise. It doesn't mean I can't have a little fun in the process."

Anthony growled. "Just make it fast."

"You can't rush a masterpiece," she said.

The woman crossed the room and straddled Nathan. My heart ached, seeing another woman touch my mate like that. I was ready to run up to her, but Remy held me back. "We need to see what she did to Nathan. It'll help me undo it," Remy explained, tightening her grip on me.

The woman placed both of her hands on Nathan's head and forced him to look at her. Her eyes started glowing. "You will listen to me. I am your master now."

Nathan's eyes turned glassy as he stared at her. He looked like he was being hypnotized.

"Forget who you are, because that no longer matters. The only thing that matters now is what I tell you, understood?"

"Yes, master," Nathan said.

"Is this some kind of spell?" I asked Remy.

"No, this is the compulsion of a vampire," Remy said. "Some vampires have special abilities. She must be talented at persuasion."

"I thought you said she had magic?" I whispered. I wasn't sure if there was a need to keep my voice quiet, but I couldn't bring myself to speak at a regular volume.

"She does," Remy said, audibly swallowing. "This is only the beginning."

The woman's hands started to glow against Nathan's face. Her magic swirled around Nathan, and he started screaming. The pain in my chest flared to a nearly unbearable point, just like the night I woke up from sudden pain. I grabbed my chest, trying to suppress the throbbing.

"She's trying to break the mate bond," I gasped. I started to move towards Nathan, but Remy stopped me again.

"This has already happened. You can't change it," Remy said.

My breath quickened as Nathan's cries pierced my ears. I knew this was his memory, but the pain felt real. I couldn't stand back anymore. I ripped my arm out of Remy's grasp and rushed over to Nathan. I grabbed his hand and leaned in.

"Don't let go of me," I whispered in his ear. "I know this is horrible, and she's trying to change you, but I'm not going anywhere. I will be waiting for you when this is all over."

Nathan squeezed my hand back. His eyes broke free from the woman's gaze and met mine. Even though this was just a memory, it felt like he could actually see me.

"I'm here," I said. I wanted him to know he wasn't alone.

"Juniper," he said through gritted teeth.

"Yes. It's me. I'm here for you, so don't let them change you," I said. My hand ached from how tightly Nathan was holding it, but I refused to let go of him.

"That's it," Remy said. She moved to the other side of Nathan and placed her hands on his head. "This is the moment the sorceress placed a spell on Nathan and the moment his real self was buried by that monster. Maybe I can use this memory to place my own spell and preserve the old Nathan." Remy's hands started glowing, and at first Nathan's cries of pain grew louder. Then they started to quiet. Silence slowly took over, and his hand shook in mine as his chest heaved up and down.

"Juniper," he whispered.

"I'm here," I said.

"I want to go home."

The corner of my lip turned up. "Then let's go home."

Remy's magic grew stronger and stronger until the light filled the entire room. I closed my eyes to shield them from the brightness, and when I opened them again, I was back in the room with Nathan. My teeth were still embedded in his skin, and I felt the rest of his brothers staring at us, completely on edge.

I pulled away from Nathan and licked the mark I left behind on his neck to help it heal faster. Then I looked at Remy. She was breathing heavily, worn out from the use of magic.

"Did it work?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"See for yourself," Remy said, gesturing towards Nathan.

When I looked back, Nathan's eyes were open, and they were the clear blue ocean I hadn't seen in too long.

"Nathan," I whispered, tears streaming down my face.

"Hi," he said. It was such a simple word, but my heart leapt into my throat.

This was my Nathan. He was back.

I grabbed his face and pulled him into a kiss. He tasted sweet again, and I had no doubt that the spell was broken.