The Four Beta Brothers
Chapter 143

JUNIPER

I walked through the campus, trying to ignore the stares coming my way. The news of what happened with Anthony Burrell broke to all werewolf communities over the weekend. Winston and Ethan tried to control what kind of information was released, but news reporters were vicious. They had found out everything, including the fact that I was the estranged daughter of the former Alpha Williams and that Alpha Williams and Luna Heline were getting divorced. Axel squeezed my hand. "Just ignore them."

"It's hard, but it's just so strange." I looked around, and students stared at me with big smiles, as if hoping I would give them any scrap of attention. "I'm used to them staring at me, but usually their eyes are filled with hatred. I feel like I'm some kind of celebrity." Axel laughed. "Welcome to my world."

"Is this what it's like to be one of the most attractive boys on campus?" I teased, thinking back on the way girls used to fawn over how attractive Ethan was as our TA or how girls melted when Asher flashed them a smile. That time felt like a lifetime ago now. "Excuse you. I'm a man, not a boy," Axel said, placing his hand on his chest. "And it's more like the life of the son of the beta. People care more about status. The only girls who ever approached me before only did so because they thought they could slip their way into power by acting interested in me."

My chest tightened hearing about Axel's past experiences with girls. I wasn't entirely sure if part of it was jealousy or if it was fury from the way they tried to use my mate. I tightened my grip on Axel's hand.

"I'm sorry you had to deal with that," I said.

Axel shrugged. "That's just the way life is. It helped me learn who is real and who isn't. Besides, I have you now. As far as I'm concerned, that's better than anything or anyone else."

My cheeks heated, but to hide the embarrassment of his teasing, I said, "Someone is feeling gooey this morning."

"I always feel gooey when I'm with you. Now I don't have to hide it," Axel chuckled. He leaned over and brushed his mark on my neck, sending goosebumps down my spine.

I took a slow breath, reminding myself we were in public. If we weren't, it would've been too easy to get distracted and fall into Axel's touch.

"This is my stop," I said, pausing in front of the administration building. Alpha Williams-now Principal Williams-requested a meeting with me before my first class of the semester.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Axel asked, the playfulness disappearing from his face.

"He asked for a private meeting," I said.

"What would he do if I just showed up with you?" Axel asked, brushing off the statement.

"Kick you out," I chuckled. Axel's lightheartedness eased some of my nerves. I didn't know what this meeting was about, but I hadn't talked to Elijah in private since finding out he was my biological father. It was one of the facts I did my best to ignore. There were too many other things I needed to focus my attention on, but I knew there was no way to avoid it now.

"I'm not afraid of him." Axel flexed his arm, showing just how muscular he was.

I tried not to drool over his toned arm while trying not to laugh. I didn't know who would win a fight between Axel and Elijah, but my gut feeling was it would be Elijah. Not only did he have years of experience over Axel, but he also had the blood of the most powerful werewolf family in the territory.

"I'm not either," I said with a smile, grateful the words weren't a lie. While I was nervous, it was because I didn't want to deal with the betrayal of my biological father. It had nothing to do with fearing the man. In fact, part of me looked down on him for being too afraid to take responsibility for the mistake he made.

"Good." Axel kissed my forehead. "But if you change your mind, I'll be waiting for you out here, so just link me, and I'll rush in to be your knight in shining armor."

"I may just take you up on that," I laughed.

I squeezed his hand one last time before slipping into the office. The receptionist in the office was different from the last one I had dealt with. The previous woman had been working for the Clandestines, and while her crimes weren't as severe as the Clandestines, she had been charged with aiding a terrorist.

She wasn't the only one who had been fired. A surprising amount of faculty had been fired during Alpha Williams' investigation of the Clandestines, so the school felt new with all of the new hires. The worst part was there was no way to know how long the investigation would last. Ethan said they were following paper trails Anthony left behind, but without any concrete proof, there was no way to know how many others were involved in the treachery.

I walked up to the woman behind the desk, her ash-colored hair pulled into a bun at the back of her head.

"Hi, I have a meeting with Alpha-Principal Williams."

She looked up at me, and her face broke out into a wide smile. "Oh, you must be Juniper! It's good to finally meet you. You're even prettier than I imagined."

I tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear, unsure of how to respond to her compliment. Her warm demeanor threw me off balance. "Oh, thank you."

She picked up a plate filled with sugar cookies, carefully decorated as different animals. "Here. Have a cookie. I baked them for my daughter to take to school, and of course, I baked too many, so I brought in extras."

I slowly took the cookie. This was a completely different experience than the one I had last time I was in this office. "Thank you." I took a small nibble as she stared at me expectantly. "This is really good."

"Take as many as you want. I have even more at home," she said. Everything about this woman felt warm and friendly, and my nerves eased even more. If this was what the rest of the school year was going to look like, then maybe the last semester wouldn't be so bad.

"I'm okay. One is more than enough. But do you see that boy outside?" I gestured through the glass doors at Axel, who was pacing as he waited for me. "I'm sure he'd love one of your cookies."

She leaned in with a devious smile. "That's one of your mates, right?"

"Yes," I said.

The receptionist stood up, taking the plate of cookies. "You are one lucky girl. I will happily take these to him. Elijah has been waiting for you, so you can go right in."

She scurried outside, much too eager to meet Axel, and I made a mental note of apologizing to him later. I walked over to the principal's office, and even though she told me to go right in, I still knocked on the door and waited for a response. "Come in," Elijah called out.

I poked my head in before slipping into the room. I stood in the center of the room, feeling my nerves creep back up.

"Good morning, Principal Williams," I said.

Elijah lifted an eyebrow. "Juniper, I think we're past formal titles, don't you think?"

I wasn't sure if I agreed, so I said, "Perhaps."

He studied me for a moment, his face unchanging. "Please have a seat. Get comfortable. I promise this isn't anything formal."

I wanted to tell him that was what I feared. I would've preferred something formal. It meant personal details would be kept out of the conversation, but I wasn't sure if that would ever happen. Even if he wasn't my biological father, we were still in the same pack, and I was not only the luna's second, but also the beta's mate. Our lives were intertwined one way or another.

"Thanks," I said, slinging my backpack to the ground.

"Thanks," I said, slinging my backpack to the ground.

Elijah gestured to the cookie in my hand. "I see you met Barbara."

"She's nice, like truly nice. It's kind of a relief," I admitted. I held the cookie awkwardly, unsure of what to do with it. Normally, I would've finished it, but my stomach was in knots, and I didn't want to throw it out.

"Barbara is a sweet woman. She'll mother anyone, even if you're her age. I've known her since I was named as the alpha. I trust her, which has been a big help with this whole process." There were bags under Elijah's eyes, showing the many sleepless nights he had spent trying to undo the crimes of his own beta.

"I'm sorry to be so forward, but what is this meeting about?" I asked, not wanting to bother with small talk.

"Right." He quickly pulled out a folder. "I've been going through all of the records, and it made me realize just how terrible your experience was here last semester. There are several reports of the bullying you endured, a majority of them made by Ethan, but there are even some made by other students."

Feelings stirred that I hadn't expected. I thought everyone had hated me when Moira turned the student body against me, but there were some silent supporters. Knowing that wouldn't have changed much, but it was nice to know this school wasn't completely filled with blind followers.

"It's appalling to me that nothing was done about it." Elijah shut the folder. "Of course, under the circumstances, I'm not surprised. Charles knew who you were, and since he knew Anthony wanted you dead, why would he bother putting a stop to the bullying? Maybe he even encouraged it to tear you down."

"The reason doesn't really matter now. The bullying happened and now it has stopped, and Charles has lost everything. There's not really much left to discuss about this, is there?" The bullying felt minor to everything else now, and I was ready to let it all go. "There is, actually," Elijah continued. "There are a few things that we could do. For one, I'd like to give you a formal apology. CUW is a school that is supposed to be known for its prestige, and we allowed one of our students to be harassed. That is unacceptable and can't go on any longer. We can also still deal with the bullies themselves. I have several names written down here, and I can move to expel them immediately. Once I'm done, I will ensure that no one ever dares to bully at this school again, and if they do, they will know what the consequences are."

I instantly thought of Moira. If she was expelled, it would be something she deserved. However, something about that felt wrong. In the end, if Moira hadn't gone to Ethan when I reached out to her, I may not have been here today.

"I understand where you're coming from," I said after thinking things through, "but I don't think that's necessary. I don't think expelling the students will do them any good. I think it would be better to give them community service and warn them that next time they are caught bullying, they will be expelled."

"Are you sure, Juniper?" he asked, seeming surprised by my answer.

"I'm not interested in revenge," I said confidently. "As long as the students who participated in bullying make an effort to be better people, then that's what I want."

Elijah smiled. "Very well. If that's what you want, I'll respect your wish, since you were the victim. I see why the Burrell sons are so fond of you."

I stood up, feeling like there was nothing else to say to this conversation. "If that's all-"

"It's not," Elijah said, and I slowly sank back into my seat. "I was hoping I could talk to you about your mother."