The Four Beta Brothers
Chapter 144

JUNIPER

"My mother?" I repeated. My heart started pounding. This was exactly what I had been hoping to avoid. "I'm not sure there's anything for us to discuss about her." After I had found out the truth about my bloodline, I had avoided Elijah. Part of me wondered what it would be like to get to know my father, but I knew Elijah would never be my real father and quickly decided I wasn't interested in any kind of personal relationship with him.

"I can tell you whatever you'd like about her," Elijah quickly said. His composure faltered. He was more nervous about this conversation than me. "I know you were young when she died, and your early childhood memories were erased. I just thought you might want to hear more about her."

I stared at the man in front of me, wondering what he was getting at. "If you're looking to build a relationship with me, I'm not interested."

Elijah's body twitched. "I understand. I'm not going to force anything upon you, but if you want to hear more about your mother, my door is always open. I know you're mad at me, too, but if you ever change your mind about getting to know me, it will be a permanent open invitation."

I stood up, slinging my bag over my arm. "I'm not mad at you."

"You're not?"

"No. I would have to care about you to be mad at you, but you made the decision to abandon me when I was a child. I didn't even have a say in it, but that's okay. Bob was an incredible father to me. Whether he knew I was his child or not, I have no idea. What I do know is he loved me, and he died for me. I don't need anyone to replace him in my heart."

I left the office, leaving Elijah in stunned silence. I wasn't sure if I was too harsh on him or not, but I didn't care. He made his choice long ago, and now I was making mine.

As I left the building, I saw Barbara still talking to Axel, who now had the entire plate of cookies in his hands. He held a steady smile, but I felt his struggle through our mate bond. I hooked my arms around his and put on my best smile.

"Thank you for the cookies, Barbara. I hate to run, but we have to get ready for our first class," I said.

"Please, call me Barb. And I hope you both enjoy the cookies. I should get back to work anyway," she said before heading back into the building.

I pulled Axel along to get out of there before Barbara returned. Axel looked down at me with his eyebrows raised. "You cruel, cruel woman."

"What?" I giggled innocently.

"You sent her out there to talk to me," he said, narrowing his eyes.

"I thought you might want cookies."

"Uh-huh. Do you enjoy that elderly women find me attractive?" Axel chuckled.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I slipped my hand into Axel's.

"She touched my biceps. Twice."

I grabbed his bicep and squeezed. "They are nice. I don't blame her."

Axel tickled my side, making me squeal and jerk my arm. My elbow hit the plate, knocking the cookies into the air. As they hit the ground, they cracked into several pieces.

"You broke my cookies! The one thing I had from that conversation." Axel gawked at me, and it was hard not to laugh more.

"How about I make it up to you?" I grabbed his shirt and pulled him into a kiss. His arm snaked around my waist, and he deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue into my mouth. All of the stress from Elijah disappeared.

When we parted, Axel said, "Okay. I forgive you. That's better than any cookie."

"You didn't taste how delicious they were though," I teased. My hands lingered on Axel's chest, and I just wanted to stay in his arms all day.

"Doesn't matter. Nothing will taste better than you." As if to prove his point, Axel leaned in and kissed me again, this time keeping the kiss PG friendly.

My cheeks heated, and I knew I wouldn't be able to focus for the rest of the day if we kept that up. I tugged on his arm. "Come on. I need to get to class."

"Or... you could ditch," Axel said, walking much slower than I was trying to.

I glanced back at him incredulously. "It's the first day. I can't skip."

"Isn't that the best day to miss? It's all syllabus and boring. This is the best day to miss."

"It's also the first day to make a good impression. Besides, I already missed too much school with all of the craziness going on. I can't afford to miss any more. It's a miracle my professors let me make up everything I missed last semester." Part of me wished they hadn't. While balancing everything else, I had to cram in time to do homework and makeup tests. I would've lost the valedictorian spotlight, but I would've passed my classes still.

"You were being targeted by one of the most powerful werewolves in the country who also worked with the principal. If they hadn't been easy on you, then it would've made the school look bad," Axel said.

My happy mood from before dropped. "Is everything secretly about politics and images?"

"In my world, yes. It's why I spent so much time running away," Axel said.

"You're not running anymore," I said, looking up at him. We had arrived at my classroom, but I wasn't ready to go inside just yet.

"Because you're the only one I ever want to run to. There's nothing that can make me run away from you now." Axel said the words so smoothly and confidently that there was no doubt he was telling the truth.

"Even old women with cookies that want to feel your biceps?" I needed to lighten the subject, because my heart felt like it was about to explode.

"As long as, at the end of the night, you're the one touching me, I would deal with an entire horde of Barbaras." He kissed me lightly, and I felt the glances of the students as they walked into the classroom.

This was the first time I didn't care what the other students thought of me, though. For years, I pretended that I didn't care, but that had been a lie. I wanted them to look up to me. I wanted them to see me as the smart, diligent woman I was instead of the bloodline I was born into. Then, when the bullying started, I wanted them to stop looking at me with such disgust in their eyes.

Now, it didn't matter what they thought. They could see me as a user for getting with the TA or think of me as the alpha's estranged daughter. They could think of me as amazing or be jealous of me. None of it mattered anymore, because the ones who mattered- who truly mattered-knew exactly who I was and loved me for it.

"By the way, what did Elijah want to talk to you about?" Axel asked, bursting my bubble of bliss.

I tried not to frown as I spoke. "He wanted to apologize for the way the bullying was handled and talk about my mother."

Axel lifted his eyebrows. "Oh?"

I forced a smile. "I have to get to class, or I really will be late, but I'll tell you about it later, okay?"

"I'll be here whenever you want to talk about it," he said, giving me a genuine smile laced with concern.

"And go to class yourself," I said, giving him the most serious look I could.

"And what will you do for me if I go?" The dark gaze in his eyes made me want to squeeze my thighs together, and he knew it, too.

I placed my hands on his shoulders and lifted onto my toes to put my mouth next to his eyes. I whispered, keeping my words breathy to taunt him more, "I will do that thing that you like so much."

"Oh? And what thing would that be exactly?" His heart rate picked up, and even though he was still acting cool, his body betrayed him.

I pulled back, smiling sweetly. "I guess you'll just have to go to class to find out."

Before he could rope me back into the conversation, I slipped into the classroom. I quickly found a seat and settled in as we waited for the professor to show up. It was strange being back in the classroom. For most of my life, this had been my safe place. It was the one thing that was consistent and that I could control, so I threw my entire focus into it. Now, it was more like a passing thought. The only reason I sat here was to honor my parents and to honor my hard work. However, it was anything but a main priority for me. The Burrell brothers had completely changed my life, and I knew things would only change even more once I finished school and started my new position by Kalli's side. I just hoped I'd be ready for it when that time came.

The door to the classroom opened, and I looked up, expecting the professor to show up. Instead, Moira walked into the room. We made eye contact, and her body tightened. She quickly looked away, looking for a place to sit. Unfortunately, the only open seat was right next to me.