The Four Beta Brothers
Chapter 145

JUNIPER

Ashley shoved Moira again, this time sending her flying to the ground, and I couldn't stand by for a second longer. "What are you doing?" I demanded, storming forward.

Ashley glanced at me, and her demeanor completely changed. "Oh, I'm just giving Moira a taste of her own medicine. She needs to learn her lesson for treating the alpha's daughter with such disrespect."

I scoffed, floored by Ashely's hypocrisy. "Have you forgotten that you participated just as much as Moira did in all of that? Actually, you were probably worse than her. Moira never shoved me to the ground." Ashley's sweet face faltered. "I'm doing this to protect your honor. You should be grateful."

I gawked at the woman in front of me. She had been Moira's closest friend ever since she joined the cheerleading team. She did everything Moira asked of her and looked up to Moira like she was some super hero. However, the moment she saw an opportunity to get ahead of Moira, she ditched her. She wasn't a true friend, and I felt sorry for my former best friend.

I stared Ashely in the eyes, not wavering. She no longer intimidated me the way she used to. I had faced worse opponents that a bully was nothing. "I'm not interested in having anyone defend my honor, especially not at the cost of someone else. I'm especially not interested in any kind of fake loyalty from someone as shallow as you. I hope this was worth it to you, because I'm not sure you'll get another chance when I report your bullying to the school."

After my discussion with Elijah this morning, there was a good chance Ashley and the other cheerleaders would get expelled for continuing bullying, and I didn't care anymore. The school would be better off without them.

Ashley stepped towards me, "Why you ungrateful little-"

"I would stop right there if I were you," I said, letting some of my wolf strength slip into my voice. "You know who I am, and I'm sure you know who my mates are. How do you think this will go down if you lay a single hand on me?" When she hesitated, I continued, "I'll just tell you, since you seem to be struggling to figure it out. It'll be bad for you. Very bad."

The other cheerleaders started backing away, clearly afraid of me. "Come on, Ash. Let's get out of here."

"Look at you. You think you're so special now just because your daddy runs the school," Ashley sneered. "Well, enjoy it while you have it. There's no way someone like you can hold onto that happiness forever."

I bit my tongue, hating that she threw my biological father in my. I knew then it would always be an issue. When people thought I was just a simple omega, they looked down on me, thinking I was worthless. Now that they knew I had the blood of an alpha running through my veins, I was labeled as arrogant. I would never win against people like Ashley as long as I threatened her insecurities.

But I didn't need to win. I didn't need people like her in my life. "If you continue acting this way, one day you'll wake up and realize that you have no one left."

Ashley opened her mouth to say something, but one of her friends tugged on her arm, begging her to just drop it. Ashley finally listened and walked away. I let out a long breath, unable to slow my heart. It felt good to stand up for myself and someone else like that, but part of me had been afraid of the interaction turning physical. I still didn't know how to defend myself properly.

I shook off my nerves and held my hand out to Moira. "Are you okay?"

Moira ignored my hand, standing on her own. She brushed off her clothes and tried to pull herself back together. "You should've stayed out of it. I had that under control."

"You were outnumbered. I wasn't just going to stand by and let you get bullied." My hand dropped to my side.

"I told you to pretend like I don't exist. You should've just walked away, doing just that. I thought you would've been happy to see that my friends stabbed me in the back, just like I did to you." Moira let a frustrated growl slip from her lips.

"Even if I don't like you anymore, it doesn't mean I think you deserve to be bullied. I've been there, and I don't want anyone to experience that, especially alone." I knew I shouldn't have cared about Moira, but it was hard to let go of old feelings. "How noble of you," Moira snapped. "Next time, do me a favor and leave it alone. I'm not interested in your pity."

"It's not pity," I said. "You saved my life. I owe you this at least."

"Stop saying that," Moira said. "Stop acting like I did something noble. All I did was tell your boyfriend that you were trying to contact him. I didn't even know what was going on. I didn't know you had been kidnapped or that people were trying to kill you. While you were dealing with that, all I did was make life worse for you, so stop being so nice. I don't deserve it."

Moira's eyes started to tear up, but before I could say anything, she stormed off. I stood there, feeling exhausted already, and I still had two other classes before the day was over.

***

My body felt sluggish as I made it back to the apartment. I tossed my backpack next to the door, grateful there was no homework on the first day. I just wanted to lay down and close my eyes for a few minutes. "Long day?" Axel asked, emerging from the kitchen. He had a red checkered apron wrapped around his waist.

"I'd say the longest, but that bar has been set pretty high." I walked right over to my mate and wrapped my arms around his waist. I took in his scent, letting it flow over me. Slowly, the stress of the day disappeared. "Wanna talk about it?" he offered. "I just finished cooking, so I can take a break."

"I just don't know what I'm doing back here at school," I said.

Asher took off the apron and laid it on the back of the couch. Then he sat down, pulling me into his lap. "What are you doing back here?"

"I have to finish my degree," I said, as if he already knew why I was back. I explained my decision to finish school to all of my mates. "Plus, you, Axel, and Nathan are here."

Asher started tracing circles onto my back. "I know, but why do you want to get your degree?"

"Because it was a dream of my mother's, and it feels like the least I can do to honor her memory," I said, but the answer felt rehearsed.

"What about you?" Asher asked. "Why do you want to be here?"

"I just said-"

"You just told me why you feel like you should be here. If you're only here out of obligation, then you're going to have a hard time doing what you need to. Your heart will be somewhere else."

I looked down, unable to answer Asher. He was right. My heart wasn't into school anymore. "Why are you here?" I asked, deflecting to give myself time to come up with a good response. "Is it only because I'm here?"

Axel's fingers slid underneath the hem of my shirt, and he continued rubbing my back. "You being here makes it possible for me to be here. I don't know how Ethan is handling all of this, because I can't imagine being away from you for months at a time. But no. I am not here only because you are. I'm here because I like school and I like learning. Growing up with my father wasn't easy-as I'm sure you can imagine. He had these strict view points, and he struggled to see things from other perspectives.

"But when I was at school, I got to learn about other people's views. I got to see that there is a whole world out there, filled with different people and different thoughts. It allowed me to form my own opinions outside of the way my father thought. If it wasn't for that, I would've become a mindless minion, forced to think what he thought."

"That's a really good and well thought out answer." I hadn't expected such a deep and detailed explanation, and it only made my reasoning for being at school feel fake.

"So why do you want to be here?" Asher prompted. He wasn't going to let me out of this easily.

I ran my fingers over his chest as I thought about my real reason for wanting to be at school. "When I was younger, I always thought of school as a way to escape my life. I was just considered an orphan omega child, but I thought if I worked hard enough, I could break free from that mold I was shoved into. It has been my escape for the longest time, so now that I have escaped from the shackles that held me back, school feels pointless. I don't need it to find the future I want, because I already have it. I already have you." Asher shifted me in his lap, so I was straddling him instead. He traced the tendon in my neck and then moved his fingers over my collarbone. My eyes fluttered shut, taking in the sensations. I shifted in his lap, becoming more and more distracted, and the tightness in his pants told me he was thinking the same thing.

"I don't think that's true," Asher finally said.

My eyes opened, and his deep blue eyes looked like little oceans, filled with worlds of possibilities. He was close enough to my face now that it'd be easy to kiss him and distract him from the topic at hand.

"What do you mean?" I asked, staring at his lips.

"You have always loved learning. When we were younger, you used to talk to me about the new things you learned from your books," he said. "And when we studied together last semester, there was a sparkle in your eyes when you learned something new. School may have been your path to a better life, but it was so much more than that. You love learning, June. I have no doubt about that."

"What if I lost that love for it, though?" I asked. I did remember a time where learning new things excited me. It felt silly now.

"You haven't," Asher said. "You've just blown off course. You've been through some serious trauma recently, and now you're trying to slip back into your old life, like nothing happened. I don't think that's possible, though. You're not the same person I ran into at the housing department last year. You are so much more, so maybe it's time to let yourself be more."

"Only because you're here with me," I said. I had become stronger with the brothers by my side, and I was grateful for it. "And I still have so much to learn. I know nothing about being a luna's second or fighting. I want to be able to defend myself and Kalli. I'm not ready for my new life."

Asher's lips spread into a wide smile, dazzling me with the simple gesture. "What better place to learn and get ready for your new life at school?"

I smiled back at him, realizing he was right. "Since when did you get this smart?"

"I've always been a genius," he chuckled.

"You're so arrogant." I pushed his chest and rolled my eyes, but Asher grabbed my wrist. He turned it and kissed my inner wrist, warming my core in the process.

He looked up at me with darkened eyes. "I can't help being so perfect."

I wanted to roll my eyes again, but he grabbed the back of my neck, pressing his lips against mine, and I knew I was under his spell.