The Four Beta Brothers
Chapter 147

ETHAN

I pushed the papers on my desk away and leaned back in my chair. I couldn't focus on preparing for the arrival of the vampire king a moment longer. My mind was on Juniper and how her first week back at school was going.

Elijah assured me he was looking out for her, and he was doing whatever he could to create a safe environment at CUW. However, I couldn't stop worrying. After everything that happened, I just wanted to drop everything and be with my mate. I'd feel better knowing she was safe in my arms.

I knew that wasn't logical. I had a job to do here. Winston was the new alpha, and he had a lot of work to do to secure his position and show all other packs he deserved the title of the alpha of alphas, especially after all of the damage our fathers did to our reputation. He deserved a reliable beta that would help him establish Pack Validas as a pack to rely on and look up to.

The balance of power among werewolves was always fragile. There was always another alpha looking to take power from another, to show his dominance and strength. That was the problem with the way packs were run. Winston was trying to disrupt that standard, though. He made Kalli his equal, and even though he had no obligation to, he consulted her on every decision made, and he often went with her ideas over his own.

It was incredible to watch how he lifted her up, and it only made me want Juniper by my side even more. I wanted to give her the power she deserved. That was the exact reason I couldn't take her away from school. She chose to go back for a reason, and I needed to support her, even if every day that passed without her near me made me ache even more.

I pulled out my phone and hovered over the call button, wondering what she was doing and if I should bother her. My fingers made the decision for me, hitting the call button. I held my breath, waiting to see if Juniper answered. I wondered if she knew she was the only one who made me feel this nervous.

"Hello?" her voice echoed on the other end, and I started breathing again. Hearing her speak filled a void I didn't realize was missing.

"Hey." I picked up a pen and started twirling it in my fingers to calm my nerves.

"I was just thinking about calling you." She sounded relieved on the other end, and I smiled, thinking about us staring at our phones, debating if we should call each other.

"I'm glad I made the choice easy for you then," I chuckled. "Is there something you wanted to talk about?"

"Well, I know your meeting with the vampire king is soon, so I just wanted to call before you got wrapped up in that." She paused and took a calming breath. "And I missed you."

I smiled even more. It was nice to know I wasn't the only one who was missing her. I knew she cared for me, but I also knew that she had my brothers to keep her distracted. Part of me worried that the longing to be with each other would be one-sided because of that.

"I miss you, too," I said without missing a beat.

I felt her smile through the phone, and it made me wish I could see that beautiful smile again.

"How's your first week back at school going?" I asked before my thoughts turned gloomy, knowing it'd be too long before either of us was able to escape our responsibilities to see the other.

"Better now," she said. We had sent a few text messages back and forth, but I wasn't great at texting, so the conversations didn't really go anywhere.

"Better? That implies things weren't as good at first," I pressed. I wanted to know everything about her life. I knew that wasn't possible in a short phone call, but that wouldn't stop me from trying.

"The first day was the hardest," she admitted. "It was strange being back at school, and then Elijah tried to talk to me about my mother. Oh, and I ran into some of my former bullies bullying Moira. It was all just weird, and it made me want to come back home even more."

Home. She said it casually, but the word meant so much to me. She already thought of this pack as her home.

"But it's better now?" If things were hard for her, it'd make it even more difficult for me to support her decision to finish school. The moment she said she wanted to quit school and come back here, I was sure I'd book her a flight.

"Yes, it's better. Asher reminded me why I like school. The bullies didn't get expelled, unfortunately. They only got a warning and community service. If they get caught messing with anyone else, Elijah assured me they'd be kicked out immediately. I'm just worried they will be sneakier with their harassment, and Moira won't report it."

It astounded me how much Juniper still cared about Moira. If I had been in her position, I would've cut Moira off, never to look back at what happened to her. Juniper wasn't like that. Even though Moira had hurt her, she still saw the good in her former friend. She still wanted Moira to find peace, and that level of care was rare to see in people these days.

"I think she thinks she deserves the pain," Juniper continued. "She feels guilty for how she treated me. I can tell, even if she won't admit it. She told me to leave her alone and pretend like she doesn't exist. I just don't know how to do that."

"Just be careful. I don't want you overextending yourself for someone who doesn't deserve it," I said. While I admired Juniper's ability to care for those who didn't deserve it, the last thing I wanted was for her to get hurt in the process. She had been hurt too many times in her life, and she deserved peace where she could find it.

"I know." Her voice was soft as she spoke. "I'll be careful. I don't plan on trying to be her friend. Even when she was my friend, she was never a great friend. But I also won't stand by and let others harass her."

"As you shouldn't," I said. The bullying that took place at CUW astounded me. It was supposed to be a place with adults, but even if the werewolves there were legal adults, they were anything but mature. I just wished Charles hadn't let the school devolve as much as he did. He was paying for it now with his life sentence in prison, but the damage he did wasn't something that could simply be erased. It'd take time for Elijah to rebuild the school standards.

"But that's enough about me," Juniper said. "How have you been?"

"Busy," I said. Even now, I knew I should've been going over my notes for the meeting with the vampire king. The meeting was the most important thing we were doing this week. How King Claude responded to Winston's efforts to make sure there was no bad blood between vampires and werewolves would determine the future between the two species.

Vampires and werewolves already teetered on a delicate balance. Anthony's efforts to start a war could very well have been the tipping point needed to destroy that delicate balance. Everything depended on how reasonable King Claude was.

"There is a constant list of things to do," I said.

"Make sure you're taking breaks.".

"That's not always possible." There were times where I had jumped from one thing to the next, forgetting to eat in between the next thing on my list, but I wasn't about to tell Juniper that. It'd only worry her.

"Try harder then. For me?" Juniper's pleading voice made me weak. It made me want her on her knees, pleading with that same voice.

I shifted in my chair, adjusting my pants against my growing bulge. The need for my mate was going to be the most difficult thing about the long distance. Phone calls would be enough to satisfy my emotional need to talk to my mate, but phone calls would never be enough to satisfy the physical ache for her.

"I will," I promised. "On one condition."

"Oh?"

"Tell me what you're wearing," I said.

She paused, and I couldn't tell what she was thinking. It was harder to read her over the phone. I didn't have her delicate facial expressions to cue me or the sensations that freely flowed between our bond.

I heard the soft click of a door on her end, and when she spoke, her voice was hushed. "I'm not sure what I'm wearing would be very appealing."

I hummed, having a hard time imagining that. Even her most conservative clothes left me wondering how she looked beneath them. "If I was there, I'd have to change that."

"How so?" Her breathy voice only made my c**k even harder.

"Well, first of all, I would-"

A knock on my door made me stop mid sentence. The door opened and Kalli poked her head through the door.

"Winston says the car will be ready to leave in twenty minutes," she said. "He wants us in front of the pack house in fifteen."

I tried to bite back my irritation. She could've told me the same news through a link, giving Juniper and me the privacy I desperately wanted.

"Thank you," I said. "I'll be down in a few minutes." I gestured to the phone, hoping it would be enough for her to leave me alone. I just needed five minutes.

"Is that Juniper?" Kalli asked, bouncing into my office.

I nodded.

"I want to talk to her!" Before I could tell Juniper what was happening, Kalli snatched the phone from my hands and started talking to my mate as she paced back and forth in my office.

I groaned internally and shifted my position to hide the boner pressing against my pants. I took deep breaths and forced myself to think about the meeting with the vampire king. I needed to calm down, because if I stood up like this, I wouldn't be the only one standing. The last thing I wanted was for Kalli to see me like that.

When I finally forced my body to calm down, I grabbed my notes and stood up. "Tell Juniper I'll call her later," I said, leaving Kalli to talk to my mate. I knew better than to hope I'd get my phone back any time soon.

I loved that Kalli was a good friend to Juniper. My mate deserved that much. I just wished it didn't cut into the limited time I had to talk to her.

I pushed those thoughts aside and composed myself. I put on the mask I always wore when it came to my responsibilities. There was no room for emotions and desires when it came to business, and I had to be completely focused once the meeting with King Claude started. The fate of the pack depended on it.