The Four Beta Brothers
Chapter 28

JUNIPER

"June!" Asher called, jogging down the hallway.

I jumped to my feet, surprised to see Asher here. I didn't have any missed calls or messages from him, saying he was done with his meeting with his father.

Asher wrapped me in his arms the moment he reached me. He squeezed tighter and held me longer than normal. "How's Nathan?"

Axel stood up, hovering behind me. "He'll be okay, they're pretty sure. He has a broken arm and probably has some sort of concussion. They are still working on him, but they'll let us see him when they're done."

Asher placed his hand on my head and held me against his chest. His body was shaking, and I had a feeling it wasn't just because of Nathan's injuries.

"Nathan is tough. I'm sure he'll be fine," Asher said.

I looked up at Asher, trying to read his face. "How did you know we were here?"

"Axel linked me."

I should have realized that. Werewolves could link other werewolves from their own pack, but they couldn't link with werewolves outside of their pack. Moira was the only one I had linked while away at college, but as soon as she started the rumors, I blocked her link, preventing her from reaching out to me like that.

"Did you leave your meeting early? I expected you to be busy all evening."

Asher had told me it could be late when I saw him today. He warned me that his father liked to have detailed meetings, but maybe he made an exception because Nathan was injured.

"I walked out," Asher said.

"Because of Nathan?" I asked.

"Not exactly." Asher squeezed me tighter for a moment, making me wonder what happened at that meeting. "You walked out on our father?" Axel said, leaning against the wall near us. "I never thought I'd see that day."

"I don't need your judgment," Asher quipped.

Axel lifted his hands. "No judgment. If anything, I'm proud of you. I'm also curious what he said to get you to walk away."

Asher glared at Axel, and then his eyes glazed over in the way werewolf eyes did when they linked. I pulled back from Asher, feeling left out of the conversation. I wanted to know what he was telling Axel, but I knew I didn't have the right to push. I never went into specific details about my meeting with the principal, and Asher never asked again after the first day. I'd be a hypocrite if I got upset with him over this.

"I have to go. I'll see you later, J.J.," Axel said, walking away suddenly.

I watched him walk away with a frown. I didn't like how he left so suddenly when Asher arrived. I wanted him to stay around a little longer, but I didn't want him to ask him to stay.

Asher brushed my cheek with the back of his hand. "Are you okay?"

I pulled my lips tight and nodded. "It was kind of horrible seeing Nathan get hurt like that, but I was glad Axel was with me."

"I was surprised to see the two of you hanging out." Asher chose his words carefully. It wasn't a question, but it was still clear he had questions, which made sense. The last time Asher and Axel talked about me as far as I knew was the argument the two of them had where Axel said he wanted nothing to do with me.

"We ran into each other on the bleachers. He said he thought about it and wanted to try to be friends," I explained. "Really?" Asher's face brightened. "That's great. I'm glad he's trying."

"You are?" Asher's response didn't make sense to me. I thought he'd be upset that I was hanging out with Axel.

"Of course. You need as many friends as possible right now. The more people on your side, the better everything will feel. I'm just glad he got his head out of his a*s."

I leaned back into Asher, grateful for his response, but part of me wondered if he would still feel the same way if he knew Axel and I had kissed. It was before Asher and I had even gone on a date, so it wasn't like I had done anything wrong. I thought about telling Asher about it on several occasions, but I knew it would only cause more issues. Despite my attraction to Axel, I didn't want to date him, so telling Asher the full truth would only hurt him and Axel's relationship.

The room to the medical room opened up, and the doctor from before poked her head out. "He's awake now, if you'd like to see him."

We followed the doctor into the room, and a weight lifted off my chest as I saw Nathan looking at me. A frown was etched into his face.

I rushed forward and threw my arms around him. "Nathan. I'm so glad you're awake." He groaned as I hugged him, and I quickly pulled back. "Sorry."

"He has a couple of cracked ribs and a broken arm," the doctor said, glaring at me. "He also has a moderate concussion, so he'll need to be monitored for the next several days just to make sure his symptoms don't get worse. He'll be fine in a week or two, depending on his healing abilities." "Sorry," I said, taking a step back.

"Don't frown like that," Nathan said. "I'm fine. Really. It's just a few bruises."

"It's not just a few bruises," the doctor said. "I am recommending at least three days of bedrest, which means no school. No practice for a full week either."

"A week?" Nathan gaped. "Do you know what it's like to skip practice for that long?"

"A week of rest is better than going back on that field and making your injuries worse," Asher said. He turned to the doctor. "Don't worry. My brothers and I will keep a close eye on him. When can we take him home?"

"He can go now as long as it's in a wheelchair," she said.

"Deal."

She got the wheelchair, and Asher helped Nathan into it. Once we got his things, we headed back to the dorm.

"Are you really not going to let me walk?" Nathan asked. "I'm not a child, you know."

"Sorry, doctor's orders," Asher said, shaking his head.

"Being injured doesn't make you a child. It's okay to let others take care of you," I said. I knew Nathan wanted me to see him as a man, so this likely hurt his pride.

Asher hummed in response. "Sounds like someone should take her own advice."

I glared at him, knowing exactly what he was referring to. "I've been letting you walk me to class all week. Isn't that good enough?"

"I guess for now."

"Wait, this means I won't be able to do my shifts to take Juny to cla*s," Nathan said.

"I'll be okay walking to class by myself a few times. No one has even tried to attack me. Maybe things are calming down," I said.

"No one has tried, because one of us has been with you this entire week. No one is going to attack you in front of a Burrell," Nathan pointed out.

I shook my head, knowing there was truth to his statement. "Still, Asher has class. He can't always walk me to class. I'll be fine."

"What about Axel?" Asher suddenly asked.

"Axel? Why would you suggest him? Juny would be better off walking by herself," Nathan said.

There was definitely a story between Axel and Nathan, but it seemed to be one-sided. It was clear Axel still deeply cared for Nathan.

"You really should give Axel more credit," Asher said.

"Not interested." Nathan went quiet after that.

I looked at Asher, and he mouthed the word, "Sorry," to me.

The rest of the walk was done in silence, which I didn't mind too much. The wolfball game had been fun to watch, but it was also a lot more noise than I was used to. Asher and I got Nathan into his room and got him settled before we went to the living room. We both sat on the couch, and Asher draped his arm around my shoulders, and I rested my head on him.

Asher let out a long sigh and let his head fall back. He closed his eyes, and he seemed exhausted.

"Are you okay?" I asked, resting my hand on his chest.

"I will be." He kissed my forehead. "Especially with you here."

"Was the meeting that bad?" I asked. Asher hadn't talked much about the meeting with his father, but based on the few things I had heard about the man made him seem unpleasant.

"My father is always exhausting, but this time..." His voice trailed off, and he shook his head. "This time he brought up some unpleasant memories, and it was hard to hold back."

"That sounds pretty awful," I said, unsure of what else to say.

"It was hard, but Ethan came to my defense. He stopped me from getting into a full argument with the man." Asher sounded conflicted about Ethan's involvement.

"That's a good thing, isn't it?"

"Maybe. I'm still not convinced he didn't do it just to save his own hide," Asher said.

I wanted to tell Asher that Ethan cared about him and the rest of his brothers more than he realized. I could see it in the way Ethan talked about him, but I had a feeling my words wouldn't comfort Asher the way I wanted them to, so I kept them to myself. I shifted over so I was sitting in Asher's lap. My fingers played with his collar. I decided a distraction was better than talking things through with Asher.

"So I was thinking," I started, tracing my fingers lightly on Asher's collarbones.

Asher perked up at my touch. He adjusted himself and rested his hands on my hips. "Oh?" He raised his eyebrows, waiting for me to continue my thought.

"I was thinking we could have that party next weekend. It would give Nathan time to heal, so he could enjoy the party too," I said.

"I thought you said you didn't like the idea of the party."

We hadn't talked about the party much since the day Asher first brought it up. I thought about it and ended up admitting that a party made me nervous. Asher didn't bring it up after that, and part of me hoped he would drop it all together.

"I know, but maybe you're right. A party makes me nervous, but maybe it'll be a good thing. I could use more friends, right?" I said.

"Are you sure? I don't want you to feel pressured."

I pressed my lips against Asher, taking my time to taste him. When I pulled back, he seemed eager for more. "If we can do more of this, then I think a party would be a lot of fun."

་་།

I agree." Asher suddenly flipped me around so my back was on the couch. He kissed my neck, making me giggle. It was getting harder and harder to hold back with Asher, especially when he kissed my neck like that.