The Four Beta Brothers
Chapter 41

JUNIPER

I opened my mouth to say something, but I couldn't form any words. I couldn't believe Nathan was kissing Moira, and he looked like a willing participant. I wasn't surprised Moira had gone after Nathan. He was on the younger side, but he was the new football team's star, and she was the head cheerleader. On paper, they looked really good together.

However, Nathan didn't strike me as the type to go for a bully. He knew what kind of person Moira was. He knew what she had done to me, yet he didn't seem to care. He had been distant since the party-especially after he found out Asher and I were official. Even with him being angry with me, I didn't peg him as the type to date a terrible girl just because she was pretty.

"Am I having some kind of nightmare?" I muttered, staring as Moira and Nathan finally parted.

"No, you're just staring at a complete i***t," Asher said. His jaw was set, and the sound of his teeth grinding filled the silence between us.

"He wouldn't really go out with her knowing everything she's done to me, would he?" The sense of betrayal washed over me. Even if Nathan was mad at me, I didn't think he would personally attack me like that. He said he was my friend, but if he turned his back on me just because I chose Asher over him, then he was never a true friend.

"Is that really all you're thinking about right now?" Asher asked, looking at me with wide eyes.

"I'm just worried Moira is using him," I said, unsure of why Asher was looking at me like that.

"I'm going to go get a drink." Asher walked away..

I almost followed after him, but the way he left made me hesitate. If he wanted me to follow him, he would've asked me to go with him or at least grabbed my hand and led me along with him.

My body felt cold as I watched him leave. I didn't know what was going on in his head, but it was clear he needed space.

"I'm surprised to see you standing here on the dance floor by yourself," Axel said from behind me.

I turned on my heels, taking my attention away from his brothers. "Asher went to get us something to drink." My voice was high pitched, as if I had been caught doing something wrong, but I didn't understand why.

I looked around the dance floor, realizing people were still staring at me, only this time it was likely because I was standing in the middle of the dance floor while people still danced around me.

"Looks like I arrived at the perfect time to rescue you from solitude. Care for a dance?" Axel held out his hand, and I looked him over for the first time. He was wearing his normal leather jacket, but underneath, he changed his button-up shirt to a purple one that matched my dress perfectly. He still wore a pair of jeans, making him a strange mix of casual and dressed up.

I glanced back to where Asher had walked off, but I could no longer see him in the crowd. "I'd love to dance."

***

ASHER

I couldn't breathe. I told Juniper that I loved her, and she looked like she was going to be sick. I knew it was early. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have said those words to someone so soon, but she wasn't a normal circumstance.

I knew in her eyes we hadn't known each other for very long. I couldn't expect her to love me as much as I loved her, but I knew she loved me. We were nearly inseparable, and I saw the way she looked at me. If it wasn't love, then I didn't know what it was. I was fully expecting her to say it back, but even if she wasn't ready to say it, she could've said something. She didn't have to look horrified.

But Nathan did walk in a moment later with Moira all over him. There was a chance that he distracted Juniper before she found the words. I wanted to believe that was the case, but I didn't know what to think anymore. My head was saying one thing, and my heart was saying the opposite.

I stalked over to the table with the punch, and it felt like my heart was breaking. I didn't want this to ruin the entire evening because of something Juniper didn't say, so I decided to take a small breather.

I grabbed a cup and poured myself a glass of the punch. I took a sip and wished it was sweeter. Sweets were my go to when I felt stressed or worried. For a moment, the sweetness took over every sensation, pushing away all of the bad things in the world. The punch was sweet, but it wasn't enough to erase the feeling of dread deep in my chest.

As much as I loved having Juniper as my girlfriend, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was going to lose her one day. She never belonged to me, and there was nothing stopping her from leaving me. Part of me thought that if she fell in love with me, then it gave me a chance to keep her as mine.

Even if we weren't mates, we could still live a happy and full life.

But that was just a fairytale, and I learned at a young age that fairytales didn't come true.

"I'm surprised to see a handsome guy like you all by yourself." Moira walked up next to me and poured herself a glass of punch. She lingered next to me, ignoring the obvious look of disgust on my face.

"I'm not really interested in talking to you, Moira," I said.

"Someone is in a sour mood. It's too early in the night to be this grumpy." She stepped closer to me, and her perfume washed over me like a powerful stench that stained everything around it. "I know a great way to help guys relax."

I took a step back from her. "Is that how you convinced Nathan to take you to this dance?"

Nathan was young and naive, and it made him an easy target for people like Moira. I needed to talk some sense into him before he made any more mistakes with her.

"I'm the head cheerleader, and Nathan is the wolfball star. It only makes sense that we'd be together. He's a smart boy and realized what was best for him. He decided to stop wasting his time with trash, unlike you. I wonder when you'll realize that Juniper doesn't care about you. She's only using you for your status." Moira's voice turned to ice as she spoke about Juniper.

"Why do you hate her so much?" I asked. Juniper had explained as best as she could, but none of the facts lined up quite right. Juniper genuinely thought that Moira had been her friend for years.

"I hate how everyone thinks she's so perfect. They think she's so sweet and innocent, but she just works twice as hard as everyone to cover up her flaws."

"Juniper is perfect. Maybe instead of wasting your energy on tearing her down, you should take a look in the mirror and fix your own flaws. Oh, and stay away from my brother. We don't need someone like you ruining him while he's still young and impressionable." I started to walk away, but Moira grabbed my arm. She dug her nails into my skin, refusing to let me walk away.

"Maybe you should worry less about me and worry more about what your girlfriend is up to behind your back."

"What are you talking about?" I knew I shouldn't entertain Moira's lies, but something had felt off with Juniper. It felt like she held up a barrier, stopping her from getting closer to me. If Moira knew something I didn't...

"Have you ever noticed the way she looks at Axel? They are doing things behind your back, making you look like a fool." Moira's lips tugged into a knowing smile, and her eyes glimmered.

"You're lying." I could barely get the words out. I didn't want to believe what Moira was saying, but her explanation made so many things make sense. First, Axel was there to save Juniper from Josh during the party. They snuck off to the roof together and were alone for an unknown period of time before I came to find her. Then she had to agree to dance with him during their secret conversation in the hallway. I didn't want to believe Moira, but I couldn't deny the moments I had seen them together that made my jealousy rage. "I have proof." She pulled out her phone and scrolled through her videos. She pulled one up of Juniper and Axel, walking through the mall, laughing and smiling. There was intimacy in the way Juniper touched his arm, and she smiled with such ease. "Now if you don't believe me, you're just lying to yourself."

My fingers turned to ice as the truth about Juniper and Axel washed over me. I had convinced myself I was just crazy and that I was letting my jealousy get to me. I thought Axel and Juniper would never betray me like that.

Juniper agreed to be my girlfriend. She spent nearly every moment of her free time with me-except the moments she was spending with Axel.

No wonder she didn't tell me she loved me back. I wasn't the only one on her mind.

"I tried to warn you, but you didn't want to listen," Moira said.

"There has to be an explanation," I said, but I wasn't confident in my words. I didn't want to believe Juniper was cheating on me-with my brother no less. She wasn't that type. The Juniper I knew fought to protect the people she cared about. She'd never go behind someone's back like that. And Axel was rough around the edges, but he cared about me, even if he pretended like he didn't.

Moira shrugged. "Keep telling yourself that. Let me know how it works out for you." She sauntered away in triumph, leaving me standing around like a fool.

I looked at the dance floor for Juniper's face. I felt the truth behind Moira's words, but Juniper deserved a conversation at the very least. She deserved a chance to explain herself.

I found Juniper in the crowd, and I nearly dropped my cup. Axel held her in his arms and spun her around the dance floor. The moment I walked away, they jumped on each other like two lovebirds desperate to fly away behind my back.