The Four Beta Brothers
Chapter 46

JUNIPER

coming forward. At the same time, it felt true.

I sat on the couch, hugging a pillow. I hadn't said anything since he told me we knew each other as children. I didn't know what to say. I tried to remember knowing Ethan and the others before, but there was a block in my memories, stopping any of them from It would explain why I felt comfortable with them right off of the back.

"Do you have any questions?" Ethan asked, speaking for the first time. He didn't say anything when I left my food untouched or when I moved over to the couch.

I had too many questions to count, but I didn't know where to begin. The most glaringly obvious question was why no one bothered to tell me. Each of the brothers had plenty of opportunities to tell me-especially Asher.

Ethan asked for trust on the matter, but after how upset Asher got with me for not telling him everything going on with Axel, he had a big secret of his own.

I looked at Ethan, and he watched me, ready to jump in if I needed him.

"Were we good friends?" I asked.

Ethan looked at me for a moment before answering. "We were the best of friends."

I nodded, knowing that was where my inexplicable trust came from. "It's a shame I don't remember, then."

Ethan huffed in amusement. "It is a shame."

"Did you know my parents?" My question surprised me this time. I rarely wanted to talk about them.

"I did. They were always nice to all of us, and your face lit up like a firework whenever they came to pick you up. They loved you dearly," Ethan said. "When I heard they passed, I wanted to reach out to you desperately, but I didn't know how."

I nodded slowly, not fully understanding, but I also knew asking for more details wouldn't make things better.

Someone pounded on the door of Ethan's apartment, interrupting our conversation. Ethan tensed and stood up quickly, as if he knew exactly who was on the other side of the door. The pounding continued. "Ethan! Open up!"

My lungs froze, recognizing Asher's voice. I didn't know how he knew I was here, but I wasn't sure I was ready to talk to him.

Ethan gave me an apology frown before going to the door. He opened the door just a crack, allowing him to look at Asher. "Calm down. What is wrong with you? Were you trying to break down my door?" "It's Juniper," Asher said breathlessly.

"I heard about your argument last night." Ethan's voice was icy, and his disappointment rang deeply.

"No. That's not that. I can't find her. She's not in her dorm, and Moira said she never came home last night. I'm worried something has happened to her. You have to help me find her." Asher's voice cracked, and even though I couldn't see his face behind Ethan, his desperation made my heart crack.

"So now you're concerned about her?" Ethan asked. He kept his foot in front of the door, making a point to keep it mostly closed. He was shielding me from Asher's view.

"Of course I am! I needed time to cool off, but I didn't want anything to happen to her. What if Father-"

"Juniper is fine," Ethan said, cutting Asher off. "She is safe and healthy, and if she wants to talk to you, she can find you."

A few beats of silence passed between them. "How do you know that? Where is she?"

"She's safe."

"She's here, isn't she?"

"Asher, go home," Ethan said. "She will call you when and if she wants to talk to you." His voice was firm and commanding. A regular werewolf would've struggled to ignore his command, but Asher wasn't a regular werewolf. Asher slammed against the door as he shouted, "Juniper!" He burst into the living room, but he froze when he saw me sitting on his couch.

I jumped to my feet, unsure of how I felt about his outburst. He was worried about me, which should've melted my heart, but instead, my hands shook. After last night, I didn't trust him, and I knew I didn't want to talk to him yet. "Thank the goddess you're okay. Why didn't you answer my phone calls?" He ran his fingers through his hair and looked at me with big, desperate eyes.

Anger flared from my chest. I hadn't looked at my phone all morning, because I hadn't thought about it. I didn't even know that he had tried to reach me, but even if I had, I knew I wouldn't have answered.

"You're the one who asked for time to figure things out," I said, clenching my jaw. "You can't just expect me to jump just because you want to talk to me."

Asher shook his head. "I didn't mean it like that... I was just worried when I heard you hadn't come home."

"From Moira?" I repeated what he told Ethan.

"She's your roommate. I thought she might-"

"Why would you listen to her in the first place?" I demanded. "You know what she's done to me, and after one conversation with her, you attacked Axel. You accused me of cheating on you because of the woman trying to destroy me." "There was a video," Asher said, but his voice was quiet. He clearly wasn't expecting my anger. He probably thought I'd just run back in to his arms because he came to find me like some hero.

"And what did the video show you? Because as I told you last night, Axel and I never went behind your back. I chose you, and that wasn't enough for you." Tears pricked my eyes, but I pushed them back. I was angry. I didn't want to cry. "You told me you kissed him!" Asher said, throwing his hands up.

"Before we were a thing! Is your jealousy so bad that you can't see the truth? I want to be with you." I paused. "I wanted to be with you."

This correction made Asher pause. "June, I know my behavior was unacceptable last night. It was a lot to process that you had feelings for Axel, but I realized I was an i***t. I love you, and I don't want to lose you."

He crossed the room and grabbed my hands. "I came looking for you to say I'm sorry. I know I should've handled things differently."

Asher's touch made me want to forgive him instantly. I didn't want to break up with him, but I wasn't sure I was ready to forgive him yet. My whole body still ached from the way he walked away yesterday. "Asher, I don't know." I took a step back, but he didn't let go of my hands.

"June, please. I love you."

"You say that like it makes it okay that you attacked Axel and accused me of cheating." I pulled away from Asher.

He reached for me again, but this time Ethan stepped in. "I think it's time you go, Asher."

Asher's jaw clenched, and he glared at Ethan. Then his face twisted. He looked at Ethan, and then he looked at me. His eyes moved up and down my body, and his breath became ragged. "You're wearing his shirt."

I looked down and then looked back at Asher. "I didn't have anything else to wear."

"And you spent the night." It was like pieces were clicking together in his head.

"I brought her back here after you abandoned her," Ethan said. "It's not what you're thinking."

"Moira was right about you, wasn't she?" Asher asked. "The moment you thought we were broken up, you jumped in bed with Ethan no less."

"Excuse me?" I choked, not believing what Asher was saying. He was just trying to apologize for how he acted last night, and here he was, accusing me of sleeping with a different brother.

"You're just like those rumors said, aren't you? You'll just sleep your way up to the top," Asher snapped.

My hands shook as the horrible words spilled out of Asher's mouth like acid. The man standing in front of me was not the man I had been falling for for the past few weeks.

I slapped my hand across his face without thinking, and the sound filled the stunned silence.

"How dare you accuse me of sleeping with someone else when you attacked your brother and then abandoned me. I didn't sleep with Ethan. In fact, I passed out because I was so devastated when you walked away, but I'm done." My voice was dangerously low, and my heart ached as I stared at the man in front of me.

I didn't recognize Asher and his wild behavior. Even with his jealousy issues, he was taking it too far.

"I think you should go," Ethan said.

"No," Asher growled. "I'm not going anywhere. Not until I figure out what happened between the two of you."

I shook my head in disbelief. I pushed past both Asher and Ethan and went straight for the door. "Have fun figuring it out by yourself, because I don't want to be around you right now."

I rushed out of Ethan's apartment, not bothering to get any of my stuff. I just couldn't stand to be around Asher for another second, especially after finding out the truth from Ethan. Petty accusations that weren't true were the last thing I wanted to deal with. "June, wait!" Asher called out after me.

I picked up the pace, having no interest in being around Asher. Last night, he broke my heart, but now I just felt angry and betrayed.

"Please wait!"

"Stop following me!" I shouted back at him.

I ran out of the lobby and burst into the plaza in front of Ethan's apartment building. I wasn't wearing any shoes, and I didn't know where I was exactly, but I knew I couldn't go back into the apartment with Asher following me.

An engine roaring pulled my attention as Axel pulled up to the sidewalk on his motorcycle. I rushed over to him, knowing he was my best escape plan.

He killed the engine as I ran up to him.

"Do you have a second helmet?" I asked.

"Yeah. What's going on?" Axel looked at Asher rushing up to us.

"I just need to get out of here," I said. "Can you be my getaway carriage?"

"Anytime." Axel handed me his spare helmet.

"June, what are you doing?" Asher demanded.

"I told you not to follow me," I snapped, pulling the helmet onto my head.

"If you get on that motorcycle, then we're done," Asher said.

I grabbed Axel's waist and swung my leg over the motorcycle. I looked back at Asher and said, "Guess we're done then."