The Four Beta Brothers
Chapter 49

JUNIPER

It started raining on the way to the motel. Axel slowed his pace as the road became slick from the weather. By the time we pulled into the parking lot, both Axel and I were thoroughly soaked.

The lobby of the motel was decorated with various animals hanging on the walls. The likeness of the fur and the shape of the creatures made it clear these were all once alive before someone hunted them and then took them to a taxidermy. There was a pair of squirrels sitting on the desk, and the creatures on the wall ranged from a deer to a lion.

There was something unnerving about the way the animals stared back. The most unsettling sight was the stuffed wolf hanging above the receptionist's desk. It made it clear that this was not a werewolf-friendly establishment, and we had to be extra careful during our stay here.

Axel approached the desk right away, and I hung back, trying not to look so awkward as I looked at the cabin-like decor filling the room. It didn't take long for Axel to come back with a set of room keys.

"We got the room with the best view," Axel smiled, holding up the keys.

"Really?"

"No," he chuckled. "But we did get the last room available tonight. We should consider ourselves lucky."

I wasn't sure if I felt lucky with the vibe I was getting from the motel.

"Don't worry. There are two beds, so you don't have to worry about me hogging the blankets." Axel was trying hard to make me laugh, but I couldn't even get myself to smile in return. I felt bad, but I was just too drained from the past twenty-four hours. I couldn't even pretend to smile.

"Thank goodness."

Axel's lips pulled tight, and he didn't say anything else. He carried the few things we had, leading the way to our room. It was on the second floor, and it was at the back of the hallway. It felt more private than I had expected.

The room was void of animal decorations, to my relief. The walls were mostly plain with the exception of a single painting hanging between the two queen-sized beds.

"I'm going to take a quick shower," I announced immediately.

"Take your time," Axel said, surveying the room.

I moved to the bathroom and turned on the water to start heating it. I hung up all of my wet clothes, so they could dry, and once the water was warm enough, I stepped into the shower. The water stung my skin, but I pushed past the pain, knowing my body needed to thaw after the day I had.

Exhaustion became prevalent as the water washed away the chill in my bones. I stood there, letting the water run over me, hardly able to move. It took several minutes to work up the energy to properly wash my hair and body.

When I was done, I dried off quickly. I looked around, realizing that I didn't have dry clothes to change into, and the motel was too cheap to provide robes. I settled for wrapping a towel around my waist, since I refused to put wet clothes back on. I opened the door a crack, but I paused when I heard Axel's voice in a hushed whisper.

"She's fine," he whispered. He paced back and forth, holding his phone up to his ear. "Well, she's okay. She's dealing with it in the best way she can... I promise I'm looking out for her, and I'll keep her safe... I know... Okay."

"We got the room with the best view," Axel smiled, holding up the keys.

There was a pause, and Axel's body tensed. "No... She hasn't mentioned that... I don't know. I think what Asher said to her was worse... Don't ask me. I want to punch him for what he said... That's on you. He's your brother... Don't give me that." Axel sighed and shook his head. He turned and caught a glimpse of me watching him through the crack in the door.

"Ethan, I gotta go." He hung up even though a muffled voice was still talking on the other end.

"Sorry," I said, keeping the door cracked. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop."

Axel smiled. "No need to apologize. I was just updating Ethan. He's been blowing up my phone, demanding an update. Apparently a text wasn't sufficient."

"Did I cause trouble?" I asked.

Axel shook his head. "He was just worried about you after your fight with Asher. You walked out without any of your stuff, and he had no way of checking on you, since he has your phone."

"I probably shouldn't have stormed out like that." Thinking back on my reaction to Asher, it was childish. I should've at least taken the time to get my shoes and ph one before storming out.

"If you're worried about insulting Ethan, don't. He's dealt with me storming out on him on more than one occasion-most of them without a good reason-and he still loves me, even if he's a pain in my a*s."

Axel loved his brothers deeply, and I wondered if any of them knew just how much he cared. He was labeled as the black sheep for ditching class and not living up to his family reputation, but his heart made up for any vagrant behavior. "That's good to know. Do you want to take a shower now?" I asked.

"Definitely. I need to get out of these clothes before I start to chaff."

"There's just one thing." I bit my lip, hesitating to say the next part.

"Did you use all of the hot water? Because a cold shower is the last thing I want," he chuckled.

"I don't have a change of clothes, and there's no robes." I pushed the door, revealing my towel-covered body.

Axel's eyes immediately looked down, but then he looked at the ceiling, his cheeks turning as bright as a tomato. "Ah."

"Sorry if this is awkward. I didn't want to put on my wet clothes," I said, clearing the way to the bathroom.

"Nor should you have. You can't risk getting sick. And it's not awkward. It's just..." His voice dropped off, and then he cleared his throat. "I'll just take a shower now." He dipped into the shower, leaving me alone in the rest of the room. I grabbed the bag from the convenience store. I jumped onto the bed farthest away from the bathroom and dumped the contents of the bag onto the bed. I grabbed the most appealing snack and started eating it. The moment the food hit my tongue, I felt like I hadn't eaten in a week, and I wanted to scarf everything down.

When the shower stopped running, my ears perked up, and I became potently aware of Axel in the bathroom. After a few minutes, he stepped out with a towel just wrapped around his waist. His hair lay flat, unlike the usually gelled up style I was used to. He was only partially dry, and water droplets rolled down his muscular chest all the way to the v-shaped muscles that dipped below the towel.

"Like the view?" Axel asked.

I choked on a piece of food that was still in my mouth. He caught me staring at him, and there was no way to recover from that embarrassment. I grabbed a small bag of pretzels and chucked it at him. "Here! I'm sure you're hungry."

He caught the bag with one hand and inspected it. "Out of everything you bought, this was what you decided to throw at me?"

My cheeks ached with embarrassment. I looked down at the pile of food in front of me. "Is there something else you want?"

He moved across the room and sat on my bed on the other side of the pile of snacks. He dropped the pretzels and scanned his other options, humming.

I reached forward, and our hands brushed against each other. Neither of us pulled away. I looked up, and Axel was watching me. The storm in his eyes raged, and it felt like it was about to spill over into the room between us.

It would be too easy to lean forward and taste him. Only towels and air separated our bodies, and my core ached for his touch. Just the thought of Axel was enough to make me breathless.

I picked up a bag of peach rings and handed them to Axel, knowing if I didn't do something to distract myself, I wouldn't be able to stop myself from pulling him on top of me.

Not like this.

I didn't want to take time to think about what I wanted. All I did with Asher was think about whether it was the right choice or if we were moving too fast, and all that left me with was a broken heart. With Axel, I just wanted to act with my heart and feel everything. I didn't want to think.

"Your favorite," I said as I handed him the candy.

He looked down, and his eyebrows furrowed. "I haven't eaten those since I was a kid. How'd you know they were my favorite?"

I paused, realizing I hadn't thought about what I was grabbing or saying. My body just reacted on instinct. "I don't know. I just knew."

"So you don't remember?" Axel's body seemed to deflate.

"Ethan told you he told me the truth about my past," I concluded. He nodded. "I still can't recall any memories. It's really weird, because I know it's true. I can feel that I knew all of you for most of my life, but I don't remember you."

Axel pulled back, fingering the bag of peach rings. "I wanted to tell you sooner. It felt wrong to keep it a secret. I'm sorry I never said anything."

"Maybe we knew each other once upon a time," I said. Axel tilted his head to the side, so I continued. "You said that to me once. I thought it was such a strange thing to say. I don't believe in past lives-I don't particularly not believe in them either-and I had no memories of you, but somehow that statement made sense to me. Maybe you didn't tell me exactly, but you tried to."

Axel leaned in, stopping only a few inches from my face. I didn't breathe as I waited for him to kiss me.