The Four Beta Brothers
Chapter 54

JUNIPER

Axel pressed his lips against mine in a fiery passion. It was as if last night had opened the floodgates to his desire, and he couldn't hold back anymore. His hand dipped into my panties and slid through my folds, causing a moan to escape my lips.

I wasn't the kind of girl who made out with boys in the forest. I had always been reserved, trying to avoid doing anything scandalous, because I was afraid that people would look down on me for that kind of behavior. For half of my life, I was the omega orphan, quiet and reserved, forgotten in the shadows. I worked hard to get out of the shadows, but I only ever wanted to be in the academic light.

Now, all of those worries seemed futile. I didn't know if it was because Moira destroyed my reputation, or because of the way Axel made me feel, but I didn't care if what we were doing was proper. I just wanted Axel.

I grabbed his shirt and started to pull it up.

A branch snapped nearby, and Axel and I both stopped. He pulled me behind him and looked around us. The hair on his forearms rose, and his body was tense as he looked around for the source of the sound.

I inhaled deeply, trying to smell any signs of anyone else. The forest smelled just as it did before, like morning dew clinging onto nature mixed with mud and flowers.

Axel's shoulders relaxed, turning back to me. "It must have been an animal wandering by or something."

I nodded, coming to the same conclusion. Axel's eyes settled on me again, and they were calm. Even if the sound was nothing to worry about, the moment had passed.

Axel pulled his shirt off and tossed it onto the rock, but there was nothing seductive about his movements. "Maybe you're right. That can wait until after. I don't really care for the idea of some bunny watching us do it, like, well... rabbits."

I chuckled, shaking my head. Having s*x in a forest sounded less than appealing, but the moment Axel's hands were on me, I lost all care in the world.

"All right then, wolf boy. Let's see what your wolf looks like." If I had ever seen Axel's wolf before, it was during the time I still couldn't remember. Excitement pricked my skin as I waited. There was something thrilling about seeing how a werewolf's wolf looked, especially because many werewolves spent less time in their wolf form than in the past.

Axel finished striping, and I made a point to only look at his eyes, knowing if my gaze wandered, it would only cause distractions. He winked at me, and then his body started shifting. His wolf was large, and he was mostly blue-gray with white mixed in with his fur. Accents of black scattered his body. He looked similar to Nathan's wolf, only Nathan had more white than Axel.

I lost my breath as I looked at him. Everything about his wolf was magnificent. He was tall and intimidating and borderline domineering from his size alone. His stormy eyes were the same ones as I knew, but they came to life in his wolf form. The storm inside raged more than normal, swirling and sparkling in a way I had never seen. One look at his wolf would make almost anyone hesitate to approach him. This was what the son of the beta of all werewolves looked like.

Part of me knew I should be hesitant near his wolf. It was my omega blood that cautioned me to tread lightly near such a powerful wolf.

Yet, there was another part of me that knew the wolf in front of me would never harm a single hair on my head. I approached him and ran my fingers through the fur on his neck. He was soft and warm, and he whimpered at my touch.

While a regular werewolf would have seen a fierce beast in front of them, I only saw the loving wolf who stayed by my side, even when I chose his brother over him.

"Wow," I muttered under my breath, still stroking his fur. His warmth surrounded me, so even though I was standing nearly naked in the forest, the cold didn't bite my skin.

Axel nudged my chest with his nose, and even though we couldn't link each other, I knew he was telling me it was my turn to shift. It was as if our souls were connected, so we didn't need words to understand each other.

I took off my last few garments and placed them neatly on the rock with the rest of my clothes. I felt Axel's impatience building with my slow movements, but I wanted to drag out the moment for as long as possible.

I turned back to him, and then I shifted into my wolf form. The process was quick as my body bent to the will of the Moon Goddess. When I was fully in my wolf form, Axel still towered over me.

I gave him a moment to fully take in how I looked, just like he had done for me. I turned around, letting him see every angle of my body. A low growl escaped his lips as he watched. He approached me slowly and nuzzled me gently. His emotions flowed through me more freely in our wolf form. It was as if we shared a heart.

Excitement made my stomach flutter. I had gone for runs with Josh and Moira in their wolf forms, but it had never felt like this.

I licked Axel's face, and his eyes widened with surprise. He tried to lick me back, but I jumped out of the way. He snarled, frustrated with my attempt to avoid and then jumped at me again. I twisted out of his way easily, since my wolf body was much more agile than my human form.

Then the game of chase commenced. I bolted away, feeling lighter than I had in years. Axel's paws thumped into the earth as he chased after me. I could practically hear his, "Hey!" in protest. If I could laugh in this body, I would howle.

I weaved in and out of the trees as Axel chased after. He easily kept up with my speed. In fact, I had a feeling he was letting me get away to enjoy the thrill of the chase. The air flowed through my fur and my muscles burned with energy. Despite not transforming into my wolf form as often as I should have been, this body was superior to my human form. There was untouched strength and speed I was able to draw upon to keep me going faster and faster.

I got so caught up in how much my body felt that I didn't realize Axel's footsteps were no longer following behind me. I slowed down and glanced behind me, hoping to see him, but there was nothing but trees and emptiness behind me.

My heart raced with confusion. Axel was stronger than me in every way possible, so there was no reason he should've lost me... unless he wanted to. I turned back and started following my path, desperate to find Axel. He wouldn't have left me behind without a good

reason.

I hated that I couldn't link him to find out where he had gone. We came from different packs, and even if we were partial mates, we wouldn't be able to link each other unless he marked me.

I picked up his scent and quickly followed it. I couldn't breathe or think about anything other than where he could have possibly gone and why he stopped so suddenly. He had broken away from my path several hundred feet back, but there were no signs as to why he had done that.

I stopped and howled, hoping he could hear my cry and come back to me. A branch snapped behind me and I flipped around, excited to see Axel.

My body froze when I saw a human standing in front of me instead. He was dressed in all camouflage, and he was holding a long rifle. The image of the stuffed wolf at the hotel flashed into my head, and I couldn't breathe. A hunter stood in front of me, and if I made one wrong move, I knew he wouldn't hesitate to shoot me.

But why hadn't I noticed his scent? I should have picked up on it when I was searching for Axel, even if I was focused on finding him. I took a deep inhale, but I still couldn't smell anything in front of me. It was as if the hunter was a ghost. He must have been masking his scent somehow, but I didn't know if that was possible.

"I'm a little surprised to see a wolf here," the hunter said, studying me with coal-black eyes. There was nothing kind about the way he looked at me.

"Especially a wolf as big as you." His gun was still pointing at the ground, but that didn't mean much.

I glanced around, looking for the best way out of this. I had to run, but I didn't know if I was fast enough to get away before he lifted his gun and pulled the trigger. A distraction would work better, but I didn't know how to distract this man.

Axel, I tried to link, even though I knew we didn't have a connection. I hoped he would still feel me somehow and come looking for me. I didn't know where he disappeared, but I desperately wanted to see him. It felt like he would know exactly how to handle this kind of situation.

"Now tell me. Are you a lone wolf, or is your pack nearby?" the hunter asked. "Because I would love to mount a family of werewolves on my wall."

He started to lift his gun, and I knew I had to try to run if I wanted any chance to get away from this hunter. While werewolves were superior to humans, guns were still superior to werewolves. If the hunter was unarmed, I wouldn't have been worried, but I knew it was better to get shot from farther away than point blank.

My body would heal from a gunshot wound, as long as he didn't hit anything vital.

I took off in a dash. Then a snarl erupted all around me. The gun fired. Axel's yelp filled my ears, making my body completely freeze. It was as if all of the horrors of my past came rushing back to me all at once, and a sharp pain shot through my head. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. I couldn't move.