The Four Beta Brothers
Chapter 82

JUNIPER

The next memory started immediately, and it was like I was watching a montage of memories floating by. I had no control over what memory came to me next.

"One! Two! Three! Four!" Ethan called out, covering his eyes. He was chosen as the first seeker, because everyone knew he wouldn't cheat.

James grabbed my hand and started dragging me through the forest. "Hurry! He's going to get us if we don't get far enough away."

We ran through the forest behind the Burrell household. It was our playground, and we knew every tree, rock and stream for miles. Ethan knew this too, so the only advantage we had was to get as far away from him as possible. James dragged me along, even when my muscles began to burn from the speed.

It was as if our lives depended on it. Our games were always like that. It didn't matter if we were playing a game of hide-and-seek or marbles. We played to win.

When we reached the small river that ran parallel to the house, we slowed to give our aching lungs a break.

"Shouldn't we split up to give the other a better chance? If he catches both of us, we'll both lose," I suggested.

James tightened his grip on my hand. "I'm not going anywhere without you. We'll win together or we'll lose together. Nothing you say will change my mind."

"Okay, then let's cross the river. It'll hide our scent better," I said, looking at the boy who was always by my side. Even when we were apart, I counted the seconds until I was with him again.

"Good idea!" James let go of my hand and jumped into the river, splashing me in the process.

I jumped back, trying to bat away the water. "Hey! Watch it!"

"You're about to get wet anyway." The river went to just below his knees, but the middle of the river would go all the way to his waist.

I stuck my tongue out at him. "That doesn't mean I want you to splash me."

He scooped up a handful of water and threw it in my direction. I screamed and then laughed. "If that's how it's going to be, then you better watch out!"

I prepared to jump into the river after him, but the sound of a metal click made me pause. A man wearing camouflage pants walked towards us, standing on the other side of the river. He held a pistol in his hand, but he was just inspecting it, pointing it in no particular direction. He had no scent to him.

It was the same man that attacked Axel and me. His eyes had the same hardness to them, yet he had fewer wrinkles and no gray in his hair. He was a little thinner, too. The years had not been kind to him.

I wanted to scream at James and my younger self to run. I tried to scream, knowing what was about to happen, but I couldn't do anything. I was only a ghost in my own memory.

James turned, following my gaze. When he saw the man standing before us, he froze. "Who are you?" he demanded.

Juniper, run! James linked.

It was strange hearing his voice in my head. It made me realize there was a time I was in the same pack as the Burrell brothers.

I didn't move. I only stared at the gun the man was holding.

"Don't move, and you'll be fine, boy," the man said.

James looked at me with pleading eyes before turning back to the man. "What do you want?" He started to back up slowly, closing the difference between us.

"Nothing to do with you. I'm here for the girl."

Run! James screamed through the link.

I couldn't move. I'm not leaving your side, no matter what.

Juniper, get out of here. I'll be fine!

"This is private property. You need to go," I snapped, ignoring James' pleas.

I wished I could go back in time and run, just like James asked. The hunter was there for me. He didn't care about James. If I had just run, things would've been different.

"I'll leave once I finish the job I was hired to do." The man lifted the gun, pointing it at me. Fear put me in a choke hold, and I couldn't move. I had thought I had the fight kind of response in serious situations, but with a gun pointed at my head, I froze. "What kind of person shoots a child?" James screamed, slowly getting out of the river.

The hunter pointed the gun at James instead, making me yelp. "I told you not to move!"

"Or what? You're going to kill two children? Don't you have a heart?" James said.

"I sold my heart to the devil. I found that money is better than any morals. I'd say you'd understand that one day, but if you don't get out my way, you won't live long enough to experience the cruelties of life."

The hunter pointed his gun at me again, and the next part happened in slow motion. He pulled the trigger, and James leapt out of the river towards me. He shifted into his wolf for the first time ever, which was the only reason he was fast enough to get between me and the bullets. My head hit a rock on the ground as James' body blocked me.

I remembered thinking how beautiful James' wolf had been. That was the first thought that crossed my mind. Then I felt his blood soak my shirt.

A second gunshot rang out, and this time, I felt a shock through my side. James' body transformed back into his human form, too weak to sustain his wolf. His breath was ragged, but he didn't cry.

Don't move, James linked. Pretend you're dead, and maybe he'll leave you alone.

Tears streamed down my face as my brain caught up to everything that had just happened. I suppressed the sob that wanted to wrack my body. I listened to James this time, wishing I had run when he told me.

"Get away from them!" Ethan screamed, running through the forest to reach us.

The memory pulled away from me, sending me somewhere else completely, but I wasn't ready to leave that memory. I wanted to see the moment the mate bond broke and shattered among the other brothers, but it was too late.

***

"How can we take her away from this life?" my mom said in a hushed voice. "She loves those boys. If we take her away from them after everything that happened to James-"

"Honey, I know this is hard, but what choice do we have? She won't remember them anyway," my dad said.

It had been so long since I heard my parents' voices.

I lay in a hospital bed with my eyes shut. My entire body ached, but I had woken up only to overhear this hushed conversation between my parents. I kept my eyes closed, afraid they'd stop talking if I knew I was awake.

"That's even worse. How could you possibly agree to let Beta Burrell erase J.J's memories? If we have to take her away, that's one thing, but to make her forget those boys, too? That's madness. She loves them," my mom argued.

"Maybe it's for the best that she forgets them. When she wakes up and discovers James is dead, it's going to devastate her. He was her best friend. Besides, what choice do we have? We're just omegas. We can't fight the beta's orders." My dad sounded defeated. He didn't want to agree to it any more than my mother, but he knew they didn't have a choice.

"We're supposed to fight for our daughter. We're supposed to protect her from things like this." My mother was sobbing now.

Her sobs were muffled as my father pulled her into his chest. "I know. I know. I wish things were different, but we'll keep her safe from all of this. Beta Burrell and his wife blame her for their son's death. Who knows what kind of ramifications she'll face if we stay. We'll protect her by leaving, and we'll continue to make sure she is loved, so she never has to feel alone."

"Let's just leave now. We can disappear before they take her memory. We'll leave, just like he wants, but at least J.J. will keep her memories. We'll go pack right now and leave." My mom had a new determination behind her words.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Beta Burrell said.

Even back then, that man gave me the chills.

"I suggest you come with me before you do something you'll regret," Beta Burrell ordered with a slight growl in his voice.

Footsteps rang out as they walked away. When there was only silence, I shot out of bed, ignoring the pain in my side. I grabbed a paper and pen, writing down everything I knew I couldn't forget. If they were going to take my memories, then I was going to write a letter to myself. There were things I couldn't forget-things that people had to know.