The Four Beta Brothers
Chapter 90

JUNIPER

The moment I got off the flight, I checked my phone. I felt nervous the entire flight, knowing I hadn't been able to call Ethan to tell him I wasn't going to be there for him to pick up. Part of me knew I should've used my limited time to call Ethan instead of Axel, but when I went to dial, Axel's name was the first one I clicked. As my phone booted up, the messages and missed calls began flooding in, and I knew instantly my plan didn't get communicated the way I had hoped. I called Ethan without even reading the messages or listening to the voicemails.

He answered only after one ring. "Juniper," he said, relief filling his voice. "Where are you? Are you safe?"

"I'm okay," I quickly said, doing my best to navigate out of the airport while on the phone. "I called Axel, and I thought he'd tell you what I was doing."

"He told me," Ethan said. "But do you realize how stupid you're being by going off on your own like that? There is a hunter after you."

My chest clenched. I knew none of the brothers would be thrilled to learn my new plan, but I didn't appreciate being called stupid. "I'm not being stupid. I know it's risky, but I can't only worry about myself if Alpha Williams is in danger. If there's anything I can do to help, then I'm going to help."

"You didn't have to go alone. I would've come with you if you had told me what you were planning," Ethan said.

"You would have?" I asked. Part of me thought Ethan would talk me out of going back to my pack to look for the evidence. Maybe that was why I called Axel instead of Ethan.

"Of course. If there's a chance you can get the evidence we need to prove to Alpha Williams that my father was plotting against him, we have to give it a shot."

"I thought you might talk me out of coming out of here," I admitted.

"I may have talked you into waiting, but I wouldn't have talked you out of it. I trust you, Juniper. If you think this can help, then I'm sure you're right."

I wished I could see Ethan's face. I wished I could hold his hand. Asher and Axel had been the ones to talk to him to fill him in on all of the important details of what was going on with their father and some of the things I remembered, but I hadn't spoken to him since before we left.

"Ethan," I said, hesitating to say everything else I wanted to.

"Yes?" His voice was breathy as he waited for me to finish my thoughts.

"I wish you were here right now."

"Good thing I'm about to get on a plane to you right now," he said, and I could hear the smirk that accompanied his words.

***

I reached for the door to the pack house, and luckily it was open. Since several werewolves inhabited the pack house, it was usually left unlocked during the day. I immediately made my way to my room, hoping to avoid running into anyone. The last thing I wanted to do was have a conversation with Alpha Miller about why I wasn't at school right now. Luckily, there wasn't much activity in the pack house, making it easy to slip into my room unseen.

It was a little strange being back in this room. I returned to this pack house every summer break, but it had been several months since I had been here. It had never felt like home; it was just a place I lived. After spending time with the Burrell brothers, I knew my true home was with them.

I hated being away from them, but I knew I was doing this for their sake as much as my own. Beta Burrell had taken just as much away from them as he had from me, and I hoped together we could build a future with so much happiness that it would take away even some of the pain.

I went to my closet and started digging through it until I found what I was looking for. On the top shelf of the closet, hidden behind several boxes and bags, was an old, beaten-up box. I pulled it down before shoving the rest of my stuff back into the closet.

I sat on the floor with the box in front of me. I hadn't touched this box in a long time, and I couldn't even remember everything that was in here. After I found out my parents were killed in a car accident, I was sent to Alpha Miller's pack house with nothing but this box to start my new life. For the longest time, I couldn't even look at the box without sobbing, knowing everything inside was just a reminder of the life I no longer had.

It took a moment to build the courage I needed to open it up and look at the forgotten content, knowing for years I had kept this hidden away while diving into my new life because it was easier than dealing with the fact I had nothing left.

Finally, I opened the box, and the first thing I saw was a stuffed bunny. Images of holding matching stuffed bunnies with James filled my head, and I knew we had gotten the plushies together.

"This is so that even when we are apart, you can hug this rabbit and know that I'm always with you," James had said when he gave me the bunny as a gift.

I lifted the stuffed animal to my nose and inhaled deeply. It mostly smelled of dust, but there was the faintest scent of James lingering deep within. I pressed the toy against my chest, biting my lip to stop the tears from coming. That wasn't what I was looking for, and I couldn't fall apart at the first thing that reminded me of James.

There were several photos of my parents and me as a child, a blanket, and a couple of small trinkets. At the bottom of the box, I found a wrinkled letter shoved into a yellowed envelope. I pulled out the paper, and the words looked like they were written by a child. The letters were large, and words were misspelled left and right, but none of that mattered. This was the letter I had written to myself before my memories were taken away.

The memory of that moment flashed into my brain, taking over my whole body without a moment's notice.

***

My entire body ached, but the moment I was alone, I practically flew out of bed. It was the middle of the night, and most of the werewolf clinic was asleep. It was easy to tiptoe down the hallway without being seen. There was one nurse at her desk, but she was falling asleep and didn't even notice when I walked past her.

I heard the voices of Beta Burrell and my parents talking in an office of some sort. I pushed through my curiosity, knowing I didn't have time to eavesdrop. I made it to the waiting room, where my body froze. Ethan was falling asleep with Nathan passed out in his lap. Axel and Asher were piled on top of each other, muttering in their sleep.

All of their faces were tearstained, and their eyes were puffy. The sight of them all together made my heart thunder in a way it had never done when I saw them. I just wanted to run up to them and hold them in my arms and tell them everything was going to be okay. I wanted to hold Ethan's hand, kiss the twins' cheeks, and pull Nathan into my lap.

I had always loved them, but I had never wanted to be near them with such an intensity before. I had only felt that way with James, and I didn't understand why I felt that way looking at all of them. I took a step towards them, but the sound of the nurse snoring jolted me from the trance. Instead, I took a step back, knowing I didn't have anytime to be with the brothers like I wanted to.

Soon my memories would be erased, and I had to do something, or I would forget them forever.

I turned my attention away from the sleeping Burrells and found my mom's bag. She always had a notepad and a pen in her bag. As soon as I had them in my hand, I hurried back to my room. I didn't dare turn on a light, too afraid to draw any unnecessary attention to myself. I wrote as fast as I could, ignoring the cramping in my hand. I had no idea how long I'd have until Beta Burrell returned to take my memories, and I had to make sure to write everything I could down in the time I had.

I wrote down who James was and what we discovered. I described the location of where James and I hid the evidence against Beta Burrell and why it was important to find that information. I told myself that I had to be brave, even if I didn't understand what was going on. I wanted to make sure my future self trusted the old me enough to listen. James had died because he wanted to do what was right and protect the alpha. Now that he was gone, I was the only one who could carry out the plan.

With the remaining time, I wrote down the rest of the brothers, telling my future self that even if I couldn't remember who they were, all I needed to know was that I loved them and they loved me. I told myself to trust them with my whole heart, because they would be the ones to get me through everything.

When I was satisfied with the letter, I tore a small hole in my stuffed bunny, rolled up the note, and then shoved it inside, hoping that even after I lost my memories, I would carry my bunny around everywhere and find the note one day. There was no way to guarantee that would happen, but it was the best shot I had without anyone else finding out.