The Four Beta Brothers – Chapter 139
JUNIPER
My body jolted awake as a hand pressed against my mouth. I struggled as the panic set in until I realized it was Axel hovering above me. I prepared to yell at him for scaring me, but he placed a finger against his lips to gesture to me to stay quiet to not wake his brother next to me. I had been alternating between sleeping in Ethan’s and Nathan’s beds the last few days, trying to divide my time evenly between the two. Thankfully, Asher and Axel didn’t complain, knowing they had had the most attention before and would have even more time with me once we were back at school.
I glanced at Ethan, who was still sound asleep. It was early, even for him. Despite the time, Axel looked like he had been awake for hours. He tugged on my arm, trying to get me to move faster, and I shot him a look that was the least bit friendly. He had to bite his lip to hold in a laugh, which only irritated me more. It was too early to be taunted like that.
at on earth a
me? Axel asked.
.
mth of my bed. I started to put on my slippers, but Axel gestured for my tennis shoes instead. I held back a groan. Those were outdoor shoes, and it was
xel grabbed my
nds around myself.
from Winston,” Axel
said.
” Axel laughed. “But the pack has a variety of vehicles, so I
ked.
t of the day planned out for us, this might be our last chance to sneak away. If we leave now, we can make it back before the others wake up for breakfast.”
pack house. Ethan wasn’
ly from the pack house due to the sheer size of their family, but now the house was clearly abandoned.
of all of the brothers.
was a path I had taken a thousand times over in my childhood.
e took. It wasn’t long before Axel and I stood at the bottom of the tree house we used to play in.
still, I looked over my shoulder, expecting to see him running up to me. There was nothing but the barren trees and the whispering wind behind us.
ent.
with a smile.
fe?”
ickety pieces of wood nailed to the tree itself. When he made it to the top, he poked his head back through the opening. “Coming?”
elped me through the top. I expected the tree house to be unkempt and dirty from years of neglect, just like the path leading up to it, but the wood was pr
id you do this?”
r, because this was where I first fell in love with you.”
f operations to the drawing sessions where papers of terrible drawings covered the floor.
nervousness.
, but it never felt like the right time. Everything has just felt like chaos for so long, and I wasn’t sure how you’d react to this. The last thing I wanted was to cause you more pain.”
other random items, all triggering their own memory. The first thing I picked up was a drawing. I was in the center of it, and all five brothers were standing next to me, ea
lump in my throat down.
istake?” Axel asked, suddenly s
ed the tears away with his thumbs.
“I’m so grateful for all of this, but I don’t know if it’ll ever be easy to remember Ja
in our family, especially the parts where my brothers and I stopped being friends.”
ebted to the Moon Goddess for blessing me with four new mates, part of me felt like it was a betrayal to my original bond.
e my mate.”
m it and inspected it closely. “I think the Moon Goddess blessed us with you to make up for some of the pain we had to endure. I think she knew the hardships this family would have to go through, and she wanted to bring
id you get that?”
of his stuff was left intact, because our mother wanted to preserve his room as a way to preserve his memory. After she died, none of us
ur happiness wa
of me. As I squeezed tighter, I felt something hard inside of the rabbit. I pulled it away and pressed my fingers into the torso of the bunny.
heart raced as I pressed my fingers against whatever was inside of the rabbit.
you want to do that?”
in James’ stuffed bunny.
e of paper rolled up.
d the words James had written.