The Four Beta Brothers – Chapter 76

JUNIPER

By the time the second plane landed, I felt like I was walking in some sort of strange dream. I had hardly been able to sleep, since I was in the middle seat of both flights, so I had been up for nearly thirty-six hours.

Axel and Asher met me outside of the plane, and the three of us didn’t say a word as we made our way out of the airport. The lack of sleep was deep within all of us, but we kept moving, because there was nowhere to properly rest there.

while wearing a jacket, I felt the chill start to sink into my bones. It wasn’t even dark yet, and I didn’t want to know how cold it got once the sun went down.

r announced.

that cost a lot?” I a

black credit card and smirked. “Sure, but this trip is on Ethan, remember?”

her.”

wanted to see them laugh and mess around each other, like friends did. I knew they were friends once upon a time; I felt the remnants of their friendship in the shared smiles, but I also felt the pain and distance that had come between them since I had co

ope out of his backpack and handed it to me.

in front of the brothers. I looked up at Asher with a frown. “What’s this?”

ned. “Take it. It’s okay.”

case this trip didn’t produce the results I desperately needed.

l minutes to hail a cab, since it was during rush hour, and then it took another thirty minutes to actually make it to our hotel. Asher checked in on our behalf, and then we all dragged oursel

t I was sure each item was insanely overpriced.

s stuff by the wall and sauntered into the bathroom.

atement surprised me. I had expected him to fight us about Axel sleeping in the same bed as me, and base

om door shut, Axel said, “Asher’s actin

de and didn’t press things. Maybe this was his way of trying to be happy for me.

om the bathroom, and then I sat down. The muscles in my body ached, crying for proper rest.

tion you two had on the plane?”

dn’t realize you saw him come talk to me.”

e, I’m always looking for you. It’s become a bit of a habit. I saw him approach you, and I was prepared to drag him back to his seat if it looked like he was harassing you. He wasn’t, was he?”

one, but my instincts kicked in. “He apologized, actually. It felt genuine for the first time in all of his apologies. I think he’s final

r a nerd, it took him too long to realize he was wrong.” He didn’t seem

my fingers with Axel. “He also has his own demons to battle, just like the rest of us.” I was unab

and I could tell there was something going on in his head, but I was too tired to ask about it. After a moment, he sto

ucked me into the blankets properly. I waited for him to slide into bed next to me, but he just l

hand before he could pul

. “I know. I’m just going to go get some water. I’ll be back

g.” My eyes fluttered shut as sleep be

distant.

hear him when he left the room or when he

***

AXEL

s all the way across the country.

nge, but I wasn’t about to let my guard down just because we left the city. If the hunter was the same one from the attack James and Juniper faced, he wasn’t going to give up just because we

othes.

h to get into,” I said.

l s

but I’m smarter than he gives me credit for.”

you when you snuck out of the house in high school?” There was no fight in his voice, which was a little strange. It almost felt like the brother I knew before Juniper had come back into our lives.

m with Juniper, even when I ached to touch her. When he hurt her, it felt like a betrayal of my trust, too.

r me.” I leaned against the o

said.

ver the years, I didn’t realize it went to that extent.

m sorry for being such an a*s to you recently. I felt like I was losing he

hated it, especially because I knew Juniper still cared about my brother. However, the pain and regret was written all over his face.

et jealous.”

er made my jealousy Juniper’s problem.”

oned Ethan kissing Juniper. “I don’t know how you do it. I don’t know how you’re okay with her kissing Ethan.”

it felt so obvious,” he said.

ll attention. I thought Ethan would’ve told my twin his theory about the mate bond splitting between us to ease the pain of their breakup, but clearly, Asher was in the dark. “He thinks that when James died, the bond wi

e you telling me this now?”

Because that’s how I handle her attraction to you and Ethan. If we are all partially mated to her, it’s only natural for her to be drawn to all of us. It reminds me that even though she kissed Ethan, it doesn’t mean she cares

f that, because it felt like I was giving him

how badly he hurt Juniper, there was a part of me that s

have her memories back, and we can go home.”