The Four Beta Brothers

Chapter 9 - A Strange Kiss in the Night

JUNIPER

	I touched my lips as I lay in bed. Two kisses. Two brothers. One night. 

	My head swam with confusion. I spent the entire day with Asher. He took me on a sweet non-date, and the evening was incredible. We talked and laughed, and when we kissed, it felt right. It was the missing piece to a puzzle.

	Then Axel swooped in out of nowhere, a shadow in the night. His kiss was filled with passion and fire, and it heated me from the inside out. It was too different to compare, yet, somehow I felt like that kiss was also a piece I had been missing.

	Two guys. Two very different kisses. One very confused me.

	I knew I should sleep. I couldn’t worry about boys right now. There were more important things to worry about… Like Moira. 

	I groaned, rolling over in my bed. I shoved the pillow on my face, hating every thought in my brain. It was either Moira, Asher, or Axel, and all of the topics were confusing. Just a few days ago, all I was worried about was studying enough to maintain my grades, but that suddenly became the least of my worries.



	***



	AXEL

	“Where have you been?” Nathan demanded the moment I walked through the door. He was slung over the couch, throwing a football up in the air repeatedly.

	“Out.” It wasn’t my responsibility to tell my younger brother what I spent my free time doing.

	“It’s late. Don’t you have class tomorrow?” He added extra spin to the ball, not even looking at me.

	“Don’t you?” I threw back. Nathan was too innocent, too good for his own good. He needed to learn to break the rules and relax more, but I knew nothing I said would help him break free from his little shell. I was one of his least favorite people.

	“Yeah, but I’ve been in the dorm for hours by myself. You, I expected to be gone all night. Asher is a surprise, though.”

	Asher was the better twin of the two of us. He always had perfect grades and a perfect attendance record. He wasn’t nearly as perfect as the prodigal son, Ethan, but he was damn near close to it. I understood why Nathan was surprised, but I also wondered what he would think if he knew Asher was out with Juniper all evening. Despite Ethan telling us to stay away from her, Asher did the exact opposite. It was rare for him to go against a direct order like that.

	“We’re both awake. The only difference between what I was doing and what you’ve been doing is a life.” I took off my coat and hung it in the closet by the door. The dorm was surprisingly warm for this time of year.

	Nathan sat up suddenly, snatching the ball out of the air. “I have a life! I just didn’t want to spend time with the wolfball team. They’re kind of jerks.”

	“Not surprisingly.” I wasn’t the biggest fan of jocks. Nathan was an exception to the rule. He was talented, with a speed that could outrun even some of the pros. Our father had him in training camps to nurture that talent at a young age, and even at the age of eighteen, recruiters were fighting for Nathan’s attention. All of the pro leagues wanted Nathan on their team, but they had to wait until he graduated from college.

	Despite all of the attention and praise, Nathan never let it get to his head. He was still just the sweet, innocent kid who liked to make people smile. One day, this world would chew him up and spit him out. I just hoped his spirit stayed intact.

	“I still don’t understand how you got into the school.” Nathan leaned back and continued throwing the ball in the air. “I mean, Asher has the grades, I have the talent. You rarely go to class. I know our name holds a lot of weight, but still. This is one of the top three werewolf schools in the country. They don’t take just anyone.”

	“Beta Burrell wanted us all together,” I said simply. What he wanted, he always got.

	“Yeah, but still.”

	Silence fell between us as I scoured the kitchen for something to snack on. Eventually, I settled on a bag of chips and moved to the couch. I went to sit on Nathan’s feet, but he pulled them back just in time.

	The door to the dorm flung open, and Asher practically skipped in, humming to himself. He was in a happy little bubble, and I knew exactly why. I thought about how quickly that bubble would shatter if he knew about what I had been up to tonight.

	“Where have you been?” Nathan asked, sitting up and holding his ball. He didn’t throw it in Asher’s presence, because he knew he was more likely to get scolded for it.

	“Studying at the library.” Asher had bags in his arms. He must have gone shopping after dropping Juniper off at her dorm.

	I hadn’t intended to kiss Juniper tonight.

	But after I rejected her offer to have dinner with them, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I had almost joined them. I wanted to, but Asher, of all of us, was the one breaking the rules. Ethan warned us to stay away, and not only was he interacting with her, he was putting his all into it.

	I liked seeing Asher break the rules and follow his heart for once, which was why I pulled back. If he wanted to pursue Juniper, I didn’t want to discourage him.

	A pang of jealousy ran through me at that thought. We all wanted Juniper to remember us, but Asher was the only one who was selfish enough to actually go for it. That was something I normally would’ve done.

	I hadn’t intended on following them when I saw them leave the library. I forced myself to walk away after I saw him kiss her forehead. I was going to leave her alone, but I wasn’t ready to go home and face Asher, knowing he kissed the girl I wanted. So instead, I paced outside of the dorms, trying to ease my jealousy. 

	Even if I went for Juniper, I wasn’t boyfriend material. I would never live up to Asher’s reputation. She was a good girl, and she deserved a good guy like Asher.

	Then she was there out of nowhere. One look at the stress on her face, and I couldn’t stop myself. I wanted to taste her lips. I wanted to see what it would be like to be a little selfish, and it was a mistake, because I knew I wouldn’t be able to leave her alone.

	“You look much too happy to have just come from studying,” Nathan pointed out. “Studying is exhausting.”

	“You should really study more. No matter how talented you are, if you let your grades slip, they won’t let you play,” Asher pointed out.

	“You’re sounding more and more like Ethan,” Nathan grumbled. 

	“You make it sound like an insult,” Asher said, setting his bags on the ground. “Ethan is talented and very accomplished.”

	I caught the snip in Asher’s voice. It was subtle, but I understood it more than either of these two realized. I was once like Asher, constantly trying to live up to the standards Ethan set for us by excelling in any way he could. I grew bitter over my eldest brother’s accomplishments, always falling short of the expectations. I couldn’t take it anymore, so one day I stopped. Asher kept going.

	“Didn’t the library close like an hour ago?” I asked. I preferred it when the conversation didn’t relate to our older brother.

	“I went shopping after.” He gestured to the bags.

	“Odd time to go shopping. I thought you needed your beauty sleep.” I was taunting him at this point, and we both knew it. I cared about Asher and wanted him to be happy, but I couldn’t stop the part of me that wanted to pull on her nerves.

	He glared at me, and I could tell he was debating if it was worth arguing back. He had a good day with Juniper, and he didn’t want his degenerate twin brother to ruin it.

	“My first class isn’t until later in the day. We should all get some sleep, though. Maybe you’ll actually show up to your class.” His eyebrows twitched. He was trying to taunt me back, but he picked the wrong subject.

	I hopped to my feet. “We’ll see. Don’t stay up too late daydreaming about a certain someone.” I went straight to my room so I couldn’t see Asher’s face, but I felt his frustration.

	I wasn’t sure if I could take my own advice. I could still feel Juniper’s lips against mine, and it was electrifying. I wanted Asher to be happy, and I knew Juniper could make him happy. He would make her happy, too. However, that didn’t stop me from wanting her for myself.

Chapter 10 - The Four Beta Brothers