The Four Beta Brothers

Chapter 4 - Unexpected Help

JUNIPER

“So how many of you are there?” I asked, holding the ice to my head as we walked to class.

“What do you mean? Like on the wolfball team?” Nathan matched my pace as we walked, and he kept glancing over at me with a frown.

I shook my head, laughing. “No, I mean how many of your brothers are here? I’ve met two of them already—at least I think. I’m not actually sure if you are all related, but you look very similar, and you all appeared out of nowhere. It can’t be a coincidence.”

“You’ve met my brothers already?” Nathan’s face fell. “Which ones?”

“I met Asher this morning at the housing department, and I met Ethan yesterday.”

“Yep, those are my brothers,” Nathan said, frowning even deeper.

“You seem upset by that. Should I be weary of those two?” Ethan and Asher seemed like decent people, even if Asher got on my nerves at first, but I didn’t know them that well. I thought I knew Moira better than anyone else, but I completely missed the fact that she hated me. Clearly, I wasn’t a good judge of character.

“It’s not that—at least not with those two. Ethan and Asher are good people. It’s Axel you have to watch out for. If you meet him, run the other way. He’s bad news… I’m just disappointed they met such a beautiful girl before me. It puts me at a disadvantage.” Nathan’s eyes were bright, and he was smiling, but I got the sense that there was a level of jealousy simmering beneath the surface.

“There are four of you?” It was hard enough to transfer to this school, especially after the semester had started, but for four brothers to transfer at the same time and get accepted made me wonder if their family had some sort of clout. It would explain why Asher acted like he always got his way.

“Yeah, but trust me when I say I’m the best brother. Just because Asher and Ethan got to use their charms on you first, doesn’t mean they're better than me.”

“No, but they didn’t hit me in the head with a ball.” I smiled at Nathan to let him know I was kidding.

His eyes widened. “I swear I didn’t do that on purpose. I would never hurt a girl. It was an honest mistake.” He was flustered, and his cheeks turned pink as he spoke.

I touched his arm and smiled. “I’m just teasing you.”

“Oh.” He looked away, and his cheeks turned from a shade of pink to almost red. “I’d still like to make it up to you sometime. I want to show you I’m the better brother.”

He seemed sweet, and despite his height, he looked younger than the other two. He still had a youthfulness that Ethan and Asher seemed to be missing.

“I don’t know if—”

Nathan grabbed my arm and pulled out a marker from his back pocket. He started writing a series of numbers on my palm. “I promise you won’t regret it. Just give me a chance. Call me when you’re free.”

I looked down at my palm and then back at the boy who ran to get me ice. “How old are you?”

“Age is just a number.” He winked and took a step back. “We’re at your class. You had better go in before you miss the whole thing.”

I blinked a few times, realizing my anxiety about being late had completely disappeared while talking to Nathan. “Right.”

He waved as I turned and opened the door to the classroom. I kept my head down and hurried to the back of the lecture hall, wanting to make as little of a scene as possible, since I was a good fifteen minutes late to class.

“Miss Johnson, it’s nice of you to finally join us.”

My heart thundered, immediately recognizing the voice. I found the closest seat and looked at Ethan standing in front of the classroom, holding the white board marker. My hands were numb, and nothing made sense. Ethan didn’t look young enough to be a student, but he didn’t look old enough to be a professor either—unless he was a complete genius.

“I was just talking to the class about my plan for this class. Professor Harrison is going on a temporary leave of absence, and I will be taking over this class for him,” Ethan explained, as if he saw the confusion in my eyes.

He stared at me, as if waiting for some sort of response, but there were over thirty other students in the classroom. Surely, he didn’t expect me to respond to him in front of everyone.

I nodded, unsure of what else to do. Ethan turned back to the white board, seeming satisfied with my response.

He wrote the words “Werewolf Economics” on the board. Then he looked at the class. “Now, can anyone tell me why it’s important to study the economic effect of werewolves on all of society?”

“Because wolf packs make a lot of money?” one of the girls suggested.

“No,” Ethan instantly said, and the girl shrank at the rejection. “While packs do make a lot of money, that alone is not a reason why it’s important to study the subject. Anyone else?”

Ethan looked around the room, and after the way the other girl was shut down, everyone avoided eye contact with him. Everyone but me. He locked eyes with me, taking advantage of my intense confusion.

It bothered me that Ethan was a teacher, and it shouldn’t have. He was young and attractive, and I hadn’t been able to get the first conversation with him out of my head.

I will remember the way your voice sounds like a siren’s song and your face looks like an angel’s beauty.

His words felt like a light in a sea of darkness, but now they were suffocating. If he was a teacher, that changed everything. I couldn’t have any kind of relationship with him without risking my reputation further.

“Miss Johnson?” Ethan prompted, refusing to let go of my gaze.

“Werewolf economics is important to study, because humans are unaware of our existence. Because of this, we have to understand our impact on their world and be careful not to use our secrecy to take advantage of them.” The words spilled out of my mouth, even though my brain was still trying to understand how Ethan managed to get his position. Perhaps getting this job was how he got all of his brothers into this school, but I was still missing something.

The rumors of Professor Harrison and I only started spreading yesterday, and Ethan was already here by then.

“Excellent. It seems that we have at least one intelligent student in this class. I hope to discover that all of you can achieve that level of critical thinking by the time I’m done with you,” Ethan said.

He went on to talk about specific incidents of how werewolves directly affected the human economy, using both good and bad examples. I took notes the entire time, but I wasn’t processing the information he spouted. I was too focused on the way he unbuttoned the top button of his shirt when he got too warm. His skin had a slight sheen of sweat underneath, and my mind started to wander to dangerous places.

I chewed on the back of my pen, trying to force those thoughts out of my head. Ethan was my teacher. I couldn’t afford to have a stupid girl crush on him, especially not with all of the rumors floating around right now. It would only add fuel to the fire and make him lose his job, like Professor Harrison had.

“Great job today, everyone,” Ethan said. “Please come prepared for the next class’s topic. I want to hear from everyone next time. Also, I expect everyone to be on time next week.”

I felt the class's attention turning to me as Ethan pointed this out. My throat felt dry with the sudden attention.

“Class dismissed,” Ethan announced. “Except Ms. Johnson. Please stick around for a few minutes.”

Once again, eyes turned to me, but this time the stares were filled with hatred and anger.

“He probably wants to see if she’ll give him the same service she gave to Professor Harrison,” someone whispered nearby. She kept her voice quiet enough that Ethan wouldn’t be able to hear, but she was still loud enough for me to listen. I had a feeling this was intentional.

I slowly packed up my stuff, pretending like I couldn’t hear the horrible things people said as they passed by me. I hung back, like Ethan had requested, but my chest was tight. His directed attention to me already made the rumors start evolving, and it would only get worse if he continued to do this.

He must have heard the rumors by now. Did he not realize he was playing with fire by calling me out like that? He would’ve been better off completely ignoring me.

Unless he was hoping I would do what the rumors said I did with teachers. That made my hands start shaking. Ethan didn’t seem like that type of guy. Nathan even said Ethan was one of his good brothers, but why else would Ethan risk talking to me?

Once the room was cleared, I made my way to the front of the room, each step feeling heavier than the last. Ethan didn’t acknowledge me for a moment, scribbling notes on a piece of paper.

I gripped my bag, waiting for him to say something, but when he didn’t, I got impatient. “Can I help you with something?”

“Sorry. I just need to get these notes down before I forget.” He held up his nondominant hand while he continued scribbling. The words seemed illegible from where I was standing.

I rolled my eyes and sucked in my breath. He was the one who asked me to stay, and now he was making me wait. This had to be some sort of torture.

“Can this wait? I haven’t had a great day today, and there are other things I need to get done,” I asked after another moment.

“I’m done. Thank you for waiting.” He tucked the paper into his bag and looked at me. His eyes were just as I remembered up close, and my irritation diminished as I looked at him.

“Sure.” I looked down at the ground, trying to get my wits back. Even though Ethan was attractive, that had never been enough to muddle my thoughts before. I never understood why girls went goo-goo-eyed over the hot guys until this moment. Now, I felt just as hopeless, and I knew this was dangerous territory.

“Are you okay?” he asked, looking me up and down.

My spine tingled at his directed attention. “Yeah, why?”

He stepped closer and touched my forehead, just below where the ball collided. “Did someone do this on purpose? If so, you need to report them. Bullying isn’t acceptable.”

His touch made my heart race. “It was an accident.”

His scent filled my nose, making me acutely aware of how close he was. If someone walked in on us right now, it would only make everything worse for both of us, but I couldn’t get myself to pull away.

Ethan lowered his hand and gave a quick nod. “Okay, but if anyone ever hurts you, make sure to report it to me at the very least. I’ll make sure it gets handled.”

As I continued looking at him, he seemed less like a teacher and just like someone who was concerned about my well-being.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were a professor here?” I asked. If he had been honest about his position here, I would have cut our conversation off early yesterday, and he wouldn’t have had a reason to call attention to me today—at least that was what I told myself.

“I never told you I was a student, and your research failed you. I’m not a professor, just a TA.”

Just a TA. It made my attraction to him better, but he was still in a position above me, and with the rumors…

“Why are you here to replace Professor Harrison? Is it because of the rumors?” I asked. The timing didn’t make sense to me, so I needed answers.

“Not in the way you think. There are several accusations of Professor Harrison sleeping with students for a quid pro quo for better grades. My father sent me here to assist with the problem.”

“Your father? What does he have to do with this?” I asked.

“Everything,” Ethan said with a chuckle. “Beta Burrell oversees all of the werewolf colleges in the country. It is only natural that he sent his oldest son to oversee a potential scandal.”

“Beta Burrell?” I repeated. “The Anthony Burrell?” The Burrell family was famous for monitoring all werewolves alongside Alpha Elijah Williams. Together, Alpha Williams and Beta Burrell were in charge of all werewolves, and their word was practically law, regardless of pack status. It was even said that they had lycan blood from our ancestors running through their bodies. I didn’t know if that part was true.

I had heard about his sons and how everyone expected great things from them, but I never knew their names. I never expected to meet them, either. It was no wonder they were able to transfer so easily.

“The one and only.” Ethan crossed his arms and leaned against his desk. “He’s expecting a lot from me. I think this is some sort of test to see if I am capable enough to take his position.”

I nodded my head as if I understood, but in truth, there was no way I could understand what kind of position he was in. I never had that kind of pressure to live up to. I was trying to make my own way in this world. There was no defined path for me.

“I think I need to sit down,” I said, finding the closest student chair to sit in.

“It’s a lot. I know.” Ethan didn’t seem surprised by my reaction. He probably got a lot of reactions like that once people found out who he was.

I rubbed my temples as I felt a headache coming on. “So if you’re here, that means the school thinks these rumors are a serious matter. I didn’t do anything wrong, though. I don’t want to get expelled. I’ve worked hard to earn my grades. I would never…”

“Sleep with the teacher to get an A?” Ethan said, finishing my sentence.

I shook my head. “I didn’t… I wouldn’t…”

“I know.”

I looked up and found Ethan’s eyes glued to mine. “I reviewed all of your work, your essays, your tests. It’s obvious you’re brilliant and don’t need any extra help. The news of Professor Harrison sleeping with students came long before the rumors started to spread about you. From what I can tell, someone found out about the accusations and used the opportunity to exploit you. Unfortunately for you, that means the school will have to investigate you. You haven’t done anything wrong, so you’ll be fine, but it won’t be an easy process.”

“Why are you telling me all of this?” I asked.

“I want to help you.” It was a simple answer, but it didn’t give me the information I wanted. Ethan didn’t know me. He had no obligations to help me, yet here he was, warning me about what was going to happen.

“Why?” I held his eyes, refusing to let go.

He paused, and for a moment, I thought I saw a flicker of pain in his eyes. “I… You’re a good person. You don’t deserve these rumors, and you deserve someone on your side backing you up. I want to be that person.”