The Four Beta Brothers

Chapter 18 - Out of the Goodness of Your Heart

JUNIPER

	Ethan looked good standing in the front of the classroom, lecturing about the tax system among werewolf packs. He belonged in charge, and he knew it. His posture was perfect, and his voice was a balance between firm and commanding, but engaging and encouraging. Even with his excellent teaching methods, most of the girls looked like they were in dream land. 

	Ethan was the best and worst kind of TA. He was skilled at his job, but his pretty face made the girls all around him get sucked into fantasies about him. It would definitely reflect on their grades later on.

	I was also distracted in class, but it wasn’t because of Ethan—mostly. I had one of the orange flyers tucked under one of my notebooks on the desk. After class was over, I planned on talking to Ethan about everything going on. He told me if anyone hurt me or bullied me to report it to him, and he would ensure it was handled.

	Even though Asher said he had already talked to Ethan, I wanted to approach him directly. I didn’t want to let Asher and Nathan handle my bullies for me. I wanted to do something myself, and Ethan would know exactly who I could go to in order to report today’s incident.

	The thought of talking to Ethan made me nervous. I chewed on my pencil, coming up with what I wanted to say to him, changing the first sentence a million times. He said I could go to him if I needed anything, so I didn’t understand why I felt so nervous.

	The classroom door opened, and Ethan paused mid-sentence, turning his attention to the new addition to the classroom. A girl handed Ethan a slip of paper, and then she disappeared from the room. Ethan studied the paper for a moment, and then his eyes snapped up, meeting mine directly. His jaw clenched.

	“Miss Johnson, Principal Clandestine is requesting a meeting with you immediately.”

	The entire class turned to me, and my heart thundered. A meeting with the principal couldn’t be a good thing—not right now at least. I swallowed and slowly gathered my stuff.

	Students laughed and called out, “Ooo,” as I gathered my stuff. Everyone in this room already knew what this meeting was about.

	“That’s enough,” Ethan called out, using a harsher tone than normal. 

	Students quickly quieted, and the silence was worse than the taunts. It made me feel like I was walking to a grave.

	Ethan approached as I climbed down the stairs. He handed me the piece of paper, but when I went to grab it, he held onto it, leaning in towards me. “I don’t know what this meeting is about, but I will head over there as soon as this class is over.”

	His eyes blazed as he looked down at me, making my breath grow shallow.

	“I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.” I took the paper and left the room, afraid to draw any unnecessary attention towards myself.

	As soon as I was away from prying eyes, I pulled out my phone to message Asher. I didn’t know why the principal himself wanted to meet with me, but I had no doubt it was about the rumors, videos, and flyers around campus. It had been a week since the madness had started, and I was surprised the school hadn’t contacted me sooner about everything, but I was even more surprised it wasn’t a counselor or someone more low-level requesting my presence.



	The principal called me out of class for a sudden meeting.



	I sent the message to Asher. I didn’t know if he would see it before the meeting, since I didn’t know his schedule, but right now I just wanted to talk to him. He would think positively about the meeting and encourage me not to worry. Ethan was on my side after all. The school wouldn’t take action against me without hard evidence, and they didn’t have that.

	Unless they actually thought the video Moira created was evidence of bullying.

	I checked my phone several times, anxious to see Asher’s name show up, but by the time I made it to the admin building, my phone was still silent.

	I shoved my phone in my pocket and reminded myself that I hadn’t done anything wrong. I was the victim in all of this, and surely the school would be able to see that.

	I walked into the office, and there was a receptionist typing away at her desk. I approached her and held out the slip of paper. “I was told Principal Clandestine wanted to meet with me.”

	“Sit down. I’ll call you when he’s ready for you.” She didn’t look away from her computer or stop typing as she spoke to me.

	I chewed on my lip, holding in my frustration. If the principal was going to make me wait for the meeting, then why did he bother pulling me out of class so early? I was missing important instruction time, and it wasn’t like my classmates were going to lend me their notes.

	I took a seat and checked my phone. I wanted Asher to message me back, but I didn’t know why. It wasn’t like he could do anything to fix the situation for me, but I still wanted to talk to him, and I wanted him here with me.

	Another ten minutes passed while I waited to be called into the meeting, and I still didn’t hear from Asher. He was likely in class.

	“Principal Clandestine is ready for you now,” the receptionist said.

	“Finally,” I muttered under my breath.

	She pursed her lips at me, and it was clear that she didn’t like me already. I looked away from her and held my head high. I hated how everyone looked at me recently, but I didn’t want them to see me cracking. I wanted to look strong and unbothered, even if it wasn’t true.

	I entered the principal’s office, and he was already sitting at his desk with his fingers interlaced. I had seen him before at various school events, but this was my first time in his office like this. He looked smaller, sitting behind his large oak desk. The door shut behind me, and I stood just in front of the doorway, waiting for the principal to say something.

	“Miss Johnson, please have a seat.” He motioned to the chair in front of him.

	I did as he said, gripping the strap to my bag to try to keep my nerves steady. “What did you call me here to discuss?” I asked. I was ready to dive into the conversation. I didn’t want to be here any longer than I needed to be.

	“I’m sure you know why you’re here today.” He leaned forward. “There have been some serious accusations thrown your way recently, and as the principal of this school, I have to take situations like these seriously. I cannot afford to let a single student ruin the reputation of this school.”

	My mouth dried as he spoke. “I haven’t done anything wrong. I earned everyone of my grades, and Ethan said my name was cleared. He checked my work. He knows—”

	“I’m afraid I’m not sure I can trust Mr. Burrell’s judgment on this matter alone,” he interrupted. “I noticed you’re on a first-name basis with Mr. Burrell.” His tone was stiff, and it made my body rigid in return. 

	“What are you implying?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

	“You have to understand that when a student is accused of sleeping with professors to earn her grades, and then she quickly becomes chummy with the new TA who comes to her defense instantly, it raises questions. I wouldn’t be a good principal if I didn’t do my due diligence in making sure you haven’t corrupted Ethan Burrell. He may be the son of Beta Burrell, but he is still young and impressionable.”

	I worried that students would accuse me of doing things with Ethan if he paid too much attention to me, but he had assured me that he would clear my name with the school. I thought the only thing I had to worry about was my reputation, but if the principal thought there was a chance that I was sleeping with Ethan to protect my reputation, that could lead to a suspension or worse.

	“I haven’t done anything wrong,” I repeated. “If you look at my work, you’ll see that I earned my grades. I have worked hard, and I don’t cut corners.”

	Principal Clandestine picked up a few papers and started looking through them. “Yes, I understand that it appears you have been a good girl. You are the president of the student council, and you’re on track to be the valedictorian. On paper, you look absolutely perfect, but no one is that perfect.

	“I’ve been looking into your history. Your parents were only omegas, and they died when you were only twelve. Your pack’s alpha graciously took you in.”

	My head started to throb as the principal talked about my parents. They died nearly a decade ago at this point, so their death was mostly an empty void. However, the way he called them omegas made my muscles tense.

	“What does that have to do with anything?” My voice was quiet but even.

	“This school hasn’t had an omega as its valedictorian before. It would look bad if an orphaned wolf with omega parents suddenly was the top student with suspicious rumors floating around. I have to wonder how someone with your upbringing managed to get the grades you did to even get into this school. It makes me wonder if there is some merit to those rumors.” The principal flipped through the papers casually, as if he hadn’t just implied that my bloodline meant I couldn’t achieve the same things other werewolves could.

	I stood up, heat flaring through my body. “I have worked hard to get where I am. My parents being omegas means nothing. If anything, my mom knew how hard omegas had to work to get the respect we deserve. As an omega, I have probably worked harder than you ever had in your entire life.” I glared at the man in front of me, and my hands shook with rage. For the principal of the school to imply I was anything less because of an archaic system that werewolves didn’t rely on anymore was more infuriating than the rumors that Moira spread.

	“I suggest you sit down right now, Miss Johnson,” the principal growled.

	My body tensed, feeling the effects of his alpha energy constricting my veins. I fought the urge to sit down. “I haven’t done anything wrong. I don’t deserve this kind of treatment. I work hard.” My voice cracked, and the feeling of defeat filled my lungs. I was only repeating myself at this point. “Unless you have proof that I’ve done something wrong, then I would like permission to leave, and I know you don’t have proof, because I haven’t done anything wrong.”

	The principal huffed, pulling out his phone. “And what about this video of you bullying our star cheerleader? Her father called me, saying I had to do something to protect his daughter. The daughter of an alpha being bullied isn’t acceptable. I’ll start with a one-week suspension, and we’ll go from there.”

	“Suspension?” I repeated. This couldn’t be happening. I hadn’t done anything wrong, and a suspension would ruin my perfect record. “That video is clearly altered! That’s not even my voice! Are you really that idiotic that you can’t see that I’m being framed? I’m the one being bullied here, and you’re supposed to be protecting me, but all you care about is pleasing the people looking at this school.”

	The principal jumped to his feet and slammed his hands on the desk. “Sit down now! I won’t let a brat like you speak to me like—”

	“That’s enough, Charles,” a low snarl came from behind me.

Chapter 19 - The Four Beta Brothers