Brother’s Best Friends Are My Mates novel Chapter 116

Lia

I was so scared when I saw Matt fall down.

Then I saw the blood. Anger and worry flooded through me followed by fear. I was so scared for him. He was bleeding and might die from his injuries.

It was why I had learned a healing spell during my latest batch of studies.

The pack was going to be heading into an unknown situation. I needed to make sure I could at least heal them to an extent. But the healing school came with a downside-it exhausted me.

Rain came up beside me, wrapping an arm around me while Jesse and Colby helped Matt.

The five of us hobbled out of the town. We weren’t followed by the coven; they wanted to be left alone so they were going to stay as far away from us as possible.

After hopping in our car, we met with Simone. All of us regrouped. I stood there with Simone patted my shoulder. Growling in frustration, I started to walk ahead. My body was aching but I didn’t care. I needed to dear my mind. We left with nothing. No answers, no leads-just bruises, torn clothes, and a whole lot of frustration.

Simone followed, the two of us walking in silence until we went back to the car.

I kicked a loose rock as we walked back to the car, scowling. “I can’t believe this. We had them. We had them, and we still couldn’t get a damn word out of them.”

Simone, walking beside me, let out a breath. “Lia-“

“No, don’t ‘Lia’ me,” I snapped, turning to face her. “We came all this way. They attacked us, and we still couldn’t pin them down? What kind of crap is that?”

Simone crossed her arms, letting me vent. “It’s not like they were going to sit down for tea and spill all their secrets.”

“I didn’t expect tea, Simone,” I grumbled. “But we should’ve been able to do something. Get at least one of them talking before they disappear again.”

Simone gave me a look, the kind she always did when she thought I was being unreasonable but wasn’t quite ready to say it.” We can try again tomorrow.”

I scoffed. “And what if they’re gone by then? What if we missed our only chance?” She shrugged. “Then we track them down again.”

I let out a heavy sigh, running a hand through my hair. “This was our best shot.” “Maybe. But you’re acting like it was our only shot,” Simone countered. “It wasn’t.” I hated that she was right.

She nudged me. “We’ll get them. Just not tonight.”

I exhaled slowly, forcing myself to let some of the frustration go. “Fine. But if we do find them again, I swear to God, I’m not leaving until I get answers.”

Simone smirked. “I’d expect nothing less.”

I glared at her, half-smiling despite myself. “You think this is funny?”

“Only a little,” she said with a shrug. “It’s not like you’re the first person to have a bad day. You’ll live. We’ll live.”

“Yeah, but I’m not exactly thrilled about all these bruises I’m collecting,” I said, poking at one on my ribs. “I swear, at this rate, I’LL have more scars than a pirate.”

Simone snorted. “Maybe we’ll start calling you Captain Lia. A real-life pirate with a knack for finding trouble.” I rolled my eyes, though I couldn’t stop the smirk forming. “Great, just what I need. A nickname.”

“Well, it beats ‘Lia the Frustrated,”‘ Simone shot back “You know, the one you’ve been rocking all day.”

I groaned. “You’re lucky you’re my best friend.”

Simone raised an eyebrow. “Lucky? Please. I’m saving your ass out here.”

“Yeah, well, someone has to,” I muttered, though there was a smile tugging at my lips.

“Exactly. And when we do catch them next time, I expect you to be just as charming and fierce as usual. Only with fewer bruises this time, okay?”

“Deal,” I said, though I was already planning my strategy for next time. “But if we don’t find them soon, I might just start calling it quits and start a spa day. No dragons, no witch covens. Just a nice massage.”

Simone laughed. “You’d last five minutes before getting bored. I’m just glad I don’t have to drag you out of a ditch again.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” I sighed. “But seriously, if we don’t get some answers soon, I might start making my plans.”

Simone grinned. “Not so fast, Captain. We’re in this together.”

I rolled my eyes again. “Fine, but I’m still picking the next spot we hit. I’ll take you to a place where the only thing that attacks us is bad food and worse service.”

Simone gave me a mock salute. “Anything you say, Captain. Lead the way.” “Hey,” Rain called out. “Should I call you Captain now?”

“No.”

Rain frowned. “But I like calling you Captain.”

Despite the anger rushing through me, I started to laugh. Rain always knew how to make me laugh despite everything that was going on.

A pause. Then, softer, “I know she’s tough. Doesn’t mean I don’t worry.”

I closed my eyes for a second. “I get it. But you don’t have to. I won’t let anything happen to her.” Another pause. Then, “You better not.”

A small smirk tugged at my lips. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Michael exhaled, but there was still tension in his voice. “You know she’s stubborn, right? Just because she looks okay doesn’t mean she is.”

I frowned. “She’d tell me if something was wrong.”

“Would she?” he shot back “Or would she push through it like she always does?”

That gave me pause. Lia was strong, but she wasn’t reckless. At least, I didn’t think she was. “I’ll keep an eye on her,” I said finally. “I promise.”

Michael was quiet for a beat. “Good. Because if you don’t, and something happens to her, I won’t forgive you.” The weight behind his words settled in my chest.

“You won’t have to.”

For a moment, neither of us spoke. Then, his tone softened just a fraction. “Just… be careful, alright?” I huffed a quiet laugh. “Not making any promises.”

Michael groaned. “You’re the worst.” “But you called me first.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he muttered. “Just don’t do anything stupid.” “No guarantees.”

His sigh was full of exasperation. “Tell Matt I’m glad he’s okay. Lia is a lifesaver.” “I will.”

“You and Lia are gonna be the death of me,” he muttered after a while, causing me to chuckle. A smirk tugged at my lips again. “We do our best.”

Michael muttered something under his breath, then hung up.

I stared at the phone for a moment before tucking it away. I had a bad feeling this fight wasn’t over yet.

The coven wasn’t going to attack us. This was something I was sure of, but the problem was that they were going to keep attacking if we pursued them.

It was something we were going to have to deal with if we wanted to find out how they managed to keep these dragons asleep for so long.