Brother’s Best Friends Are My Mates novel Chapter 124

Jesse

It took a day for us to find the entrance to the dragon stronghold. Apparently, there was more than one way there which made sense.

The coven knew them all. If they had simply shared this info with us, we never would’ve found ourselves in this position. But here we were.

The first step was going down this embankment and following the river. We can to a cabin, Lia muttering a few magical words once we were inside and at what looked like a dead end.

It vanished, revealing a thick forest.

“After you,” Rain said, grinning and trembling at the same time.

Rolling my eyes, I grabbed his arm and dragged him along with me. We might’ve been teasing him about coming with us, but there was no way he was getting out of this.

“Come on, Rain. Stop being such a baby.”

He dug his heels into the ground, looking desperately at Lia, Colby, and Matt. “None of them can help you, Rain,” I said, smirking.

“I’m going to die.”

Lia sighed, pushing past us. “All of us have a chance to die, but at least we can say we tried, right? So stop complaining, guys, and come on.”

This forest was something. It was both terrible and beautiful at the same time. I was drawn to some of the plants, unable to look away. They were beautiful but deadly.

There would be no touching them.

To test my theory, I threw a rock at one. One of them opened up, sharp teeth expanding and latching around nothing but air because we weren’t close enough.

“What the fuck?” Rain whimpered. “It’s like a more deadly and giant version of a Venus fly trap. Why is this even here?” Lia sighed, continuing down the path. “Come on, we don’t have any time to spare, so keep walking!”

I couldn’t help but stifle a laugh at how Rain tried his hardest to avoid getting touched by the plant. He wasn’t going to touch it but he was trying his best.

The further we got into the forest, the worse everything became. It was like danger existed further into the forest… and it wasn’t a surprise.

This forest was supposed to be home to some sleeping dragons.

Rain let out a nervous laugh as another plant twitched in their direction. “This place is literally out of a nightmare. Tho even comes up with stuff like this?”

“Dragons, apparently,” Colby said dryly, stepping over a root that squirmed under his boot. “That did you expect? Roses and daisies?”

“I’d settle for something that doesn’t want to eat me,” Rain muttered, ducking when a branch swayed a little too close to his head. “You know, normal forest stuff.”

Matt snorted, brushing past him. “You signed up for this. No backing out now.” “Technically, I didn’t sign up-” Rain began, but Lia cut him off with a glance. “We’re all here now. Stop whining unless you want to be dragon food.”

Colby shot her a look, one brow raised. “Feeling brave today?”

“I’m just over this.” She shoved a stray vine aside with more force than necessary. “If the coven had been honest from the start, we’d be done by now.”

Rain, still visibly unsettled, whispered under his breath. “Yeah, or dead.” “I heard that,” Lia said without turning around.

He huffed. “Good. I wasn’t trying to be subtle.”

As the path narrowed, Matt’s usual calm demeanor shifted. “Do you feel that?” His voice was lower now, serious. Lia stopped in her tracks, the hair on the back of her neck rising. “Feel what?”

“The ground… it’s warmer here.”

Colby crouched, pressing his hand to the earth. “He’s right. And it’s not the sun doing it.” Rain paled. “Why does it feel like you’re about to tell me something terrible?”

“Because I am.” Colby stood, dusting off his palms. “We’re getting close. Really close.”

For once, Rain didn’t argue. His eyes darted around the forest, watching the strange plants tremble as though aware of their presence.

Lia tightened her grip on the charm around her neck, muttering another protective incantation under her breath. “If the dragons are waking up, we need to move faster.”

“Or slower,” Rain suggested weakly. “Like, way slower.”

“Come on,” Matt said, taking the lead. “We’ve come this far. No turning back now.” Rain hesitated but fell in line. “I’m blaming all of you if I get roasted alive.”

Lia smiled despite the growing tension. “Deal.”

“Can we move on, please?” I asked, trying not to roll my eyes.

The longer we stood here the more problems we could come across. I mean, I was waiting for a dragon to pop out at any moment and start attacking us. Who knew what was going to happen here?

I hated feeling out of my element. It made me uncertain and unable to handle everything that was going on. Then Matt came to a sudden stop, causing me to nearly run into him.

“Matt, what the fuck?” He pointed ahead.

I blinked.

“Well, that was new.” Matt

“Smart man,” Lia said, brushing off her hands like she’d just finished some casual chore instead of dismantling an ancient magical defense.

Rain stepped closer, squinting at where the barrier had been. He waved a hand through the air experimentally. “You sure it’s gone? ‘Al’hat if it’s just invisible now and we walk into it like idiots?”

“By all means, go first and test that theory,” Jesse said.

Rain considered for a moment, then shrugged. “Nah, I’ll let Matt go first.” I sighed. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“Anytime,” he said with a grin.

Lia crossed her arms. “It’s gone, okay? You can all stop being scaredy wolves.”

“I’m not scared,” Colby said. “I’m just making sure we don’t get zapped into another dimension or something.” Lia rolled her eyes. “That’s not how barriers work.”

Jesse raised a brow. “Are you sure? Because with our luck, I wouldn’t rule it out.”

“I mean…” She hesitated. “Okay, fine, there’s like a five percent chance of that happening.” Colby groaned. “See? This is why I ask questions.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Can we move before something happens? Because I don’t know about you, but standing in front of a barrier someone wanted to keep us out of doesn’t feel like the best idea.”

“Agreed,” Jesse said, already walking past me. “Let’s go.” Lia smirked. “You didn’t even thank me.”

“I’ll thank you when we don’t die because of your spell work.”

“Rude,” she muttered, but she followed.

Colby gave her a playful nudge. “For the record, I thought your magic-y thing was very impressive.” She huffed. “Flattery won’t save you next time.”

Rain grinned. “Oh, don’t worry. Next time, we’ll just let Colby run at it full speed.” Colby pointed at him. “You joke, but one of these days, that’s going to work.”

Jesse sighed. “And one of these days, I’m going to stop associating with all of you.” Lia threw an arm around his shoulders. “No, you won’t.”

“Unfortunately,” he muttered.

I shook my head, already regretting every life choice that had led me to this moment. “We are the worst pack ever.” Colby grinned. “Yeah, but we’re fun.”