Brother’s Best Friends Are My Mates novel Chapter 156

Lia

I should’ve known that even though I was home, things weren’t going to be simple. The elder dragon might’ve been stopped, but we also had a huge problem; dragon shifters were now waking up and feeling very confused over the fact that they were now experiencing this modern world.

All the supernatural associations out there were working side by side with some of the dragon shifters that had already woken up to help their fellow dragons integrate into this modern society. The dragons were more than willing to help their fellow shifters, wanting to do whatever they could to help them adjust to this new world.

The reason the supernatural associations out there had changed their tune was because I had made a public statement on the internet, calling for people to help their fellow supernatural creatures. It put pressure on them and the spotlight on me, something I never wanted to do.

But as my brother Michael said, someone had to do it. If I didn’t do it then who was going to take the plunge and do it? I felt obligated to help the shifters. Yes, they would’ve woken up eventually but it was my pack that led to it happening now without us being able to prepare.

Had we been able to speak to the Rosewater coven first maybe we could’ve come up with a plan, but that ship had sailed.

The first council meeting I attended saw me helping the dragons formally request guidance from the other creatures on how to reintegrate into modern society. It was chaotic and now I was forced to go to another. This was the last thing I wanted to do.

I adjusted my cuffs for the third time, sighing at my reflection. The blazer felt too stiff, too formal, too much like a uniform for a war I never signed up for.

A knock at the door. “Come in,” I muttered, already knowing who it was.

Simone leaned against the frame, arms crossed. “You look like you’re bracing for execution.”

“Might as well be,” I said. “Half the council doesn’t trust the dragons, and the other half doesn’t trust me. But sure, let’s figure out how to reintegrate ancient fire-breathing beings into a world with taxes and Wi-Fi.”

Simone snorted. “You make it sound so fun.”

“Yeah, I’m having a blast.” I rubbed my temples. “I just want a break, Simone. A real one. Not five minutes to breathe before the next crisis.”

“Then take one.” She hopped onto my desk like she had all the time in the world. “After this meeting, step back. Let someone else fight for a while.”

I let out a hollow laugh. “And who exactly is going to do that?” “You act like you’re the only competent person left.” “Sometimes it feels that way.”

Simone studied me for a long moment. “You don’t have to keep burning yourself out to prove something, Lia.” I looked down, fingers curling into fists before I forced them to relax. “I don’t know how to stop.”

“Good thing you’ve got me, then.” She slid off the desk, clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Now go remind the council why they need you. And after that, we figure out how to give you that break.”

I nodded, exhaling slowly. “Yeah. After that.” Slowly, I turned to looking back in the mirror.

I hated wearing these clothes. The clothes I felt the most comfortable in were jeans and a tank top or something simple. Thank god the days of me wearing my school uniform were over.

But then again… I would almost wish for the simple days of school again. To think, my life had been so simple then. Now it was beyond complicated and it didn’t look like it was going to get any less complicated.

School wasn’t even on my radar right now. At this point I was starting to think that I was going to end up dropping out of school. It felt like the best decision because I didn’t have any energy to remain in school.

But this was my life now. The sooner I accepted it, the easier it was going to be for me. And for everyone involved really.

The dragons deserved a chance to reintegrate into our modern society. They had been through enough .’Alhy should we add onto all the difficulty they were facing?

I wasn’t sure what it would look like to see them coming back into the world that they didn’t recognize. It had to be scary, but I was here to help them as best I could.

“Ready?” Simone asked, poking her head back into the room.

I hadn’t even noticed that she left. But I was probably needed to get a move on, wasting too much time just standing here fussing over my appearance. No one was going to ultimately care except for some of the association members that were judgey.

“Yeah, good luck with that,” Matt said with a grin, “the only fight you’re winning today is trying to convince me I don’t need a nap. And that’s a battle I’m clearly going to win.”

Lia raised a brow. “Do you guys always talk like this?”

“Yes,” Matt said with a mock-serious face, “it’s how we bond. It’s very sophisticated.” When they left, I turned to Matt and sighed. “So what the fuck are we going to do now?”

Matt yawned. “I don’t know about you, but I am going to get some sleep. Feel free to join me.” “Matt, I don’t want to cuddle with you. You’re a great dude, but you need to save that for Lia.” He rolled his eyes. “Shut up. I’ll cuddle with myself, thank you.”

I snorted. “Do you realize how that sounds?”

“Don’t know and don’t care. Time for me to nap, so do whatever you’re going to do, Rain.”

When Matt went upstairs, it left me alone. I huffed, sinking back into the couch. I guess I could work on something around the house. Or maybe I could cook-

No, that was a bad idea. Matt would be pissed off if he woke up and realized that I had set the fire on while he was getting some much-needed sleep.

Sighing, I decided to get to some rugby practice. Just because we still weren’t on the team didn’t mean I couldn’t practice. This sport was my life… or it used to be.

I grabbed my gear and headed outside. The crisp air hit my skin as I stretched my arms. The backyard wasn’t a real field, but it would do. I needed to stay sharp, just in case. Muscle memory would only take me so far, and I refused to let myself get rusty.

I hoped that one day I could get back onto the team. It sucked that we didn’t have time to be on the team right now, but honestly… rugby might just be something in my past and I was just going to have to accept this was now the case.