Brother’s Best Friends Are My Mates novel Chapter 163

Lia

With my heat days away, I wasn’t doing much work. My mates were insisting that I stay home in case I go into heat. Sure, I could’ve said no, but I decided to just humor them because I didn’t want to argue. It was easier to just go along with what they wanted when I was already starting to feel kind of shitty from the heat creeping upon me.

However, right now Simone and I are watching something that was amazing from the front yard.

There was this little party that was introducing some of the new dragon shifters that were assigned housing here to some of the people. I saw humans, werewolves, and I think a witch was there.

One of the most interesting things the two of us saw was a young dragon, probably one of the youngest shifters I had seen, talking with a werewolf pup.

It was beyond cute. I never thought that I would see such a thing, but it was great that I saw two young creatures getting along.

If they could do it, then why wouldn’t the adults? It just proved that adults were stubborn and didn’t think about anything other than trying to cause issues.

The young dragon let out a little chirp, nudging the werewolf pup with its snout. The pup responded by yipping and tackling its face like they’d been best friends forever. I grinned as the dragon flopped onto its back, wings spread out dramatically, while the pup climbed onto its belly.

“Okay, that’s unfairly cute,” I said, leaning on Simone’s shoulder.

She smirked. “Right? Have you ever seen anything bond that fast before?” I pretended to think about it. “Once. A toddler and a breadstick.”

Simone snorted. “Sounds about right.”

We watched as a few human kids edged closer, wide-eyed and fascinated, their parents hovering nearby with varying levels of concern. One of the boldest ones, a girl in pigtails, reached out and patted the dragon’s head. It blinked at her, then let out a happy rumble, which made the pup cry out excitedly.

Oh my god, this was so cute!

I loved to see this. Why couldn’t adults be like this?

Yes, I already thought this, but it was something that I had on my mind! Leaning back in the chair, I glanced at someone.

Simone nudged me. “Look at you, all smiley. Enjoying the show?”

“Obviously.” I gestured toward the chaotic ball of scales and fur. “How could I not? This is peak entertainment.” She hummed. “Figured you’d be too distracted to appreciate it.”

I sighed, rubbing my temples. “Yeah, well, my heat’s creeping up, but that doesn’t mean I’ve lost all sense of joy.” “For now.” She smirked.

I shot her a look. “You’re supposed to be supportive.”

“I am. I support you enjoying the last few minutes of normalcy before you turn into a walking furnace of chaos.” I groaned. “Thanks for that.”

“Anytime.”

The dragon let out a playful growl, rolling to pin the pup, who yelped in exaggerated protest. The human kids clapped, clearly approving of the match.

“Think they’ll stay friends when they shift?” Simone mused. I shrugged. “Hope so. But if not, at least they had today.”

Simone glanced at me, her teasing edge softening just a little. “Deep thoughts for someone about to go through it.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I stretched, already feeling the simmer beneath my skin turning upa notch. “Better soak in the fun while I can.”

“Or,” Simone said, grinning as she looped an arm through mine, “we can find more distractions before you inevitably start climbing the walls.”

I laughed. “Sounds like a plan.”

And for now, I let myself enjoy it. The heat, the shifting tensions-it could all wait. Right now, there was nothing but playful pups, a baby dragon, and the kind of easy happiness I didn’t get nearly often enough.

“Were we that cute when we were young?” I asked after a while.

Simone blinked. “I have no idea if the two of us were that cute. I like to think we are but I am sure we were assholes to our parents. Or at least pain in the asses.”

“My parents were pretty easy going,” I said after a while. “They never lost their temper, always managing to scold us with a gentle voice. It was truly something.”

“See, my parents started to shout at us,” Simone lamented. “I wish my parents had been as chill as yours.”

It was nice to be able to talk to my parents without getting too upset. They had been dead for quite a few years by this point, so at some point, one of us had to move on.

“Do you think she ever sleeps?” I asked, watching the road as we turned onto the main stretch toward home.

“Not a chance,” Jesse said, stretching out his legs. “I caught her making a spreadsheet at two in the morning last week. She had three cups of tea lined up and was muttering about color-coding.”

“That tracks.” I grinned. “She color-coded my entire closet once. I didn’t ask her to.” “Sounds like love.”

“Sounds like control issues.”

Jesse chuckled. “We’re lucky she puts up with us.”

“No kidding. Especially Rain. He nearly burned the kitchen down trying to make toast yesterday.” He scoffed. “It wasn’t toast. It was garlic bread.”

“It was charcoal.”

Jesse held up a hand. “Remember, he said the oven lied to him.”

I shook my head, but I was smiling. “Still. She handles so much, and all we do is mess things up and occasionally smile at people in terrifying ways.”

‘Tm offended. I do way more than that. I also make good coffee.” “You forgot to put water in the machine last time.”

“…Okay, so maybe I used to make good coffee.”

We pulled into the driveway. The lights inside were still on.

I killed the engine and sat there for a second. “We should do something for her. You know, to help. Not just ‘show up and survive.'”

“We’ll figure it out,” Jesse told me.

And we would. Somehow.