Brother’s Best Friends Are My Mates novel Chapter 176

Colby

It was great to have Matt back, but the fact was, we had to do something about what his former pack did. They couldn’t get away with kidnapping him and torturing him the way they did just to get at us because they felt threatened. A reckoning was going to come for them, and I intended to make sure they were going to answer for their actions.

Matt wasn’t going to care. I think he was going to want me to do it. But bringing it up to him when he was still healing was a difficult thing. I didn’t want to add more onto his plate given everything he’s been through.

But like usual, Matt beat me to it before I could decide to tell him on my own. He looked me straight in the eyes and sighed.

“Colby, what the fuck is going on in that head of yours? You have something you want to say to me so why don’t you just get it out of your system before I get pissed off. I can’t take the long looks you’re giving me. It’s pissing me off.

“I’m going to do it,” I told Matt, voice firm. “I’m going to rally support. Start pushing to get charges pressed against my old pack”

Matt raised an eyebrow. “You want my blessing or something?”

I shook my head. “No. I just wanted you to know. You’ve had my back for everything. Thought you deserved to hear it first.”

He snorted, leaning back in his chair. “Colby, you don’t need my blessing to go after them. Hell, I want you to go after them. You should’ve done it months ago.”

“I wasn’t sure anyone would stand with me.”

“You’ve got a pack now. And we’ve all seen what they’re capable of.” Matt leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “They came after you. After us. This isn’t about revenge. It’s about protecting what’s ours.”

I exhaled slowly. “I hate that it’s come to this.”

Matt shrugged. “They made their choice when they started sending wolves to stalk our land and throw poison darts at our friends.”

It still pissed me off that Rain could’ve died for that. This was why we were prepared for anything that could happen to us. At any moment someone we pissed off in the past could decide they wanted to hurt us for whatever reason. Having antidotes for poison or other injuries that could occur was a good way to prepare for such a thing.

once Matt called me a bit paranoid, but now I could see he knew I was right about the decision I made for us, to make sure we were prepared for anything.

But the fact was, you couldn’t be prepared for everything, something I needed to realize. I huffed a laugh. “You’re still mad about that dart.”

“Dude, Rain almost died.” “Yeah,” I murmured. “I know.”

Matt’s voice softened. “You think the others will support you?”

“They’d better. If they don’t, they can take it up with me face-to-face. I’m not hiding anymore.” He gave me a small smile. “There’s the alpha I know.”

I met his gaze. “You’re okay with this?”

Matt stood, clapped a hand on my shoulder. “I want them taken down, Colby. I want you to burn the whole damn system they built. You think I’m going to stop you? I’ll help you light the match.”

I stared at him for a second, heart thudding. “You mean that?” He gave me a look “Do I look like I’m joking?”

“No,” I admitted. “You look like you’re ready to go to war.” He grinned, all teeth and fury. “Damn right I am.”

A beat passed between us, electric and heavy with shared history-battles fought, scars earned. I felt the old fear trying to creep in, the whisper that this could all fall apart. But Matt’s presence grounded me. Steady. Loyal. Unshakeable.

“I’m going to start with the council,” I said. “Lay it all out. Evidence, testimony. They can’t ignore it anymore.” Matt nodded. “Want me there when you do?”

I hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah. I think I do.”

“Good.” He moved toward the door, pausing with his hand on the frame. “Just say the word, and we’ll all be standing behind you. Even Rain.”

“I need fuel,” Colby said without even looking up from the laptop.

I sighed. “Colby, what are you doing?”

“Reaching out to our allies so we can rally enough support to make sure Matt’s former pack doesn’t get away with what they’ve done.”

My lips turned down into a frown. “Can I help you in some way?”

“No, it’s fine, Lia. Thanks for offering, but as the pack leader, the responsibility should fall on me. I should do this on my own.”

Colby was being so stubborn right now, something I didn’t expect. He wasn’t the very stubborn one. It was usually Matt or even I who were being stubborn, but not Colby.

I guess that having all of this thrust upon him was starting to weigh heavily on his mind. It made me feel bad, wishing I could take some of this burden off his shoulders. But I don’t know how to do that when Colby was the one who was the leader of the pack

He took his role seriously after we all decided we wanted him to be our leader. Out of all of us, he was the one who fit the role best. Colby was serious enough, but not so serious that he didn’t have a sense of humor. These traits combined were what made us glad we chose Colby.

But I felt bad for what he was going through right now. “Colby, are you sure you don’t need help?”

He sighed softly. “Lia, I’m fine, and I am telling you I have this under control. Just go do what you have to do, and I’ll get back to what I’m doing.”

It felt like he was shutting me out. I wished there was something I could do or say to make sure he wouldn’t shut me out, but there was nothing I could do, to be honest. He was allowed to not want my help.

one couldn’t force their help on another person. It was something I realized a long time ago, and I wasn’t going to force help on someone who didn’t want help. It wouldn’t be very right of me to do that.