Brother’s Best Friends Are My Mates novel Chapter 29

Lia

I woke up to Rain blowing up the group chat we had with each other. Sighing, I hopped on and decided to see what he was fussing about.

We need to figure this pack situation out. Mom called me, and apparently, the council gave us a six-month deadline to decide.

– R

Six months? Seriously? I thought we had a year. – C

Nope. Law changed. It’s six months now. R

Great. Just what I needed. As if dealing with my current pack’s drama wasn’t enough. – M

Wait, so we must decide between joining one of your packs or making a new one? – L

Pretty much. The new pack requires five members, which we have. But it’s not that simple. – R

Nothing ever is. – J

Look, the Iron Fang elders are breathing down my neck about bringing you all in. But I know that’s not ideal for everyone. – C

Yes, not happening. No offense, Colby, but your pack’s as nervous as they come. M

Okay, so Iron Fang is off the table for Matt. What about Celestial Howl? – R

Hippie vibes aren’t my thing either. – M

And Ashen Howl is a nonstarter. No way we’re going there. – J

I’m sensing a theme here. – L

Which is? – C

None of you like each other’s packs. – L

…She’s not wrong. – R

What about making our pack? A fresh start, no old baggage. – M

Would that even work? – L

It’s possible, but it’s a lot of responsibility. We’d need a territory, a council rep, and probably a hell of a lot of patience. – J And trust. We’d need to trust each other completely. – R

Trust isn’t the problem. My issue is whether we can make it work. We barely agree on lunch orders, let alone pack politics. – M

I don’t care which pack we join or if we make our own. I just want us to decide so Lia isn’t stressed out. – J

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Jesse. L

I’m just being realistic. – M

Realistic is fine, but we need solutions, not sarcasm. – C

I agreed. Let’s each think about what we want. Lia, it’s your call too. You’re the omega here. – R

Oh, thanks for the pressure, Rain. – L

He’s not wrong. Your comfort matters most in this. – J

Look, I don’t know yet. I just don’t want any more fighting-or for this to turn into a competition between your packs. – L

Fair. Let’s table this for now but agree to talk again soon. – C

Works for me. – R

Fine. – M

Sure. – J

Thanks. I appreciate you all for not turning this into a battle royale… for now. – L

For now. R

To make matters worse, we got an official letter from the werewolf council.

To: Colby McGrath, Rain Kim, Matthew Clark, Jesse Johnson, and Lia Brown

The decision to join an existing pack or establish a new one is both a privilege and a responsibility. Your choice will shape the foundation of your lives together and contribute to the strength and legacy of the werewolf community. Trust in your bond and the wisdom that brought you together.

We look forward to receiving your completed registration and stand ready to assist as you navigate this process. Please do not hesitate to reach out with any concerns or requests for clarification.

Sincerely,

The Werewolf Council

I sighed. This was not surprising that they were reaching out to us already but I was annoyed that they were being so persistent. Couldn’t we have a chance to try and figure out what we wanted to do?

The guys seemed reluctant to talk about this but I insisted we meet in the dining room to discuss what we were going to do. In the end, we mostly just talked around each other. No one could decide about anything or pick one option over the other.

I grew frustrated, slamming my hands against the table.

“Guys, all of you need to get a grip!” I shouted, going so far as to stand up to my full height.

Now, I was short but with them sitting down I figured it could go pretty far if the others were sitting around. When I looked at my mates, they jerked back a bit in surprise. Rain sunk, avoiding my gaze. Even Jesse seemed surprised!

“Sorry,” each of them mumbled at some point. They seemed genuinely apologetic so I wasn’t going to take their difficulty too personally.

But we still couldn’t come to a decision. Everyone did see be leaning towards us creating our own pack, but it was going to be difficult to convince Colby and Rain to completely give up on that idea.

I needed to get out of the house so I met with Simone who picked me up and took us to see the movie Wicked. It was something I had been wanting to see for a while.

Simone and I just needed a day where we didn’t have to talk about mates, packs, or wolf matters. I was a wolf-that part would never change, but I didn’t want to spend every waking moment thinking of how much my life had changed.

But the one thing I needed to keep in mind was that it hadn’t changed for the worse. When I first found out I had four mates, I was terrified. I thought my life was over and they were all going to make my life hell but the thing was the guys were genuinely trying. There were bumps along the way, but … I was proud that they were my mates.

Not that I would ever admit this to them out loud… not yet, at least.

“Lia, are you even paying attention to the movie?” Simone whispered to me suddenly. “You look distracted!”

“Of course I am,” I whispered back.

I had dazed out, but the less Simone knew about that the better.