Brother’s Best Friends Are My Mates novel Chapter 53

Lia

They say no news is good news, but I refuse to believe this is the case. No news is bad because it means the other side is planning something.

Some may call me, Lia Brown, paranoid, but I had everyright ot be paranoid.

The Rosewater Coven spend decades trying to track down my family so they could fulfill some stupid blood oath. It made no sense why they would go to those levels. What they should’ve done just left it alone and then we could all get on with our life.

Yet, they wouldn’t.

One of the few silver linings to this was that I was learning magic. While I was still waiting ot hear back from that woman, I was doing quite a bit of learning on my own. It seemed I was a fast learner because I had been able to cast a few spells up to this point.

But regardless of how much magic I was learning, it still didn’t change the fact that I was a novice. I could only do so much. “We haven’t heard from the Rosewater Coven in weeks,” I said, breaking the tense silence in the room.

“They’re regrouping,” Jesse said, leaning back in his chair, arms crossed. “That’s what they do. Always a second plan.”

Rain scoffed. “Second? They probably have ten plans lined up. They’re like cockroaches-hard to kill and always hiding in the shadows.”

“You think they’re waiting for something?” I asked, glancing between them.

“Definitely,” Matt muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. “Too quiet. It’s not like them to stay down for long.

“

Colby nodded. “Agreed. It’s making my skin crawl. They’re plotting something. I’d bet money on it.”

“I hate this,” I admitted, folding my arms. “I’d almost rather they attack outright than leave us sitting here, waiting.” “Don’t say that,” Rain said quickly. “The last thing we need is to deal with their chaos again.”

“Rain’s right,” Jesse added. “Let them stay hidden. Gives us time to prepare.”

“But prepare for what?” I asked. “We don’t know what they’re doing. For all we know, they’re already three steps ahead.”

Matt sighed. “It’s not like we haven’t dealt with them before. We’ll handle whatever they throw at us.”

“Except this time, they know our weaknesses,” Colby said, his tone sharp.

I felt my stomach drop. “Weaknesses?”

“You,” Jesse said bluntly. “You’re their target, Lia.”

“I know that,” I said quietly. “I just… I thought after the last fight, they’d back off. It felt final.”

“Final for now,” Rain said, his voice softer. “But people like them don’t quit, especially when they think they’ve been slighted.”

“They see you as a threat to their power,” Matt added. “You’re not just some omega anymore, Lia. You’re a wildcard they can’t control.”

“Great,” I muttered. “So, what do we do? Just keep waiting for them to make the first move?”

“No,” Jesse said firmly. “We’ll be ready. We’ll train harder, and strengthen our defenses. And when they show their faces again, we’ll crush them.”

“That’s optimistic,” Colby said with a bitter laugh. “But sure, let’s act like we’ve got this under control.”

“We do have it under control,” Jesse snapped.

“For now,” Rain said, stepping in before they could argue further. “We all know how this works. They’ll come back, but when they do, we’ll be stronger than before.”

I sighed, feeling the weight of their words settle on me. “I hate being the reason you’re all on edge.”

“You’re not the reason,” Matt said quickly. “They are. Don’t put this on yourself.”

“You’re worth it,” Jesse added, his tone softening just slightly. “We’ll protect you, no matter what.”

“Damn right,” Colby said, smirking. “Rosewater’s not taking you from us, Lia. Not now, not ever.”

Rain grinned. “Besides, we’ve got plenty of tricks they haven’t seen yet.”

I tried to smile, but the tension in the room was suffocating. “I just hope it’s enough.”

“It will be,” Jesse said, his voice low but steady. “It has to be.”

I tried to go back to my regular life, not worrying about the silence from the group. One reason that I was so easily able to deal with it was the simple fact that I had magic. Learning magic was amazing, a bit terrifying, but still pretty amazing.

A couple of times one of my future mates walked in on me casting a spell. They gave me a strange look, taking a step back in shock. I think it surprised them to see my casting magic so easily, but once they saw that I was a bit hurt by them inching away they stopped doing it.

As long as they supported me in this then I was confident I’d be able to learn at an even faster rate.

***

Matt

M

Don’t panic. If she can’t speak clearly, she can’t finish a spell. Cover her mouth if you have to. I have a silencing spell, but it’s temporary. -L

Temporary? Define “temporary” because she’s trying to break free here. How long do we have? -M

Long enough for me to get there and fix this properly. I’m grabbing my supplies now. Just don’t break eye contact with her. It weakens her focus. -L

Not gonna lie, Lia, she’s thrashing hard. I had to pin her arms back, and she just hissed at me. Is… hissing normal? -M

Yeah, it’s intimidation. She’s trying to scare you into letting go. Stay strong. I’m leaving with the guys now. We’ll be there in five minutes. -L

Five minutes? She’s still trying to chant. If I get turned into a frog, I’m haunting you. -M

You won’t. Keep her mouth covered. I’m serious. If she finishes even half a spell, it could still work. -L

Pretty sure she just tried to bite me. This is way above my pay grade, Lia. -M

Matt, focus. She can’t cast anything if you keep her silent. Trust me. We’re almost there. -L

She stopped thrashing, but now her eyes are glowing. And not in the fun, ‘I’m magical’ way. -M

That means she’s building magic inside but can’t release it. You’re doing great. I’m seconds away. Just stay calm. -L

Calm?! The witch’s eyes are glowing and Jesse’s pacing like he’s ready to rip her throat out. How calm do you expect me to be?! -M

Hold on a little longer. I’m walking through the door now. -L

THANK THE MOON. Get in here and deal with this before she hexes my entire bloodline! -M

Lia showed up soon and essentially saved the day. The threat was averted, but what were we going to do overall?