Brother’s Best Friends Are My Mates novel Chapter 58

Lia

My phone buzzed on the table, the number unfamiliar. For a moment, I hesitated. I didn’t recognize it, but something told me I needed to answer.

“Hello?” I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt.

“Lia?” The voice on the other end was sharp and steady, with an edge of authority that made me sit up straighter. “This is Veronica Ruiz. The woman from the bookstore reached out to me about your… inquiry.”

“Oh!” My heart thudded in my chest. “Yes, thank you for calling. I—”

“Let’s skip the pleasantries,” she interrupted. “You want to learn magic, don’t you?”

“Yes,” I said quickly.

“Then let me be clear. This won’t be easy. Magic isn’t a game or a hobby. It’s a discipline, a way of life, and it demands everything from you. Most people start when they’re children, not… adults.”

I winced. “I know I’m older, but I’ll work hard. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

“Words are easy. Actions aren’t. I don’t coddle my students, Lia, and I have no patience for laziness or excuses. If you want me to teach you, you’ll have to prove yourself.”

“I’m ready,” I said, gripping the phone tightly. “I’m not afraid of hard work.”

“Good. Tomorrow morning, 6 a.m. sharp. I’ll send you the address. Don’t be late.”

“Six a.m.?” I repeated, caught off guard.

“Is that going to be a problem?” she asked, her voice daring me to say yes.

“No,” I said quickly. “No problem. I’ll be there.”

“Bring nothing but your focus, an open mind, and a willingness to be challenged. You won’t need anything else.”

I swallowed hard. “What should I expect?”

“You don’t need to know that yet,” she said firmly. “Just be prepared for the unexpected. The first step in learning magic is often the hardest.”

“I understand,” I said, trying to sound braver than I felt. “I’ll be ready.”

“We’ll see,” she replied, her tone skeptical. “One last thing: don’t lie to me, don’t hold back, and don’t come with excuses. I won’t tolerate it.”

“I won’t,” I promised.

“Good,” she said simply. “Then I’ll see you tomorrow. And Lia?”

“Yes?”

“If you’re not serious, don’t waste my time-or yours.”

“I’m serious,” I said, my voice firm. “I promise.”

“We’ll see,” she said again, and then the line went dead.

I stared at my phone, her words echoing in my mind. Tomorrow at 6 a.m. sharp. My stomach twisted with nerves. If Veronica Ruiz was anything like she sounded, this wasn’t going to be easy. But if this was what it took to learn magic, I’d be there. I had to be.

Still, I was excited. I was going to have a chance to finally be able to learn magic. It was something I wanted to do since I discovered that we were descended from witches on my mother’s side.

But… what if I screwed up? She wasn’t going to make it easy. I don’t think Veronica Ruiz would even be shocked if I decided to drop her lessons after the first one.

No, that wasn’t going to happen!

I was going to learn magic and try to wield it no matter what.

This was especially true with my brother’s mate missing.

He was a fucking wreck with his mate missing.

If Veronica Ruiz could help me learn magic and get us one step closer to finding out where Gabi was then so be it. I was willing to do anything.

It had been only a few days since she went missing and the werewolf association was taking this seriously. They were doing their best, trying to reach out to the witch association but nothing was happening to them.

I was thinking that they wouldn’t get involved because the blood oath fell outside of that law. Because it wasn’t grandfathered in, it was technically legal. For this reason alone, they weren’t going to do shit.

It made me angry. I couldn’t believe they were willing to throw my brother’s mate, my sister-in-law, a fellow pack member, and the mother of my niece or nephew under the bus like that.

Gabi had to be so scared. But I also knew she was giving them a hard time. She was a tough one, never letting anyone walk over her. I knew she would push them just enough to get on their nerves but never enough to put her or the baby at risk.

How could this ever happen? Well, I knew how but it was difficult to accept. The only thing I could think to focus on was learning as much magic as I could.

Magic was full of possibilities. This was what I had come to learn.

But there was only so much I could learn on my own.

Lia sighed heavily. “She says I have a lot to make up for so she is pushing me twice as hard as she would any of her other students. I think she is pushing me four times as hard if I bet any money on it.”

“Maybe you should give it up?”

As soon as the words came out of my mouth I knew I said the wrong thing. Lia sat up. Whipping her head around and glaring at me.

“You want me to give up when it might be the only way to get Gabi back? Are you crazy, Rain?!”

I winced. “Hey, Michael is asleep in his room upstairs. You might want to keep it down.”

Her eyes immediately softened. “Has he come out at all?”

“No.”

It was tough to see my best friend struggling so much. Michael had always been someone you could lean on in times of difficulty. But now he was a shell of his former self.

This wasn’t to say he wasn’t trying to find his pregnant mate. He was trying damn near anything, but we couldn’t find out where the Rosewater Coven was. It was beyond frustrating to get bogged down at every step.

“Well, tell me about this magic you’re learning,” I said, grinning from ear to ear.

I was genuinely interested to learn more about her magical skills. From what I could see, she was a fast learner. But this was no surprise. Lia was very smart. She would be able to do anything she set her mind to.

Lia stifled a yawn, but she went on to talk about her entire day. I listened intently, grinning when I noticed the twinkle in her eye and a small smile on her face.

She was excited. Lia might be exhausted right now but she was happy. I was glad that there was a small inkling of happiness in this huge shitstorm we were currently dealing with.

It was hard to forget that Michael was up there, trying to figure out what he was going to do. I was doing my best to be there for everyone.

“I think I’m going to go up and get some rest,” Lia murmured after a while.

I nodded. “All right. I’ll see you later then. Probably when we’re eating dinner.”

“Rain what are you implying?”

“Uh nothing,” I said, grinning sheepishly.

Some things were better left unsaid.