Brother’s Best Friends Are My Mates novel Chapter 83

Colby

Things had been quiet for a while. I think that was when it hit me that something might go wrong. It was two weeks of no attacks on the house or any of us so I started to grow nervous, sometimes staying up until all hours of the night ready to protect the pack if I needed too.

Lia encouraged me to go off to bed one night when she found me. It was rich coming from the woman who had to be carried to bed by Jesse after throwing a large fit. I pointed it out, earning a glare from her.

“We aren’t talking about me,” Lia snapped. “We are talking about you right now, Colby.”

I shrugged. “Yes, but you shouldn’t throw stones when you live in a glass house, Lia.”

The scowl deepened, causing me to laugh. I closed the distance between us, brushing my lips over her temple.

“You need to sleep,” Lia muttered, wrapping her arms around my tightly. “I don’t want you to pass out or anything. And it’s not like I can heft you over my shoulder, Colby.”

A smirk flew to my lips.

“That’s true.”

“Unless I ask one of the guys to carry you…” she mused playfully.

Or I thought she was being playful.

“I’d like to see one of them try.”

Lia smirked. “I could get Jesse to do it.”

I coughed. “Okay, that’s not fair. You know Jesse scares the shit out of all of us. There is no way I am going to cross him.”

“So you know what that means?” Lia asked happily.

“No Lia tell me what it means.”

She giggled. “It means you are going to go upstairs and get some sleep. Otherwise I will have to wake Jesse up and no one wants to do that.”

With no other choice, I went upstairs to sleep.

But the next night, as I was about to call it quits and go to sleep, I heard a sound from the backyard. Stiffening, I readied myself when there was this bright light, temporarily blinding me. I heard this loud, high pitch scream ring through the air.

It didn’t sound like a familiar scream. I knew it wasn’t anyone in the house, but it was still strange enough to hear this random scream out of nowhere.

Everyone heard the scream and saw the flash. They rushed downstairs, standing at the back door.

“What the fuck was that?” Matt asked, growling softly.

“I think one of those vampiric charms the clan put up worked,” I muttered.

Tegan had told us she put up several protection spells, wards, and charms to protect the house in case one of the coven members tried to attack.

“Could it be one of the clan?” Lia whispered, shifting a little close to Matt out of fear.

Rain, who was either brave or stupid, rushed towards the door. He stepped outside, causing all of us to shout.

“Hey, I see a dead witch out here!” Rain shouted, not using any subtlety. “She looks like one of those witches we fought at the Rosewater Clan’s hideout the other day.”

This piqued my interest. I hurried outside beside Rain to gaze upon the dead woman and it turned out that he was right.

While I couldn’t remember all their faces, I remembered this face specifically. She had attacked me back at the hideout, attempting to take my life but I was able to subdue her in the end.

“Fuck.”

I wondered if some of them were still out there. My eyes looked amongst the darkness, my stomach clenching in anticipation. One of them could attack any moment.

“Let’s get back inside,” Jesse said and no one complained. They all rushed inside after him, determined to protect themselves and the pack.

***

Rain

I pressed the phone to my ear, pacing the length of my room as the line rang.

Tegan picked up on the second ring. “Rain. Didn’t expect to hear from you so soon. Something wrong?”

“No, nothing like that,” I said quickly. “I just… wanted to thank you. The protection spells are holding strong.” “Good. That’s what they’re meant to do.”

I could almost hear the shrug in her voice like this was no big deal to her. But it was to me.

“Seriously, Tegan. You didn’t have to go this far.”

She let out a short laugh. “Of course, I did. We’d do anything for a fellow clan member. You know that.”

“I do. But still… it wasn’t a small favor.”

“Maybe. But I know how much energy those spells took. You’ve got to be exhausted.”

“I’ve had worse.”

“That’s not comforting, Tegan.”

She snorted. “Wasn’t meant to be. Look, I’m fine. And if I wasn’t, I’d handle it.”

“I know you would.” I hesitated. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t worry.”

“You don’t need to.”

“You say that like it changes anything.”

A beat of silence passed before she sighed. “Rain. I’m fine. The spells are fine. You’re safe. That’s what matters.” “Yeah… I guess.”

“Then stop thanking me,” she said dryly. “You’re making me sound nice.”

I huffed out a laugh. “Wouldn’t want that, huh?”

“Not.”

The silence that followed wasn’t uncomfortable. If anything, it felt like a quiet understanding, stretching between us like an invisible thread.

“Well,” I said finally, “I’ll check in soon. Just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome,” she said, then added, “And Rain? Stay safe.”

“You too, Tegan.”

“Always.”

I ended the call and let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. But the weight on my shoulders hadn’t lifted—it had only shifted.

As happy go lucky as I tried to act, it didn’t change the fact that all this death was starting to weigh heavily on me.

How many more people would have to die because this was all over finally.