99 Times for Alpha’s Bestie novel Chapter 102

“Stop!”

Everyone instinctively turned toward the voice.

At the entrance of the summer home, the lights seemed to focus automatically over this imposing figure, commanding everyone’s attention instantly upon arrival.

As he appeared, the previously packed crowd parted to create a path.

“My Goddess! Even he is attending the Senior Betas’ birthday celebration!”

“Look at that gemstone statue being carried in. Wow, Alpha Thorne really knows how to make a grand entrance!”

Gasps and murmurs spread through the crowd.

“Lucien!”

“Lucien!”

Both Kian and Liyah, who were close friends with Lucien, immediately rushed to greet him.

Lucien nodded slightly. His eyes landed on Evan, who was still convulsing on the floor as the pack doctor worked frantically to help him.

“What happened to Evan?” Lucien asked.

“Alpha, thank you for attending my father’s birthday. But, I must confess that a little unpleasant incident just occurred,” Joseph said, bowing slightly and pointing a finger at me.

“This vile woman is extremely malicious! She deliberately insulted my youngest son and pushed him to the ground, causing him to have a seizure. Ms. Telder of the Sterling Moon pack had witnessed it all and can confirm!”

Lucien’s expression remained stoic as he scanned the chaotic scene, finally fixing his gaze on me.

Anyone standing and watching his expressions would suspect Lucien’s extreme hatred for me, but I was starting to see past this mask he always wore. I knew he wasn’t judging me like the others; he was assessing the information.

Seizing the opportunity, Breanne added with feigned indignation.

“Alpha Thorne, I can testify! It was all Claire’s doing! Not only did she insult Mr. Cruz, calling him a stutterer and a wolfless nobody, but she also pushed him down! Please, do justice for Mr. Cruz!” She shot a provocative glance at me.

Lucien ignored Breanne, focusing on me instead.

“Is what she said true? Do you, as a wolfless female, run around bullying other wolfless pack members in the area?”

I met his gaze, my voice steady and clear.

“That’s a lie. Breanne insulted Evan first and then tripped him after I stepped in to defend him. Now, she’s trying to pin the blame on me. As you pointed out, I am wolfless; I would never insult another for it.”

“Claire, how dare you accuse me of being guilty!” Breanne’s voice rose sharply. “No wonder your mother had such a terrible reputation! Like mother, like daughter!”

She emphasized the last part as she turned to Lucien. “Alpha Thorne, her character is just as despicable as her mother’s! Please don’t let her get away with this!”

The mention of my mother ignited the long-buried malice among the onlookers.

“This only adds to her guilt in this; after all, she’s the daughter of that shameless woman.”

“Humph! Like mother, like daughter! That woman caused scenes when she arrived the pack, seducing men as if it were her birthright!”

“Poor Luna Thorne, her soft-heartedness was her downfall. It’s all those shameless harlots’ fault!”

I stood frozen, trembling uncontrollably.

My mother, who had passed away years ago, had been nailed to the pillar of shame. I have never been able to clear her name, but with each barb thrown at it, I remember those who insult her!

Seeing the crowd demanding my punishment, Breanne grew more triumphant, stoking the flames further.

“She was married to Liam! Alpha Henry and Luna Stephanie had never approved of her! Who knows what underhanded tactics she used to charm the Alpha heir into abandoning his parents to mate with her! She’s just like her mother, born to seduce men! Thankfully, Liam woke up in time and rejected her! Otherwise, his life would have been ruined!”

“Rejection was the right choice! Women like her should be avoided at all costs!”

I had had it. I finally lost control.

“Breanne, don’t you dare insult my mother again!”

I lunged forward, grabbing Breanne by the collar and delivering a hard closed fist to her face. I heard a slight c***k in my nose.

The sound of impact echoed through the hall, bringing everything to a standstill.

Breanne immediately adopted a pitiful demeanour, trembling.

“Claire! You hit me again! You used to bully me behind Liam’s back, and I put up with it for his sake! But today is the Senior Beta Cruz’s 70th birthday! You dare to act violently in public! First, sweet innocent Evan, because he refused your thirsty advances, and now me, when’ all I did was tell the truth. Everyone, look! This is her true nature!”

“Claire!” Joseph roared in fury, his voice nearly shaking the roof. “This is my father’s birthday! How dare you cause a scene here? Guards, take her away!”

“Dad! No!”

“Dad! Claire is not like that!” Liyah and Kian rushed to defend me.

“Shut up! Anyone who associates with her again, or lets her set foot into here again, will face punishment!”

Joseph’s furious command left no room for discussion, and the warriors lunged at me, pinning me to the ground.

“I’m not the troublemaker! My mother isn’t either! You are the ones spreading lies and distorting the truth!” I could no longer hold back, screaming as I broke free from the warrior’s grip with the tricks Lucien taught me when I was younger.

Despair and anger consumed me!

In a desperate bid for self-defence, I grabbed a knife from the nearby cake table.

The warriors to take a step back instinctively.

My eyes blazed with fury, years of pent-up frustration and resentment exploding in that moment.

“My mother brought me to the pack when I was just a child! She worked during the day and cared for me at night, managing the household just like every homemaker! What wrong did she do? Her only so-called crime was being widowed young! She never sought to seduce anyone!”

I swung the knife wildly, pushing back the warriors who lunged at me again.

“My mother never accepted any male’s advances! She never had any inappropriate relations with any of your mates! She remained loyal to her mate, my father!” I pointed the knife at the men in the crowd.

“You men, who once professed your love for her, know better than anyone! Why? Why did you allow your mates to slander my mother and destroy her? She’s dead now, her bones cold! But you, the executioners with blood on your hands!”

Tears streamed down my face, mingling with my desperate accusations.

“You all live well, yet you won’t even let her rest in peace! How can you even sleep at night? Don’t you have any sense of conscience? I pray the Goddess is watching you all, and you are denied entrance into the Meadow when it is all over.”

Lucien watched me with calculated interest, a flicker of shock passing through his eyes.

In that moment, I had truly lost my mind.

I could no longer endure the insults, wanting to use the blade in my hand to make all those who had tarnished my mother’s name pay the price.

For that reason alone, I was willing to be hurt deeply, even if the whole world turned against me.

Just as I was about to be swallowed entirely by the malice in the hall of the guests I had openly challenged, calling them out as the perverse villains against my innocent mother.

A deep, steady voice suddenly boomed throughout the room.

“I can testify to that.”