99 Times for Alpha’s Bestie novel Chapter 131

The air inside the car turned to ice.

Lucien hung up with a sharp snap of impatience. After that call, silence fell heavy, pressing down until it was hard to breathe.

“You are coming with me to a dinner,” he said coldly, leaving no room for refusal.

I froze and turned to him. “Huh? What kind of dinner? I honestly can’t eat anything more, Lucien.”

“It’s a blind date.” His face betrayed nothing. Then his tone shifted abruptly. “You’ll play the role of my girlfriend and prevent there from being a chance for a second attempt.”

“Wait-what?” I must have misheard him.

I wasn’t sure I was understanding what he was saying. There was a blind date arranged for Lucien? And he wanted me to go and ruin it?

I was so confused.

In the Thorne family, the only one Lucien had ever shown caution toward was his father, Emeric, and he had long been bedridden after a stroke shortly after Lucien returned when Matthew and the pack warriors were finally able to retrieve him.

Who on earth had the guts to set this up against Lucien’s wishes?

My mind flashed back to when Lucien had once rammed a wine bottle into a woman’s throat. This wasn’t a secret, either. It terrified several families who had initially been trying to get close to Lucien with their single daughters and nieces. Who would dare to provoke him?

Questions flooded my mind, but one glance at Lucien’s shadowed profile made me swallow them all back.

The car turned and headed straight for a different restaurant.

On the way, my gaze drifted toward him several times before I finally spoke, “Lucien, who set up this blind date that you couldn’t refuse?”

I wish my voice had come off more confident and more assertive in this moment.

“Matthew.”

The name dropped like a stone in my chest.

At once, the image of Matthew’s sinister, ruthless face flashed in my mind, sending a chill crawling up my spine.

I knew our clash was inevitable. But in this moment, I was unprepared to come face to face with the real devil on this earth.

Instinctive rejection surged through me. I frowned.

“Can I not go? If you really need a companion, I can ask Liyah-”

“No, it must be you.” Lucien’s refusal was absolute, cutting off every escape.

“But-“I still tried to resist.

Lucien suddenly turned, his eyes locking on mine like burning coals.

“Is it that you don’t want to pretend to be my girlfriend, or-are you afraid to face Matthew?”

My heart gave a violent jolt.

“How could I possibly be afraid of him!” The words burst from me in a near growl. My hands clenched tight, hatred threatening to tear through reason. “It’s just-”

“Unless, what you told me about your mother and my father-” Lucien said, “It was all a lie. And that’s why you don’t dare face him? Afraid he’ll expose you on the spot?”

“Every single word I said was true!” I bit down hard before my voice steadied again. “Fine, I’ll go! I’m not afraid of anything. The one who should feel guilty before you and me-is him!”

Lucien said nothing more. He turned back toward the window, his eyes shadowed.

But I caught a subtle shift in his stance toward Matthew. Not the blind trust he led with before, but something sharper-resistance, perhaps even suspicion.

Matthew was Lucien’s mother’s cousin, which made it easier for Lucien to accept his word as gospel and allowed Matthew’s influence to rise easily in the pack and the surrounding territories.

He had used the family tree of the late Luna as cover from his misdealings, growing into a true predator of his own. He had even begun to stand as a rival to the Thorne Alpha family itself.

Could it be Lucien had finally started to sense the threat standing before him, posing as family and pack advisor? The thought made my heart leap. Only by doubting Matthew would Lucien reopen the investigation into the past.

I drew a long breath, trying to calm myself.