99 Times for Alpha’s Bestie novel Chapter 146

I stared at Lucien, wide-eyed, my mind completely blank.

He offered to feed me, refused to let me call him “brother,” and rushed into the city to rescue me-his intentions couldn’t have been more obvious.

If I still couldn’t see it, I really had lived all these years in vain.

Could it be Lucien liked me? The thought exploded in my head like a bomb, leaving me stunned and dazed.

I hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol, yet my face burned as if I were drunk.

Lucien chuckled softly, reaching out to flick my nose.

“Tsk, a moment ago you were a greedy kitten, and now you’re a little foolish? Liyah, was she always this silly before?”

This time, not only I, but even Liyah and Carson froze in shock.

The man before us seemed a world apart from the “living hellhound” the world knew as Lucien.

We had long grown accustomed to his ruthlessness and knife-sharp demeanour. But this kind of gentle tenderness was something neither of us had ever seen in our entire lives. Not since Lucien returned home after his k********g, at least.

Liyah gaped, then finally managed to recover her voice, blurting without thinking, “Of course not. It depends on the person. Depends on who’s teasing her.”

The word “teasing” made me want to die of embarrassment. I wished I could dig a hole and crawl inside.

“You-you two… I’m done with you! I’ll go wash the dishes!”

Feeling utterly mortified, I bolted into the kitchen as if fleeing for my life.

I splashed my face with cold water again and again. Only then did the burning in my cheeks ease a little, and the fog in my head began to slowly clear.

From the living room came Liyah’s exaggerated laughter.

I leaned secretly against the kitchen doorway, peeking out at Lucien’s rare, relaxed smile.

How long had it been since he smiled like that? The last time I remember it was when we were children, and he didn’t have the weight of his trauma, and I wasn’t a pariah in this province yet.

As I watched the shadow in his brows ease away, the taut heartstrings in my chest loosened.

A strange premonition stirred in my chest: the gulf that had always separated us seemed to be slowly shifting. Maybe, things really were starting to change.

Unconsciously, my lips curved upward as I hummed a cheerful tune, washing the dishes with light hands.

***LIAM POV***

Claire was so focused that she didn’t notice a pair of eyes fixed on her from the shadows beneath the broken kitchen window.

That’s mine.

I felt I was utterly abandoned by the world.

I had spent most of the day tracking down the address of the Reese family’s old residence, clinging to the desperate hope of glimpsing pieces of Claire’s past.

The heavy iron gates were locked tight, and outside of the residence sat Lucien’s unmistakable car.

The realization that Lucien was inside filled me with panic. I circled the estate wall three times before finding a gap in the glass-shard-and-wire-covered fence.

Desperate to see what was happening inside, I didn’t hesitate. I climbed up, shards and silver wire tearing my expensive suit, slicing my arms and thighs.

Ignoring the blood, I jumped from over two meters high, landing with a thud in a thorny rosebush.

My polished leather shoes and trousers were caked in mud, my face, wrists, and ankles scratched raw.

And yet, in my mind, I felt a surge of tragic heroism-like a knight charging recklessly for love. Like a true Alpha. My wolf bristled with pride at the thought.

Like a wounded beast, I crept toward the house, following the sound of laughter, until I reached the cracked window by the kitchen.

Through the small gap, I saw it all-Lucien brushing something off of Claire’s cheek, Lucien picking up a string bean and feeding it to her.

No, it was impossible. I told myself it was an illusion, a trick of the eyes.

But my eyes didn’t lie.

When I saw Lucien laughing openly, while Claire blushed and fled into the kitchen, I felt as though lightning had struck me.

The truth was unmistakable-that subtle, budding intimacy was how love always began. I knew this because Claire and I had once shared those very moments. Her reaction, without a doubt, was the reaction of someone falling in love.

A suffocating wave of crisis engulfed me. Inside, a storm tore through my heart, violent enough to destroy everything.

I staggered through the thorns, stumbling to the kitchen window, staring at Claire’s figure as she washed dishes.

The more cheerful her humming sounded, the more it felt like a dull blade was slicing my heart apart.

I had always believed the rejection was just Claire throwing a tantrum-that if I held on long enough, I would win her back.

But in this moment, I knew with piercing clarity-I had lost her completely.

The woman who once cooked for me, who once gave me everything, had truly walked out of my world.

The realization was the last straw.

My wolf receded in heartbreak, and I drained off life and energy, crumbling to the ground.

***CLAIRE POV***

Inside the kitchen, I was still washing dishes when a dull thud echoed from outside, like something heavy had fallen.

“Huh? What was that?” Carson muttered, rising to check.

I didn’t think much of it and kept washing.

But seconds later, from outside came Carson’s voice, high-pitched with shock.

“My Goddess! It’s-it’s a person!”