99 Times for Alpha’s Bestie novel Chapter 15

My eyes widened, but I shouldn’t have been surprised.

Liam always gifted extravagantly when he knew he had made a mistake. But I did not expect this.

The diamond ring was larger and more brilliant than the wedding band I had sold, something Liam has yet even to take notice of.

What mate doesn’t notice that his female isn’t wearing her ring anymore? I haven’t worn it all week.

I am certain that others have long noticed but kept it to themselves.

I knew he hadn’t, though. If he did, it would have resulted in a fight.

This ring was nothing more than an apology gift and a public display of affection to calm down any rumours from spreading about him and Breanne. It wouldn’t be lost on anyone where his time has been spent.

As Liam slid it onto my finger, the socialites erupted in exaggerated gasps.

“Oh my Goddess, I’ve never seen a diamond that flawless and large. It must have cost a small fortune!” Queenie gasped.

“It’s absolutely stunning!” Mona’s jaw was slack, and her eyes filled with jealous bitterness.

“Liam certainly sets the standard for mates! He spoils you rotten, Claire! A girl like me could only dream to be so loved.” Cleo gushed, but her eyes were feasting on Liam in unadulterated desire.

My lips curved into a sardonic smile, but my heart remained unmoved by the gesture.

I knew his games, and he was attempting to regain control over me. Perhaps he realized I was serious about rejecting him now.

“What’s this about?” I lifted my eyes to him.

“This whole party is your birthday surprise, my love. I was here overseeing the setup all last night. Do you like it?” Liam’s gaze softened with tender amusement.

Birthday?

The realization gave me pause.

I had forgotten it myself, but that was to be expected. It has not been celebrated in the three years we’ve been together. Again, bitterness settled in my heart. This was confirmed as a guilty performance.

Why celebrate my birth now?

And why are we off the pack grounds to do it?

It seemed he still wished to stay close to Breanne, despite the performance.

I was sure that if our pack doctors were better equipped, then we would have hosted the party celebration there instead. To be frank, I was still unclear as to why Breanne was still in the hospital. She had a wolf, and I did not. My injuries were significantly more life–threatening, yet here I was. A little bit of Alpha’s blood donation and I was right as rain.

The sound of the orchestra beginning to play a romantic melody brought me back to the present.

Liam seized my hand, leading me to the dance floor. Taking the microphone from the bandleader, Liam began singing to me.

There were a lot of great little things Liam once did for me, but it was often overshadowed by the larger neglectful and hurtful things he did more often.

This moment was one of those little things.

The song froze me in place-“My Love“.

It was our song. He sang it to me often in our first year.

I remembered the first time I saw him. I was just a young teen, and Liyah dragged me to a mutual friend’s graduation. Liam was on stage, having performed in front of the entire graduating class. He was too handsome. Too perfect. I felt something click, though I didn’t know what it was at the time. I just knew I needed to be close to him.

I had worked tirelessly, focusing on my grades to enter the same university as him, collecting every fragment of information about him like sacred relics.

Even though I was part of the Crown of Thornes pack, all high schools and universities were built on neutral territories and were overseen by the Council itself. It was an attempt to encourage pack alliance–building traits and bonding between pack members from the surrounding territories.

It was also how I caught my first glimpse of Liam Sterling.

He casually dated many females, and never once looked my way. It wasn’t until I entered the same university and we discovered that we were mates that Liam finally saw me.

He took me home to meet his family, and they outright refused. My mother’s reputation may have made things shaky with me and the Thornes, but Liam’s family and pack went out of their way to make me feel unwelcome right away.

I tried to deny our bond, but it made Liam more determined. He dropped to his knee and proposed mating immediately.

“I won’t reject my mate because my mother’s a b***h” he’d said. “A mate is a love and best friend for life.”

Liam had taken my first hug, first kiss, my virginity–and my fervent heart. Defying his family, he’d mated me despite my rootless background and connection to the Thornes.

“I love you,” he’d vowed. “All of you.”

But mating revealed a different reality–not a partnership of two, but three.

Breanne accompanied us everywhere. She seemed to be in control of our very lives; she managed Liam’s schedules, his finances and would call or text him at all hours of the night. Our honeymoon hadn’t been exempt either. She was there, showed up in the middle of our first night. There was an issue with the cellphone reception, and she needed his signature on something.

She was then invited to stay the rest of the week by my ever–so–loving mate. After all, they were best friends, and she and I should be as well.

The sweetness evoked by the music curdled into bitterness at these memories.

As I lowered my lashes, a commotion erupted at the entrance.

I turned to see a pale figure in a hospital gown–so frail a breeze might carry her away–clutching mahogany jewelry box. An IV bag hung from a pole wheeled beside her by a nurse.

She was truly a master at the stage. Breanne was missing her calling; she would make an incredible actress. She was already creating her own soap opera.

Each trembling step seemed precarious, yet Breanne advanced with fierce determination etched on her flawless face. I watched her features tick with each step she took, but her burning gaze fixed not on me but on the man behind me.