99 Times for Alpha’s Bestie novel Chapter 153

Lucien glanced at his watch, then lay back flat, gazing at the sky. “You should stop staring at me, Claire. If you miss the meteor shower, you’ll be crying about it later.”

My mind blanked again.

1 numbly turned to face the night sky, eyes fixed on the countless stars. My thoughts immediately drifted back to childhood when Lucien and I climbed onto the rooftop together to watch the meteor shower.

“What do we do? If we don’t climb up fast enough, we’ll miss the meteor shower!”

“Don’t cry. Climb on my shoulders, hold onto my head. If you’re scared, close your eyes and know that I will never let you be harmed. I’ll carry us up to the step-by-step. Once we’re on the roof, we’ll see it.”

“Will this really work? Do you have enough strength? What if we fall?”

“I’m here. I won’t let you fall. I promised I’d protect you for life. Trust me-I’m an Alpha and Alphas always keep their promises.”

I could still see the little Lucien thumping his chest with pride, while the little Claire stood by, tear-stained and terrified of heights.

Unknowingly, my eyes grew wet again.

It was already past midnight, yet strangely, I felt no trace of sleepiness anymore. My eyes stayed wide open, afraid of missing even a moment of the meteor shower.

Then I felt Lucien shift. He leaned toward me, closing the distance in an instant. His face loomed suddenly large before me.

What was he doing? My whole body went rigid. I held my breath.

He braced one hand on my seat. As his face inched closer, I started to panic and squeezed my eyes shut.

I thought he was going to kiss me. But instead, something cool and sweet slipped into my mouth.

My eyes flew open in surprise. The weight of his presence was gone. A refreshing sweetness spread across my tongue.

It hit me then-Lucien had only leaned over to reach the compartment beside me. He had pulled out a pack of mints and popped one into my mouth. Wait, was he suggesting my breath was bad?

And then it hit me.

It was the taste of my first gift to him-those pear-menthol candies from a lifetime ago, back when I was just a child newly come to the Crown of Thornes pack.

So he still kept peppermint candies in his car. My thoughts ran wild again.

I bit down on the candy hard, telling myself internally, ‘Don’t overthink it. Don’t you dare. Or you’ll only humiliate yourself more than you already have tonight. Lucien made it clear that he doesn’t like you like that.’

Lucien lay back down beside me, chewing his own candy. His breathing was so close-so close it felt like it brushed against my ear.

Silence settled in the car once more. I didn’t even dare make a sound.

We waited quietly. Then, suddenly, a long streak of light tore across the sky.

I shot upright, flung open the car door, and leapt outside. With my hands clasped before my chest, and my eyes shut tight, I whispered my wish to the shooting star.

“Please let me take back the Reese Group. And if it’s possible- let me go back to how it was with Lucien when we were kids.”

“You’re still this childish at your age? Rushing out, believing in wishes?” Behind me came Lucien’s snort.

But this time, my tone was firm.

“Of course, I believe. No matter when, no matter where, you can’t give up on hope. Even if it feels impossible, you fight for it with everything you’ve got. As long as you’re alive, there’s always hope, Lucien.”

These were words I had whispered to myself countless times in the darkest of moments. As fleeting as it was, I never gave up.

Lucien froze. Almost without realizing it, he reached out, gently resting his arm around my shoulders. His voice dropped to a murmur.

“Claire-bear, you’re still the same as when you were a child. Don’t ever change that.”

My heart trembled. I turned to him. “But you’re nothing like you used to be. I wish you could go back to that boy you once were. The one who promised happiness and love.”

Lucien faltered for a heartbeat. Then the moment was gone, his eyes clouding over with the coldness I had come to know so well.

“Don’t be so naive, Claire. Not everything can go back to how it was before. Some things-once gone-are gone forever.”

I wanted to argue, but before I could, he withdrew his arm and slipped back into the car.

The meteor shower burned bright but brief.

I stood beneath the sky a moment longer before quietly climbing back into the car. Exhaustion finally caught up with me.

Curled inside the vehicle, we both soon drifted off to sleep.

Half-conscious, I felt something warm and heavy being draped over me. But fatigue overwhelmed me so that I couldn’t pay it any mind. I turned onto my side, facing Lucien and sank into a deep slumber.

***LIAM POV***

I watched as they both slept soundly, unaware of the figure curled miserably beneath the car-dirty, cramped, and mosquito-bitten.

I had seen everything. I had been the one to deflate the tires.

My plan had been simple: track them unnoticed using the Find My Phone app on Claire’s phone, and then, while they were arguing, I would let the air out of all the tires. I would leave for a short while, return with my own car to fetch something, as if lost in the city, and then take Claire back to my hotel suite.

But Lucien had come back too soon before I could get back to my car.

Caught off guard, I had no other choice but to dive under the car, mortified at the thought of being discovered by Claire in such a pathetic and desperate act to earn her favour.

So I stayed there the whole night, enduring the biting insects and the hard, freezing ground and listening to them tiptoeing around feelings unexpressed and confused by it.

It hurt.

I could have slipped away while they slept, but the unbearable thought of what might happen inside the car -specifically, the possibility that Lucien might make a move on her-kept me rooted.

So I stayed, listening to every sound, straining to catch every word. Luckily, the car hadn’t shaken once all night.

I clung to the undercarriage until dawn.

When the first light broke and I was certain nothing had happened, I finally crawled out, filthy and exhausted.

With no one around, I managed to slip back into my car and vanish without a trace.

That had to be the most humiliating and humbling night of my life, but I would do anything to get Claire back before Lucien could muster the courage to express his feelings for her.

I won’t lose her to him.