99 Times for Alpha’s Bestie novel Chapter 165

LUCIEN POV

Every word from Claire’s grandmother now clashed directly with what Matthew had told me.

For two families to arrange a mating pact for infants still in swaddling clothes indicated a bond that was far from ordinary.

Maybe Claire’s father and my own were as close as brothers like my father had always claimed, and our mothers must have been kindred spirits, sharing secrets and dreams like sisters of the soul.

But then, what had happened?

Why had my own mother been driven to such despair over my father’s rumoured entanglement with Claire’s mother?

I burned with an urgent need to unravel the mystery, but the opportunity had passed.

The older woman’s head lolled against the pillow as sleep finally claimed her, her soft snores whistling like a whistling kettle.

My jaw tightened briefly, my eyes darkening with a flicker of disappointment that I swiftly masked before

Claire could see.

Claire rose to her feet, gently tucking the blankets around her grandmother before signalling me with a glance to follow her out of the room.

The door clicked shut behind us with a quiet finality.

In the hallway, Liyah remained rooted in place, her eyes puffed up like two walnuts soaked in brine.

With a sudden lurch, she threw herself at Claire, clutching her in a fierce embrace.

“Oh god, that just wrecked me! Claire, my heart is bleeding for you!”

“It is over now,” Claire replied, forcing a small smile as she changed the subject. “You have been standing here forever. When was the last time you ate anything?”

“Oh my god, my stomach has been growling for hours!” Liyah rubbed her nose with her sleeve, instantly perking up. “I am going to buy you the fanciest meal in town!”

I refused to allow that; my voice cut through the air behind them, unhurried yet leaving no room for argument.

“A gentleman never lets ladies reach for their wallets.”

Liyah burst into laughter through her tears, her cheerful giggle ringing out as she shot me a teasing glance over her shoulder.

“Honestly, Alpha, I never pegged you for the sentimental type before. But ever since you reunited with Claire, it turns out you are actually a secret softie at heart!”

The term “softie” caused me to stiffen slightly.

That word was now being used to describe me? The most notoriously lethal, vile, barbaric Alpha in the country?

My lips pressed into a thin line, remaining silent, yet my gaze instinctively slid past Liyah, locking onto Claire’s slender but unyielding figure.

Deep within my dark eyes, something indescribable, a fierce and protective tenderness, slowly bloomed.

This was my mate? I found myself not hating the idea of that.

***LIAM POV***

The moment I cut the engine outside the packhouse, Breanne materialized like an angry shadow in front of my car. She stood with her arms crossed, glaring daggers at me.

I shoved the car door open with barely contained irritation.

“What is it now?” I roughly massaged my throbbing temples.

How had I never seen it before?

My mother’s mercenary, calculating sneer and Breanne’s vicious, malicious temperament now turned my stomach.

If only I had recognized it sooner, if only I had intervened, then Claire would not have walked away so decisively.

Now look at Claire, it’s as if she had been reborn from the ashes of rejection and shone like a supernova. Everyone was enamoured by her now.

And what had become of me since she left?

I was haggard, broken, a shadow of the Alpha heir who had once been Edmonton’s golden boy. Even I could not stand the sight of myself, let alone this suffocating pack of lies.

I never should have returned. But where else could I go?

That empty mausoleum I had once called home with Claire? Every visit left me feeling like a restless spirit, haunting my own life.

Hotels were worse. The telltale sounds of passion through thin walls served only to mock my solitude. Alpha Liam Sterling had become nothing more than a pathetic, lonely stray.

Loneliness engulfed me like an arctic flood, pulling me under.

Just then, Breanne pushed open my bedroom door. Without even looking up, I snapped with a hoarse shout, “Get out!”

She flinched, her shoulders hunching, and she began sniffling quietly.

Yet, she managed to take two shaky steps forward, her voice quivering faintly.

“Liam–remember that project I mentioned? The one hundred million dollar contract! The client just called out of the blue. They want to expand the collaboration. They said-”