99 Times for Alpha’s Bestie novel Chapter 72

“He’s now the pack advisor. Lucien believes his word like it’s gospel. Listen carefully, never mention his name to Alpha Lucien, or there’ll be hell to pay.”

My heart sank like an anchor.

Matthew had been nothing but the Alpha’s personal driver back then, only to slither his way up the ranks after the untimely death of Luna Thorne.

How could Lucien be blind enough to promote such vermin to the pack’s most respectable ranks?

As pack advisor, Matthew now has the second most authority within the pack, just under Lucien himself and above the Beta Ethan and Gamma Kian of Lucien’s alpha team.

“Back then… I refused to conspire with him to frame your mother and Alpha Emeric.” His eyes squeezed shut as if reliving the agony.

“So he hacked off three fingers and left my leg dead. He injected me with wolfsbane to prevent my wolf from healing the shattered bones in my leg. I’m sorry, Claire. I broke under the torture. I did as ordered and told Luna all those vile lies-”

“I never imagined she’d take her own life. Every day since, I’ve drowned in regret, failing you all. I’m the one who deserves hell-”

My pupils contracted in shock.

I had been too young to know about the bloodstained coercion beneath the surface.

Bart, stop this!” I clutched his trembling hands, “You were forced into this! Matthew’s the real monster here! None of this was your fault!”

The old omega scrubbed at his eyes with a handkerchief, sniffing before mustering a frail smile.

“Your words… ease a bit of the guilt off my chest. But Alpha Lucien remains in the dark-” His gnarled fingers tightened around mine.

“I’ve endured every humiliation sentenced to me with every attempt that Matthew made against me to try to drive me to disband from the pack. If I’d gone, he would have had no more loose ends within the pack. With me, Lucien still holds onto those lingering emotions of warmth. He has denied Matthew’s request to banish or demote me. I’ve clung to life for one purpose: to rip open these bloody secrets!” Bart added.

His words struck like thunder.

After years of believing I was utterly alone, except for Liyah, who defies any orders that have been given, I have not only learned what happened to bring about this hellish life, but I now have another supporter in the quest to correct everything.

And the key to breaking this deadlock of misery lay with Lucien.

Only by exposing Matthew’s true nature and shattering Lucien’s distorted fixation on the past could there be any hope of change.

I could have been here, helping those who needed me.

Instead, I was hiding, thinking I was the only one suffering in a hopeless mate bond.

From this moment forward, I would pour every ounce of strength into getting close to Lucien, chipping away at the glacial fortress around his heart.

This wasn’t just about reclaiming what was rightfully mine anymore. It was about dragging everyone, including myself, Bart, and Lucien, back into the light, and restoring the reputation of my mother and Alpha Emeric Thorne.

“Bart,” I vowed with fiery determination, “From today onward, we face this together!”

The car slipped through the gate like a shadow. The pack warriors waved us through without question.

I watched the gardens blur by, fragments of childhood laughter with Lucien flashing through my mind. Had that tragedy never happened… perhaps we’d still be inseparable now.

But life didn’t deal in ‘if onlys.

As the car halted before the packhouse, I stepped out quickly, gazing up at the old packhouse swallowed by decades of ivy.

In the distance, the ghostly outline of the three-story villa built specially for my mother and me remained visible through the overgrowth of weeds and trees. Lucien’s fury had turned it to scorched rubble years ago.

Bart said softly, “This way,” gesturing gently to spare my distress. “Your old room in the packhouse-I preserved everything, exactly as you remember.”

“Lucien-he never had it cleared out?” I froze, “I thought it’d been destroyed years ago.”

“He destroyed your mother’s room. As for yours… he wanted to, but I stopped him.” Bart shook his head,

“Deep down, he isn’t completely heartless. It’s just-”

A deafening engine roar erupted behind them.

Bart’s face drained of colour. He spun around like a spooked deer, frantically pushing me back toward the car, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

“Get out of here, now! Alpha Thorne must’ve heard you were here! Don’t get caught up in whatever punishment I am about to receive. Please, you must go now, Claire!”

I gently steadied Bart’s panicked arm, my gaze steady and determined as a mountain.

“Bart, don’t be afraid. I don’t believe he’d truly do anything irreversible to me. I will accept your punishment; you have suffered enough.”

In the blink of an eye, his black Lamborghini screeched to a halt before us.

The scissor doors lifted, and his tall figure emerged, his glacial gaze zeroing in on me standing beside the ever-trembling Bart.

Then, without warning, Lucien’s hand clamped around my throat like an iron shackle, slamming me against the cold metal of the car.

“You really are calculating to your core,” he snarled, fury blazing in his eyes. “Couldn’t seduce me, so you went after Bart? So desperate to work your way into the Crown of Thornes pack? Fine. I’ll grant your wish and you’ll be buried here.”

His grip tightened, cutting off my air. My vision swam with black spots until he suddenly yanked me by the hair, dragging me brutally through the courtyard.

I bit my lip hard, refusing to let the tears welling in my eyes spill.

I wouldn’t show him an ounce of weakness. Every cell in my brain was wondering if we miscalculated

Lucien, and the one we cherished is truly gone.

He hurled me onto the damp stone pavement of the main courtyard.

Every omega in the packhouse rushed out in seconds, lining both sides in terrified silence, not daring to breathe.

Pain radiated through my body as if I had been shattered.

Bart stood frozen, not daring to plead for me, only hastily signalling for someone to bring a gilded armchair.

Lucien sat, his arctic glare nailing my crumpled figure to the ground as he visibly fought control with his wolf. Then he, pushing his wolf pack enough to seize power, leaned forward abruptly.

“Talk. What’s your ulterior motive with Bart?” His steel grip ground my jawbone, hard enough to snap it

“I… have no ulterior motive. I’m a designer for Moonves. My supervisor gave me your custom order to complete. Contacting Bart was just for a client assessment.” I gasped against the pain; my voice was shattered.

Shock flickered across Lucien’s face for just a heartbeat. But in the next instant, a cruel, amused smile curled his lips.

“I’ve gotta hand it to you, Claire, you don’t waste any time.”

“What?” I looked up, bewildered.

Before I could blink, metal flashed in his hand as a wicked-sharp knife came hissing toward my face!

My body jerked back instinctively, but his iron grip on my chin,held me frozen. The blade’s icy tip grazed my lashes, flooding me with raw terror.

This wasn’t my Lucien.

“Well, how utterly desperate of you. You saw me at Moonves a few weeks ago and came running for a job? So determined to leave your mark.” When he spoke again, his voice was barely audible. “Oh, sweet, naive Claire, I’m going to return the favour tenfold.”