99 Times for Alpha’s Bestie novel Chapter 91

BREANNE POV

“Luna, is this pressure good? You really need to take better care of yourself!”

In Luna Stephanie’s private, Luna suite, I diligently massaged Luna’s shoulders as she reclined.

“That spot on the right still hurts. Massage a bit more,” Luna Stephanie instructed, clearly enjoying the attention.

“Sure thing!” I replied, then switched topics. “Luna, did you see that video online? Claire is really going all out. She is now apparently getting cozy with some old man for money!”

“An old man?” Luna Stephanie perked up. “How scandalous, let me check!”

I seized the opportunity, handing over my phone.

Luna Stephanie clicked her tongue in disgust.

“That older man looks like he’s older than even Henry! Let’s see Henry now, and give him a heads-up about this latest scandal surrounding us! He was trying to convince Liam to reclaim her as his mate to restore their reputation. Surely, he will drop that nonsense now after seeing this!”

“Reclaiming Claire?”

Luna Stephanie had kept such a huge secret from me without a word until now.

It seemed Luna, who had always shared everything with me, was starting to guard herself.

Suppressing my anger, I followed Luna Stephanie to the Alpha’s office on the main floor.

As soon as we entered, Luna exclaimed, “Honey, look! Claire is making a fool of herself, getting involved with that older man and making it public! Should we publicly banish and denounce our relationship to her as a pack?”

Alpha Henry, sitting at his desk, looked furious. But I noticed that his gaze shot past his mate, piercing straight at me.

Bang!

He slammed the table, startling both of us.

“What a mess you’ve made!” He pointed at me, his finger trembling with rage.

Confused, I braved a response. “Alpha, what did I do?”

Luna Stephanie took a step forward to defend me. “I’m saying Claire is the one being shameless. What does that have to do with Breanne?”

“It has nothing to do with her?” Alpha Henry’s eyes blazed with fury. “Then I think you two should check online! The Sterling Moon pack’s reputation has been built over a hundred years. If your actions tarnish it again, I’ll banish you from the pack and send you back home!”

His words hit me like a bombshell.

Since I was brought here at three, I had never considered returning to that small town.

My parents were the Alpha and Luna’s Beta pair. When rogues attacked, I was only three and sent to stay with my aunt and cousins. But my parents died, and out of respect, Alpha Henry and Luna Stephanie have taken care of me ever since.

Alpha Henry couldn’t possibly be genuinely considering banishing me from the pack and sending me into that unprotected, rogue existence.

Luna Staphanie quickly opened her phone. In the video stream, a new clarification video appeared. It was pinned to the top trending, above the one I posted.

In it, Claire calmly explained the situation.

Then, both Luna and I were shocked to see Queenie, trembling as she held a piece of paper, clarifying that while she indeed filmed the video, the truth was different.

The older man that she portrayed as Claire’s sugar-daddy was actually a major client of the company. She stated that Claire was a respectable designer and that the posted doctored film should not be used to harm Claire’s reputation as a woman or professional. She was an innocent victim, wrongly portrayed.

Queenie then offered an earnest apology in the video.

Suddenly, the tone of the video shifted dramatically, revealing several chat logs and recorded calls.

At first, I didn’t think much of it, but as the content played, my face rapidly drained of colour.

It felt like a massive scandal had been exposed to the public.

I felt electrified and lunged forward, snatching Luna Stephanie’s phone in panic.

“Luna! Claire and Queenie must be trying to frame me! Chat logs can be faked! Recordings can be imitated with Al, too!” I vehemently denied it.

“Breanne! You’ve disappointed me! Now, get out!”

Luna Stephanie dragged me out of Alpha’s office, almost fleeing.

Back in my room, she immediately turned on me.

“Breanne! Can you think before you act? At least discuss things with me first! Look at you, repeatedly getting petty with your schemes against Claire, but always failing!”

I froze, my nails digging into my palms.

Why was I continuously failing at every attempt?

It seemed Claire had some kind of cheat code, effortlessly overcoming every obstacle, as if aided by divine intervention.

“I’m sorry, Luna. I didn’t expect Queenie to betray me like that. She doesn’t deserve Liam. You must see that now! I think-”

“Shut up!” Luna Stephanie’s disdain was evident. “No matter how unworthy Queenie is, she’s still better than you! Do you think I’m unaware of your greedy intentions? You’d better get over this delusion of being Luna of the Sterling Moon pack quickly, Breanne! You and Liam are absolutely impossible to be together! The best you could ever hope for is to be his official council-approved mistress. You are not leading lady material!”

With that piercing remark, Luna Stephanie stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

In this moment, I froze.

I realized now that Luna Stephanie had known about my affection for Liam, and she used me to separate Liam and Claire to get what she wanted, which was a Luna of her choosing.

I thought Luna cared for me, but had she just been pretending for all these years?

When it came to Liam, he went against his parents’ orders and accepted his true mate, Claire. Luna Stephanie encouraged me to be a close best friend to him during those adjusting moments, as she called them.

That was why, even when Liam brought Claire home, Luna had paid no heed to my involvement. I was already filling the role of mistress, without realizing I would never be considered anything more than that.

It turned out that as long as it wasn’t me, Luna Stephanie could accept any she-wolf to take over the title of Luna!

A chilling wave swept over me.

I stumbled a few steps, nearly losing my balance, and collapsed onto the bed.

In that moment, I felt that the biggest joke in the entire pack was never Claire.

It was me!

I had thought of myself as part of the Sterling Alpha family.

I had mistakenly believed that Alpha Henry and Luna Stephanie truly considered me their daughter already.

I am such a fool!

I screamed in despair inside. But I refused to accept this!

I should have been considered as Luna material, and would have if Liam wasn’t distracted.

It was all Claire’s fault!

Fueled by burning rage, I burst out the door, driving my car like an arrow aimed straight at the gated community I now knew Claire lived in..

I only found out because I followed Liam one day and saw Claire and him arguing on the sidewalk; then they both walked into side-by-side unit doors. They were neighbours!

On the way, I stopped at a gas station and bought an emergency jerry can, filling it with gasoline.

As night fell, I stealthily slipped into Claire’s gated community as a visitor, hiding in the dark hallway, quietly waiting for Claire to arrive finally.

Claire ruined my reputation to save face? Fine! I will destroy her face permanently!