99 Times for Alpha’s Bestie novel Chapter 93

After narrowly escaping a life-threatening ordeal, I felt my heart leap into my throat as I heard a knock at the door.

Holding my breath, I cautiously pressed my eye against the cold peephole.

It was Lucien.

The moment I recognized him, the tension in my body relaxed.

I quickly opened the door, joyfully exclaiming, “Lucien, what are you-”

But before I could finish, I caught sight of the sharp, menacing outline of Lucien, and the rest of my words got stuck in my throat.

“Claire, what happened?”

His cold gaze swept over my face, and as much as I wanted to shield my emotions, I was still too rattled to pull it off successfully.

“Come in, please. I don’t want to be outside right now!”

My heart raced as I instinctively grabbed Lucien’s wrist, pulling him inside and locking the door behind us.

Suppressing my anxiety, I quickly recounted the confrontation with Breanne on the walkway, and how the street light was busted to hide herself in the bush. Then the gasoline, her twisted logic, and Liam’s not-so-heroic moment.

“You seem to attract drama, don’t you. That video of you and Bart,” he fixed his gaze on me, “tell me, was it also her doing?”

I shivered under his stare and could only nod. “Yes.”

Lucien suddenly stood up, and without a word, he headed for the door.

I rushed forward to grip his arm again. “Lucien, where are you going this late?”

He violently shook me off, the force making me stumble back.

“Claire, you should understand me by now. Anyone who dares to hurt my people must pay a price.”

My heart skipped a beat, then a flicker of secret joy passed through me. Liam may not have stood up for me, but Lucien was here announcing that he would.

My efforts to show warmth had worked on him. He was starting to remember our bond together all those years ago.

He finally considered me one of his people!

I quickly lowered my head, softening my voice. “Lucien, I’m fine. Her tricks can’t hurt me. You don’t need to

“Humph!” Lucien let out a short, cold laugh. “Silly, Claire. Who told you I was talking about you?”

His icy gaze felt like it could freeze me.

“I wasn’t talking about you. I was talking about Bart. You are not now, nor will you ever be considered my people, Claire.”

I stood frozen in shock.

So he didn’t really care about me. No one apparently did.

“Oh.” The embarrassment and awkwardness tightened my throat. I tried to ease the tension. “Lucien, since you’re here, do you need me to check your injuries?”

“There is no need. You attract bad energy, I don’t need that in my life.”

His voice was firm, cutting off any chance for further discussion. With an air of lethal intent, he opened the door decisively.

Bang!

The door slammed shut behind him. A small chip crumbled to dust from my heart as he left on thosewords. Was I cursed to those around me now?

I stared at the closed door, my heart racing inexplicably.

Regardless of how he felt towards me, I had no idea what Lucien would do next, but I had a strong feeling that Breanne was about to face serious consequences.

***LIAM POV***

I dragged the hysterical Breanne back to the packhouse, utterly exhausted.

This was the last thing we needed circulating the rumour mill. It was starting to feel like Breanne was determined to destroy everything our family and pack have accomplished lately.

When had the innocent Breanne that I remembered become so twisted and deranged?

I pressed my fingers against my throbbing temples as I longed to escape this suffocating situation.

Just as I turned to leave that packhouse, my mother blocked my path, pulling me into her room.

“What on earth happened? Why did Breanne come back here looking so dishevelled and unhinged?”

I wearily shook my head and recounted briefly how Breanne had gone to Claire’s home, causing chaos with a gasoline can. I added that I had to deal with the security of the community, as one of the concerned neighbours saw the attack from their living room window. Security, after learning about the gasoline and lighter attack, tried to call the police. After paying them off for their confirmed silence, I dragged her back here, and all I wanted to do now was leave.

My mother gasped in shock, her eyes filled with disgust as she shot a glare toward Breanne’s bedroom.

“She’s completely lost it! If you hadn’t stopped her tonight, it could have been a disaster! She could’ve ended up in prison, and our pack’s reputation would be ruined!”

“And it’s still your fault!” I snapped, suppressing my anger. “Your constant pampering is the reason she’s like this! I warned you before. There’s a limit to indulgence, but you never seem to listen! Always claiming to be the perfect daughter! Now look at her.”

“Are you blaming me? You coddle her just as much! I’ll say it, it’s no wonder Claire felt jealous all the time. With the way you spoil her, no one would feel comfortable!”

“Mom, now you’re finally speaking the truth!” I shot back, “You always criticized Claire for being petty and insensitive, but it turns out you knew better than anyone! Tell me, did you encourage Breanne to do the things she did?”

My mother sighed heavily. I could see her calculating thoughts overtaking her anger.

“I thought Breanne had some cleverness, that she could climb the social ladder and help the Sterling Moon pack. But look at her now-” she paused, her tone turning cold. “Your father thinks we should give her some money and send her back to her hometown while she still has a cousin there. What do you think?”

“Send her back? Absolutely not!” I immediately rejected the idea without hesitation.

“When Breanne’s parents died, you promised to raise her until she married! Now you’re sending her back to that remote blip of a town? How will she survive? We need to find her a suitable match and mate her off to settle things.”

If Breanne settles down, Claire will definitely agree to reconcile with me.

At that moment, my mind was solely focused on mending things with Claire.

As for Breanne’s future, I no longer cared, but I also wouldn’t give up on her.

With that, I turned and walked away, ignoring my mother’s pleas.

If I couldn’t convince Claire to take me back, then I knew my family and pack would demand I take someone like Queenie Taylor.

They were one of the wealthiest elite families within our pack, and to be honest, if Claire wasn’t my Goddess-given mate, having Queenie as my Luna would strengthen our pack.

I wasn’t going to give up on Claire just yet, but it was something I should consider. Plus, if I accepted Queenie, then I could easily keep Breanne by my side always, like I had planned from the start.