99 Times for Alpha's Bestie

Chapter 3 The Breaking Point

I didn't sleep all night; I couldn’t. Instead, I spent those hours cutting up every photograph of us together.

There weren’t many, I realized.

My phone was filled with pictures of Liam whenever I could sneak photos when he was distracted or busy. He was honestly an Adonis of a man. But three years together, we had exactly twenty-three pictures of us together as a couple, and only thirteen of those were just Liam and me. The remaining ten were with Breanne.

I snuck downstairs before anyone else woke up and went into Liam's office. There on the desk was a picture. It was of him and Breanne, hugging and smiling into the camera. They looked happy.

Too happy.

My inner bitter b***h was vomiting at the sight.

On the other side of the desk was a picture of the three of us.

That's right, not me and my mate. It was Breanne pressed against Liam's side, smiling up at him, and I was smiling at the camera on the other side. My arm was linked around his, and he was smiling, but for which female in the picture, your guess was as good as mine.

I took the picture out of the frame, and bent it so that I was folded to the back. There, now he had two perfect couple pictures of him and Breanne. I will simply bow out of this weird three-way relationship.

By dawn, I had already filed the official rejection agreement papers at the Council's registry office. Then I donated all the designer outfits Liam had bought me to charity.

Afterward, I drove out of the pack grounds for a few hours to pawn every piece of jewelry he'd ever given me at the local broker's.

I didn’t want it getting back to Liam, or the pack gossip mill to run rampant with their own speculations. Not yet anyway.

It was a surprisingly large chunk of money in return, one thing I knew for sure about Liam. When he was grovelling for his indifferences and mistakes, he never cheaped out on the apology jewelry.

The broker didn’t have the full amount on hand, so I opted to have it wired, which worked fine for me. I opened a new bank account and provided them with the necessary information.

I returned to the packhouse early that afternoon. I had requested that the gardener cut down the Cherry Blossom tree in the pack’s courtyard. He was ordered to burn every branch and leaf until only ashes remained.

When I agreed to mate with Liam, I had my reservations because his family didn’t support their Alpha heir accepting the bond to a wolfless orphan with average financial standings.

Liam planted the tree as a token of his pledge of devotion to us and our bond.

I fell for it, thinking it would make us stronger. But I was wrong.

By late afternoon, I had either sold, donated or destroyed every token of Liam and his devotion to me and our bond: everything but the Eclipse stone pendant.

Some legends state that the Moon Goddess herself blessed the eclipse stone to strengthen the will of the wolfless.

Call me a fool, but it still served as a sliver of proof that at some point, he did care enough to seek out the stone for me.

Now that everything was removed, it was time for me to step out and prepare everything for my new life after this month-long cooldown period ended, and I was no longer the unwanted mate of Alpha Liam Sterling.

I knew I had to be smart and figure out my path now, as I had no family to turn to once the rejection was completed.

When I was seven, my father had disappeared after a mountain climbing accident. It was speculated that rogues were involved, as they were heavy in the area at the time. My mother re-mated not long afterwards, and we became part of the Thorne family.

They were the overlords, if you will, of the Crown of Thornes Pack, rivals of The Sterling Moon pack and next door neighbours to the territory.

My mother left the Thorne family after accusations and rumours of her infidelity and gambling debts. I didn’t believe it, but it seemed that everyone else did. I had no idea where she even went. She certainly didn’t seek me out after she left that night, abandoning me.

The only person who would even be considered family at this point was Lucien Thorne.

He was my former stepbrother from my mother's second mating. However, Lucien was notorious for his short temper, and he constantly mistreated me while we lived under the same roof, so I would sooner wind up homeless than seek his help.

The heat of Liam’s black card was burning a hole in my pocket, serving as a reminder of his literal words: “Buy whatever you want and consider it as an apology.”

Okay! I will.

I went to the bank and after the teller spoke with the branch manager to confirm my approval of using the Alpha’s account for a withdrawal, yup, that's right, I held no status, so I wasn’t even recognized with authority over our marital account; I withdrew one million dollars from his account.

It was insulting and frustrating to know that Breanne can walk in here and not have as many hoops to jump through to get at my mate’s money. But that’s fine. I have already started to let go of my hold on him emotionally. My head has already done so.

As I waited for the teller to return with the funds, my phone rang.

Liyah Cruz.

She was my closest friend before I accepted the bond with Liam. Liam didn’t like her influence on me, as he put it, so over the years, our friendship became strained.

For her to be reaching out and calling me now, it had to be important.

"Liyah? What's wrong?" I answered right away.

"Oh, thank the Goddess. Claire, the International Equestrian Championships start in a month, but I just got injured during training." Liyah's voice was thick with disappointment. "Claire, you were the most talented rider we knew. I could think of no one else to take over. Could you compete in my place?"

The memories came flooding back.

Had I not mated with Liam, I might have become as renowned as Liyah in equestrian circles.

But Liam had disapproved of me riding; he often called it unladylike. He'd gone as far as going behind my back and selling my beloved white stallion, Mirage, to a good owner, cutting off my last connection to the sport.

The silence stretched until Liyah sighed. "I forgot your mate doesn't allow—"

"I'll do it," I interrupted. "One month. I'll be ready."

Liyah's excited squeal pierced through the receiver. "Really? Oh my Goddess! Everyone always said you shouldn't have given up your talent for mating! You're finally coming back to us!"

My hand trembled around the phone.

Yes, before mating into the Sterling Moon pack and Alpha family, I had shone so brightly.

Before Liam, I used to be many things. I was the university's star student—straight A's in every subject. A gifted painter, champion rider, runway model, master chef, and award-winning debater—there was nothing I couldn't excel at.

But three years of mating had eroded it all. I hadn't touched a paintbrush in years. I have forgotten how to walk a runway, and even lost my sharp tongue in arguments—forced to submit to even my mate's family and house staff.

Only my cooking skills remained polished because I have cooked for Liam every single day since the beginning of our bond acceptance.

Only now did I realize how much of myself I had sacrificed.

But it wasn't too late. I could still start over.

This was that chance to start taking my life by the reins, so to speak, and returning to the Claire that used to walk proudly with her chin held high.