99 Times for Alpha's Bestie

Chapter 7 Divorce Is Not an Option

The person desperately calling my name and shaking my arm was Liyah. I would recognize that voice anywhere.

We’ve been best friends since I was just entering my double digits and my mother mated into the Crown of Thornes pack.

Liyah was the old Beta’s daughter, but unlike Breanne, Liyah wasn’t an absolute title-hungry, mate-stealing monster. She was a firecracker, but kind. She balanced it well, which is why she and I became best friends quickly.

When I opened my eyes, I found Liyah in tears.

"Claire-bear! You're awake!" Liyah cried, immediately bursting into fresh sobs. "I thought I was going to lose you. Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant? I never would've asked you to compete for me!"

My hand subconsciously drifted to my tender abdomen as reality crashed over me.

The tears came then, hot and unstoppable.

My pup was gone. Breanne was the cause for me to lose my and my mate's pup, yet the last I saw of him was his back turned to me as he carried the murderer of his heir away lovingly.

"Talk to me, Claire. What do you need? Are you in any pain? I can call someone to come and give you something for it. Please, talk to me." Liyah fumbled for tissues, dabbing at my face. "The doctor said you need complete bed rest for a week. Don't worry about the pup. You're young, you'll have others. Just focus on healing now."

I knew she was trying to reassure me; but nothing could.

I nodded mutely as my eyes scanned the empty room—there were no signs of Liam.

The nurses had mentioned a tall, indifferent man—could that have been him? Unlikely him. If he and his wolf entered and found their mate in this condition, the bond would have bound them here on instinct. So, who was the mysterious and cold man the nurses said brought me in, ultimately saving my life?

"Where is he?" I whispered.

He didn’t come back. He didn’t save me, but I needed it confirmed. I needed to hear the painful words to know that this was confirmed dead and buried.

I watched as Liyah hesitated. She gnawed nervously on her bottom lip.

"You mean Liam? I called him as soon as we arrived, but he said he'd come when he finished some business and couldn’t make it. Before I could ask, he hung up."

The confirmation struck like a physical blow. I clutched my chest as pain radiated through me.

There it was.

This was why the Goddess chose to take my pup, and it was because Liam and I were never meant to be together. That pup would have bound us for eighteen years. I would have pushed aside everything, including my happiness, for my pup.

It’s what you did in Wolfen cultures. Pups need their fathers, and many accept less over leaving when they are in unhealthy bonds. It was a sad reality, and I realized I narrowly missed it for myself.

A nurse entered, pushing a wheelchair and wearing a friendly smile. "Room 12, we're taking you for chest X-rays now."

Room 12? Not even in one of the Luna rooms. That was yet another confirmation of my role and place in the hierarchy.

As Liyah helped transfer me to the wheelchair, we passed a partially open door where a familiar cough made me stiffen.

That delicate, affected cough belonged unmistakably to Breanne.

I saw the name plaque on the door. “The Luna’s Room #1”

This was where the mate of the Alpha should be, yet I was at the furthest wing of the hospital in a standard hospital room. Because this was shared and neutral territory, there were three Luna assigned hospital rooms in total, yet I couldn’t acquire one of them as Liam’s forgotten mate.

It wasn't as though I was demanding special treatment, but it was a message that was being seen and understood by others.

Breanne was the one to be respected, and I, his true mate, was the one pushed aside.

I signalled Liyah to stop pushing the wheelchair.

Through the gap in the doorway, Breanne's voice carried clearly.

"Liam, isn't Claire hospitalized too? Why are you still here? You should go and check on her; she is your true mate. What would the pack think if they learned you were fussing over me and ignoring her?”

"Bree-Bree, why would I leave you when you're so hurt? Claire just has minor injuries. You’re wounds are more important and need tending to. Claire and the pack will understand my decision." Liam rushed out.

With that, Breanne giggled happily and sighed almost dreamily. "You're the best friend ever! I hope my future mate is half as wonderful as you!"

Stephanie's nasal tones chimed in. "Honestly, with all her tantrums, you would have been better off rejecting that wolfless disappointment before the mating agreement was signed."

"Mother, please. I agree that this time she went too far, but do not interfere with my mate bond. She needs to learn the consequences of hurting my Bree-Bree. I will ensure that, myself." Liam said coldly.

"And now she is making up these ridiculous pregnancy lies! With her irregular cycles? Anyone who believes such blatant lies is utterly pathetic!" Stephanie scoffed.

"What? She claimed to be pregnant? How ridiculous! She's so thin there's no way—" Breanne paused and then started to whimper. “She is making up these lies to convince the pack that I should be sent away again. Liam, you’re not going to banish me, are you?”

My eyes closed. I knew it. I called it. She was working overtime to discredit me to Liam, and it was working.

“Shhh, it’s okay, sweetheart. You and I have been best friends since the beginning. I was naive to send you away last time, especially over a dumb mistake. You will never go anywhere without me again. I promise.” Liam cooed gently.

My knuckles whitened against the wheelchair arms and I saw Liyah’s jaw drop to the floor at the words coming from my destined mate's mouth.

She had no idea what I was dealing with in my mate bond, but she was starting to understand the degree of it now.

Liyah bristled, ready to storm in, but I caught her sleeve with a shake of my head.

I was done fighting for something that wasn’t appreciated by the other party involved.

It took me three years to finally see the truth and Liam’s true colours, but I was here now. I realized I had to leave. I suspected that the Goddess was simply waiting for me to make my own decision. Only then would punishment be decided for the offensive Alpha and pack. A Luna is the heart of the pack; she is the earthly representation of the Goddess herself on earth—the nurturer and balance to the pack and Alpha.

By delaying my role, they were, by extension, denying her blessings.

I was twenty-seven, and realizing my next moves now, I knew I still had time to rebuild—there was no need to waste another moment on this undeserving pack and Alpha.

Back in my room, I dozed while Liyah scrolled through her phone. Her sudden, terrified gasp drew my attention, pulling me from my light nap.

"Goddess, people are monsters! Who tortures an old horse like this? Whipping it, then dripping hot wax on its back—"

I don’t know why, but something told me to look when Liyah used the term Old Horse. Something in my belly swirled with dread.

I grabbed Liyah's phone so abruptly that it startled her. "Claire! What the hell?"

I didn't answer. My gaze locked onto the screen, my breath coming in shallow gasps as I took in the horrific footage—a scarred white stallion being whipped, its back burned with dripping wax.

Then I saw it—that distinctive patch of light brown hair on its forehead.

Every hair on my body stood on end.

I was out of bed before I could think, my legs buckling instantly. I barely made it three steps before collapsing quickly to my knees, and my vision was swimming.

Liyah caught me just before I hit the floor. "Goddess, Claire! What's gotten into you? You're supposed to be resting!"

I struggled to my feet, swaying dangerously. "I need to find Liam. That horse—it's Mirage."

Liyah's face went slack with shock. No one understood what Mirage meant to me better than she did.

She was there when the Thornes gifted him to me, and watched me fall in love with riding. Mirage was a wild stallion when he came, but like with many wild beasts, I had a calming effect on him instantly. We bonded and became one that day.

"They did this to Mirage?" Liyah's voice dropped to a furious whisper. "Oh, we're going to ruin them."