Chosen by the Beast Alpha

Chapter 101: Chapter 101

Dominic’s POV

Dominic stared at the photo Lena had posted, forcing the anger in his chest back down before it exploded.

He’d thought she had gone home to sleep.

Instead, she’d gone to watch the sunrise—up on a mountain.

Who took those pictures?

Definitely not Anna. If Anna had been there, Lena would’ve posted a photo of her too. That was just how she was.

He called Lena.

The phone rang and rang. No answer.

He called again. This time, she picked up.

"Where are you?" he asked, straight to the point.

"Driving."

"With who?"

"By myself."

His jaw locked so hard it almost hurt. She was doing this on purpose. "Where are you going?"

"To work."

Then she hung up.

Dominic let out a slow breath, staring at the cold glow of the screen, lips pressed into a hard line.

He got Anna’s number from Daniel and called her.

"Hello, who is this?" Anna’s voice was soft and careful.

"This is Dominic Voss."

Silence.

Dead silence.

Then he caught the sound of quick breathing on the other end. Anna was obviously nervous. "Oh, Alpha Dominic... is something wrong?"

"Were you with Lena last night?"

Anna had already seen Lena’s reply. She tried her best to keep her tone steady. "No."

"Do you know who she’s with?"

"I think—uh, yeah, a guy."

A guy. She’d spent the whole night with some man watching the sunrise. Seriously. Amazing.

Anna cleared her throat. "I’m driving right now, so if that’s all—"

Before he could say anything back, she ended the call.

He went to Lena’s office, only for the receptionist to tell him she had the day off.

Of course she did.

Lena’s POV

Jess dropped her off outside her office building.

"I thought you were going to work?" he asked.

"I was up all night. I need sleep." She got out of the car and shut the door behind her. "Thanks."

He shook his head. "No problem."

She gave him a little wave, and he drove off.

After a quick shower, she collapsed onto her bed and did one last scroll through Instagram. The sunrise photo was popping off already, pulling in dozens of likes.

Samuel had commented: [Since when did Dominic get this good at taking pictures?]

She almost laughed. Other people might buy that, but Dominic? He’d know damn well those pictures weren’t taken by him.

She replied: [Not him.]

Samuel jumped in right away, like he’d been waiting for it. [Alright then, who was your sunrise date?]

[A handsome guy.]

Samuel’s next comment came almost instantly: [More handsome than Dominic?]

["They’re not the same kind of people."]

Lena was seriously wiped out. After trading a few more rounds with Samuel, her eyelids just couldn’t stay open anymore. She set her phone aside, switched off the light, and went to sleep.

She slept hard, but not well. Daytime sleep was always like that—shallow in the worst way. The longer she slept, the heavier her head felt.

When she woke up, she needed the bathroom. She checked the time. Only ten.

Dragging her feet, she shuffled out of the bedroom and went to the bathroom. On the way back, she yawned and glanced at the living room—then nearly jumped out of her skin.

Dominic was sitting on her couch, silent as a statue.

"When did you get here?" Just like that, all her sleepiness vanished.

He’d clearly been there for a while. He had watched her walk from the bedroom to the bathroom without saying a single word.

"You awake now?" His voice was flat, almost too calm.

She frowned. "How did you get into my place?"

"My place?" He narrowed his eyes. "It’s only been a few hours, and now I’m a stranger?"

The sunrise had cooled her down. Most of the anger from last night had already burned off on the drive up the mountain. She wasn’t about to keep punishing herself over someone else’s mess.

"Fine. You sit there. Don’t talk. Don’t make a sound." She flashed an OK sign. "Deal?"

She went back into the bedroom and held her breath, listening.

She heard him get to his feet and try the bedroom doorknob. But she had locked it.

A tiny smile tugged at her lips.

The knob rattled once more, then stopped. She waited until everything went completely quiet before lying back down.

But knowing he was right outside made sleep impossible. Her phone lit up. A text from Dominic.

["Get some rest. I’m going to the medical center. I’ll pick you up this afternoon."]

Theodore. Medical center. The accident.

No matter what was going on between her and Dominic, his father was lying in a recovery room right now. She should go see him.

Lena got out of bed and pulled the door open.

He was still standing in the hallway.

"Wait for me."

She changed clothes fast, then came back out.

"I want to see your father."

Dominic said nothing. The two of them left together.

Inside the elevator, he didn’t ask who she had watched the sunrise with. She didn’t bring up Eliza either.

They were both calm, or at least doing their absolute best to look calm. Careful. Deliberate. Like one wrong word would blow everything up.

"I should bring something." She didn’t want to show up empty-handed. "Maybe a bouquet."

The second she said flowers, Eliza’s face flashed through her mind. Her flower shop. Her arrangements. That whole polished, tasteful vibe of hers.

So annoying. Flowers were supposed to be beautiful. They really didn’t deserve to be ruined by that kind of association.

"Actually, maybe we should just get some fruit instead."

Dominic carried the fruit basket while Lena followed him into the medical center and down the long hallway.

He knocked on the recovery room door, then they stepped inside.

The first thing Lena noticed was the elegant bouquet on the bedside table, carefully arranged with obvious professional skill. It screamed good taste, and not in a subtle way.

Her jaw tightened.

Eliza was sitting on the sofa. When they entered, she turned to look at them.

She had probably seen Samuel’s comment on Instagram and Lena’s reply, and guessed something had gone sideways between Lena and Dominic.

"How’s Dad doing?" Dominic asked as he set the basket down.

"Much better." Celeste glanced at the fruit. "You really didn’t have to bring this much."

"Lena insisted we couldn’t show up empty-handed."

Celeste looked over at Lena and curled her fingers, beckoning her closer. "Come here, sweetheart. You’re family. No need to be so formal."

"That’s exactly why I’m not being formal." Lena dropped down beside Celeste and looped an arm through hers. The warmth between them was real, easy, not forced for show.

Eliza sat alone on the other couch, completely left out.

The therapist’s assistant came in to change Theodore’s dressing.

Lena sneezed. Then again. A sharp itch flared in her nose almost instantly.

"What is it? Are you catching a cold?" Celeste asked, concern showing at once as she rested a hand on Lena’s arm.

Lena shook her head. She was just about to answer when another sneeze hit her.

The assistant glanced at her, then at the flowers on the table. "Could be pollen. Are you allergic to any flowers?"

Lena sniffed and rubbed her nose lightly. "Gardenias. It’s not severe, but yeah, I’m mildly allergic."

"That bouquet has gardenias in it." The staff member nodded toward the flowers.

Eliza’s expression shifted.

It was tiny. Barely there. But Lena still caught it.

She really hadn’t done it on purpose. The allergy was real. A few years ago, Anna had brought gardenias into the house, and Lena had sneezed nonstop for nearly an hour before figuring out what the problem was.

"Could you take the flowers out when you leave?" Celeste said to the assistant. "Thank you."

"Of course." The assistant finished changing the medicated dressing, then picked up the bouquet with a polite smile and carried it out.

Eliza’s flowers were taken away right in front of her.

Her face stayed composed, almost impressively so, but Lena could see the tension in her jaw. In front of everyone, her gift had been removed like it was some unnecessary extra clutter. That kind of public embarrassment? Yeah, no one could just brush that off like it was nothing.

The door opened again.

Samuel and Daniel walked in.

They had come to see Theodore. Samuel asked the usual polite questions, all standard concern and good manners. Daniel stood straight and proper beside him. After a few minutes of greetings, Celeste lifted a hand and motioned for the younger ones to head out.

"I want you to take everyone out for lunch," she said to Dominic. "You, Lena, Samuel, Daniel, and Eliza. Make sure you properly thank them for coming."

"Got it." Dominic gave a short nod.

Theodore reminded them not to visit him every single day. What he needed most right now was peace and quiet.

Out in the hallway, Samuel’s eyes were practically packed with questions he hadn’t asked yet.

He turned toward Lena—

"Don’t." Dominic cut him off before he could even start.

Samuel looked genuinely wounded. "Seriously? I can’t talk now?"

"No."

"Wow. That’s straight-up dictatorship." Samuel moved to Lena’s side and gave her a loaded little nod. "Right?"

Lena nodded back with solemn seriousness.

Dominic shot her a glance. She pretended not to notice a thing.

They headed for the exit, with Samuel falling into step beside her. "By the way, where was that sunrise spot? I kinda want to go check it out sometime."

"It’s up in the hills nearby. I didn’t really pay attention to the exact route, but I can ask."

"Ask who?" Samuel’s smile turned sly.

"The person who drove me."

"A man." Samuel nodded slowly, like he was savoring the word on purpose. "Honestly, I’d rather have a woman take me there. Better vibes, you know? Ha."

"Alpha Samuel, your taste is truly unmatched."

The two of them were having way too much fun, while Dominic walked ahead like they didn’t even exist.

Eliza caught every single word they said. Every so often, her gaze flicked to Dominic’s face, quietly trying to read his mood.

Then she quickened her pace and went to walk beside him, leaving Lena and Samuel behind.

"I didn’t know Lena was allergic to gardenias," she said softly, her voice low, but still just loud enough for Lena to hear. "If I had known, I never would’ve brought them."

Dominic reached the car and turned around. "Hurry up," he called, looking straight past Eliza and directly at Lena.

Lena gave him a sweet, almost innocent smile. "I’m riding with Samuel."

Samuel’s grin widened on the spot.

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