Chosen by the Beast Alpha

Chapter 102: Chapter 102

Eliza’s POV

Dominic narrowed his eyes, but Lena didn’t care in the slightest. She pulled open Samuel’s car door and slid right in.

I caught the opening at once. "Dominic, I didn’t drive. Mind if I ride with you?"

He didn’t say no, but his gaze stayed glued to Lena the whole time. He watched her get into the passenger seat of Samuel’s car, and only then did he turn and get into his own.

I slipped into the front seat immediately. I had to make this chance count.

Daniel showed up by the driver’s window and tapped on the glass. "Alpha, I’ll drive."

Without a word, Dominic got out, then moved to the back seat. I reached for my seat belt, about to unbuckle and move to the back with him.

But Daniel started the engine first. "Miss Vane, please stay seated."

I turned and glanced at Dominic. His face looked carved out of ice. I’d bet anything that if I said one wrong word right now, he’d tell me to get out.

Ever since Lena showed up, he hadn’t given me even a shred of softness.

My hand stopped on the seat belt buckle.

The car pulled away. Dominic stared out the window, and the silence inside was so heavy it almost made it hard to breathe.

I looked at his reflection in the glass. He was furious, and this was all because of Lena. Just because of an omega.

I still couldn’t wrap my head around it. Lena had no bloodline worth mentioning, no rank in any pack, no powerful family name to clear the road for her.

She was pretty, sure, I could admit that. But pretty girls were everywhere.

So what exactly did she have that I didn’t? And yet the one wearing his ring now was her.

She was the one sleeping in Dominic’s bed. She was the "family" Celeste talked about.

Damn it... why her?

Lena’s POV

Samuel’s car followed behind Daniel’s. I kept staring at the car in front of us, rolling my eyes every few seconds.

"Did you really go watch the sunrise with another guy?" Samuel asked.

"Yep."

"Dominic is losing his mind over it." Samuel looked way too entertained. "Seriously, I’ve never seen him this mad."

"He’s got his old flame keeping him company, so what exactly is he mad about?" Lena shot back, her voice edged with sarcasm.

Samuel glanced at her. "You jealous?"

"Obviously." She didn’t even try to hide it. "He’s my mate. But his ex keeps showing up every other day, and he never stops her. What, am I supposed to act like I don’t see it?"

"Fair point."

Lena took a deep breath, but the tightness in her chest didn’t ease. "He told me things with Eliza aren’t what I think they are. So what does that even mean? If it’s really that innocent, why can’t he just explain it clearly?"

Samuel pushed up his glasses. "He actually said that?"

"Word for word. So were they ever really together or not?"

"They were." Samuel paused, choosing his words carefully. "Sort of."

"Sort of?"

"The truth is, they were never officially together. It was more like... a relationship without a title." Samuel spoke slowly, like he was trying not to step on a landmine. "But whenever she needed anything, he was there. I wouldn’t call it love, but I wouldn’t call it nothing either."

"So she was different." Lena got it right away.

Samuel nodded. "More or less."

"And you, his best friend for all these years, don’t know why?"

"Nope." Samuel shrugged. "His heart’s like a locked vault."

That, Lena couldn’t argue with.

The car rolled to a stop. Dominic got out first and stood there, staring at Samuel’s car with a patience that somehow felt more intimidating than anger. Lena and Samuel climbed out together.

"You should probably go over there," Samuel muttered under his breath. "With that look on his face? Not gonna lie, even I’m nervous."

She walked right up to Dominic and stopped in front of him. "Kiss me, and I’ll forgive you."

He frowned, like he seriously thought he’d misheard her.

Samuel, unable to hold back, leaned in and planted a kiss on Dominic first. "Kiss her! Kiss her! Happy mate, happy life! Come on, man, hurry up!"

Even Daniel—his usually stern, quiet beta—was smiling now.

Behind them, Eliza stood there watching the whole thing.

"Say that again." Dominic’s voice was cold enough to frost glass.

Lena stepped one pace closer. "I said, kiss me, and I’ll forgive you."

"Forgive me for what?" He narrowed his eyes. "Shouldn’t you be the one explaining yourself?"

"Oh, so that’s what you mean? I’m supposed to ask for your forgiveness?" She gave a small nod, like she’d gotten the message. "Fine."

He lifted his chin, arrogant as ever.

Lena tilted her head, then turned back with a bright grin. She raised both hands, cupped his face, went up on her toes, and kissed him hard.

She stayed there for a beat before finally pulling away.

Then she arched a brow. "I kissed you. Do I still need to explain?"

Samuel burst into applause. "No explanation needed! Can we eat now? If this keeps going, I’m gonna die from a sugar overload."

Daniel pressed his lips together, trying his best not to laugh.

Eliza’s mouth had gone stiff as a drawn line. She couldn’t smile, couldn’t speak, could barely even breathe.

Dominic’s anger deflated on the spot, like a balloon with the air let out. One kiss and he was done for, totally disarmed. Honestly, he was ridiculously easy to soothe.

"Let’s eat." Lena linked her arm with his. "I’m starving."

At that point, he had nothing left to fight with. He simply let her pull him toward the dining room.

Eliza hesitated, unsure whether to follow.

"Eliza, keep up!" Samuel Clarke called over his shoulder. Then he raised his voice and added, "Hey, you two hosts, maybe try taking care of your guest?"

Lena Foster liked Samuel. Out of everyone there, he was the only one who always seemed to know exactly what to say.

She slowed and waited for Eliza. "Sorry, we’ve been a little busy. Kind of forgot you were here."

Eliza forced out a smile, and it looked painfully fake. "It’s fine. We’re all friends. No need to make a big deal out of me."

"Perfect." Lena gave Dominic Voss’s arm a light squeeze and leaned against his shoulder. "Babe, your friends are seriously sweet."

He glanced at her. He knew she was putting on a show, obviously. Still, he let her do it.

For the rest of the meal, Lena kept all her focus on Dominic. He was attentive in that quiet, low-key way of his, always leaning in toward her, reacting to things that honestly weren’t even that funny.

He wasn’t as lively as she was—he was still Dominic, still wearing that unreadable expression like usual—but he still filled her plate. He peeled shrimp for her too, and whenever her glass got low, he topped it off without being asked.

She chatted with Samuel, Dominic chimed in now and then, and Daniel was weirdly talkative today.

Eliza tried three different times to join the conversation. Every single time, she got shut out.

Lena noticed. She just didn’t do anything about it. Eliza sat on the far side of the table, too far away to feel any of the warmth on their end. By herself. Looking almost pathetic. If Lena had been the sympathetic type, she might’ve felt bad for her.

But she wasn’t.

If Eliza had been a decent person, Samuel wouldn’t have iced her out, and Daniel wouldn’t have acted like she barely existed. No one at that table wanted to talk to her, and that said everything about how disgusted they were by what she had done to Dominic.

When the curse was eating him alive, she had walked away.

His people were never going to forget that.

Near the end of dinner, Lena excused herself and said she needed the restroom. She was washing her hands when Eliza stepped out of one of the stalls.

They stood side by side at the sinks. Lena finished rinsing off, flicked the water from her fingers, grabbed a paper towel, and turned to leave.

"Lena."

She stopped.

In the mirror, Eliza looked straight at her. "I know you don’t want to hear this, but I’m saying it anyway."

"Even if you’re Dominic’s mate right now, it’s temporary." She smiled. "You really think you’ve won?"

Lena let out a soft little laugh. "You said it yourself—right now, I’m his partner. Right now is what matters. And right now, I’m ahead of you."

The smile on Eliza’s face froze. She shut off the faucet, flicked the water from her hands, then turned to face Lena head-on.

"You and Dominic won’t last," she said, her voice tight. "If I can’t have him, you won’t keep him either."

"That’s not your problem." Lena gave a casual shrug, calm as ever. "And let me fix one thing you said. You never had him. I do. Even if the agreement ends tomorrow, I’ll still be someone who was once his partner. My name will stay in his memory forever. That doesn’t go away."

Eliza’s smile dropped completely.

Lena sighed, sounding almost tired now. "Seriously, Eliza, this is pointless. All you’re doing is burning through whatever tiny bit of goodwill Dominic still has left for you. If I were you, I’d back off and keep some distance. People usually miss what they don’t see every day. But if you keep shoving yourself in someone’s face nonstop, you stop mattering. You just become annoying."

She looked straight at her, eyes steady and sharp. "Haven’t you noticed? No one at that table wanted to talk to you. Maybe you should really think about why."

Eliza’s fists clenched so hard her knuckles nearly went white.

Lena said nothing about the Alpha Heirs Club, nothing about the Instagram post aimed at her, and nothing about the lie Eliza had told Dominic about Reid Calloway’s mother.

She had originally planned to leave it there. That was already more mercy than Eliza deserved.

When they returned to the table, Eliza came back less than a minute after Lena. Her eyes were swollen and red. She had obviously been crying.

No one asked.

No one cared.

After dinner, Dominic went to pay the bill. Eliza stood near the entrance, lightly dabbing at the corners of her eyes with her fingertips.

Lena walked over to the front desk, pulled a tissue from the box, and handed it to her. "Your eyes keep getting red. I’ve noticed it a few times already. You should probably see a doctor. Could be allergies or something."

Eliza stared at her, her expression ugly and stiff.

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