Chosen by the Beast Alpha

Chapter 12: Chapter 12

Dominic’s POV

I spent the whole night in my study, staring at the untouched whiskey like it might magically solve my mess of a life. Close to midnight, I caught the sound of Lena crying in the room next door. Her voice was raw, cracking, like she was barely holding herself together.

My wolf roared to life. "Go to her. Now!"

I clenched the armrest so hard the leather groaned. "No."

"She’s hurting. Our mate is hurting."

"She has nothing to do with us."

"You’re a liar. And a coward."

Coward.

That word hit me dead center in the chest, hard enough that I forgot how to breathe for a second. Because someone had thrown it in my face before. No matter how much whiskey I drowned myself in, I could never scrub away her face.

Eliza.

I told her everything. The curse, the deadline, the beast inside me. Told her she might be the only one who could pull me back from the edge. She sat right across from me—right here in this same study—watching the fire burn down to nothing. When she finally lifted her head, the she-wolf I loved was gone. What met my eyes was nothing but disgust. Cold, sharp, honest disgust.

"You’re defective, Dominic. A cursed monster who needs a woman to save him. You’re a coward!"

Then she walked out. Told me never to speak to her again. Said if I dared come after her, she’d expose everything. So I didn’t look for her. She vanished, but somehow still managed to haunt every damn corner of this tower.

After that, I made my choice. A clean one. If no one could ever accept what I am, then I’d just let the curse run its course.

Before the beast took over completely, before I turned into something that would slaughter my own pack, I had planned to ask my father to kill me. But I hadn’t told him yet.

I knew it would break him. And it would destroy my mother. So I played along for the time being, pretending I was still trying. One she-wolf after another—wolves my parents paid for, their last hope. I let them see the real me. And every time, without fail, they fell apart. Screaming, fainting, sometimes worse.

My pack made sure their families were compensated. Money for silence, and no one blamed me. They only whispered that their Alpha heir was a monster who couldn’t control his wolf.

And they weren’t wrong.

I had my plan. I had my timeline. I’d accepted death. I figured I’d tell my father a month before my thirtieth birthday. Enough time for him to prepare, not enough for him to argue.

And then everything shifted.

Lena walked into my life, and from the second she stepped through that door, I knew—she was nothing like the others.

I shifted right in front of her, letting the killing intent pour out, baring my teeth like I was ready to tear something apart. I waited for the scream, waited for that kind of complete breakdown, the reaction every she-wolf before her had shown the moment they saw me.

But there wasn’t even a flicker of fear in her eyes.

I told her to take off her clothes, my voice as cold as a blade. She obeyed, trembling so hard her fingers fumbled uselessly, as if she couldn’t work a single button or zipper. Her heartbeat was terrifyingly fast, thundering loud enough to crash straight into my ears. But her eyes... still held not a trace of fear.

She wanted me. As much as I wanted her.

But I still shoved her away. I threw out some cold, ugly words and told her to get out. Because I was terrified. Eliza had been just as steady, just as stubborn. But when I laid the truth bare, she shattered faster than anyone, turned her back on me like I was some monster that should never have existed.

I tried everything to make Lena run. Cruel words, violence, that contract no one in their right mind should ever sign. She didn’t even blink—just wrote her name.

I slammed her against the wall, my hand clamped around her throat. She grabbed a fruit plate in return, but then handed it right back to me. I said she was nothing. She glared up and shot back, "Try me."

She was harder than Eliza, angrier than her too. She took every bit of cruelty I threw and hurled it right back. And she kept trying to help me.

I thought all of this had something to do with her father, that she offered herself up for the sake of his pack.

Then today hit me like a brick. She screamed at me through tears, her voice cracking, telling me her father had broken her ribs before. More than once. She came here because she truly had nowhere else to go.

I wanted to know more, but she shut me out. Said she was just a breeding tool. Told me to leave.

And now Lena’s crying is only getting louder.

My wolf roared, slamming itself against my ribs. "Dominic, she’s the only one we want! She needs you—go! Now! Or I’ll take over!"

My legs moved before my brain did, carrying me straight into the bedroom.

In the dark, I saw her. Tangled in blankets, soaked in sweat, whispering in a broken struggle, "Mom... why didn’t you take me with you..."

My stomach twisted so hard I nearly doubled over.

I sat on the edge of the bed, my hand brushing her forehead. She was burning up, drenched like she’d just been out in the rain. I gently pushed her hair away from her face, avoiding the bruises.

She sobbed softly, instinctively curling toward me. I pressed a clumsy kiss to the tear-tracks on her cheek—the gentlest comfort I knew how to give.

"Don’t cry..." I whispered, my voice rough like it had been scraped raw.

She slowly quieted. Her breathing steadied, her shoulders eased. Her hand found my sleeve and held on tight.

Then she fell back into deep sleep.

I stayed longer than I should have. Once I was sure Lena was fully asleep, I carefully slipped out of her arms, stood up, and left the room without making a sound.

I needed something to hit, something that wouldn’t break under me. The training grounds were empty except for Daniel, who was already there throwing punches at a practice dummy.

He saw me and straightened up. "You seriously dragged me out here at this hour?"

I didn’t respond. I closed the distance in a few strides and swung a fist straight at his head.

He blocked the first hit, but the force still sent him skidding back and crashing to the ground. I didn’t give him a second to recover. Right cross, left hook, a spinning elbow aimed at his jaw. He stumbled but managed to steady himself.

"What the hell, Dominic?" he spat out blood, wiping his mouth. "What happened?"

He dodged my next strike and countered with a punch to my stomach. I didn’t budge. "Everything’s a mess."

He grabbed my wrist, twisted, and used my momentum to throw me aside. "A mess how? Good mess or bad mess?"

I shook my head. Sweat and dirt stung my eyes. "I don’t know."

He lowered his guard, studying my face. Then something clicked in his expression. "This is about Lena."

I didn’t say a word, which was basically the same as admitting it.

Daniel exhaled sharply through his nose. He dropped his stance completely, blood still dripping from his lip.

"You know, Dominic, I’ve known you forever. I saw what Eliza did to you. After she left, I watched you shut yourself off piece by piece. And now I’m watching you kill this thing with Lena before it even starts, just because you’re convinced it’ll end the same way."

I kept my face cold and attacked harder, faster.

He dodged and pointed at me. "Listen to me. She’s not Eliza. That girl walked into your tower, saw you at your absolute worst, and still stayed. She was beaten half to death, and the first thing she did was refuse to leave. Ever since she arrived, your wolf has been losing its mind. Stop fighting it. Give her a real chance."

I lunged at him with everything I had. He charged right back, and we slammed into each other. My chest burned with anger, confusion, and something else—something I refused to call hope.

I drove my knee into his ribs and pinned him to the ground, his shoulders pressed into the dirt. We were both panting, covered in sweat and grime.

"I need you to do something." My voice came out rough. "Dig into Lena’s past. Everything. Her time in the Blueridge Pack, her father’s pack, her childhood. I want it on my desk in a week."

Daniel lifted his head, bruised and bloody, and grinned up at me.

"So that means you’re in. You’re giving her a chance."

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!