Chosen by the Beast Alpha

Chapter 122: Chapter 122

Lena’s POV

She let out a small scoff. "Maybe I just wasn’t good enough."

"If that’s true, then it says a lot about how long that company’s going to last." Dominic picked up a chicken wing and took a bite.

He’d never really eaten stuff like this before, but after the first bite, he just kept going. "If they can’t recognize talent, they can’t run a business. Sooner or later, they’ll crash."

Dominic wasn’t like Anna, sitting beside her and trash-talking her former boss with her. He only said a few calm, matter-of-fact words.

And somehow, that worked better. The knot sitting in her chest loosened, just like that.

Once her mood lifted, the food on the table suddenly looked like way too much.

"Should we ask Samuel and Daniel to come over?" she texted Anna to see if she was free.

"When you’re in a better mood, shouldn’t you be eating more instead?" Dominic caught the shift in her almost right away.

She shook her head. "I just suddenly felt like cooking."

"Felt like it?" His eyes locked onto her.

She was about to nod, then it hit her what that sounded like. Heat rushed to her cheeks. She shot him a glare. "Cooking. I felt like cooking."

"That’s what I said." Without changing expression, he took out his phone and texted Samuel. "Nothing else."

Yeah, she did not buy that for a second.

After sending the message, he looked back at her. "Are you the one thinking weird things now?"

She glared harder, cheeks puffing up a little.

She used to tease him all the time. She’d push his buttons on purpose, say things just to see how he’d react.

Back then, she knew he wouldn’t hit back. He was too restrained, too composed, so she could get away with whatever she wanted.

Now? Totally different story. If she poked at him, he’d fire back without mercy—and he definitely wouldn’t stop there.

Once the dinner invite went out, everyone showed up.

Samuel and Daniel came in together, and Anna showed up a few minutes later.

The second Anna saw the dining table, her eyes went wide. Like, actually wide.

"I had no idea you could cook this well." Samuel looked genuinely impressed. He rubbed his hands together and immediately reached for a chicken wing.

Dominic only said one word. "Thanks."

Samuel had already lifted the wing to his mouth, but then he paused and looked up. "Wait. What does this mean? This isn’t some last supper situation, right?"

"...Shut up."

Anna turned to Lena. "What’s going on? Did you win the lottery or something?"

"No."

"Then why did you make this much food?"

Anna knew Lena could cook. She also knew Lena only bothered doing it when she was in a good mood and had plenty of time on her hands.

Lena let out a long breath, then looked at the table with a faint smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. "I got fired."

Samuel still had a chicken wing in his mouth when he froze and looked up at her.

Daniel’s fork stopped halfway to his plate.

Anna frowned on the spot. "Is your boss insane?"

"What did they do about severance?" Samuel’s face changed instantly, all joking gone. "Show me your employment contract. I’ll make sure you get every cent you’re owed."

Lena couldn’t help laughing a little. "Relax. The severance is fine. They didn’t short me. I don’t need you stepping in."

"Then what are you going to do?" Anna didn’t sound worried that Lena wouldn’t find another job. She knew exactly how capable Lena was.

"No plan." Lena shrugged, trying to sound casual. "I’m going to take a break first. When I feel ready, I’ll start looking."

Samuel leaned back in his chair. "When you’re ready, come work at my company. Or if there’s somewhere else you want to go, just tell me. I’ll make it happen."

Dominic said nothing. He kept eating, quiet as ever, only lifting his eyes to glance at Lena from time to time.

Lena shook her head. "Not right now. Maybe later."

She had been grinding for years, nonstop, barely giving herself a real break. Maybe getting fired was exactly the hard stop she needed, a chance to finally breathe.

After dinner, Dominic got to his feet and started clearing the table.

Anna tried to help, but Lena tugged her away before she could.

Once Dominic headed into the kitchen, Daniel had zero excuse not to follow and give him a hand. Samuel, obviously, wasn’t the type to sit still either.

So the three grown men ended up crammed into Lena’s tiny kitchen, elbows bumping against plates, glasses, and the edge of the counter every other second.

"Now that," Anna said, peeking through the doorway with a huge grin, "is prime husband material. A powerful alpha who actually helps his mate do the dishes? That’s basically a unicorn."

"You already found yourself a good one." Lena nodded toward Daniel, who was quietly drying plates with his usual efficient, no-nonsense energy. "He marked you and he does dishes. Girl, you seriously hit the jackpot."

A flush crept onto Anna’s cheeks. "Oh, shut up."

"But Samuel’s single," Lena went on, clearly not planning to stop. "He’s handsome, rich, young. If you ever need a backup guy—"

Anna smacked her on the arm. "I have my fated mate. I do not need a backup guy!"

"Yeah, yeah. And then there’s Dominic..."

"Zip it." Anna clapped a hand over Lena’s mouth. "Don’t you dare finish that sentence."

Laughing, Lena pulled her hand away. "If you ever did have a thing for Dominic, I’d step aside. No hard feelings."

Anna rolled her eyes so hard it looked like they might stick. "If I had a thing for Dominic, I wouldn’t deserve to be your friend."

Lena slipped an arm around her shoulders. "Men are replaceable. Don’t stress about it."

"Oh, please." Anna gave her a light shove. "If it ever actually came to that, you’d show up at my door with a knife."

Lena scrunched up her face and made a goofy expression. "I would not."

The two of them kept messing around for another twenty minutes, laughing so loudly the whole place felt warmer because of it.

Dominic’s POV

The three of us worked in silence, each doing our part. Dominic washed the dishes, Samuel dried them, and Daniel wiped down the table before sweeping the floor.

Every few minutes, Lena and Anna’s laughter drifted in from the doorway, loud and totally unfiltered.

The three men traded a look. No one said it out loud, but they were all thinking the exact same thing.

“That company’s a mess on the inside. Layoffs were bound to happen sooner or later,” Samuel said in a lowered voice, standing beside Dominic. “But her getting cut this early? No way that’s random. Someone had it out for her.”

“You’re handling a case tied to someone connected to that company. Ask around.”

Lena being upset was one thing. Someone deliberately making her miserable was a whole different story. Dominic had no intention of letting that slide.

Samuel gave a small nod. “I’ll dig deeper.”

Dominic kept wiping the counter until it gleamed, bright enough to catch the ceiling light.

“Now that she’s out of work, you two can probably start thinking about an heir,” Samuel said, leaning back against the counter. “Your parents seem pretty fired up about it.”

Dominic thought of Lena rushing out that morning to buy birth control, all flustered and breathless. He rubbed his thumb across the spotless counter, then flexed his fingers. “No rush.”

“Sure, sure. Kids are just the end result. What you’re really into is the process.” Samuel’s grin instantly turned shady.

Dominic fought down the urge to punch him. “After dinner, get out.”

“Damn, cold.” Samuel clicked his tongue. “Seriously cold.”

Night fell. Everyone left on their own, no reminder needed.

The apartment went quiet again.

Lena was curled up on the couch, knees pulled tight to her chest. She watched Dominic walk back in from the balcony after finishing a phone call, then asked, “You’re still here?”

He lowered his eyes to his phone, having just finished an email. “Hm?”

“They all went home. Why haven’t you left yet?”

He slipped the phone into his pocket and walked over to her. “Still upset?”

“No.” She looked fine. She really did look fine.

"Go take a shower and get some sleep." He held out a hand to her.

Lena’s gaze dropped to the ring on his left ring finger. Under the light above them, the metal looked softer somehow, a warm glow spreading over his skin.

"Go back to your place."

Dominic didn’t argue. He bent down and reached for her.

She dodged him. His hand closed on empty air.

"What are you doing?"

He reached again, this time wrapping both arms around her waist and hoisting her straight over his shoulder.

She clearly hadn’t seen that coming. Her palms smacked against his back, her legs kicking wildly. "Put me down!"

"Quit moving." He gave the back of her thigh a light pat. "You’ll fall, and trust me, that’s gonna hurt."

She froze at once. He could feel the heat of her face against his back.

From that night on, he stopped pretending to be a gentleman. At this point, there was no point keeping up the act.

He carried her into the bathroom and set her down inside the shower.

She shot him a furious look. "Dominic..."

"You shower. Or I help you. Or we shower together." He laid out the options before she could start going off on him.

She ground her teeth. "Out."

"I’m getting your clothes." He didn’t push it. He turned and walked out, and the second he stepped through the door, the lock clicked behind him.

He listened to her moving around inside. He pulled her pajamas from the drawer, went back to the door, and knocked softly. "Call me when you’re done. I’ll hand them to you."

No answer.

At last, the door opened a crack. She stood behind it, one arm reaching through the gap. "Give me the clothes."

He placed them in her hand. Bang. The door shut again. Click. Locked.

He laughed under his breath. Then he headed into the living room, where the phone in his pocket buzzed.

Samuel.

He picked up. "Talk."

"Lena getting fired? Luke did that." Samuel let out a short laugh. "Looks like the Thorne family still hasn’t managed to rein him in. As for why he suddenly went after Lena, yeah, someone definitely put him up to it. You know who. Anyway, this one’s on you now."

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