Chosen by the Beast Alpha

Chapter 124: Chapter 124

Lena’s POV

Her heart shot straight into her throat. The dark circles under his eyes were so heavy they looked almost bruised, and guilt hit her in one sharp wave before she could even think to stop him.

She stepped aside and let him in.

"You made an omelet?" Dominic glanced at the plate on the table.

She closed the door and followed behind him. "You didn’t go home?"

"No." He turned to look at her, his gaze direct. "I wanted to see just how heartless you could be."

She pressed her lips together and looked away.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. His eyes flicked to her bowl. "Looks pretty decent. Only made one?"

"Yeah."

"Hah. You woke up, didn’t even open the door once, and just left. Cold-blooded, seriously." He was already rolling up his sleeves as he headed into the kitchen, pulling out eggs, butter, cheese, and spices.

Listening to him complain, she felt that annoying stab of guilt again, only for it to be drowned out a second later by the blunt truth that this was kind of on him.

He had a perfectly good estate to go back to. Nobody had forced him to camp out in the hallway all night like some kind of lunatic.

She sat back down and kept eating her eggs, watching him move around the kitchen.

He was smooth with it, crazy smooth. In just a few minutes, he plated a near-perfect omelet, golden on the outside, lightly crisp at the edges, cheese melting lazily from the center, the scent of fresh herbs filling the whole kitchen.

Same eggs. Same kitchen. And somehow his omelet looked twice as good as hers.

"Trade?" He set the plate down in front of her and reached for hers.

Before she could even react, he had already taken her plate and started eating.

"I already ate that." She stared at him, her fork frozen midair.

Dominic looked up at her while chewing, completely unfazed. "Mine hasn’t been touched."

She gave up.

If he didn’t care, then fine.

I pulled his plate closer and cut into the omelet. It tasted even better now. Of course it did.

He finished first, then leaned back in his chair and just watched me eat.

Under that stare, she shifted in her seat. "Stop looking at me like that."

"Then how am I supposed to look at you?" he asked, sounding weirdly sincere.

She had nothing to say to that.

Lena picked up both plates and headed for the kitchen, scraping the last bite of omelet into her mouth on the way so he wouldn’t catch her looking that messy.

"I’ll do the dishes," Dominic said, following her in.

"I’ve got it." She was unemployed now. Time was the one thing she had too much of.

He didn’t push. He just stayed there, leaning against the counter, watching her.

She had on a camisole and sleep pants. Her hair was twisted up in a loose bun, and she could feel a few fallen strands sticking to the bare skin at the back of her neck and between her shoulder blades.

Then his fingers touched her neck, and she whipped around.

A few loose strands had gotten wrapped around his fingers. She turned too fast, and the pull sent a sharp sting across her scalp.

He let go right away, but one strand still stayed hooked around his index finger.

Then, slowly, on purpose, he started winding it tighter. Just watching him do that made her heartbeat go off the rails.

"What are you doing?" She reached up, trying to pull the strand free. His finger caught the hair and held on tight. No matter what she did, she couldn’t get it loose.

His gaze settled on her. "Day five."

"What?"

He swallowed. "Your period. How many days does it usually last?"

She turned back to the sink and scrubbed at the dishes hard enough she almost felt like she might crack the ceramic. Her breathing went uneven, fast, totally out of control.

She didn’t answer, but they both knew why he was asking. He’d been counting the days. Ever since they got back from that trip, he’d been counting.

My period was the only thing keeping him in check, the one roadblock stopping him from getting what he wanted, and at this point, his patience was hanging by a thread.

He could smell the shift in me. I didn’t even have to say a word—he could tell exactly where I was in my cycle. The fact that he asked anyway was its own kind of warning. It told her he’d been paying attention this whole time.

Dominic smiled. His fingers caught a strand of her hair, tugging it lightly, then letting it slip free.

Lena hurried through the dishes, dried her hands, and tried to slip past him.

"Where are you going?" His hand closed around her wrist.

"Let go of me." She yanked, trying to pull free.

Instead, he dragged her straight into his chest, both arms locking around her waist and trapping her there like he had no intention of ever letting go.

She planted both hands against him and fought hard, every nerve in her body screaming no.

"Dominic!" she snapped, his name coming out sharp with humiliation and anger.

"I miss the girl I met the first time." His voice dropped low, rough enough to seem like it brushed right through her ribs. "What happened to her?"

Lena bit down hard, glaring at him, her cheeks burning hot. "Are you letting go or not?"

His answer was to hold her even tighter. Only after a long moment did he finally loosen his grip. "I didn’t sleep all night. I’m going to bed. Don’t leave."

She let out a hard breath. "I’m not sleepy."

"I said don’t leave." His tone sank, darker and heavier.

"Why should I listen to you?"

"Then sleep with me." Before she could even process that, he scooped her up in one smooth move, one arm under her knees, the other supporting her back.

The bedroom door was already open. He carried her inside, kicked it shut with his heel, and set her down on the bed.

She tried to sit up. He didn’t give her the chance. In the next second, he was over her, pinning her beneath him before she could get away.

"Dominic!"

"Relax." He rolled onto his side, but one heavy arm dropped across her body, his forearm pressing her into the sheets. "I just want to sleep."

She tried to shove his arm off, but it was like iron—solid, unmoving, absolutely unfair.

I turned my head, ready to snap at him again, only to find his eyes already closed, his breathing slow and even.

At this distance, she could count every single eyelash. The dark circles under his eyes were sunken deep, and the stubble on his jaw had grown in rough and sharp, making him look more worn-out than she had ever seen him before.

That sight drained the fight right out of her. She stopped shoving at him and lay flat on her back, staring up at the ceiling. His arm rested across her stomach, and his warm breath brushed lightly against her shoulder.

If she had never gone on that trip with him, if they had never ended up in that hotel room, if that night had never happened... maybe things would have been over between them a long time ago.

How it had turned into this, she honestly couldn’t explain. She didn’t even know what she was feeling, let alone find the right word for it.

She turned to look at him. She still couldn’t believe he had become like this. That cold, arrogant alpha who used to barely spare her a glance was now asleep in her bed, his arm pinning her down because he couldn’t stand the thought of her leaving.

Something had started growing between them. As for whether it was love... she couldn’t answer that.

She closed her eyes. Scenes from the past few weeks drifted through her mind, one after another, and before she knew it, she fell asleep too.

She had no idea how long she slept. Something shifted beside her, and her eyes opened.

A bare back. Broad. Strong. Muscle packed tight beneath skin, the clean line of his spine flowing down into the curve of his waist.

She shot upright.

Dominic turned around.

He had just come out of the shower. Beads of water still clung to his chest, tracing the shape of his pecs before sliding down along the ridges of his abs. A towel hung low on his hips. His hair was still wet, slicked back from his forehead.

A single drop slipped from his collarbone, ran down the center of his chest, skimmed over every line of muscle on his stomach, slowing as it went until it vanished beneath the towel.

Her gaze followed it all the way down, and she swallowed.

Dominic smiled.

The second she realized what she had just done, she jerked her head away and fixed her eyes on the wall like her life depended on it.

His voice was full of amusement. "I’m generous. If you want to look, go ahead."

She scrambled off the other side of the bed, trying and totally failing to act normal. "Not interested."

"Really?" He raised a brow.

Her eyes stayed locked on the vanity, like if she looked away for even a second, she’d lose. "I’ve seen better. You’re nothing special."

His face shifted on the spot. "Nothing special?"

"What, you really think you’re that amazing?" Every word she threw out only dragged her deeper into this mess, and she knew it. Still, she just couldn’t stop.

Her hands kept moving, yanking drawers open, grabbing clothes at random, doing whatever she could to keep herself busy. "Being confident is fine. Delusional confidence? Yeah, not cute. There’s always someone better than you."

"Who?" he pressed, not letting it go. "Who’s better?"

She hugged the clothes to her chest and headed for the door. No way was she changing in front of him. She’d use the guest room.

But he was already there, planted in the doorway, blocking her path.

"You think you can just say that and walk off?" His voice dropped, stubborn and sharp. "I’m asking you. Who is it? Luke? Reid?"

She frowned, irritation flashing across her face.

"What is your problem, seriously? You can’t handle the idea that someone might outdo you?"

"I can handle it." He looked dead serious, which somehow made it worse. "I just want to know who you think is better."

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