Chosen by the Beast Alpha

Chapter 126: Chapter 126

Lena’s POV

Lena was already thinking ahead, running through all the possible ways things could go wrong. If trouble was coming, she wanted to kill it before it even had the chance to show up.

Dominic said nothing.

She studied him quietly. She couldn’t tell if he had actually heard her, or if her words had just been tossed into some locked corner of his mind, right next to whatever secret he was keeping about Eliza.

His silence could mean agreement.

Or maybe the exact opposite.

She still didn’t really understand what was going on between him and Eliza. She could feel it, though. He was hiding something. Something buried deep, sealed off so tightly no one could get near it.

But if he didn’t want to tell her, she wouldn’t force it. If one day they couldn’t keep going like this, then they’d deal with it when that day came.

As long as neither of them brought up the past—or certain people—they could probably keep things afloat.

So yeah, better to enjoy what was good right now. No point stressing over drama that hadn’t even happened yet. That would just ruin the present and send her blood pressure through the roof.

At this rate, she’d probably end up with a stomach ulcer before twenty-five.

The thought cracked her up, and she burst out laughing.

Dominic shot her a look.

“You know what I did when I came back and found Luke screwing some she-wolf?” she asked.

Dominic knew. That mess had spread across the regional packs in less than a day. Total wildfire.

“One look at your face and I know you’ve heard the story,” she said, grinning. “Honestly, what I wanted most in that moment was to dump a bucket of ice water on both of them.” She laughed again, replaying the scene in her head. “Also, just saying, his body is nowhere near as good as yours.”

Dominic didn’t seem pleased by the compliment. Not now. Not in this mood.

“He is pretty good-looking, I’ll give him that.” She lifted a shoulder. “But he’s still not as hot as you.”

She meant it. She’d seen plenty of men, but Dominic was the only one whose face alone could derail her thoughts.

Dominic let out a cold scoff. “You’re comparing me to him?”

“Fair point,” she said at once. “A cheating man doesn’t even deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as you.”

Lena knew exactly how to handle him. Dominic could get weirdly full of himself sometimes, and the best way to deal with that was basically the same as dealing with a sulky kid—smooth him over, toss him the right compliment at the right time, and boom, crisis solved.

He let out a quiet breath through his nose.

After lunch, Dominic drove them to a jewelry store.

Lena almost never came to places like this, the kind where everything looked expensive enough to give her stress on sight. She turned to look at him. "What are you buying?"

"Anything you want."

"I don’t want anything." She really had zero urge to buy jewelry.

He frowned, clearly not loving that answer. "Every woman likes jewelry."

"I do like it, sure, but that doesn’t mean I need to own it. Looking is enough."

"Then look."

Since they were already here, Lena figured she might as well go along with it. She walked slowly past the glass cases, leaning down a little, eyes moving carefully over every piece inside.

Every woman had a radar for beautiful things. Necklaces, bracelets, earrings—each one caught the light in its own way, flashing soft and sharp like it knew exactly how to tempt people.

The saleswoman was sharp, no joke. She took one look at Dominic, and immediately started pulling out everything Lena had so much as glanced at, one by one, offering them for her to try on.

Lena didn’t have the heart to shut down that level of enthusiasm, so she just kept trying them on, piece after piece.

In the end, she put every last one back.

She didn’t need any of them.

She went to get Dominic, ready to leave. He rose from his seat and looked at the saleswoman. "Pack everything she tried on."

"No!" Lena grabbed his arm at once. "I don’t want them."

"You do."

The store manager came over in person, and three staff members started boxing everything up at the same time while Dominic swiped his card.

Lena had seen the price tags. Any single piece in that store cost more than she spent in an entire year.

“Why did you buy so much?” Lena genuinely didn’t get it.

“Because you liked them.” Dominic lifted the bags. Jewelry worth tens of thousands of dollars dangled from his fingers, and he carried it like it was nothing more than a sack of groceries.

She stared at him. “Liking something doesn’t mean I have to own it.”

He turned to look at her. “Why wouldn’t you want something you like?”

“Because I...”

“If you want it, then take it.” He laced his fingers together, calm and matter-of-fact. “Having it is one of the best things you can do for yourself.”

The gap between them, money-wise, hit Lena with a sharp little sting.

She had worked for years and managed to save a decent amount. But compared to Dominic, it was basically laughable. They weren’t even playing the same game.

Still, she forced herself not to dwell on it. He bought those things because she liked them. She was supposed to be happy. And honestly, she was happy. She should just say thank you.

Then he took her into the luxury store next door. This time, she didn’t dare let her eyes linger on anything for more than a second. She had a feeling that if she looked too long, he’d buy the whole wall.

Dominic walked straight to the display case and pointed at four bags without even pausing. “These. I’ll take all of them.”

Lena opened her mouth, then shut it again.

The way he kept swiping his card, it was like he’d suddenly unlocked a new hobby. At this point, she wasn’t even sure who had wanted to go shopping today.

There were too many bags to carry. Dominic called Daniel and told him to come take everything away.

By the time Daniel arrived, Lena and Dominic were sitting on a bench outside a café.

Dominic had a three-dollar coffee in his hand. Normally, he wouldn’t even touch coffee unless the beans had been ground fresh for him, but Lena had bought this one and shoved it into his hand, so he was drinking it anyway.

Dominic passed all the shopping bags to Daniel and sent him off.

Lena hadn’t brought him to some upscale shopping district or a polished row of boutiques. She took him straight to the street food stalls instead, where smoke from the grills hung in the air and people brushed shoulder to shoulder as they squeezed past each other.

She could tell Dominic was out of his element. He had grown up around private boxes and members-only lounges. Crowded streets, cheap plastic stools, paper plates, and cooks shouting orders over the hiss of the grill—none of that belonged to his world.

“If you don’t want to stay here, then just go home.” Guilt hit her out of nowhere.

"I’m fine."

From the way he’d started out all stiff and out of place, to barely putting up with it, to now not even blinking when some random stranger stepped on his shoe, Dominic had come a long way. "We can go wherever you want."

After that, Lena stopped holding back.

Street snacks, fries from a food truck, and an ice cream stand with a line so long it looked ridiculous.

If she wanted to eat it, she ate it. Food made people happy. Simple as that.

And she was happy. At least for now, she didn’t have to think about being unemployed.

By the time they got back to the car, it was fully dark, and the night was only just getting started.

"Home?" Dominic looked at her, his gaze carrying something close to admiration. He’d watched her eat and drink her way through six whole blocks without stopping, and he still had no clue where all that food had even gone.

"Are you tired?" Her eyes were still bright, practically glowing. "If you are, then go ahead. I’m not ready to call it a night yet."

Dominic would rather die than admit in front of her that he was tired. "What else do you want to do?"

Lena bit her lip. "I want to go to the club."

His expression chilled on the spot.

"It’s fun there. They sing, dance, mix drinks, and make you laugh. It’s entertainment." She thought the people at that club had pretty solid taste, and more importantly, they knew exactly how to help a she-wolf unwind. That was the real point.

She was seriously hyped now. Dominic’s voice dropped lower. "You’re serious?"

"Obviously," she shot back without missing a beat.

"Which one?"

"The one I used to go to."

She had never really gone to any other lounge before. She had no idea whether performers at other bars could measure up to the ones at the club, and honestly, she wasn’t in the mood to gamble on it. Familiar places felt safer.

He didn’t say no. He just drove her there.

Lena texted Anna and asked if she wanted to come hang out.

Anna asked where they were going. Lena told her.

The second she heard Dominic was driving me, she turned it down.

I tried to talk her into it, but she wouldn’t budge at all. In the end, I had no choice but to drop it.

When we got to the club, Lena walked straight to the front desk. Before the hostess could even finish greeting her, she cut in, "Is Jace working tonight? I want him."

The hostess glanced past her and looked at Dominic. "Did he come here with you?"

"Yeah."

The hostess looked like she barely dared meet Dominic’s eyes. His face was so dark it felt like the whole lobby had dropped a few degrees. The way he looked at Lena was restrained, but dangerous too, like a wolf being yanked back on a leash that was way too short.

"Please wait a moment. I’ll set it up right away."

They were shown into a private room. Dominic sat down and crossed one leg over the other. The second he settled in, the whole room filled with this tight, suffocating tension. The server didn’t even finish setting down the drinks before making a quick exit.

Lena picked up a slice of watermelon and scrolled through the song list on the iPad, casually choosing what she wanted to sing later.

Dominic sat on the other side of the room, fingers laced together, jaw tight, lips pressed into a hard line. The anger rolling off him was intense enough to scare off pretty much anyone.

And honestly, Lena didn’t even notice. A second ago, she had completely forgotten he was even there.

They waited for Jace, but he never showed up.

A manager knocked, then came in with an apologetic look. "Sorry. Jace isn’t available tonight. Another client booked him for a private party."

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