Chosen by the Beast Alpha

Chapter 165: Chapter 165

Lena’s POV

The room wouldn’t stop spinning.

Light leaked through the curtains in a soft, blurry sway, and her whole body felt like it had been taken apart and put back together by someone who definitely hadn’t read the instructions.

She regretted it. Seriously, she did.

She had never imagined that taking the initiative for just one night would leave her like this—so wrecked that for the next few days, every time she looked at Dominic, she’d want to crawl under the bed and stay there forever.

Back in the apartment, she’d thought they were finished, done for, no coming back. She’d been wrong. This was something else entirely.

Her arms and legs barely listened to her anymore, and her brain seemed to be running on nothing but the last scraps of energy he had drained out of her.

Dominic wasn’t in much better shape.

The only difference was that he recovered faster.

Which, honestly, was the worst part.

He lifted her out of bed and carried her into the bathroom. The tub was already full, steam curling upward in thin white ribbons. He stepped in with her, then lowered both of them into the water.

The heat soaked into her muscles, easing into all the places that had been weak and trembling before. Under the water, the marks on her body looked even more obvious.

Her collarbone and shoulders were covered in swollen bite marks. Her ribs were streaked with scratches. There were bruises on her hips and ass, dark fingerprints from where he’d held her too hard.

He didn’t look much better.

Her nails had carved long red lines across his back and shoulders, and the bite she’d left on his chest a few nights ago had only half healed.

She leaned against him and closed her eyes.

At this point, shame was basically gone.

The second she had dragged him into that dim hotel room, she’d tossed it somewhere far away and never looked back.

The warm water dulled the ache in her muscles. She didn’t want to move. Didn’t want to talk. She just wanted to stay in this tub until her bones felt solid again.

Dominic held her close, his eyes shut. His heartbeat thudded steadily behind her shoulder blade. Steam wrapped around them, carrying his scent—cedar, rust, and something darker that made her head feel heavy in the best, most dangerous way.

“Why?” His voice came out rough.

She was too tired to even think straight. “Hm?”

He looked down at her. His lower lip was split, the cut left from one of the earlier moments when her teeth had caught him hard.

“Why did you do that tonight?”

He still didn’t get it. He still couldn’t understand what had made her go from holding herself back to tearing at his clothes in a pitch-black hotel room like she’d lost her mind.

She lifted a hand and set it against his chest, feeling the hard line of muscle under her palm.

“Two grown adults in heat,” she murmured. “When they want each other that bad, what else are they supposed to do?”

His thumb brushed lightly over my shoulder. He didn’t argue.

"Physical closeness makes the bond between two people stronger." I didn’t have some grand reason. I wanted him, so I took him. We weren’t clueless first loves fumbling in the dark. We were grown wolves. We knew exactly what we liked, so there was no point playing dumb.

Besides, every second of it had felt insanely good.

Dominic let out a slow breath, the corner of his mouth lifting. "Then let’s do it one more time."

Absolutely not. Just that one round had already drained half my HP.

I fell asleep in the bathtub. He must’ve been holding me up, because when I woke, he had already lifted me out of the water, steam curling off my skin in thin wisps.

He didn’t carry me back to the bed. He set me down on the sofa instead. My eyes were only half open, and through that blur, I saw him staring at me, his gaze tracing every mark he’d left behind.

The hot water had washed over my skin until it flushed pink. Everything was damp, slick, and our bodies still carried that lingering scent of want. I saw his jaw tighten, saw his eyes darken in a way that made my pulse skip.

He sat on the sofa, and I ended up straddling him, my body draped over his. His hand slid down to my hip, then lower.

"Lena." His voice was rough, heavy with hunger.

I still wasn’t fully awake. My brain lagged, like it was buffering. Then he shifted beneath me, and my eyes flew open.

"You—"

"Last time."

I opened my mouth, ready to argue, but the second his hips lifted, every word I had vanished on the spot.

Dominic’s POV

The next morning, I stood by the window for a long time.

Then I turned to look at the bed. Lena was facedown in the blankets, completely still. Her hair spilled across the pillow in a messy wave, and the sheet had slipped low enough to reveal the smooth line of her back and the scattered marks over her shoulder.

I checked the time. Then I walked over, crouched beside the bed, and gently brushed the hair away from her face.

"Lena."

"Mmh." She frowned a little, but her eyes stayed shut.

“I’ve got a meeting this morning. I need to go.”

“Mm.”

He leaned down, pressed a kiss to her forehead, then left.

In the lobby, he ran into Daniel.

Daniel stopped the second he saw him. Clearly, he hadn’t expected his Alpha to be walking out of the same hotel at seven in the morning.

“Alpha.”

“Why are you staying at a hotel?” If they’d been close enough, Dominic wouldn’t have asked. They’d both assumed they wouldn’t run into each other, but well... here they were.

“Anna’s at my apartment.” Daniel’s expression didn’t crack even a little. “Something came up with her.”

Dominic lifted a brow but didn’t dig any deeper. If it was serious, Anna would tell Lena, and Lena would tell him. Asking Daniel about his private business would just make things weirder.

They drove separately to the office. The morning was packed, one meeting after another, no breathing room at all.

During a break, Dominic checked his phone. No message from Lena. She was still asleep.

He was just about to call and ask what she wanted for lunch when her name suddenly flashed across the screen.

“You’re up?”

“Dominic, my back hurts.” Her voice caught halfway through the words, shaky and choked, like she was right on the edge of tears.

The smile vanished from his face. He shot to his feet and grabbed his keys. “I’m coming right now.”

He drove like hell all the way from the office to the hotel.

When he pushed open the door, Lena was lying on her side, eyes damp, jaw tight, sweat beading along her hairline. She hadn’t moved since waking up.

He pulled back the blanket and checked her lower back. Nothing looked obviously wrong on the surface. The injury was probably deeper in—muscle, maybe a tendon.

“I’m taking you to the hospital,” he said ahead of time while helping her get dressed, easing the clothes onto her as carefully as he could so she wouldn’t have to twist. Even the smallest movement made her suck in a breath and wince.

He carried her out of the hotel, called for the valet to bring the car around, and kept her in his arms until they were both settled in the back seat.

By the time they reached the hospital, people were already waiting at the entrance. A nurse led them straight past the waiting area and into a private exam room. The doctor and the department head were already inside.

"Alpha Dominic." The doctor gave a small nod in greeting.

Dominic set Lena down carefully on the exam table. "Check her back."

The doctor stepped closer, then paused. Out of pure professional habit, he asked the usual question. "Has she done any intense physical activity lately?"

Lena bit down on her lip. Honestly, she would rather die right there on the table than answer that.

Dominic’s face didn’t change at all. "Yes."

The doctor glanced at Dominic, then at the bite marks scattered along Lena’s neck and collarbone. Yeah. He got it.

He pressed along her lower spine.

Lena let out a sharp cry.

His fingers moved in a steady, practiced rhythm, checking one section at a time. She clutched the edge of the table so hard her knuckles went white.

"Too much strain, too much range of motion. She’s pulled the muscles and tendons around her lower back." The doctor straightened up. "I’d recommend imaging, just to rule out any structural damage."

The scan came back clear. Muscle and tendon strain. No fracture, no tear. Rest, gentle movement, and time. That was the fix.

Lena finally let out a long breath.

When they walked out of the hospital, her face was burning red. One hand pressed against her waist, and she refused to look at him.

Dominic knew why.

Last night, he’d gotten a little too into it. Tried new angles, new positions, stuff they’d never done before. At the time, she had loved every second of it. The aftermath, though? Not exactly fun.

She shot him a look sharp enough to kill.

Dominic kept his expression smooth. "Next time, I’ll be more careful."

"Oh, you definitely will." She clearly did not buy that for a second.

Fair enough. If he actually knew how to be careful, he wouldn’t have practically folded her in three different directions.

"I mean it." He met her eyes directly. "This means I can’t touch you for weeks. Honestly, that’s brutal."

She rolled her eyes so hard it was almost impressive. "So you’re not worried about my spine. You’re worried about your schedule."

"I’m just saying, if we want the good times to last, pacing matters."

"That is such bullshit."

She hobbled toward the car, one hand pressed to her lower back. I didn’t take her back to the apartment. Instead, I drove straight to the manor.

"Why are we here?" she asked, frowning.

"Your bathroom’s too small."

She looked at me like that was the weakest excuse she’d ever heard.

I lifted her out of the car and carried her into the elevator. In the mirror, our reflection stared back at me. She was in my arms, her face dark and annoyed.

I lowered my gaze to her. "Stay here for a bit," I said. "A change of scene."

"You know what really counts as a change of scene? Swapping to a different woman every few days."

I looked down at her. "That never crossed my mind."

"How am I supposed to know what’s in your head?"

"Do you want me to cut open my chest and show you my heart?"

"Sure." She held my gaze without blinking, not even for a second. Zero hesitation.

I laughed. "You’re seriously ruthless."

Still carrying her, I went through the front door and headed straight for the bedroom. The sheets were clean and faintly scented. Even when I wasn’t here, someone had clearly kept the place in order.

I set her down on the bed, my palm resting against her lower back. "Turn over. I’ll massage the muscles for you."

She didn’t argue. She quietly rolled onto her stomach.

I sat on the edge of the bed and started over her shirt, drawing slow, gentle circles. I pressed into the muscles along her spine. My thumbs found the tight knots and worked them loose little by little, careful with the pressure—enough to reach the sore spots, not enough to make her hurt.

Then I lifted her shirt and put my hands directly on her skin. The second my palms touched her, she seemed to melt into the mattress, her whole body going loose.

"That feels so good," she said, her voice muffled by the pillow.

"Mm."

I kneaded the muscles at her waist with both hands, fingers spread. The marks I’d left were still there, obvious as hell—reddish welts, and on her hips, traces that looked like they still held the shape of my fingertips. I swallowed hard.

"Feeling a little better?"

"Mm."

He bent down and pressed a soft kiss to the dip of her waist, lingering there for a second before lifting his head.

Lena opened her eyes and turned to look at him. "What are you doing?"

"Couldn’t help it." Dominic straightened up, looking way too calm for a man who clearly wasn’t. "I just kissed you. That’s all."

"Dominic, you seriously have zero self-control."

A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Now I get why an Alpha loses his mind over his mate."

She let out a short laugh. "That’s a you problem, so don’t pin it on me."

"No, you’re the problem." He traced one finger lightly down her spine, watching the fine shiver that ran across her skin under his touch. "Everything about you makes it impossible for me to think straight."

He had never been the kind of man to get addicted to women, and he definitely wasn’t the type to throw away discipline for pleasure.

But there was something about Lena that had changed him. Once he had her, once he knew her taste, her voice, the feel of her against him, that hunger never faded. If anything, it just kept getting worse.

She buried her smile in the pillow. "See? Still your problem. I’m the victim here."

"Right." He lowered his head and kissed her shoulder blade. "Very fair."

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