Chosen by the Beast Alpha

Chapter 167: Chapter 167

Lena’s POV

The second Lena heard what Anna had done, her heart basically stopped.

She forgot all about the pain, grabbed the first coat within reach, and headed straight for the door. The moment she pulled the elevator open, Dominic was stepping out of it.

He caught her by the arm and steadied her. "Where are you going?"

"Is Anna okay?" Her voice came out way too sharp, almost cracking apart. She was terrified of whatever answer was coming.

He could tell there was no chance she’d sit still and wait. Keeping a hand on her arm, he guided her into the elevator and hit the button. "Someone got to her in time. She’s alive."

Lena let out a long, shaky breath. "Why would she do that? What happened?"

"Her parents came. They want her to break the mate bond with Daniel."

She frowned hard. "But they used to treat Daniel really well. They liked that he was Bloodmoon Pack’s beta."

"I don’t know the full story."

They got in the car. Dominic drove fast, but steady, wasting zero time. Lena clutched the door handle so tightly her fingers hurt, her stomach twisted into knots. Every now and then, Dominic shot her a look.

"Anna’s stable. If you keep tensing up like this, your back’s going to hurt even more."

But there was no way she could calm down. By the time they reached the hospital, she was already running on nerves alone. She walked as fast as she could, with Dominic taking half her weight. When they reached the hospital room, she stopped, drew in a deep breath, knocked once, and pushed the door open.

Daniel was sitting beside the bed. Anna lay there with her eyes closed, dried tear tracks still clinging to her cheeks.

"How is she?" Lena asked softly.

Daniel looked at Anna, then gave a faint shake of his head.

"Please stay with her." His voice was low and rough. He had always treated Lena with quiet respect, and even now, when he looked completely drained, that hadn’t changed.

She nodded.

Daniel kept his eyes on Anna for a long moment. Then he rose, gave Lena the chair, and walked out with Dominic.

Through the closed door, Lena heard Dominic’s voice from outside. "Where are her parents?"

Daniel’s reply was ice-cold. “Her mom fainted. She still hasn’t woken up.”

Back in the room, Lena sat down in the chair, took Anna’s hand, and said nothing. Her parents had pushed her off that bridge. Not with their hands, but with their words. With their demands.

Anna. In a world that made Lena feel like she could fall apart at any second, Anna was the one who made her feel less alone. Anna, with that stubborn light in her, had dragged her out of some of the darkest days of her life.

And now Anna had been cornered so badly that she jumped.

So Lena stayed with her in silence. Anna didn’t need speeches right now. She didn’t need comfort wrapped in pretty words. She just needed someone there, no conditions, no strings attached.

A long while later, Anna finally opened her swollen red eyes. She looked drained, like every last bit of strength had been wrung out of her. The second she saw Lena, tears spilled out again, soundless and endless.

It felt like Lena’s heart was being ripped clean in half.

She gripped Anna’s hand tighter, her own eyes burning. “You’re so damn brave. You were really not even scared of dying?”

“I was.” Anna tried to smile, but it fell apart before it could form. “But being alive felt worse.”

Lena pulled a tissue from the box and gently wiped the tears from Anna’s cheeks. “You already died once today. There’s nothing left to be scared of now.”

Anna stared at her for one second, and then completely broke. She pushed herself upright, threw her arms around Lena, and sobbed into her shoulder like her whole body was falling apart. She was shaking so hard it hurt just to feel it.

“Why are they doing this to me?” she cried, words breaking between gasps, barely able to breathe. “I’m their daughter. I’m their only daughter. Why is that still not enough?”

Lena rubbed slow circles on her back, trying to steady her breathing, trying to hold her together even a little. Her own throat was so tight it ached.

She didn’t know what she was supposed to say.

Tell her her parents loved her, they just didn’t know how to show it?

Tell her they meant well, they were just handling it the wrong way?

She couldn’t say any of that. Some parents just don’t love their children in the way their children actually need. That was something she had learned from her father a long time ago. No amount of nice words could cover that up. Not really.

Anna’s POV

Everyone thought that after she jumped, her parents would finally back off.

They didn’t.

The next morning, her mother came to her hospital room. She walked in, glanced at the bandage on Anna’s arm and the IV in her wrist, and never once asked how she was feeling.

“Since you’re still alive, you will listen to me.” She stood at the foot of the bed, her face blank as stone. “I’m giving you time. End things with Daniel. Quit your job. Come home.”

Her voice didn’t shake. It didn’t soften.

“If you refuse,” she said, “then I no longer have a daughter.”

An ultimatum. Straight up. No room to negotiate.

Her father had stood behind her the whole time, silent as stone. They stayed long enough to make sure I heard every single word, then turned around and left to catch the train home.

I lay in the hospital bed, tears soaking into the pillow, and somehow, I laughed.

I looked at Lena. "Tell me something. Do they love me?"

Lena pulled me into her arms and held me tight, like if she loosened her grip for even a second, I might fall apart. She didn’t answer.

I took a week off. The bruises from the fall were slowly fading, but the rest of my body still hurt like hell.

On the last day before I was discharged, Daniel came to the hospital. He stood beside my bed, hands hanging at his sides, his dark, steady eyes fixed on me.

"Do you want to break the bond?" he asked.

His voice was calm, almost too calm, but through the mate bond, I could feel what he was holding back. He was waiting for my answer.

I looked at him, bit the inside of my cheek, and tried to sound casual. "Are you scared?"

"I’m not scared of anything." His voice stayed low and even. "I just don’t want you to suffer."

I let out a breath. "Then let’s do it. End it."

He’d already known that was what I was going to say. It was written all over that blank, unreadable expression on his face. But deep in his eyes, something still slipped through, just for a second, and the mark on my neck started throbbing in sharp little waves.

I lowered my gaze. "We got together way too recklessly. It wasn’t fair to you either. I’m sorry, Daniel. I messed up your life for no reason."

"Are you sure this isn’t another impulsive decision?"

His eyes stayed locked on me. Over the past two days, it felt like every last bit of energy in my body had drained out. I knew he could tell. I knew he missed me so badly it was probably tearing him up too.

I didn’t dare look at him.

"I’m not in a rush," Daniel said, his voice quieter now. "Take your time. Think about it for as long as you need. If, after that, you still want to break the bond, I’ll do whatever you want."

He didn’t try to talk me out of it. He didn’t make demands. Before, and even now in this relationship, he had always left me enough space to choose for myself. He made it clear he would follow my decision, even if it wrecked him.

After Daniel left, I packed my things.

I needed to go somewhere. Anywhere.

Just walk. Keep walking until my head cleared and my chest stopped hurting.

I needed time to think, really think, about where my life was supposed to go—about Daniel, about us, about how any of this was even meant to keep holding together.

Should I keep the bond as it was, or end it? Should I keep fighting, or just give up and go back home with my tail between my legs?

I pulled the zipper on my suitcase shut and stared at the wall, completely blank.

Lena’s POV

My back still hurt like hell. Most days, I was stuck lying around in the manor, doing basically nothing, just waiting for my body to heal.

Dominic sat at the edge of the bed, pressing his thumb into the muscles along my spine. He did this every night. The guilt was real, and it hung between us without either of us saying it out loud.

“There’s a pack gathering tonight. You want to go?” His hand moved lower, inch by inch, to my lower back, carefully avoiding the spots that were still too tender.

“No.” The bite marks on my shoulder and chest still hadn’t fully faded, and I wasn’t anywhere close to recovered.

He’d obviously expected that answer. “Then get some rest. I’ll be back soon.”

“Mm.”

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