Chosen by the Beast Alpha

Chapter 172: Chapter 172

Samuel’s POV

The officers told me Eliza had gone in to withdraw the complaint.

They explained that sexual assault falls under criminal jurisdiction. Once a case is opened, it can’t just be dropped because the victim asks for it to go away.

But she still pushed for it. She wanted the file closed. She said it had been consensual.

"She was dead set on it." Daniel’s voice stayed even, but the confusion under it was obvious. "She told law enforcement to treat it as consensual."

Dominic stood by the floor-to-ceiling window in his office, both hands tucked into his pockets. "Let her."

I sat on the couch with a cigarette between my fingers and said what everyone in the room was already thinking. "She made the whole thing up."

Dominic turned, leaning back against the desk. "Why do you think that?"

"Call me cynical if you want, but I don’t buy that there was ever an assault. She staged it. Hired those thugs, or paid someone to rough her up badly enough to make it look real. The whole point was to use the trauma to get close to you, move into your house, and make herself impossible to get rid of. When that plan crashed, she backed off before the investigation started poking holes in her story."

I took a drag from my cigarette. Eliza was absolutely capable of something like that. Her obsession with Dominic had gone way past normal a long time ago.

She’d already tried manipulation, seduction, guilt, and playing the victim.

For someone that fixated, faking an attack to trigger his protective instincts felt like the next logical move. Messed up, sure, but still logical.

"People keep saying women are dangerous," I said, looking Dominic up and down. "But you’re the real menace. Seriously, what is it about you that makes women lose their minds? One after another, just running straight into a wall."

Dominic shot me a glare so cold it felt like it could freeze the cigarette right out of my hand.

I turned to Daniel. "Daniel, is this what women are into now? The cold, emotionally unavailable type?"

Daniel said nothing.

Lena’s POV

Eliza dropping the case didn’t shock me the way it probably should have.

The second I heard, one thought flashed through my head: the attack was fake.

I had no proof. It was just a gut feeling. But if I was right, then that meant Eliza had been willing to get herself covered in bruises, land in the hospital, and even file a report, all just to get Dominic’s attention.

She had seriously lost it.

I went back to work. On my first day back, my department head called me into his office and spent a solid fifteen minutes telling me how important I was, how much the team had missed me, and how happy everyone was to have me back.

I just smiled and nodded.

I knew at least half of that enthusiasm had Dominic written all over it. Once people knew I had the Bloodmoon Pack’s alpha backing me, the way they talked to me changed overnight.

All of a sudden, I wasn’t disposable anymore. I was valuable. Necessary, even. That was how the world worked. If you had someone powerful behind you, doors flew open. If you didn’t, you ended up as collateral in somebody else’s game.

Once I was working again, the days got a lot easier to survive. I threw myself into it completely—client meetings, sponsor negotiations, event planning.

By the time I got home every night, I was dead on my feet.

Dominic kept trying to recruit me into his company. The man did not know how to quit.

“You really underestimate my self-control,” he said over the phone. “Work is work. Private life is private life. I know where the line is.”

I let out a dry laugh. “Then why do you keep sending me photos of the view outside your office window?”

“I’m just sharing the scenery. That’s all.”

Yeah, I did not buy that for a second.

I could barely even look at that floor-to-ceiling glass wall anymore without my face heating up. He’d already tried twice to pin me against it, and I was one hundred percent sure he had not let that idea go.

“I’ll pick you up after work,” he said, his voice dropping lower.

I glanced at the stack of files on my desk. “I’m working late tonight.”

“That busy?”

“Yes.” I really didn’t have time to go back and forth with him. “I have to go. Bye.”

I hung up before he could argue.

After finishing the proposal I’d been wrestling with forever, I leaned back in my chair. The office was completely empty. Everyone else had already left.

I checked the time. Eight-thirty. Not bad.

I packed up my things, walked out of the building, and pulled my scarf tighter against the cold. I was texting Dominic to tell him I was finally done when a car horn suddenly sounded.

His car was parked right by the entrance. The window rolled down, and our eyes met.

I smiled and got in.

Warm air wrapped around me the second I shut the door. I pulled off my scarf. "God, it’s freezing."

"November." Dominic eased the car into traffic. "What do you want to eat?"

"A burger."

"Okay."

When we stopped at a red light, Lena turned to look out the window.

If she remembered right, Eliza’s restaurant was on this street.

The light changed, and they drove past it. The place was closed. Even the sign out front had been taken down.

She flicked a glance at Dominic. He hadn’t noticed. His eyes were fixed on the road.

The past few weeks felt like one big blur. She’d been crazy busy every day, running from one meeting to the next. By the time she crawled into bed each night, she was completely wiped.

To his credit, Dominic hadn’t bothered her when she was at her most exhausted. He didn’t push. He didn’t suddenly show up wanting something when she was dead tired and barely functioning. He rubbed her shoulders, handed her water, and made sure she got some sleep.

"Are you off this weekend?" she asked, lying face-down on the bed while his hands worked gently at the tight muscles between her shoulder blades.

"I think so."

"Want to go somewhere?"

"No. I want to stay in bed and not move. Literally at all."

"Okay." He didn’t pressure her.

His hands slid from her shoulders to her waist, the motion changing with them. His thumbs slipped under the hem of her shirt and brushed the skin just above her hip bones.

She rolled onto her back, opened one eye, then shut it again. "I do not have the energy to do anything with you."

He leaned down, close enough for his voice to brush across her skin. "You don’t have to do anything."

I didn’t say a word.

He watched me for a few seconds. Whatever he caught on my face made him step back.

Then he lay down beside me, slid an arm around my waist, and pressed a kiss to my forehead. "Go to sleep."

The weekend finally rolled around. I made sure I wasn’t scheduled to work.

Meanwhile, Dominic had to leave town and head to another district to deal with some business. He wouldn’t be back until Monday.

I quietly let out a breath of relief. I’d never say it to his face, obviously, but knowing I’d get two whole days without being alone with him made something inside me loosen.

"You’re happy I’m leaving," Dominic said, seeing right through me in one shot.

My face stayed blank. "Of course not. I’ve been dying to spend the weekend with you. This is devastating."

He just stared at me.

"I’m serious, Dominic. We haven’t had quality time in weeks. My heart is literally shattered." I pressed a hand to my chest. "But hey, work comes first. I get it."

"Bye," he said, picking up his bag.

"Bye." I leaned against the doorframe and looked at him with the saddest eyes I could manage. Here I was, the loyal partner, watching my alpha leave and already missing him so much, wow, tragic.

Daniel called to hurry him up. Dominic ended the call, then looked at me again.

I stared back without blinking, pouring every ounce of fake longing into my expression.

"I’m leaving," he said again, like he was trying to convince himself this time.

I gave him a little wave.

He exhaled and walked into the elevator. As the doors started sliding shut, I held the look, through that narrowing gap: chin slightly lifted, lips pressed tight, like I was one second away from tearing up.

The doors closed.

I dropped the act immediately, let out one long breath, and shut the front door.

Freedom.

The idea of Dominic staying home all weekend honestly freaked me out. He hadn’t touched me in almost two weeks. If he stayed, I’d probably end up pinned to the mattress all day with nowhere to run.

Sometimes I wanted his body. I liked everything he did to me.

But the guy had ridiculous stamina. Thinking about how he could go four rounds like it was nothing while I could barely survive one? Yeah. That fear was so real.

I flopped onto the couch, bowl of fruit in my hands, put on a horror movie, and honestly? It felt amazing.

I was halfway through it when I heard something at the front door.

My whole body tensed on the spot. Security here was crazy strict. No one got in without authorization.

Then the lock turned, and the door opened. Dominic walked in.

My first thought hit fast. “Did you forget something?”

He shut the door behind him. “No.”

“Then why are you—”

“I’m not leaving.” He came straight toward me, one steady step after another, all calm confidence and zero hesitation. “You said you missed me. I came back to keep you company.”

I just stared at him.

He sat down right next to me, close enough to make my nerves jump. One arm stretched along the back of the couch behind my shoulders, and then he casually started eating my grapes.

“You seriously don’t have to stay. Work matters.” I rushed to salvage my precious weekend alone. “I’m totally fine by myself.”

“Lena.”

“What?”

He turned and looked right at me. “You want me to leave.”

I pressed my lips together. Even the grapes in my hand instantly stopped looking appealing.

He let out a soft huff of laughter through his nose, then shifted his gaze back to the TV. “Are you really that scared of me coming home?”

I gave him an awkward little laugh. “Of course not. I just don’t want to mess with your work.”

He didn’t answer.

The dialogue from the screen kept pouring out like water, but I didn’t catch a single word. The man sitting beside me gave off this quiet, brutal pressure that had my whole body on edge.

I had absolutely no idea when he might make a move. He was like a predator lying in wait, perfectly still, while I was basically a rabbit pretending not to notice.

He was definitely not here to watch a movie. No way. Not happening.

I sat stiff through the entire film, bracing myself the whole time, waiting for impact. But even after the credits finished rolling, Dominic still didn’t move.

“The movie’s over.” He looked at me. “So. What do you want to do now?”

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