Chosen by the Beast Alpha

Chapter 173: Chapter 173

Lena’s POV

The corner of Lena’s mouth twitched.

Her plan for the day had been stupidly simple: finish the movie, grab something to eat, then sleep. That was it. Nice, easy, no drama.

But now she couldn’t even say the word “sleep” with a straight face. The second she brought up the bed, this man would absolutely put her on it—and not for rest.

“Shopping,” she said.

“By yourself?”

“Obviously.” She shot to her feet and put some space between them. “I’m going to change.”

She walked into the bedroom and her eyes flicked to the bed.

When she was alone, “sleep” was just a noun. Once Dominic was involved, it turned into a whole action verb.

She changed fast and got out of the apartment before her willpower fully rage-quit on her.

Dominic followed.

Wherever she went, he went. Whatever she wanted to eat, he bought. Every store she stepped into, he either waited outside or trailed behind her, carrying shopping bags without a word, calm as ever, just waiting for her to finish.

He never mentioned going home. Never pushed. Never made a suggestion.

He just stayed beside her.

By evening, her feet were killing her, and she hadn’t rested for even one second.

At that point, Lena was seriously regretting her life choices. If she’d just stayed in bed and let him do whatever he wanted, it probably would’ve been over in an hour, and then she could’ve slept like the dead. Instead, thanks to one burst of stubbornness, she’d been on her feet for six straight hours.

What a scam.

Dominic took her to dinner after that. The restaurant sat at the top of a high-rise, overlooking the whole city. The lights were warm, the atmosphere soft, and the wine list looked expensive enough to hurt feelings.

“After dinner,” Dominic said, slicing into his steak like he had all the time in the world, “do we go home, or do you want to keep walking around?”

His tone was casual. His eyes were not.

He was doing this on purpose.

There was no way a man as sharp as Dominic hadn’t seen through her little stunt from the morning. He knew she’d been putting on an act this whole time. He was just letting her keep going, probably curious how long she could keep the show alive.

“Home!”

He clicked his tongue. “Done running?”

She shot him a glare. He looked way too entertained by all of this.

They drove back.

The closer they got to the house, the faster her heartbeat picked up, thudding hard enough to make her chest feel tight.

Once inside, Dominic set down the shopping bags for her, took off his coat, and looked at her.

“Shower?”

“Dominic.”

“Yeah?”

I bit my lip. “I’ve got work tomorrow.”

“Same here.”

She had no clue whether Dominic understood what she really meant or was just acting dumb on purpose. Either way, whatever came next felt impossible to dodge.

She took a shower, did her skincare, then climbed into bed. Dominic was already there, half-reclined against the pillows, head lowered as he scrolled through his phone, still dealing with work stuff.

She slipped under the covers fast, turned onto her side, and put her back to him.

Then it hit her out of nowhere—he really liked that position. Like, a lot.

She immediately rolled onto her back instead. He set his phone on the nightstand. “Lights off.”

“Mm.”

Darkness swallowed the room in a second.

Her eyes took a while to adjust. She lay there without moving, listening. His breathing was steady and even. If she couldn’t hear it, she would’ve thought the other side of the bed was empty.

She waited. Her whole body was tight, nerves wound up, ears straining for anything—a shift of fabric, a rustle, the tiniest sign that he was about to reach for her.

A few minutes passed. Nothing. He didn’t move at all.

That wasn’t right. This was not Dominic. He’d come back from his so-called business trip, spent the whole day with her, taken her out for a candlelit dinner, and now he was just... going to sleep?

“Still awake?” He turned his head slightly. He probably couldn’t see her in the dark, but he could definitely feel the restless energy coming off her.

“Almost asleep.”

A few more minutes crawled by. She stared at the ceiling, her mind completely blank, like it had frozen.

Then she threw back the blanket and sat up, turning toward him. “You’re actually just going to sleep. That was the plan?”

“What else was I supposed to do?” His voice carried that teasing edge that was seriously irritating. “Were you waiting for something?”

She parted her lips, then shut them again.

“If you don’t want it, I won’t touch you.” He understood perfectly how scared she’d been of this moment all day. He understood why she’d practically fled the house, why she’d dragged shopping out for six whole hours, why she’d been so careful, so weirdly deliberate, even in the way she positioned herself in bed.

He wanted her. Of that, Lena was absolutely sure. But he was never going to take anything she offered out of duty.

What Dominic wanted was her choosing him, her moving toward him on her own—not her lying there and just enduring it in silence.

She bit the inside of her cheek. She’d spent the whole day treating him like some kind of threat, and meanwhile he’d done nothing but act calm, polite, almost maddeningly decent. Somehow that felt worse than if he’d just pinned her down and made the point brutally clear.

"Then why did you come back?" she asked, dropping back onto the bed.

He gave a short, scornful laugh. "You think I came home just to sleep with you?" His tone turned cool, edged with offense. "Is that all I am to you? Some male who can’t think past what’s in his pants?"

The answer in her head was yes. That was exactly what she thought.

Why else would he cancel his trip and drive all the way back? Dominic wasn’t the kind of man who changed plans for no reason.

He rolled over, and even in the dark she could feel his stare burning into her. His voice came out low and rough, the sound of it raising goosebumps along her arms. "Sounds like if I don’t do something, I’m not living up to your expectations."

She stumbled backward.

In the next second, his arm shot out and yanked her straight onto him.

She sucked in a sharp breath. Before her brain could catch up, she was straddling his hips, his hand locked tight around her waist, her palms pressed flat against his chest.

Her breathing went ragged. She could feel the hard line of him beneath her, already fully aroused under the thin layer of fabric between them.

"Let me go." She twisted, trying to push herself up.

A low sound rumbled in his throat. "Keep moving like that and see what happens."

She froze.

Every little shift of her hips dragged her closer against him, and the friction was messing with both of their heads way too fast.

"Do you want it?" he asked, blunt and direct, no softness in it at all.

"No—"

His hand slid down the curve of her lower back, slipped under the waistband of her shorts, and his fingers reached between her thighs from behind. Her spine snapped straight at once, every nerve in her body sparking like she’d been hit with live current.

"Dominic."

"Now," he said, voice dark and steady, "do you want it?"

His fingers moved slowly, tracing over the damp fabric of her underwear with maddening precision. The pressure was just enough to make her gasp—and then, right before she could sink any deeper into the feeling, he pulled away.

He found the spot where the heat had all gathered and slowly traced circles over the cotton with his thumb. Her thighs clamped around him before she could even stop herself.

He was patient. So patient it was almost cruel. Every time Lena opened her mouth to complain, his fingers shifted and the words vanished on the spot. Every time she kept quiet, he asked again.

"Do you want it?"

She reached up and covered his eyes with her hand. "I do."

She felt his lips press against her palm.

And then he stopped.

"Good night."

Her mind went completely blank.

She dug her nails hard into his shoulder, leaving deep marks behind.

In the next second, he rolled and pinned her beneath him. Her wrists were trapped above her head, his body pressed between her legs, his face so close it was almost touching hers. A thin wash of light from the window caught in his eyes, and for one sharp instant they flashed amber, the wolf in him stirring hard.

"If you don’t want to sleep," he said, his voice low and rough, "then don’t."

Before she could answer, he kissed her. His tongue slid past her lips while his free hand yanked her shorts down, dragging them to the tops of her thighs.

His fingers hooked the edge of her underwear and pulled it aside. She felt the hot head of his cock press against her, and then he pushed deep inside her. Her back arched clean off the mattress.

When she came, he followed right after, his forehead braced against her shoulder while they both breathed into the dark like they’d just run for their lives.

He lifted himself, then rolled onto his back and pulled her into his arms.

A few minutes later, she was asleep. It was the best sleep she’d had in weeks.

Anna was back. She didn’t go straight into the office. Around lunch, she texted Lena, and they met at a restaurant near Lena’s building.

"You look good," Lena said, studying her face carefully. Her color was better, her eyes looked clear again, and the tightness between her brows had eased.

Anna smiled. "Honestly, I really needed that reset. I’ve worked my ass off for years, trying to build something for myself. I kind of forgot there’s a whole world outside of that."

Lena’s chest ached for her. She still couldn’t fully picture what kind of despair had driven Anna to jump off that bridge.

But she had survived, and after going through something like that, a lot of other fears just stopped hitting the same. They kind of burned out and vanished.

"Take care of yourself first. Everything else can wait."

"Yeah." Anna poked at her salad, then looked up at Lena. "How are things on your side?"

"Pretty good." Lena spread her hands. "Look at me. Do I seem like I’m barely holding it together?"

Anna tilted her head, studying her. "Your skin is glowing, your eyes are soft, and your shoulders are finally relaxed. Work is going well, and so is your love life. It’s kind of obvious."

"Whoa, easy there." Lena let out a short laugh. "Calling it a career is a bit much. It’s just a job. And as for the love life part..." She pulled a face. "It’s not love."

"You live together, you sleep together, and you still won’t call it love?" Anna raised a brow. "Can you really separate a bond from love like that?"

"Of course you can. Dominic and I have never used the word ’love.’" Lena leaned back slightly, trying to sound casual, even though something in her chest tightened. "This bond works. That’s enough. We don’t need to slap a label on it."

Anna leaned forward a little, eyes fixed on her. "You don’t love him?"

Lena paused. For a second, her thoughts snagged, messy and hard to sort through. Then she shook her head. "I don’t know. If you’re asking me right now, I can’t answer that."

"You’re in love. You just don’t want to say it out loud."

Lena shrugged, but the motion felt a little too quick, a little too forced. "Call it whatever you want."

Anna sighed, the sound low and tired. "I’ve been thinking about ending the bond."

"Does Daniel want that?"

"No." Anna nudged the food around on her plate with her fork, not really eating. "This is all on me. I dragged him into my mess. Making the mate bond was impulsive. I treated it like some stupid gamble, and now he’s the one paying for my bad decision."

"He doesn’t see it that way." Lena’s voice softened. "Before any of this happened, he already told you he wanted to be with you. He chose you."

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