Chosen by the Beast Alpha

Chapter 19: Chapter 19

Lena’s POV

By the time I dragged myself back to my tiny room next to Dominic’s, my whole body felt like it was made of wet cement.

The stupid cold had gone from "a bit annoying" to "full-on disaster." My nose was completely blocked, my head throbbed like a drum someone kept hitting, and my throat felt as if I’d swallowed broken glass. I forced down some cold medicine, curled up in the middle of the huge bed, and pulled the blankets over my head. But no matter how tightly I wrapped myself, the room still felt painfully empty, like the cold was seeping straight into my bones.

I knew Dominic was just putting up his walls again. That’s what he does. But the moment those words left his mouth, that old sting of being misunderstood punched right through me. I thought... after everything our bodies had been through, he’d at least see me—really see me.

Turns out, to him, I wasn’t all that different from any other she-wolf.

It felt like everything had reset, like I was back to the day I first arrived—back to that icy distance where Dominic looked at me like I was just another gold-digging Omega trying to climb up his world.

My eyelids kept getting heavier. No. I couldn’t collapse here. I promised my mom I’d survive no matter what. If I died, my stepmother and Lily would pop champagne and celebrate.

So I forced myself up, pulled on thick layers, and headed to the Bloodmoon Pack hospital.

I didn’t bother Luna Celeste. She believed I could help Dominic, and the last thing I wanted was for her to see me as weak and unreliable. I couldn’t disappoint her.

So I went alone.

The waiting area was too bright, with that suffocating disinfectant smell hanging in the air. Soft conversations buzzed all around. I sat on a cold plastic chair and watched the IV drip its way into the vein on the back of my hand. My mind was foggy, drifting in and out as my eyes wandered around the room.

Almost everyone had someone with them—someone holding their hand, someone bringing them coffee, someone whispering comfort.

And that loneliness... it suddenly felt like it had weight, like something pressing right onto my chest. Time stretched painfully slow. I didn’t dare fall asleep completely, so I forced myself to open my eyes every few minutes to check the IV level.

Then, out of nowhere, I saw him.

Dominic.

He appeared at the entrance of the hallway, tall and sharp-edged, looking completely out of place among the sick patients and anxious families. Daniel walked beside him. Even through my fever haze, I caught the brief moment his eyes swept across the IV area.

For a heartbeat, our gazes met.

I didn’t even think—my throat scraped out a hoarse whisper. "...Dominic?"

He didn’t react. Didn’t hesitate. He simply turned away and walked toward the section marked "Private Consultation," the hem of his black coat slicing through the air like a blade. Daniel followed without a word, not even glancing back.

I froze, then let out a tiny, dry laugh. What was I even hoping for? That the man who kept me at arm’s length with a contract would suddenly care about some sick, troublesome Omega? Yeah. Fever brain had officially kicked in.

I lowered my head again, half my face buried in the collar of my puffy jacket, trying to shut out everything—including that stupid, sour ache in my chest.

I didn’t know why he was here. Maybe I hallucinated the whole thing. By the time the IV bottle was nearly empty, exhaustion finally pulled me under. I was drifting in that blurry half-dream when I felt someone standing beside me.

I jolted awake only when the nurse came to remove the needle. Blinking, I lifted my head—and instead of Dominic, I saw Daniel’s calm face.

"Miss Lena," he said quietly, "your infusion is finished."

I shot upright, instantly alert, my eyes flicking around.

But the tall familiar figure was nowhere in sight.

"Alpha Dominic already left," Daniel said, clearly noticing the way I’d been scanning the area. "He asked me to take you home."

I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead, still feeling weak all over. I had to sit for a moment before pushing myself up and grabbing the medicine the doctor prescribed. Daniel stayed quiet, following a few steps behind me.

The moment the hospital’s automatic doors slid open, the winter night slapped me in the face with its icy wind. I shivered hard and hugged myself tighter. Then a heavy, well-made black coat suddenly appeared in my line of sight.

Daniel was holding it out. Dominic’s coat—still the one he’d been wearing minutes ago.

I stared at it for a couple of seconds, my voice hoarse as I let out a short, bitter laugh. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

Daniel paused before answering. "Alpha’s concern."

Concern? From the man who ordered me out of his car and practically drew a line between us with a contract? My lips twitched, but I didn’t push it. Whatever his reasons, he left the coat because he didn’t want me freezing. And honestly, I was shaking so badly my teeth hurt.

I didn’t overthink it. I took the coat, still carrying a faint trace of warmth and his familiar crisp cedar scent. That scent was so him—like a snow-draped winter forest, cool and distant, yet right now it wrapped around me with a strangely soft warmth.

The moment I sat in the car, the heater blasted over me, and the exhaustion hit like a wave. I fell asleep almost the second the car started moving.

I had no idea how long I slept. When I came to, the car had already stopped, and Daniel was gone from the driver’s seat. Through the window, I saw him standing a short distance away under a streetlamp, talking on the phone. The slight tilt of his body, the respectful tone—anyone could guess who he was talking to.

I waited until he hung up, then pushed the door open. He turned at the sound.

I slipped out of the coat and held it toward him. "Tell him... thank you." My voice was still rough.

"It’s freezing out. You should keep it on," Daniel said, not taking it. "If you need anything, you can always contact me."

I pressed my dry lips together before pulling the coat back around my shoulders. "Can’t I just contact Dominic directly?" Even I heard how ridiculous that sounded.

Daniel actually froze for half a second before his usual stiff composure snapped back into place. "...You can. Alpha didn’t forbid you from reaching out."

"Thanks." I gave him a faint smile before heading toward the tower. "I’m going in."

I walked back into my cold, empty place. The moment I stepped inside, my phone started ringing—Anna. Daniel must’ve told her I went to the hospital alone, because she came at me through the phone all worried and furious, scolding me nonstop.

Listening to her anxious nagging somehow filled that hollow, icy feeling in my chest. After she finally ran out of steam, I told her Dominic had Daniel drive me back... and that he left his coat.

"I thought he wanted space. Isn’t he the one insisting on that stupid agreement?" Anna sounded completely baffled. "So now he’s... what, caring from the shadows? What game is he playing?"

I slumped onto the sofa, staring up at the pale ceiling. My eyes drifted to the black coat draped over the armrest, looking so out of place in my room. "Maybe he just realized my cold got worse... and felt guilty about making me get out in the rain last night." It was the most logical explanation, probably the closest to the truth. Still, in the back of my mind, a tiny voice wondered if things were really that simple.

"Lena." Anna’s tone suddenly shifted, serious in a way that made me straighten a little. "Look, we all get that Alpha Dominic is barely holding it together because of that curse—snapping one minute, freezing people out the next. But you really never know when he’ll let anyone in. What I’m saying is... you’re gonna end up hurt. A lot."

I didn’t answer. Her words hit straight at that tiny, scared place I kept pretending didn’t exist. The memory of him shutting me out, again and again, flashed through my mind. I shook my head hard, trying to fling those thoughts away before they rooted.

"I don’t know, Anna. I just want to help Luna Celeste." My voice came out tired, even to my own ears. I closed my eyes. "I just want to finish this agreement quietly and then leave. That’s literally the only plan I still have control over."

Anna sighed softly on the other end. Then her voice, warm and steady, wrapped around me like a blanket. "Whatever you decide, I’m with you. Always. Just... take care of yourself, okay, Lena?"

I spent the rest of the day drifting in and out of sleep. By the next afternoon, the heaviness in my limbs finally loosened. My head wasn’t splitting anymore, and the fire in my throat had faded.

My gaze fell on the black coat draped over the back of the chair.

Dominic’s coat. It sat there quietly, expensive fabric catching the dim light like it didn’t belong in my small, ordinary room at all. I needed to return it—properly.

My phone still hadn’t buzzed with a single message from Dominic. Maybe giving back the coat could at least get him to see me.

I pushed myself to my feet, grabbed the clothes I needed to wash, and stepped out of the room.

"Well, look who survived."

Ivy was leaning against the hallway wall, her usual entourage flanking her, all wearing the same smug grin.

"We thought you might’ve just vanished." Her eyes slid from the laundry in my arms to Dominic’s coat. Her smirk deepened. "Relax, I’m not here to jump you."

"Yeah, no point anymore, right?" someone behind her chimed in, laughter bubbling up.

"Dominic alpha’s over you." Ivy shrugged like she was commenting on the weather. "What are you now? Not even worth an excuse."

I said nothing.

I didn’t have the energy for whatever game she wanted to play. I didn’t even bother looking at her. I just tightened my hold on the clothes and walked past them, down the stairs, out the door, into the open air.

I flagged a passing car and told the driver the address of the best dry cleaner in town.

But the second I stepped out through the dry cleaner’s glass door, a rough hand lunged from the side and clamped over my mouth. A harsh, furious scent washed over me—rage, sharp and suffocating.

Luke.

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