Chosen by the Beast Alpha

Chapter 53: Chapter 53

Lena’s POV

The last streak of sunlight slipped behind the ridge, and I was in the middle of cooking dinner when a roar split the quiet.

A low, guttural growl followed, shaking the floor beneath me—raw and agonized. I grabbed the edge of the counter, my knuckles whitening as I held on.

The basement door rattled on its hinges. The latch groaned. Something massive slammed into it from the other side, cracking the frame straight down the middle.

Another roar followed. The walls trembled, dishes clinked in the cabinets. I heard the sharp snap of silver chains giving way, slicing through the air, and then a howl ripped across the whole cabin, freezing every inch of my skin.

The door bent outward, barely hanging by a single hinge. Through the warped gap, darkness writhed like it was alive.

I forced myself toward the door. My legs were shaking, my heart pounding so hard I could taste metal.

Every instinct screamed at me to get out, jump in the car, drive away, and never look back. But instead I pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The basement was almost unrecognizable. Chains snapped into twisted chunks littered the floor, iron bolts torn straight out of the concrete. Deep claw marks scored the walls, slicing through metal beams like they were paper.

And at the center of the wreckage stood Dominic. Only now he was even bigger than he’d been that night in his study—his skin swallowed by thick, black veins.

His muscles bulged and warped, bones cracking and reshaping beneath stretched flesh. His fingers had become hooked claws, long, curved, dripping with blood from shredding the shackles that used to hold him.

His eyes burned a solid, feral red—no pupils, no humanity, nothing but heat and hunger.

This wasn’t Dominic anymore. Whatever made him who he was had vanished behind those eyes. All that stood before me was a beast.

He turned toward me, lips peeling back over fangs big enough to crush bone. His growl rolled through my chest, numbing everything inside.

Then he spoke—Dominic’s voice, but twisted. "You came to save him."

His laugh scraped like gravel, the ugliest sound I’d ever heard. "Stupid Omega. You really think he wants saving?"

I stayed at the bottom of the stairs, spine straight, fists clenched so tight my nails bit into my palms. "Dominic, I know you’re still in there."

"Dominic?" it spat. "He’s a coward. Want to hear what your mate’s been doing? Every time he disappeared, every time he fed you some excuse, he was running to Eliza. Crawling back to the woman who called him a freak and threw him out like trash. That’s the man you’re trying so hard to save."

My stomach dropped. I’d known about Eliza, and I’d already guessed pieces of what happened lately. But hearing it said out loud still cut deep, blurring everything inside me.

"He must have had a reason to go to Eliza," I said, my voice shaking but steady enough to finish the thought. "That doesn’t prove anything."

"That right there tells you everything," the beast growled as it stepped closer, the concrete whining under its weight. "He picked her over you. Every. Single. Time. He can’t stay away from Eliza. Know why? Because he’s weak. Pathetic, even. He craves love so badly it’s laughable. That’s why I can take him over. His whole damn body will be mine."

Was Dominic’s heart really filled with nothing but Eliza? The thought sliced through me. Every word out of that monster’s mouth felt like a blade twisting deeper.

But my feet stayed planted. I refused to back down. I would not let some twisted curse fool me. None of this—absolutely none of this—was Dominic’s truth.

"You can’t control him," I shot back, my fingers clenching so hard my nails dug into my palms. My voice shook, but I forced every word out. "You’re just a curse. Dominic won’t let you consume him. He’s not weak. He’s so much stronger than you think."

The beast let out a furious roar and lunged.

The impact blasted the air out of my lungs as I flew backward and slammed into the cement wall. I heard a crack—my bones—before the pain caught up. My body slid down the wall, hitting the floor hard. Everything turned dim.

My ribs were gone. The pain was sharp, blinding, stealing every bit of air I tried to pull in. The creature loomed over me, massive and menacing, one claw raised straight at my throat.

"Still not scared?" it snarled.

"Why should I be?" I forced the words out, stubborn to the end.

I stared up at those hollow eyes, pushing past the blood-red haze, searching.

Searching for the man who’d parked his car on the edge of a cliff to save my mother. The man who’d kissed me under fireworks and pretended it meant nothing. The man who’d sat there in silence while I washed the blood off his wrist, never saying a word.

He was in there. He had to be.

"You should be breaking apart right now," the creature hissed, voice scraping like broken glass. "You’re nothing. Just a weak, useless omega who can’t even protect herself. You think being stubborn makes you special? You think hanging on makes you brave?"

It straightened, lifted a clawed foot, and slammed it into my abdomen.

My body flew again. I hit the ground hard, curling instinctively, arms wrapped around my stomach as coughing tore out of me. Blood filled my mouth—warm, metallic—splattering across the cold gray floor.

"Pathetic," it spat, chest heaving. "Just as pathetic and weak as he is."

Pathetic? Weak?

That wasn’t me. It would never be me.

The staircase was right behind me—my ticket out. And he still had a few silver chains around his ankle and wrist, not fully broken.

I could run. I could drag my beaten body up those steps, get to the car, and just... leave. I could take Dominic’s money, disappear somewhere warm and safe, start over in a place where nothing—no curses, no monsters, no painful pasts—could ever touch me again.

I could be free. It was right there, at the top of the steps, just waiting for me.

I pressed my palms against the cold floor and shoved myself up. Fire-like pain shot through my ribs, spreading across my whole torso.

I wasn’t crawling toward the stairs. I was crawling toward the beast.

Stumbling to my feet, I reached out and grabbed its face. My fingers dug hard into its jaw, touching skin so hot it felt like it might scorch me, and I yanked him closer.

"Dominic." I whispered right against his ear. "Come back. I know you can hear me. I know you’re still in there. You’re not weak, not even close. You’re stronger than this damn curse. So wake up. Don’t let it win."

I kissed him. My lips brushed his fangs, his blood, the burning heat of the curse, and I wrapped my arms around him like I could anchor him to this world. Everything I’d denied for months—every bit of stubbornness, anger, and love I’d swallowed down—poured into that single point of contact.

He froze. My strength drained out all at once. My knees buckled, and I slid down against him until I hit the floor.

Above me, he thrashed, a low growl ripping out of his throat so violently that dust shook loose from the ceiling.

I heard the last chains snap, one after another. He broke free completely, no restraints left.

Through my blurring vision, I watched him take a step toward me. There was nothing between us now.

His chest rose and fell in rough, heavy breaths. His claws stretched out at his sides, and those burning red eyes locked straight onto my face.

The fear I’d been trying so hard to bury finally broke loose. So... did I fail after all? Dominic was still a beast, still trapped in the curse. And I—was I about to be torn apart by him?

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