Chosen by the Beast Alpha

Chapter 60: Chapter 60

Lena’s POV

Lena lifted a brow and said nothing.

What was she supposed to say, anyway? Make small talk? Hard pass.

When Lena didn’t respond, Eliza turned to face her fully, her gaze drifting over Lena’s features like she was sizing her up. "You’re very pretty."

That just made Lena more confused. She had no clue where Eliza was going with this.

"Do you need something?" Lena asked, keeping her tone flat.

Eliza smiled and gave a small shake of her head. "Nothing, really. I just figured since you know Dominic and the others, we’ll probably run into each other again. So I thought maybe we should say hi properly and get to know each other."

Now Lena got it.

"You’ve got the wrong idea," she said calmly. "I’m not close with them. At most, we just know each other enough to nod if we pass by."

"Really?" Eliza asked, clearly not buying it.

"Really." Lena tilted her head, watching her. "Unless..." She paused on purpose. "You want me to have some kind of connection with one of them?"

Eliza’s smile froze on her face.

A beat later, she said, "Sorry. I crossed a line."

Lena tossed the tissue into the trash and walked out.

When she got back to the table, she told Anna everything. Anna instantly rolled her eyes so hard it was almost dramatic.

"I told you forever ago she wasn’t a good person," Anna said.

"Good thing Dominic and I are already over." Lena shook her head lightly. "If we weren’t—"

Anna let out a dismissive scoff. "Even if you two were still together, she wouldn’t stand a chance against you. You’d be his mate, and she’d be the ex. If she tried anything, she’d just be that woman messing with someone else’s relationship."

The words hit Lena like a sharp needle.

Her expression darkened at once.

That was exactly what Celia had done. She’d clung to Lena’s father, and because of that, her mother...

Anna noticed the shift in her face immediately. Her voice turned colder. "Women like that should disappear from the world."

Lena shook her head. "Let’s not go there."

After dinner, Lena went to pay the bill. While she was standing at the counter, Dominic came out of the private room.

Eliza followed right behind him.

"Dominic, dinner’s on me tonight. I’ll pay." Eliza reached out and caught his arm.

She was obviously just trying to be polite, but Dominic shook her off without a second thought and stepped aside. "Sure. You pay."

Eliza froze there with her hand still half-raised, looking awkward as hell. Lena bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing.

The waitress brought the bill straight to Eliza. Eliza paid, then lifted her eyes and glanced at Lena.

Anna had gone to the restroom. Lena waited near the entrance, scrolling on her phone like Eliza didn’t even exist.

"Lena, you done eating too?" Samuel strolled out and called to her with way too much enthusiasm.

They really weren’t that close. He seriously didn’t need to be this loud every single time.

"Yeah," Lena said.

"Need a ride? I can take you."

"No, thanks. My friend drove me."

Lena could feel Eliza’s gaze sliding back and forth between her and the others, clearly trying to piece together who exactly Lena was connected to.

Just then Anna came back. Lena looped an arm through hers, gave Samuel a small nod, and said, "Let’s go."

Samuel’s POV

Samuel watched Lena walk off with Anna’s arm linked through hers, then glanced at Dominic. She hadn’t looked back once. Not even once.

"Why is she acting so cold?" he muttered under his breath, staring at her retreating figure. "We’ve known each other this long, and she’s really gonna pretend we’re strangers?"

Dominic said nothing.

Eliza stepped closer, sounding careful, curious, and a little too interested. "Samuel, did you ever date that Omega?"

"I definitely thought about it." Samuel cut a sideways glance at Dominic. "She turned me down."

He was this close to saying it outright: Dominic would never have allowed it.

"She is pretty," Eliza said in an easy, casual tone. "But she seems a little arrogant. Then again, pretty girls get to be picky, right?"

Just like he expected. He’d been waiting for this moment.

Pretty but arrogant. Gorgeous but a pain to deal with. It sounded like a compliment on the surface, but there was a blade hidden underneath, sharp and deliberate, meant to plant something ugly in Dominic’s mind.

Eliza wanted him to see Lena as vain, high-maintenance, not worth the trouble. And she wrapped it all up in that warm, supportive tone of hers, the kind that made it almost impossible to call her out without looking crazy.

Samuel had seen this move before. Back in the restaurant lobby, right after Lena and Anna had walked past them, Eliza had turned to him with that bright, innocent smile. "She’s a very pretty she-wolf. How do you know her, Samuel?"

"I didn’t meet her on my own," he said, glancing at Dominic.

Eliza caught that immediately. Her smile stayed in place, but something flickered in her eyes. She turned to Dominic. "You know her too?"

Dominic hadn’t answered. Not because he didn’t want to, but because he simply wasn’t listening. His gaze was fixed on Lena as she crossed the lobby, following her all the way as she walked off.

Eliza’s smile had tightened for a second. She’d realized, right then, that she was standing beside a man whose attention was glued to another she-wolf leaving the room.

She’d been clocking every little thing all night. And now, here in the parking lot, that "pretty but proud" comment was her first real move. Classic Eliza.

Three years ago, she’d used the exact same trick. Soft observations, sweet words, subtle little pushes—one by one, she’d cut Dominic off from anyone who got too close. She hadn’t changed. If anything, she’d just gotten better at it.

Dominic’s expression darkened. He understood exactly what Eliza meant.

Samuel smiled and stressed every word on purpose. "You’re beautiful too, Eliza."

He got the message she was trying to send. If a beautiful she-wolf had the right to be picky, then Eliza had already claimed that right the moment she walked away after seeing Dominic’s curse.

He caught that flash in her eyes, strange and quick. She bit her lip, and a carefully crafted hurt expression spread across her face.

"Let’s go." Dominic didn’t wait for anyone. He turned and walked ahead.

Samuel followed. Daniel followed too. Eliza was left a few steps behind.

When they reached the parking lot, Lena and Anna were still there, crouched beside Anna’s car.

Samuel walked over to take a look. Flat tire. They’d already pulled the spare from the trunk, but that one was flat too.

"How long has that spare been sitting there?" he asked.

Lena pointed at Anna. "Ask her."

Anna’s face went bright red. “I don’t know!”

“How about we give them a ride?” Eliza suggested from behind, smiling like she was being super thoughtful.

“No need!” Anna cut in fast. “We can call a cab!”

“My car’s right here,” I said. “There’s room. If you feel bad about it, just pay me what the cab would cost.”

They probably couldn’t come up with a polite way to turn that down, so Lena finally gave in. “Thanks. Sorry for the trouble.”

“My pleasure.” I flashed a grin.

The two of them started walking toward my car, and that was when Dominic spoke.

“Daniel, take Eliza home.” He headed for my car without even looking back. “I need to talk to Samuel later.”

Eliza stopped dead. The smile on her face froze on the spot. Daniel, meanwhile, said nothing and walked straight toward her. He’d worked for Dominic long enough that this kind of thing didn’t even faze him anymore.

But for some reason, Anna’s expression suddenly turned awful.

Inside my car, Dominic took the front passenger seat. Lena and Anna sat in the back. Nobody said a word. The silence was thick, weird, and honestly kind of brutal.

I held out for thirty seconds.

“Lena,” I called, meeting her eyes in the rearview mirror. “Have you given my offer another thought?”

“What offer?”

“Me being your boyfriend.”

She blinked, then laughed. “Sure. Why not?”

I lifted a brow, a little surprised. “Really?”

“You’re serious, and so am I.” She knew I was joking, which was exactly why she said it like that.

“Nice.” I grinned, fully entertained. “Then tomorrow—dinner together?”

In the passenger seat, Dominic’s jaw locked tight. I could see the muscle ticking there, and the pressure coming off him was intense enough to make the whole car feel smaller.

He was pissed. Or, more accurately, jealous. And honestly? That was exactly the reaction I’d been aiming for. A guy like Dominic only let the truth slip when his guard cracked.

Before Lena could answer, I cut in, "Actually, tomorrow won’t work. I’ve got something urgent to deal with first. I’ll call you after that."

I’d bet good money that if I hadn’t added that, Dominic would’ve torn me apart on the spot.

"Sounds good," Lena said, her voice easy and light, soft as a lazy Sunday morning.

Anna didn’t say a word the whole time. She just tilted her head a little, eyes locked on the half of Dominic’s face she could see, like she was watching every tiny shift in his expression.

"Oh, right," I added, flicking Dominic a glance, a grin tugging at my mouth—the kind that was probably going to get me killed someday. "That urgent thing? It’s the thing you asked me to handle. Don’t worry. I’ll get it done tomorrow."

Dominic turned around and looked at me like his stare could strip the paint right off the wall.

I didn’t move.

Seriously, I didn’t even blink.

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