Chosen by the Beast Alpha

Chapter 61: Chapter 61

Lena’s POV

They dropped Anna off first, then took Lena home.

Just as she unbuckled her seat belt, her phone buzzed. It was Anna.

["I seriously think Dominic likes you. I’m not even kidding. You should’ve seen his face tonight!!"]

Lena glanced at the back of Dominic’s head. She was sitting behind him. There was no way she could’ve seen anything.

["You’re overthinking it."]

Anna instantly sent back an eye-roll emoji. ["I’m telling you, he has totally fallen for you!! Stop acting like you don’t see it!"]

Lena replied with a blank-face emoji, then put her phone away. Samuel got out of the car and, all gentleman-like, walked her to the apartment building.

"Want me to take you upstairs?" he asked.

"No, it’s fine." She shook her head. "Thanks for bringing me back."

"Don’t mention it." He smiled. "Good night."

"Good night."

She turned and went inside. She was just about to take a shower when the doorbell rang.

Lena looked through the peephole and lifted a brow.

She opened the door, leaned against the frame, and said with a half-smile, "Wow, you’ve been showing up a lot lately. What’s up? You called off our agreement and then realized you’re in love with me?"

She paused, then added, "Or are you here to borrow my bathroom again?"

Dominic looked past her into the apartment. "I’m staying here tonight."

Lena stared at him, honestly wondering if she’d heard him wrong. "Excuse me?"

He said it like this was the most normal thing in the world.

When he turned to walk in, she quickly stepped in front of him and blocked the way. "Dominic! I am not getting involved with someone else’s partner. Sure, I’m shallow enough to appreciate a hot guy, but I do have standards. Rule number one: he has to be single."

"Move."

He said it like he hadn’t heard a single word she’d just said.

Lena didn’t budge. Using her bathroom was one thing. Fine, whatever, he could even have a glass of water. But staying the night? Seriously?

"Our agreement was ended," she reminded him, each word clipped and cold. "You can’t sleep here."

Dominic’s gaze settled on her and didn’t move. "The agreement was never ended."

"What?"

His voice stayed flat, almost annoyingly calm. "Do you have any proof it was terminated? An official statement? A signed document? Anything?"

She didn’t.

Back then, he had only told her and Celeste. She’d stormed off in a rage before anything else could happen. Samuel was supposed to bring the paperwork again, but he never did.

"You’re seriously telling me you never handled it?" Her voice came out sharp with disbelief.

"No."

He reached out, took her by the arm, moved her aside, and walked in like he owned the place.

"So you’re still my partner," he said. "Stop flirting with other men."

Lena froze in the doorway, just standing there, her brain struggling to catch up with what he’d said.

All this time, she’d thought she was free. She’d found her own apartment. She’d told her coworkers they were over. She’d told Ethan and Reid she was single.

And the agreement had still been in effect the entire time.

Because this man had never officially ended it.

She shut the door hard and marched straight toward him. Dominic had already dropped onto her couch. One glance at his face made it obvious he found the size and comfort deeply beneath him. The disdain on his features was almost comical.

"Explain," she said. "What is that supposed to mean? You didn’t end the agreement?"

"I’m tired."

He leaned back, folded his arms over his chest, and closed his eyes like this conversation was a minor inconvenience.

"No. Don’t even try to sleep." She grabbed his hand and yanked him upright. "Sit up and explain. You said you wanted this over, so I left. What happened after that?"

He opened his eyes.

She still didn’t let go.

"I didn’t sign anything. You didn’t sign anything. No official announcement was ever made to the pack." Her anger was burning hotter by the second, and her fingers tightened around his hand. "Why can’t you ever just do what you say?"

Those gray eyes studied her face, quiet and unreadable.

"Do you really want it to end that badly?"

That did it.

The question hit like a spark in gasoline. Lena clenched his wrist even harder.

"You were the one who wanted to end it!" she snapped. "You were the one talking to me about fairness and freedom of choice and all that. I went along with it. I moved out. I started over. And now you’re turning this around on me like I’m the one who wanted all of this to end?"

"And then?"

I seriously wanted to hit him. How could he just toss out a casual "And?" like that? His tone was flat, totally indifferent, like none of this had anything to do with him in the first place.

Lena drew in a deep breath and tightened her grip on his hand. "Are you messing with me? You owe me an explanation."

"What kind of explanation do you want?" He rarely saw her this worked up, and something in his expression shifted. "Are you really that eager to start dating again?"

"Why wouldn’t I be?" She let go of his hand and glared at him, eyes burning. "You don’t love me, so am I not allowed to let someone else love me? When are you finally going to make up your mind?"

He had already survived the curse. He could have gotten rid of her a long time ago. Back then, he was the one who thought she was trouble, so if anyone should have ended their bond, it should have been him, not her.

"Who do you like?" His voice stayed annoyingly calm. "The guy who was following you at the café? Or Samuel?"

"Either one."

She was furious. For weeks, he had kept her in the dark, letting her believe she was free, while the agreement still hung there unresolved, never actually ended. It wasn’t fair. Seriously, not fair at all.

Dominic’s gaze moved slowly across her face, then he closed his eyes again. "You need to wait. Since the agreement is still valid, getting yourself a boyfriend now would be a violation. That wouldn’t end well."

Lena narrowed her eyes. He was sprawled on her couch like he owned the place, looking completely at ease, while she couldn’t do a thing about it. The audacity was unreal.

Her fingers curled into a tight fist. She wanted nothing more than to slap that maddening calm right off his face.

"Fine." She dropped down cross-legged onto the floor cushion. "Then give me an explanation. Who is that woman? What’s going on between you two? New girlfriend, or old flame?"

He didn’t move.

Lena took another slow breath, forcing herself not to explode. "Dominic, we haven’t known each other that long, so let me be crystal clear. I do not tolerate dishonesty. If our agreement is still active and you’re seeing another woman at the same time, I will not accept that. I’m dead serious."

He still said nothing. He lay there like a rock, silent and unreadable.

"Fine. Then don’t answer." She straightened up. "But if I find out you’re fooling around with someone, or some woman gets too close to you, don’t blame me if I stop being nice. I don’t care whether she’s your new girlfriend or your ex-partner. I will make things ugly for you, and trust me, you won’t like it."

He gave no response. Maybe he had already fallen asleep. She had said everything she needed to say. Whether he kept the agreement or not, that was on him now.

Dominic’s POV

He spent the night on Lena’s couch. The next morning, when he woke up, her words from last night were still echoing in his head.

His phone rang. He sat up and glanced at the screen.

It was Eliza.

Lena’s words from last night flashed through his mind, and Dominic ended the call.

Almost right away, a text popped in.

["Dominic, I’m at your place. I brought coffee and breakfast. Can you let me in?"]

He typed back: ["I’m not home."]

["Where are you?"]

He left it on read.

Just then, Lena’s bedroom door swung open. She came out yawning, still half asleep, her hair a little messy, her eyes unfocused at first. Then she spotted him sitting on the couch. Her brows pulled together.

His phone rang again. This time, it was Eliza.

Lena folded her arms and walked over, stopping right behind him. She didn’t say a word. She just stood there, watching him, quiet but impossible to ignore.

Dominic glanced at her, then answered the call. Eliza’s voice came through the speaker, soft and gentle. "Dominic, why did you leave so early this morning?"

He didn’t answer that. Instead, he said flatly, "What do you need?"

"When are you coming back? I’ll wait for you."

He could feel Lena’s gaze on him like a spotlight. His expression didn’t shift as he replied, "I’m not sure I’m coming back. Don’t wait."

Silence dropped on the other end.

A moment later, Eliza finally spoke, disappointment slipping into her voice. "Okay."

"Bye." He hung up.

Then he looked at Lena.

She gave him a smile that was both sugary and sharp enough to cut. "Wow. A call first thing in the morning? You two are seriously joined at the hip, huh?"

Dominic got to his feet and headed for the bathroom. "Cut the sarcasm."

Lena followed him and stopped at the doorway, leaning there as if she had all the time in the world. "She’s your ex-partner? The one who found out about your curse and bailed on you?"

Only Lena could throw out a question like that straight to his face and still look completely unbothered.

I splashed some water over my face. "Where’s the toothbrush?"

"There are disposable ones in the cabinet."

He found one, gave it a quick once-over, and frowned. Cheap. Seriously cheap. He didn’t even bother with a cup—just bent over the sink, brushed with tap water, and rinsed right there.

Lena’s words kept coming before the air had a chance to settle. "Samuel was handling a mate-bond termination case before. It was for her, wasn’t it?"

He reached for the doorknob, but she stepped in front of him and blocked it. "Shutting the door won’t make this go away."

"I need to use the bathroom."

She let go a second later. The door clicked shut.

When he came back out, she was still there, arms folded tight across her chest, clearly holding back a storm. "So what now? Are we ending the agreement or not?"

"I’ve been busy lately. We’ll talk about it when things calm down."

He walked out of Lena’s apartment like he didn’t see how mad she was, even though her face had practically gone dark with rage.

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