Chosen by the Beast Alpha

Chapter 63: Chapter 63

Dominic’s POV

Eliza had really gone all out with the table. Delicate pastries, tea already poured, candles lit, and fresh flowers from her new shop arranged in a glass vase. The apartment wasn’t big, but she’d made it feel warm and pretty, the kind of place that looked like it belonged in a lifestyle post.

Lunch was good too. Roast chicken, risotto, pomegranate salad, and for dessert, lemon tart. Eliza moved around the kitchen like she knew exactly what she was doing, calm and graceful, placing every dish with almost obsessive care.

But for some reason, none of it landed with him. Looking at all of this, Dominic only thought of Lena.

"I wasn’t sure what to make, so I just made what I know best." She set down the last plate and smiled at them. "Help yourselves."

Dominic and Daniel ate in silence. Only Samuel was actively keeping the mood alive, smiling as he praised her. "This is seriously good. Whoever ends up with you is insanely lucky."

Eliza tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. A trace of bitterness flashed across her face before she smoothed it over. "I already missed my chance to find a mate. That part of my life is over."

"The end of a bad relationship is a good thing, not a bad thing," Samuel said.

"I hope so." She lifted her teacup. "Dominic shouldn’t be drinking, so tea instead of wine. Thanks for coming to my housewarming."

Dominic had just picked up his cup when his phone started ringing.

He took it out, glanced at the screen, and answered without much expression.

"Hello," he said.

"Are you out?" Lena asked casually, like she was asking if it might rain later.

"Yeah."

"When are you coming back? Bring me something to eat."

Dominic set his teacup back down. "What do you want?"

"A beef and cheese sandwich. Extra chili."

"Okay." He ended the call, put away his phone, and got to his feet. "I’m leaving."

"You’re leaving already?" Eliza pushed back her chair and stood up too, surprise flashing across her face. "We haven’t even properly had lunch yet. Who was that?"

Dominic looked at her, calm as ever. "My partner."

The words dropped into the room like a pebble into still water, sending ripples through the silence. Eliza’s face went white on the spot. Samuel’s fork froze halfway to his mouth.

Dominic turned and walked out without so much as a backward glance.

Half an hour later, when he stepped through the door, Lena was sprawled on the couch, lazily scrolling through her phone. By now, she was already used to him being there.

Over the past few days, the two of them had slipped into a weird kind of understanding: separate bedrooms, meals together, and a quiet truce that was almost... comfortable.

He set the paper bag with the sandwiches on the dining table and flicked a glance at her.

"Where did you go?" she asked, in the same way she asked everything else, like the answer didn’t really matter.

"None of your business."

She got up, walked over to the table, and opened the bag. She pulled out the container. The cheesesteak was packed full, and the smell of grilled onions and melted provolone spread through the kitchen in seconds.

"Just asking." She picked up a fork and started eating. After one bite, she looked at him. "You want some?"

Dominic glanced at the sandwich. His expression pretty much said it all.

"Right." She shrugged. "Yeah, that was a dumb question."

She took a few more bites, and he got up and headed for the kitchen.

"What are you doing?" She turned to look at him.

"Making pasta."

"Why didn’t you just buy two sandwiches?"

"Street food isn’t clean."

She stared at him. "But you literally just bought me street food."

"You asked for it."

"You’re not eating any? What, an Alpha thinks eating street food is beneath him?"

He didn’t answer. He poured water into a pot and set it on the stove. Lena muttered under her breath, clearly unimpressed, then went back to her cheesesteak. Ten minutes later, Dominic sat down with a bowl of plain pasta in tomato sauce. Nothing fancy. Garlic, olive oil, crushed tomatoes, fresh basil. Steam curled up from the bowl.

Lena’s eyes dropped straight to his bowl. “That smells insane,” she said.

Dominic kept eating like he hadn’t heard her.

“Got any sauce left?” She’d already leaned halfway across the table.

“No.”

“Can I try yours?” Her gaze fixed on the thick red sauce pooled at the bottom of his bowl.

He looked up at her. “If you don’t mind that I already ate from it.”

“We’ve literally kissed, Dominic. Do you seriously think I care about sharing a bowl of pasta with you?”

She didn’t wait for an answer. She dragged his bowl across the table, grabbed a clean fork, and scooped up a bite.

Then she closed her eyes. “Oh my God.”

She ate with total focus, making a quiet, satisfied sound under her breath. A second later, she set the bowl down and slowly ran the tip of her tongue over her lower lip, catching the last trace of tomato sauce.

His mind went totally blank.

That mouth.

The same mouth that had pressed against his on Christmas Eve, tasting faintly of champagne. The same mouth that had kissed him in the basement with the sharp, metallic taste of blood between them. And now she was sitting across from him at the table, eating the food he’d made, licking sauce from her lips like she had zero idea what that did to him, her face bright with open, unfiltered pleasure.

Dominic put his fork down and turned his face away.

“You’re not eating?” she asked, blinking at him.

“I don’t eat after other people.” His voice came out rougher than he meant it to.

She rolled her eyes. Right then, his phone rang. Samuel. He answered at once, honestly grateful for the interruption.

“What the hell, Dominic?” Samuel sounded seriously on edge. “Do you even realize what happened after you dropped that bomb and walked out? Eliza went white on the spot, the whole room froze, dead silent. Daniel and I sat there for twenty minutes trying to make small talk with someone who looked like she’d just been hit by a truck.”

Dominic stared at the empty bowl. “And?”

“She knows. She asked about your partner. She knows who it is.”

“Good.”

“Great? That’s all you’ve got to say?” he snapped, then hung up.

I set my phone down and started clearing the table. Lena was already sprawled on the couch, head lowered over her phone like nothing had happened, not the slightest bit bothered that she’d just demolished my dinner and nearly made me lose it over one tiny swipe of ketchup.

Lena’s POV

That afternoon, the office called and told me to come in for a meeting. I grabbed my bag and was about to head out, but stopped short at the entrance to the living room.

Dominic was sitting on the sofa, his laptop open on the coffee table. The slanting afternoon light poured in through the window, tracing the sharp line of his jaw and the clean cut of his cheekbones.

His sleeves were rolled up, forearms resting near the keyboard. Honestly, he looked less like a person and more like some ridiculously expensive sculpture someone had placed in my apartment for decoration.

I must have been staring way too hard, because he turned his head and fixed those dark gray eyes on me.

“I’m heading out,” I said, clearing my throat.

He didn’t answer. His attention dropped right back to the screen.

I pulled the door shut behind me. If this man weren’t so insanely good-looking, I probably would’ve lost my mind a long time ago.

The meeting dragged on for hours. By the time it finally wrapped up, it was already dark outside.

On my way out, I got stuck talking with a coworker, venting about the client presentation. My phone had been on silent the whole time, and it wasn’t until I checked it at the end that I saw two missed calls and a few texts.

One missed call was from Dominic. The other was from Anna.

The texts were all from Anna. She was ranting about that Alpha she’d been set up with before. He happened to be in the area and kept trying to ask her out to dinner.

As I walked toward the elevator, I called Anna back.

“I was in meetings all afternoon,” I said. “Is that guy still bothering you?”

“I told him I already have a partner. And then he said he wanted to meet Daniel too, like it was some kind of polite gesture!” Anna sounded seriously pissed. “That’s not polite. He’s still trying to compete.”

“Let Daniel handle it.”

“That’s exactly what Daniel said.” Anna let out a long sigh. “He’s already on the way. I just needed to vent.”

“Go on, I—”

The elevator doors slid open, and Lena walked out still talking on the phone. A coworker ahead of her glanced back, looking a little weirded out, then shifted his eyes to the side. She didn’t think much of it.

Then she stepped outside and saw Dominic.

He was standing near the entrance with both hands in his pockets, posture straight, the streetlight cutting across his sharp features. He looked like he’d been waiting there for a while.

“I’ll call you back in a bit,” she said to Anna before ending the call.

She walked toward him. “What are you doing here?”

His gaze brushed over her. “Why didn’t you call me back?”

She blinked. He had only called once. As far as she knew, it didn’t sound urgent. “Did you need something?”

“No.”

“Then why did you call?”

He just looked at her and said nothing.

She lifted a brow. “You missed me?”

He turned and headed for the car.

A grin spread across her face, and she followed. “Dominic, did you miss me? You can just say it. It’s not that deep.”

He opened the driver’s side door. Before he could get in, she darted around and dropped into the passenger seat first, buckling up and shutting the door in one smooth move, like she was genuinely worried he might ditch her and drive off.

“You totally missed me.” She leaned closer with a teasing smile. “Otherwise why would you come all the way here to pick me up?”

He shot her a sideways look. “Sit properly.”

She leaned back against the seat. The engine started.

“What do you want to eat?” he asked.

“Your pasta,” she answered without even pausing.

“You already had pasta for lunch. You still want it again?”

Lena turned around and looked at him with a way-too-obvious lovestruck expression. "Your pasta never gets old. You know what else never gets old? You. I’ve been looking at your face every single day for a whole week, and I still haven’t had enough."

She dragged out the last few words on purpose, and sure enough, Dominic’s jaw tightened a little.

"Alright then. Pasta tomorrow morning," she said. "But tonight, take me somewhere nice. Anywhere you want. I’ll follow your lead."

He said nothing, not a single word, but half an hour later, the car rolled to a stop in front of a private restaurant. They got out, and when Lena had only made it halfway to the entrance, she froze.

Eliza was standing not far from the door.

The second Eliza saw Dominic, her deep eyes turned glassy almost at once, and a thin, strained smile lifted the corner of her mouth.

Lena hadn’t expected to run into her here.

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