Chosen by the Beast Alpha

Chapter 66: Chapter 66

Lena’s POV

He turned and saw her. "Go wash up. The pasta’s almost done."

Lena lifted a brow and walked straight into the kitchen, leaning past his shoulder to look. The tomato sauce bubbled in the pot with soft, familiar pops. Pasta rolled in boiling water in the other one. Same as yesterday.

So it hadn’t been for Eliza.

It had been for her.

"My bad," she said, hands tucked behind her back, tilting her face up at him with a smile. "Seriously. This time, I’m the one who messed up."

She was standing way too close. Dominic shifted to the side, avoiding her eyes. He said nothing about Eliza. Nothing about last night. No explanation, no excuse. Classic him.

"If you keep standing there, it’s going to overcook," he said flatly.

"I don’t want pasta anymore," she said, dragging out the words a little, half whining on purpose.

He looked at her, eyes narrowing just a bit.

Lena pouted. "I want a steak sandwich."

"There’s no steak."

"Then I’m not eating."

She gave a tiny shrug and turned to leave. Dominic let out a breath through his nose and caught her by the wrist.

"Don’t be difficult," he said, frowning.

"I’m not being difficult." She shrugged again. "I just eat what I’m in the mood for. Yesterday, I wanted pasta."

His hand stayed wrapped around her wrist.

Lena glanced down at his fingers, then slowly looked back up at his face and smiled. "Dominic, you’re holding my hand again."

His fingers twitched, and then he let go.

She stepped closer instead.

Closer and closer, until she was nearly pressed against him, until their breathing started to mix, until she could see her own reflection in those gray eyes of his.

Behind them, the coffee pot burbled softly, steam curling through the kitchen and filling the air.

Dominic’s throat bobbed once.

Then he leaned back.

She grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked him closer. His chest bumped against hers, hard muscle meeting soft curves, and the impact sent a strange tingling through her ribs.

His Adam’s apple bobbed once. There was still a spatula in his hand.

"Let go of me," he said.

"No." She tipped up her chin, eyes full of open challenge.

His pupils tightened. "The pasta’s going to overcook."

Without even turning around, she reached back and switched off the stove.

A flash of something almost helpless crossed his face. "What exactly do you want?"

"I want a steak sandwich."

He just stared at her.

"Or," she leaned in close to his ear and murmured, "I could just have you instead."

"Do you know how shameless you are?" His voice came out rougher than before.

She didn’t care. Honestly, this was kind of hilarious.

Her smile widened. "Can I kiss you?"

Dominic’s expression turned dismissive in a split second. "There’s something next to your eye."

She let go immediately and lifted a hand to check the corner of her eye. He took the chance to plate the pasta, pour the coffee, and set everything on the table at top speed, like a man who had just escaped a hostage situation.

"Go wash your face," he said, looking at her. "Have some dignity, okay?"

"You don’t care about my dignity." She stuck her tongue out at him, but she still went to the bathroom.

When she came back, she sat across from him, took a sip of coffee, and twirled up a forkful of pasta. The sauce tasted just as good as yesterday—simple, but basically perfect.

A thought slipped into her mind. Did he learn to cook for Eliza? Was this something he had practiced for her, something he had carefully made with her in mind, and now she was the one eating it instead...?

She didn’t ask.

She was scared the answer would ruin the meal.

We ate in silence, and weirdly enough, it felt nice. Easy. No pressure. Then the doorbell rang.

Lena’s first thought was Eliza. She glanced at Dominic. He was already on his feet, crossing to the door. He looked through the peephole, then pulled it open.

"Lena—"

The second Reed’s voice hit her ears, she choked on her coffee. She coughed hard and snapped her head toward the entrance.

Clearly, Reed hadn’t expected a man to answer the door.

His eyes flicked over Dominic in one fast sweep—his clothes, his bare feet, the fact that he looked way too comfortable standing inside Lena’s apartment. Reed’s whole face locked up on the spot.

"Who are you?" he asked, his voice stiff as hell. "Why are you in Lena’s apartment?"

Lena set down her mug and walked over. The second Reed saw her, his brows pulled together so tightly it was almost hard to look at him. He looked genuinely hurt.

"You’re living together?" His voice shook a little.

Lena rested a hand on Dominic’s shoulder and gave Reed the warmest smile she could manage. "This is my partner."

Reed sucked in a breath. "...Since when?"

"For a while now." She kept smiling, even though it felt a little forced. "Did you need something?"

That was when she noticed the takeout bag in his hand.

He’d brought her breakfast.

"Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt." Reed had gone pale. He looked at her one last time, long and searching, like he still wanted answers he wasn’t going to get. Then he turned and headed for the elevator, jabbing the button hard.

Lena watched him leave, and something heavy dropped in her chest.

Dominic shut the door and looked at her. He caught the change in her expression right away. "Your ex?"

Lena shook her head, gave a small smile, and went back to the table. She didn’t really want to eat anymore, but she sat down anyway and forced a bite into her mouth with her fork.

"Yeah," she said.

"You’ve got a lot of men like that," Dominic said.

His tone was flat. His face gave nothing away.

Lena looked at him. "Jealous?"

He shot her a look like he’d rather chew glass than admit it.

A cold, mocking smile tugged at Lena’s lips. "Your ex is still hanging around you too, and she looks pretty damn close with you. So why don’t you just get back with her and make it official already?"

That hit Dominic right where it hurt.

He didn’t say a word. He just picked up his plate and headed for the kitchen, shoulders tight.

Lena suddenly lost her appetite too. She carried her own plate to the sink, but Dominic reached for it.

"I’ll wash it myself," she said, that stubborn streak flaring up again like a match catching fire.

He looked at her, silent.

Lena scraped the leftovers into the trash, then held the plate under the running water. She was furious. Deep down, she knew he hadn’t really done anything wrong, not exactly. But she was still mad—so mad she could feel it buzzing under her skin—and there was no way she was going to stand there pretending everything was fine.

She yanked open the fridge. It was basically empty.

Great. Just great.

She shut it with a dull thud, went into the bedroom, changed clothes, and walked straight out the front door without saying goodbye.

She stopped by the grocery store, bought a whole chicken and a few things for soup, then drove over to Lily’s apartment.

Lily opened the door and blinked at her in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Making you food." Lena lifted the grocery bag a little. "I was gonna cook at home and bring it over, but my fridge was empty. So I figured I might as well just come here."

Lily glanced at the bags, then back at Lena. "This is way too much trouble."

"Yeah, it is." Lena gave her a look. "Now go lie down. You need real rest. Even if the healer already took care of it, your body still needs time to recover."

"Lena."

"What?"

"Thank you."

Lily’s eyes were swollen and red.

Lena looked at her for a moment, quiet, then turned and walked toward the kitchen.

"Don’t thank me. I’m just too soft for my own good. If you hadn’t called me last night, I wouldn’t have gotten dragged into any of this."

Lily knew her well enough now to hear everything Lena wasn’t saying.

She didn’t reply. She just went back to bed and lay down.

Lena rinsed the chicken, chopped the vegetables, filled a pot with water, and set it on the stove. While the soup simmered with a soft bubbling sound, she went to check on Lily.

She peeled an apple, sliced it up, arranged it on a plate, and carried it over to her.

"Thanks," Lily said, taking the plate.

"Stop saying thanks already. I’ve heard it a million times." Lena put the knife away.

Lily handed over the plate, then passed her a slice of apple. "It’s really sweet."

"I don’t like apples."

Lily could tell she was in a bad mood. She chewed slowly, eyes fixed on Lena’s face, studying every little shift in her expression.

"Is he okay?" she asked softly. "Alpha Dominic. He went to the clinic last night too."

Lena let out a dry, humorless laugh. "He’s fine."

Knowing him, he was probably at Eliza’s place right now.

Every bit of her gut instinct as a woman was screaming the same thing at her: Dominic still had feelings for Eliza.

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