Chosen by the Beast Alpha

Chapter 75: Chapter 75

Lena’s POV

Every eye in the room dropped to her throat. Bare skin. Clean. Not a single mark.

"If she were really his mate, she would’ve said it the second she walked in," the man said with a smug little grin. "If she had that card to play, she’d have played it right away. She didn’t, because she can’t."

Lena forced herself to take a slow breath.

"Then use your brains," she said, trying hard to keep her voice even. "If Dominic Voss and I mean nothing to each other, why does everyone here know there’s something between us? Think about that for a second."

A few of them hesitated. Her logic landed, at least a little. But the guy by the bar still wasn’t buying it.

"Maybe there’s some kind of arrangement," he said, leaning back like he had all night, "but no mark means no real claim. If he doesn’t care enough to mark you, then he’s sure as hell not going to burn the world down to avenge you."

She had no comeback for that. Because it was true. And wow, did it hurt.

If they did whatever they wanted to her tonight, would Dominic really come after them?

Would he really tear an entire pack apart for an Omega he had never marked, never acknowledged in public, never even told the truth about?

She didn’t know.

And that uncertainty—that was the scariest thing in the whole room.

"So," the man by the bar said with a grin, "where were we?"

The circle around her tightened. The protection Dominic’s name had bought her was fading fast. Sweat slicked her palm, making the jagged neck of the broken bottle harder to hold.

Then the door outside slammed open.

The club manager stumbled in first, looking like he’d been shoved.

Right behind him came Reed Calloway. He pushed his way into the room, eyes sweeping over everyone until they landed on her.

"Move."

He crossed the room in a few quick strides, grabbed her hand, and yanked. "We’re leaving. Right now."

Lena couldn’t even process how Reed had gotten here, or why it was this exact moment. A thousand questions crashed into her at once, but there was no time to chase any of them.

"Hey, who the hell are you?" the guy she’d smashed with the bottle snapped, stalking forward with blood still running down his face.

Reed turned, his stare cold enough to kill the temperature in the room. "Law enforcement is outside. If you want to stop me, go ahead. See how that works out for you."

That was it. The whole mood shattered on the spot.

Reed pulled Lena down the hallway, past the glass wall, and out into the night. A patrol car was parked by the entrance, its lights flashing red and blue.

He helped her into the car, shut the door, and started the engine. She turned to look back at the club’s glittering entrance, all gold and shine, and couldn’t help wondering what kind of darkness was really hiding inside.

The adrenaline drained out of her in one brutal wave, leaving her body numb. Her thoughts were a total mess.

The car finally came to a stop on a quiet street. Reed kept both hands tight on the steering wheel and looked at her. His voice came out rough, strained. "Are you okay?"

She blinked, slowly snapping back to herself, then lowered her gaze to her hands. There was a cut on her index finger, blood seeping along the edge. She must have sliced it on the broken glass when she grabbed it.

Reed pulled a tissue from the center console and pressed it gently to the wound, holding her finger with ridiculous care, like she might break.

"Why are you here?" she asked. "How did you even know where I was?"

He pressed harder on the cut, his jaw locked tight. "After you turned me down last time, I came here. I started a joint project with another pack, so I’ve been staying here for a few weeks."

"There’s a group chat for pack heirs," he went on. "Anytime they spot something juicy, a girl, a deal, some drama, they toss it in there. Grant posted your photo in the chat. I recognized you right away."

Her heart dropped hard. So Grant had been setting this up since morning.

"Tonight, someone posted a picture of you with them in the club. I was having dinner two blocks away." Reed’s breathing turned uneven. His eyes were rimmed red. "Do you have any idea how lucky it was that I was close?"

She did. If Reed hadn’t been in that group chat, if he hadn’t been nearby having dinner, tonight would have gone in a very different direction.

She could fight. She could smash a bottle if she had to. But there was no way she was taking on a whole room full of Alpha wolves.

"Reed." Her voice was soft. "Thank you."

He let out a long breath, and some of the tension finally eased from his shoulders.

"I’ll take you back to the hotel," he said.

She nodded. At the hotel, she opened the door to her room, then stopped. Reed stayed in the hallway, making no move to come in.

She turned to face him.

She had loved him once. Back then, they were young, and the only real problem between them had been his mother’s disapproval. If his parents had never stepped in, maybe they would still be together now. Maybe by now, they would already have become mates.

But there was no maybe left anymore. That was over.

"Reed."

"Yeah." His eyes were glassy, rimmed red.

She gave him a small smile. It was the first real one she’d given him since he came back. "Thank you."

He stepped forward and pulled her straight into his arms, holding her tight—too tight, almost like he was scared she’d vanish if he let go. His whole body was shaking against hers.

Lena froze. Her arms hung uselessly at her sides. She didn’t shove him away, but she didn’t return the hug either.

"Lena, can we try again?" His voice cracked hard on the last words. "Please."

Something in her chest twisted. She didn’t even know why, but her nose started stinging, and her eyes burned.

Before all this mess, he had been the last man who could make her heart go off the rails. Before the contract, before the curse, before the man who stood in her kitchen making pasta like it was the most normal thing in the world.

But getting back together?

She’d always said she never went back to an ex. That wasn’t just pride talking. It was facts. Cold, ugly facts.

The people who tore them apart back then hadn’t changed. His mother’s disapproval. His family’s expectations. Those walls were still there, tall as ever, impossible to ignore.

"Reed—"

She didn’t get to finish.

Fast footsteps suddenly broke through the silence of the hallway.

She looked up and saw Dominic Voss at the far end. His hair was a mess from the wind, his coat hanging open, chest rising fast like he’d run a ridiculous distance in no time at all.

His gaze landed on her in Reed’s arms, and he stopped dead.

For one split second, guilt hit her so hard it felt almost physical, like she’d done something unforgivable. Then Eliza flashed through her mind—the lunches, the lies, the hospital bed at four in the morning, the roses in her shop.

If he got to keep his past, then she got to keep hers too.

Reed felt her go stiff. He let go of her, then turned and followed her line of sight.

He saw Dominic, but he didn’t step away from Lena. He stayed right beside her and faced him head-on.

The three of them stood there in the hotel hallway, nobody moving, the air tight enough to snap.

Lena drew in a slow breath. "Reed, you need to go."

"I’m not leaving you alone with—"

"I need to talk to him. Please."

It was time. Time to deal with the thing they had both kept dodging ever since he showed up at her apartment that day and told her the agreement had never been terminated.

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