Chosen by the Beast Alpha

Chapter 86: Chapter 86

Lena’s POV

She gave him a straight, honest smile. "But you know I can’t give you what you want."

"End your agreement with him." Reed Calloway leaned forward, voice tight with urgency. "You don’t love him, so why are you still staying?"

She worried at the edge of her napkin with her fingers. "Even if I ended it, there still wouldn’t be an us. Even if it all stopped tomorrow, you and I still wouldn’t make it."

He reached out, clearly trying to take her hand. She reacted faster, pulling hers back to her lap before he could touch her. "We missed our shot, Reed. What’s done is done. There’s no fixing it now."

"We didn’t miss anything!" His voice rose, rough and emotional. "Other people stole that chance from us. And now we finally have one—"

"Yeah, other people did steal it," she cut in, drawing a slow breath, "and the person who took it hasn’t changed at all." She held his gaze. "Reed, if you want, we can be friends."

"I’m not going to be your friend."

"Then we won’t be friends."

He frowned hard and stared at her like he was trying to force a different answer out of her. Right then, their food arrived. Lena picked up her fork.

"This is the last meal we’re having together. After this, I hope things go well for you, and that you find a mate who truly deserves you."

His eyes reddened almost instantly. "What about you? What exactly do you want me to wish for you?"

She smiled, small and calm. "Wish me a happy mate."

A bitter laugh slipped out of him. "I can’t do that."

"That’s fine." She gave a light shrug. "It is what it is."

She started eating, quiet and composed. Reed didn’t touch a single bite.

Then came the sharp sound of hurried footsteps. High heels struck the tile floor in fast, hard clicks, getting closer by the second.

Reed’s expression changed on the spot.

Fear jumped into Lena’s chest. For one wild second, she thought Dominic Voss had found them.

She turned around. Before she could even make out the face, a hand came flying across and smacked hard against her cheek.

The crack rang through the whole restaurant.

Then the pain hit—hot, vicious, and immediate, like fire licking across her skin.

"Mom!" Reed Calloway shot to his feet so fast his chair scraped hard against the floor.

The slap had knocked Lena Foster’s head to the side. For a second, maybe several, her mind just went blank, like the whole world had been hit with a mute button. She stayed frozen in that position before she slowly came back to herself.

The woman standing in front of her was dressed with flawless taste, every detail sharp and expensive. Her face was cold, proud, and full of authority. Victoria Calloway. Reed’s mother. The Luna of the Silvercrest Pack.

"I should’ve known," Victoria said, visibly furious. "All these years later, and you’re still messing with Reed’s life. I arranged meetings for him with the daughters of three Alphas from three different packs, and he turned every single one down. Now I finally get it. It’s because you just refuse to let him go."

She jabbed a finger at Lena’s cheek. "Look at you. An Omega with no pack, and you still dare dream about latching onto Reed?"

Lena glanced at her, then at Reed, and a cold little smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

"Mom!" Reed said again, panic written all over his face. "Lena isn’t chasing me. I’m the one chasing her! She’s been rejecting me this whole time. How can you hit someone without even knowing what actually happened?"

He looked at Lena, pain all over his expression. "I’m sorry. I didn’t know she would—"

Lena drew in a slow breath. "Reed, do you get it now? This isn’t just about bad timing. We were never right for each other. No matter how many years pass, nothing about that is going to change."

Then she turned to Victoria, her voice flat and steady. "I should slap you back for that. I didn’t, and that’s only because Reed is a good man, and I owe him more than I can even say."

Victoria’s nostrils flared.

"Reed is outstanding," Lena went on. "Honestly? If you hadn’t spent so much time getting in his way, he’d be even better than he already is."

Victoria’s hand started shaking. "How dare you—"

Lena calmly pulled a wet wipe from the box on the table and wiped her fingers, then lifted her eyes for one last look at Reed.

"You said it yourself. We’re not friends. So from this moment on, we don’t see each other again."

She got to her feet and walked out. Her face was tight, every muscle drawn taut, and she never looked back.

She didn’t care what kind of fight would blow up between Reed and his mother after this. Anna had once told her Reed was independent now, strong enough to make his own choices.

But the truth was brutal. With a parent like Victoria Calloway, Reed would never be truly free.

Not at twenty-five. Not at forty. Never really free. Victoria’s disgust toward outsider she-wolves was never going to fade with time, age, or status. It was in her blood, baked into who she was.

And honestly, Lena was grateful she’d kept her head clear. Grateful Reed’s deep feelings, and all those memories wrapped up in first love, hadn’t messed with her judgment or made her lose the plot.

Some people couldn’t be together back then, and yeah, they still couldn’t now. The roadblock was still there. Different setting, same problem.

Lena flagged down a cab, slipped into the back seat, and automatically gave the driver her apartment address. A second later, it hit her—wrong move.

If Dominic saw the mark on her face, he was definitely going to ask questions, one after another, no pause. And tonight? She seriously wasn’t in the mood for that.

So she called Anna instead.

By the time she got there, Anna was still working. She didn’t even look up, just lifted a hand and waved her in. Lena went straight to the fridge, grabbed an ice pack, then dropped onto the couch and pressed it to her cheek.

A few seconds later, Anna finally looked up. “What happened to your face?”

“I got slapped.”

Anna froze. “Who slapped you?” She shoved everything aside and rushed over, fingers tipping Lena’s chin up so she could check the injury. “Who hits that hard? Seriously, do people not know you can’t just go around slapping someone? Was it Eliza?”

Lena caught her wrist gently. “No. It was Reed’s mother.”

Anna’s eyes went huge.

Lena gave her the short version of what had happened.

“If I’d been there, I would’ve slapped her twice right back. Who does she think she is?” Anna was fuming now, practically ready to explode. “Honestly, I hope Reed ends up with someone exactly like her. Let that woman suffer for once.”

That got a laugh out of Lena.

“I seriously can’t believe I used to tell you to get back together with Reed.” Anna took the ice pack from Lena’s hand and carefully pressed it against her cheek again. “Good thing you didn’t listen to me. Stay with Dominic. At least Luna Celeste likes you.”

Lena burst out laughing. “Wow. Your loyalty switches fast. One minute it’s ‘go back to Reed,’ the next it’s ‘stay with Dominic.’”

“Shut up, I’m backing you here!” Anna made a face at her. “What you’ve got now isn’t bad, honestly. If Eliza wasn’t around, it’d be perfect.”

Lena shrugged. “Nothing’s ever perfect. Close enough is good enough.”

They kept talking until Anna had to go back to work.

Then Dominic called and asked when she was coming home.

“I’m not going home tonight.” The swelling had gone down, but the handprint was still painfully obvious. “I’m staying with Anna.”

“Come home.” His voice was steady, leaving no room to argue. “I’ll come get you.”

“I really can’t. She needs me tonight.”

“Why?”

“Uh, because Daniel got into a fight with her.” Lena lied without missing a beat. “I’m staying with her to make sure she’s okay.”

Anna looked up from her laptop and silently mouthed, “Really?” Then she gave a little head shake.

Dominic sounded a bit doubtful. “With Daniel?”

“Yeah. I’ll come home tomorrow after work.”

He went quiet for a second, then said, “Alright.”

The moment she hung up, Anna shut her laptop. “Good thing Daniel and I are doing great, or you’d seriously be jinxing me.”

“Happy to be of service.” Anna dropped onto the couch beside her. “Still, he called to check on you. On his own. That’s progress, huh?”

It really was. Whatever was going on between Lena and Dominic, it wasn’t like before.

There was something pulling them toward each other now, especially after that kiss at noon. His sudden impulse, the way his ears had gone red, the way he couldn’t even meet her eyes after—it had all been real.

“Look at you.” Anna poked her arm. “You’re glowing. Full-on in-love mode. If you hadn’t gone to dinner with Reed Calloway tonight and had gone home instead, you two would probably be in bed by now.”

The next morning, Lena checked herself in the mirror. The handprint was completely gone, and she finally breathed easier.

She changed into Anna’s clothes and got a ride to work with her. The second the car pulled up, she saw Reed standing outside the building.

“He’s here?” Anna frowned. “What, his mom still hasn’t used up her slap quota?”

“Go on in,” Lena said. “I’ll handle it.”

“Be careful.”

“He’s not going to hit me.”

She got out of the car, and Reed spotted her right away.

He walked over, his eyes flicking across her face first, checking for any sign of injury. “About last night... I’m sorry.”

"I already told you. There’s no reason for us to meet again."

The second she got into the cab last night, she had blocked Reed’s number and deleted it. Clean break. No leftovers.

Reed’s face fell on the spot, like all the strength had been yanked out of him. "I didn’t know she was coming. I swear, I never thought she’d do something like that. Lena... I’m sorry."

"If you need me to say ‘it’s okay’ so you can feel better, then fine, it’s okay." Lena kept her voice as even as she could, though it took effort. She didn’t blame him. Deep down, she knew this wasn’t his fault. "What else do you want me to say?"

His hand tightened into a fist at his side.

He got it.

There was no fixing this. No way back.

"Nothing." He drew in a deep breath, then forced out a thin, tired smile. "You should go to work."

She gave a small nod, turned around, and walked off without looking back.

Eliza’s POV

"So, do you believe me now?"

Sitting in the passenger seat, Eliza stared through the window at the entrance of the building.

Dominic was in the back seat. He had seen everything.

Lena had arrived with Anna. Reed had been there waiting. He saw them talk. He saw Lena leave without even glancing back.

"They had dinner together last night," Eliza said carefully, choosing every word on purpose. "Reed’s mother, Victoria Calloway, was there too."

She left out the part where Victoria had slapped Lena.

That detail did her zero favors, so yeah, no need to mention it.

Turning her head, she looked at Dominic, but his expression gave away nothing. His face was unreadable, cold and still.

"Dominic, we’ve known each other for years." Her voice softened, and she let a trace of concern seep into it. "You know I would never make something up. I want you to be happy. I want the right person beside you. But Lena isn’t that person."

Dominic looked at her with blank, emotionless eyes, then pushed the car door open.

"Dominic!" Eliza jumped out at once and stepped in front of him, blocking his path. "Where are you going?"

He looked at her, and the pressure in that gaze made it hard for her to breathe.

"From now on," he said in a low voice, "stay out of what’s between me and her."

Then he brushed past her without another word.

Eliza stood there and watched him go.

But he wasn’t heading toward Lena’s office.

Instead, he turned and walked off in the other direction.

Only then did she quietly let out a breath of relief.

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