LOGINTabitha had planned on heading back to her own place, but Derek had other ideas. He took her to a hidden estate.Halfway through the trip, they ditched the first car at an abandoned logging camp to shake off any potential tails. As they climbed into a second vehicle, Tabitha watched the man in the driver's seat—cool, collected, and utterly unreadable. She arched an eyebrow, her suspicion peaking. "Alright, Derek. Exactly how many 'surprises' are you hiding from me?""You'll see when we get there," he said.When they finally arrived, he didn't give her a choice, gripping her hand firmly as he led her into a private estate tucked deep within the woods.The second they stepped into the foyer, Tabitha froze. Jasper was sitting right there on the sofa.Her fight-or-flight kicked in instantly. She ripped her hand out of Derek's grasp, her spine going rigid as her voice turned to ice. "What did you do to him? Why did you bring him here? What the hel
"Lycan Algernon, please don't be hard on Michelle," Tabitha said, lowering her lashes to hide the sharp flicker of irony in her eyes. Her voice remained submissive. "I'm not offended, and I certainly don't want my presence causing any more friction. I'll see myself out."Derek didn't hesitate for a heartbeat. His tone was final. "I'll drive you home."The moment the door closed behind them, the room exploded with Michelle's hysterical sobbing. "Cyrus hit me... Even Derek dared to lay his hand on me! It's all because of that bitch! I want her gone! I want to rip her throat out!""Enough!"Algernon's voice boomed, heavy with a suffocating Alpha pressure that seemed to turn the very air to ice.He shot a razor-sharp look at Bonnie. "You need to get her under control. She is making a complete mockery of the family."Bonnie opened her mouth to argue, but under the weight of the Lycan's gaze, she withered. "It's my fault... But Derek isn't the loy
Algernon's voice cut through the air, bone-chillingly cold. "Michelle, I've told you once. You will show the doctor the respect she's earned."Michelle was spiraling. Having just been publicly rejected by Derek, the humiliation had turned into a toxic sludge of resentment. In her mind, Tabitha—a nobody with an unknown past—was the only person in the room she could kick while they were down. Instead of backing off from her usually indulgent father, she doubled down, her voice hitting a glass-shattering pitch."Dad! Why are you taking the side of an outsider? I'm not lying! We're the Royal Family, we're talking about the future of the entire pack, and you're letting some low-life traveling medic hang around to eavesdrop?""Michelle!" Algernon's voice dropped, a terrifying calm that preceded a hurricane. "It seems I've truly failed you by spoiling you this much. To be this disrespectful to the woman who saved my life... It's pathetic."Realizing
Michelle's eyes were shot through with frantic red streaks. She looked like a wounded pup as she lunged at Derek, her fists raining down on his chest—though it was like trying to punch a wall of solid granite."Derek, do you even have a heart?" she screamed, her voice cracking with desperation. "Before, you pushed me away and said your heart belonged to someone else. But Tabitha has been gone for years! If she actually gave a damn about you, do you think she'd stay a ghost for this long? You really think she's coming back? Stop being a fool!"Derek didn't flinch. He didn't even raise a hand to block the blows. He simply stood there, letting her vent her rage until she ran out of breath. Then, he stepped around her with a calm, surgical precision and walked straight to the Lycan's bedside. His eyes held a steady, unshakable light—the look of a man who had survived a thousand storms and wasn't about to be knocked over by a breeze."I'm grateful for the
In the years since Tabitha had vanished with the pups, Algernon had brought up this topic more than once.It was common knowledge across the pack that Michelle harbored an obsession with Derek, the cold, powerful Alpha. She'd spent years pleading with her father, wearing him down with her tears.To Algernon, Derek wasn't just his right-hand man; he was like one of his sons, a warrior of unparalleled status. In the past, Algernon had played the part of the respectful mentor, letting the matter slide whenever Derek showed disinterest. But the silence from the pack was starting to feel like a countdown.Now Michelle stood by the bed, her usual fiery temper replaced by a blush, her head bowed in a rare display of modesty.Algernon leaned forward, his voice taking on that smooth, persuasive tone he used when he was hunting a concession. "I know why you pushed back before, Derek. I know you were hung up on your mate. You had this idea that things might work out
In the days that followed, Tabitha became Algernon's private doctor. With a solid endorsement from Alban and Osbert, backed by Derek's formidable reputation, the Lycan family treated her with a level of trust that was almost unsettling.However, a nagging question tugged at the back of Tabitha's mind. Every so often, Algernon would catch her gaze and simply... stare. It wasn't a predatory look, but something deep and distant, as if he were peering through her pupils to find someone else entirely."Lycan Algernon, it's time for your meal," Tabitha said, stepping into the sun-drenched recovery suite. The air was thick with the earthy, bittersweet aroma of her herbal broth.Algernon was talking to Cyrus about the pack's patrol routes. Bonnie stood nearby, watching them with a quiet intensity. Bonnie was his second mate, so Cyrus and Michelle were still relatively young.As Algernon's strength returned, Cyrus's gratitude toward Tabitha became impossible to ignore. The tension that usually







