Chapter 6

　　Derek's POV 　　Holly slapped Tabitha in front of me! How dared she? 　　"Damn it, Derek! What were you thinking? How could you let her insult our mate like that?" My wolf Leo roared in my mind. 　　Recently, I'd been forcing myself to spend more time with Daphne, which brought Leo's wrath upon me. Now, I could hardly contain his fury. 　　I used to believe that all I left for Tabitha was hatred. I thought I had gotten over her. 　　Yet I was wrong. 　　The moment I saw her stubborn expression and reddened cheek, my heart ached. 　　Before I could even speak, however, Holly raised her arm again. 　　She tried to give Tabitha a second slap?! 　　Out of instinct, I stopped Holly by grabbing her arm. 　　"Alpha Derek?" Holly looked at me, shocked. 　　I took a deep breath, suppressing Leo's anger, and said, "Tabitha is still the Luna of the Black Thorn Pack. How dare you slap her in front of me?" 　　"What are you talking about, Derek? Holly was just punishing her for disrespecting me. Besides, aren't you about to reject her anyway?" Daphne grabbed my arm, trying to play charm on me. 　　I let go of Holly and then looked down at Daphne. "As long as the rejection's not done, she's my Luna. You are a rogue, so you wouldn't get it. Insulting a Luna means declaring war on the pack." 　　I turned and stared at Holly, questioning, "Is that what you want?" 　　She went pale, waving her hands, unsure what to say. 　　Daphne flushed with embarrassment. She hated it when people called her a rogue. But I didn't give a damn. I never loved her anyway. 　　Eyes teary, she lashed out at Holly. "How dare you provoke Alpha Derek? You wanna ruin my marriage, aren't you?" 　　"Of course not, sweetie," Holly tried comforting her, but Daphne shoved her hand away with disgust. 　　"Apologize to Alpha Derek right now!" Daphne ordered. 　　"This bitch owes our mate an apology, not us!" Leo raged in my mind. 　　I instinctively shifted my gaze to Tabitha. She was watching on the side like a bystander, emotionless. 　　Seeing her watching with a deadpan like a bystander, I felt annoyed. Didn't she realize that I was doing this for her sake? 　　Snapping back to reality, I waved my hand and said, "Don't mess with her again." 　　Both Holly and Daphne sighed in relief. 　　Suddenly, a baby's cry broke the tense air. 　　Tabitha finally lost her cool. 　　She rushed to the stroller and bent down to look at the baby. And I didn't stop her. 　　Soon, she jerked her head up and eyed me in disbelief. 　　The pain in her eyes was evident, but I didn't explain. 　　Then, she turned around and rushed into the bathroom, slamming the door shut. 　　"You idiot! I can't feel Crystal now," Leo cursed, his tone worried. 　　Crystal was Tabitha's wolf, and my recent behavior had weakened her, which partly explained why Leo was displeased. 　　After a while, Tabitha walked out of the bathroom. 　　Fixing my gaze on her, I found that she looked much paler and thinner. 　　What happened to her? 　　"You good?" I couldn't help but ask. 　　"None of your business." Her tone was cold, just like the look on her face. 　　She brushed past me, and I could feel that she was feeble. 　　I wanted to drill down, but she marched straight to the front door, giving me no chance to talk. 　　She then turned and told me earnestly, "I wanna get the rejection ceremony done ASAP. So meet me at the Council of Elders when you're available. Marrying you is the biggest mistake I've ever made, and now I wanna put an end to it while I still can. If I could turn back the clock, I wished we'd never met." 　　With that, she opened the door and left. 　　Sensing that Tabitha was going to give up on me, I couldn't help panicking. A feeling I'd never had. 　　As the Alpha of the Black Thorn Pack, I was used to having everything in the palm of my hand. Nothing should make me feel that way. 　　I thought about chasing after her, but Elena's waxen face came unbidden to my mind. 　　Poor girl! 　　My hatred towards John got reignited. So I clenched my fists, trying to avoid showing concern for Tabitha. 　　But Leo kept issuing warnings. 　　Eventually, worry overcame hatred. 　　I opened the door and followed Tabitha, ignoring the stunned looks of Daphne and Holly. 　　To my surprise, Tabitha hadn't gone far. 　　Seemed like she fell, for she was sitting by the road. Just as I was about to approach her, a man came by from the intersection, helping her up. 　　Under the streetlight, I could see his gentle gaze on Tabitha crystal clear. 　　Jealousy devoured me.