Derek's POV
I'd faced all sorts of threats, so a sudden noise surely didn't faze me.
But Holly and Daphne were startled.
Mark, being the son of the Amber's Eye Pack's Alpha, couldn't help but unleash his Alpha aura in a fit of rage.
Holly quickly grabbed his arm, trying to smooth things over with a smile. "Calm down. Who do you think you're talking to? He's not some guard from your pack you could randomly scold."
After saying that, she said to me apologetically, "Derek, please don't take it to heart. It's just he used to be a Gamma in his pack."
Daphne chimed in, "Dad, Derek's Alpha of the Black Thorn Pack. So he might have some business to handle. Show some understanding."
Mark glared at me, his face sullen.
He used to be friendly to me, but ever since I mobilized a bunch of people to search for Tabitha and Kyrian when they went missing, he'd grown colder.
He piped up, cutting to the chase, "Kyrian and Reid are one year old now. But you insist on getting engaged instead of marrying Daphne straight away. Like that was not enough, you keep delaying the engagement. Do you wanna marry my daughter or not? Give me a definite answer today."
"Dad, don't be so harsh. We are family. We can talk it out," Daphne pleaded.
"Yeah, Daphne's right. Calm down. You're scaring the kids," Holly added.
Holly and Daphne were united on this matter.
Alpha Justin, who had been silent all along, finally spoke up, "Shut up, all of you!"
Releasing his Alpha aura, he locked eyes with me. "I don't mind you've been married before. But since you are already divorced, you should cut ties with your past completely. Why are you still seeing your ex-wife?"
Everyone present fixed their eyes on me. I calmly put away my phone before taking one last glance at the screen.
Still no message from Tabitha.
I lift my head slightly, letting out a bit of my Alpha aura.
Leo roared angrily in my mind, his fury almost tangible in the air.
I knew that the Amber's Eye Pack was one of the ancient packs, with a vast alliance and financial backing in Los Angeles. But I wasn't afraid of them at all.
I calmly spoke, "Alpha Justin, since I've promised to marry Daphne, I'll keep my word. As for Tabitha, you know her situation. Her pack is about to fall apart. And she saved Kyrian all by herself. It's perfectly normal for me to take care of her."
Hearing my words, Justin scoffed, "There are many ways to take care of someone. But I heard she's been staying at your villa in the Black Thorn Pack these days. Who knows if old flames are gonna rekindle or not? I don't care about your past, but now, you gotta treat Daphne properly."
Mark added, "Since you are getting engaged, from today onwards, you will be living together with Daphne."
They bombarded me, leaving no room for refusal.
At this point, marrying Daphne was a done deal.
So I picked up the glass and calmly replied, "Okay."
Daphne's smile returned as she said, "Grandpa, Dad, I've told you that Derek wouldn't let me down."
Justin glanced at me deeply, warning, "He better be."
Mark also reminded, "After all, Tabitha is Holly's biological daughter. Even if you don't take care of her, we will. I'll sort things out on her end. From tomorrow, I don't want to see any ties between you two."
My grip on the glass tightened, but I said nothing.
Earlier that day, I was just being stubborn when I told Tabitha that I wouldn't go back, but now it seemed it was gonna become reality.
That night, I was trapped in Mark's villa, forced to share a room with Daphne.
As night fell, Daphne, after her bath, changed into a sexy silk nightgown and slowly approached me.
I turned around, leaving her only with my back, my hand still clutching my phone.
"Derek, are you waiting for an important phone call?" she asked.
"Yeah," I replied.
She hesitated and stammered, "W-well, it's getting late. You go wash up, I'll... I'll wait for you here."
Annoyed, I snapped, "No need. Just go to sleep."
Tabitha's POV
Under the hazy night, an owl flew from a tree, hooting softly.
After tossing and turning for quite some time, I finally managed to fall asleep. But I didn't even reach deep sleep. And the sound of the owl immediately woke me.
Usually, Derek would be back by now, but at that moment, the large villa felt empty with just me.
The room was pitch dark, only the yard outside was lit with a warm glow.
Opening my eyes, I saw a huge owl perching on the tree outside the floor-to-ceiling window, its eyes glowing eerily.
The image of Vilda's body flashed in my mind again, sending a chill down my spine.
Drenched in cold sweat, I kinda regretted letting Derek stay away so easily.
I reached for my phone on the bedside table, my finger hovering over the dial button, but then I stopped. What was I doing? That was cheap.
So I dropped my phone, turned on the projector, and started to watch a soap opera. I even got off the bed to grab some snacks.
But even after I watched till midnight, and my eyes were sore, the owl hadn't left.
It was 4 AM already, and one thing was clear—Derek wasn't coming back.