Tabitha's POV
Hearing Joanna's words, Rolf let out a furious roar, startling me.
"Aren't you a doctor? Is that how you do your job?!" he barked.
The surrounding nurses were freaking out.
In the world of werewolves, the werewolf hospital didn't belong to any specific pack, so the docs here were under no protection. They gotta be very cautious.
"Dr. Palmer, calm down. Even if she's Alpha Derek's mistress, she's still one of the Black Thorn Pack," one of the nurses pointed out.
She was implying that if the Black Thorn Pack decided to make a fuss about this, they wouldn't be able to handle it.
Just then, Rolf roared again, sounding really pissed off, "You were supposed to be doing her surgery like a pro. Why couldn't you just focus on your job? Who do you think you are? What makes you think you could insult her and even beat her? I'm telling you; this isn't over."
Then, I heard him striding toward me. He fixed his eyes on me, saying, "Tabitha, this doctor has gone way too far. She clearly doesn't know who you are in relation to Alpha Derek. Otherwise, she wouldn't dare to do this to you."
Dr. Palmer still hadn't grasped how serious things were getting.
I knew she probably thought no werewolf in the world could put up with infidelity, even though I was just a "mistress" to Derek.
She probably figured Derek wouldn't punish her as he hated my guts.
The next second, her yelling snapped me back to reality. "What's wrong with me teaching her a lesson? She's already so shameless at such a young age. Who knows what embarrassing stuff she'll pull in the future? Tell Alpha Derek to rest assured. I'll teach her how to behave."
Rolf nearly lost it upon hearing what she said. "What the hell are you talking about?" he snapped.
"I mean a slut like her needs some punishment..."
"How dare you talk about our Luna like that!" Rolf snarled.
"What did you say? Luna? Who?" she asked, sounding panicked.
Rolf was so furious that he strode to her, roaring in her face, "Who do you think I was talking about?"
"B-but isn't Alpha Derek about to marry Miss Sutton?" she cautiously asked.
That was when I finally spoke up through my sobs. "I'm his ex-mate."
Dr. Palmer went pale instantly, her eyes widening in disbelief.
Joanna chimed in, a furious look on her face, "She's the apple of Alpha Derek's eye. He always talks to her in a whisper, careful not to upset her. And here you are, slapping and insulting her like she's a piece of trash! You're toast!"
Between kicking Dr. Palmer's ass and taking care of me, she chose the latter.
"Are you okay? How are you feeling?" asked Joanna with a worried look.
I bit my lip and muttered, "It hurts..."
Just then, I heard hurried footsteps getting closer to the door.
My heart raced uncontrollably, for I knew who it was.
Immediately after, the door was pushed open with a bang, and there stood Derek.
After rushing over to my side, he fixed his gaze on me. Noticing the tears in my eyes, he knitted his brows, his eyes flashing with concern.
I silently prayed that my trick would work.
"What happened?" he asked.
Joanna immediately replied, "Alpha Derek, you came just in time. This woman not only insulted Tabitha by calling her a slut but also laid hands on her! Just look at what she's done to her face!"
Since my skin was delicate and fair and Dr. Palmer used all her strength while slapping me, my cheek remained red and swollen even until now.
My hair was a total mess too.
To make myself look even more pitiful, I managed to squeeze out some tears as I slowly turned my gaze to meet Derek's eyes.
"Tabitha..." He hurried over, reaching out to touch my face, but I quickly flinched away.
"I don't care if you hate me. But how can you tell her to humiliate me like that?" I sobbed, looking aggrieved.
"Humiliate? No way! Tabitha, I would never do that," he replied earnestly.