Tabitha's POV
Before they kicked the door open, I opened it.
Standing at the doorway, I saw Spike with one of his cheeks red and another guard rushing over to protect me.
As Derek's subordinates, they were just like him—cold, silent, and low-key.
They never stirred up trouble or threw their weight around.
Since their job was to protect me, they had been patient and tolerant from the very beginning, lest drawing any attention.
But even so, the lady and her guards weren't backing down. Instead, they went so far as to slap Spike.
I assumed she was the so-called Miss Gutierrez. Her face seemed unfamiliar, and her accent didn't sound very Seattle to me. She was decked out in luxury brands, looking like a walking fashion show. A typical spoiled girl.
Before I could say anything, she sized me up and finally fixed her gaze on my belly.
"I thought some big shot was inside. Turns out it's just a pregnant woman."
With a snort, she pulled out a stack of cash from her designer handbag worth about 200 grand and shoved it toward me. "I like this room. I wanna have it."
She was holding ten thousand dollars, give or take.
Rolling my eyes upwards, I said, my voice icy, "Apologize to him."
Hearing that, she laughed. "Are you fucking kidding me? You want me to apologize to a lackey? Do you even know who I am? I'm..."
Before she could finish her sarcasm, I smacked her across the face.
She froze, staring at me in disbelief. Obviously, she didn't expect me, a seemingly mild-mannered pregnant woman, would suddenly go violent.
"I'm not interested in who you are. Since you won't apologize, then you leave me no choice."
I knew Spike wouldn't hit a woman since he was such a gentleman. So I decided to do it in his stead.
"You damn cow! How dare you?! Even my parents haven't done that to me! I'm gonna make sure you regret this!"
She tried to lung at me, but Spike quickly stopped her.
Fuming, she spun around and shot an annoyed look at her men. "What are you all waiting for? Are you deaf? Go get her! Beat the hell outta this bitch! Even if she miscarries because of this fight, you've got nothing to worry about! My cousin's gonna cover for it!"
I couldn't help frowning. Who did this chick think she was acting so brazenly in Seattle?
And who the heck was her cousin?
Before I could find out about her cousin though, my backup arrived.
A whole squad of werewolf guards dressed in black rushed out from the staircase and the elevator.
They then lined up right in front of me like a dramatic scene straight outta some soap opera, making every onlooker's jaw drop.
Spike lowered his head, saying, "Sorry for the mess, Tabitha. You may leave the rest to us."
"OK." I shrugged.
I didn't panic at all. I meant, c'mon, Derek called the shots in Seattle, and no one else dared to offend him or his men.
Just as I was about to shut the door, I heard the woman dialing someone's number. "Cuz, I'm at Treasure Building. A pregnant woman slapped me! You gotta come and make things right for me!" she complained.
Hearing that, I paused. Since her cousin was coming over, I was dying to find out who he was.
Then the person on the other end of the line seemed to say something, and she lit up with glee. "Really? You'll be here in a sec? Awesome! I'll be waiting here."
After hanging up, she got even cockier. With one hand pushing against the door so I couldn't close it, she smirked smugly, "My cousin's almost here. You're doomed!"
More and more people gathered around us, and some recognized who she was.
"I know her. She's Ivonne Gutierrez, the lady of the Gutierrez family from Redmond.
"She's used to throwing her weight around in Redmond. Too bad this is Seattle."
"Seconded. No matter how powerful her family is, we're on Mr. Greenwood's turf. She's bold enough to mess with his beloved."
Word about my identity had already spread after Daphne's wedding banquet. People said all sorts of things like, Derek fell for me, his ex-wife, again, and he thought Daphne was the wrong choice he made, etc.
So many versions of our love stories popped up online.
Eventually, Derek had to put his foot down and silence all that gossip. The common folks might not recognize me, but today's guests were all influential figures who attended the wedding that day. Of course, they remembered me.
It was kinda funny, actually. During those few years when I was the Luna of the Black Thorn Pack and Derek's mate, I had been staying under the radar. Yet after Derek and I rejected each other, everyone knew about my identity.
It grew so noisy that even someone in the room next to mine came out.
The person poked his head out, putting his hand over his mouth to cover a cough.
When I saw who it was, I gasped.
I didn't expect it would be Klein.