Derek's POV
Tabitha halted and turned when she heard Daphne's heartbroken cry.
The servant tried to help Daphne up, but she stubbornly crawled toward me.
Her helpless, pitiful appearance reminded me of Tabitha a year ago when she begged me not to reject her.
Now I felt so sorry for her.
"Aren't you gonna do something?" Tabitha crossed her arms, clearly thinking I was ignoring Daphne for her sake.
"You don't need to care about my feelings. I don't mind." I felt a bit hurt. I reached out and held Tabitha's hand. "Tabitha, you misunderstand. I never had feelings for Daphne. I agreed to make her my Luna out of obligation."
Tabitha sneered, "Interesting. So you paid your debt by taking her to bed."
"Tabitha, Kyrian is..." I was about to blurt out the truth.
But as I closed my eyes, the image of me rescuing Tabitha from the sea that night flashed through my mind. She was barely breathing. A sharp pang of pain struck my heart.
The mastermind behind the assassination of Tabitha was still unknown. If people knew that Kyrian was Tabitha's child, Kyrian would be in grave danger!
So, I swallowed my words.
Tabitha didn't wait for my explanation. She glanced at me and left.
I knew why she reacted like this. She didn't care about me anymore, so why would she bother to listen to my explanation?
Plus, I couldn't explain it now.
We walked away as Daphne almost reached us. She screamed and her desperate voice echoed through the hills.
"Derek!!"
I wasn't worried about Daphne revealing Randall's secret in front of others. Randall was her last and only trump card.
Although I didn't mate with her, I still covered her living expenses and took good care of the Amber's Eye Pack.
Nowadays, the Amber's Eye Pack was only an empty shell. Before, under Mark's leadership, despite their small numbers, no one dared challenge them.
With Mark gone, Daphne severely injured and unable to walk, and the wedding canceled, their members were itching for trouble. However, they still respected my authority and had not yet acted recklessly.
Daphne's life was tough, as she had to please me while dealing with the pressure from the Amber's Eye Pack.
It was snowing. I walked away, knowing that all she could do was watch me leave.
This was my way of punishing her.
Tabitha let go of my hand and got in the car alone. The warmth inside quickly chased away the chill.
I handed over a hand warmer. "You're too weak to handle the cold. Take this."
Tabitha took the hand warmer and spoke lightly, "Take me there today."
"Tabitha, I can get someone to train you to improve your physical condition. You don't need to go there."
Tabitha turned to me and said, "People only unlock their true potential when faced with death. If you get me a trainer here, even the best, I'll just remain like a flower in a greenhouse."
"Before, I thought that to witness death with my own eyes was enough. But seeing Joanna die changed everything. She had loved Austin deeply since her student days. Even if Austin didn't reciprocate her feelings, they must have had some emotional connection from their daily chats!"
But that day, he raised the gun without hesitation or even a flicker of emotion. It was at that moment I realized he had become more than just a person; he was a cold, emotionless killing machine.
"Kindness was the greatest stumbling obstacle to growth. To truly advance, I had to abandon emotions that were no longer useful. People without emotions are those who are truly invulnerable."
"So you ended your father's life to start anew?"
Tabitha nodded, "Yes, he was beyond cure. Rather than let him suffer endlessly, I chose to give him a dignified end, a release. By doing so, I've freed myself from any remaining ties."
"And what about me? Don't you care about me at all?"
Tabitha looked at the falling snow outside and softly said, "It's over."
My wolf growled softly in my heart. Was there no way for us to go back to the way we used to be?
But deep down, I knew Tabitha had changed. She was becoming tougher and colder, no longer the person she used to be.