Third person's POV
Everyone was shocked by the terrifying sound of flesh colliding with the tile floor.
It sounded like a thunderbolt had exploded in everyone's hearts.
This was not a normal funeral at all. It was a brutal assault.
Derek's actions filled everyone with questions and fear. Had he lost his mind to grief and anger, completely losing his sanity?
What had the young girl done to provoke him so?
How could he have been so harsh on her?
Elena had come with a spectator's mentality, wanting to see Derek's pain.
She never imagined that she would be so dramatically drawn into the center of this storm, and the one who laid a hand on her was none other than the Alpha of the Black Thorn Pack, Derek.
Elena had always harbored resentment, a resentment that grew like a poisonous tumor in her heart over time.
Especially towards Tabitha. In her twisted perception, Tabitha was a plunderer who had taken everything that should have been hers.
Whether it was status, glory, or others' attention, she blamed all of this on Tabitha, never reflecting on her own paranoia.
The sudden impact made her see stars, the world spinning before her eyes.
The intense pain in her head almost fainting her. She could feel her head had been gruesomely smashed. Blood made her look incredibly miserable.
"Alpha Derek, have you mistaken me for someone else? I have no grudges against you. Why are you treating me like this?" Elena deliberately lowered her voice. But it was hard to hide the hoarseness.
Derek was in no mood to play dumb with her. He pressed Elena's head down and leaned over. In a voice only the two could hear, coldly said, "Elena, Tabitha is gone. And I won't spare anyone who has hurt her. You better kneel in front of her and kowtow in repentance. You have no other choice."
Elena stopped pretending, "It was her choice. What does it have to do with me? If you blame anyone, blame her. Even if you go to hell later, it's all her fault."
Derek's gaze became even more fierce, like an enraged beast. "You are really stubborn and unrepentant. Today, you must kowtow, whether you like it or not. This is what you owe Tabitha."
With that, he, as if possessed by a demon, dragged Elena's head and forcefully pressed it down again and again.
Andrea stood by, quietly watching all of this. Her brain was like a turbulent sea, a mix of emotions.
She didn't have a deep affection for Elena, but the bloody and cruel scene before her made her feel some compassion.
However, she also knew what Derek's actions meant.
He was seeking justice for Tabitha, venting the volcanic pain in his heart through this method.
This was his break from his past self, another expression of his love for Tabitha, albeit in an extreme way.
One, two... Each time Elena's forehead hit the ground, the dull sound of bone colliding with tile was clearly audible.
That sound was like the footsteps of death, step by step, tapping on the souls of everyone present.
Derek's eyes were bloodshot. The redness was like a spider web covering his eyeballs, making him look like a soulless walking corpse, completely dominated by anger and regret.
His mind kept flashing back to the past, sinking into deep self-blame over and over again.
If only he hadn't been deceived by Elena's seemingly harmless appearance, if only he had seen the truth sooner and protected Tabitha, they wouldn't have come to this heartbreaking step.
Tabitha shouldn't have suffered so much. She was so kind and innocent. Why did fate make her bear such undeserved pain?
And in Derek's view, Elena bore an inescapable responsibility for all of this.
Thus, Derek, as if bewitched, made Elena kowtow nine times in total. Each one was done with full force, showing no mercy.
Elena's health was not good to begin with. After this ordeal, she could hardly hold on.
At this moment, Derek's voice, like a demonic roar, came again, "Stay kneeling here until the funeral is over."
There was no warmth in that voice, only endless coldness and determination.
The people around witnessed all of this. Their brains were filled with doubt and fear, but no one dared to speak up.
When Orson and the Weaver family arrived, what they saw was a scene like hell.
They could hardly believe their eyes. The Derek before them was too different from the one they remembered.
Clearly, Tabitha's death had hit him much harder than they had imagined.
Orson still had a stern face, no sympathy in his eyes. He quietly walked to Derek's side, saying in a low voice, "Alpha Derek, I've come to see Tabitha off on her final journey."