Third person's POV
Tabitha couldn't discern his facial expression, but she could palpably sense his physical distress. "Then you..." she began.
"I'll find a way to handle it myself," he responded.
With that, further lingering seemed like an implicit invitation to something more.
Like a nimble fish, Tabitha swiftly retreated back into her room and swiftly locked the door.
Worried that he might lose control under the influence of the drug and become dangerously irrational, she moved the desk and chair from the room to brace against the door.
Exhausted from her efforts, she slumped down onto the carpet.
Her fingers gently touched her lips where he had kissed her.
Honestly, she was too shocked at the time to have any particular feelings.
It was the first time a man other than her husband had kissed her, and the sensation was both unfamiliar and strange.
Oddly, when his hands touched her body, she didn't feel a strong aversion, as if her body had subconsciously grown accustomed to his touch.
Images from her past with Derek kept flashing through her mind. Tabitha quickly splashed her face with cold water and drank a large glass of water to suppress the inexplicable restlessness in her heart.
Tonight, all she could do was pray that he could weather the ordeal.
Lying beside Ayla, Tabitha felt like a thief in the night, her heart unable to calm down for a long time.
Derek washed himself with cold water, which only provided minimal relief, akin to scratching an itch through a boot, failing to address the core issue. The agony still haunted him, causing him great suffering.
Wrapped in a bath towel, he stepped out of his room.
He pushed open Rolf's door to see Rolf sitting amidst a pile of spoils of war, smiling like an innocent, carefree child who had won the lottery.
"Alpha Derek, what's going on with you?"
Rolf asked, seeing Derek without his mask, his hair dripping with water, his pale face flushed unnaturally.
"I've been drugged, and the effects are potent," Derek gritted out.
Understanding Derek's stubborn and peculiar nature, Rolf knew he would never accept any woman other than Tabitha.
"Should we drug Tabitha too, so she won't remember anything when she wakes up?" Rolf suggested hastily.
Derek shot him a fierce glare, thinking how absurd and foolish the idea was.
"Put those ridiculous thoughts out of your mind. Have Alvin find me a sedative, and you, get me more ice right now."
"Ah... yes, sir."
Derek headed to his bathroom, concerned that staying in the suite might disturb Tabitha.
He immersed himself in the bathtub as Rolf had buckets of ice brought in.
"Alpha Derek, at this rate, you're going to turn into an iced cola," Rolf joked.
"Stop talking nonsense," Derek responded irritably.
Derek remained motionless in the water, despite the extreme cold.
His body felt like a volcano on the verge of eruption, scorching hot, a true contrast of ice and fire.
Rolf's gaze unconsciously swept over the parts covered by the bathrobe. "You've never masturbated before, have you? If you don't know how, I can teach you."
"Shut up!" Derek tilted his head back, eyes tightly closed, hands resting on the sides of the bathtub.
His exposed skin showed an enticing rosy hue, his Adam's apple rapidly moving up and down.
Rolf only needed a few glances before Derek coldly barked, "Close your damn eyes and get out!"
As Rolf left, muttering to himself, "How do you know I'm looking when your eyes are closed? That's incredible."
Before leaving, he thoughtfully closed the door for Derek.
Alvin rushed over with a doctor, who upon seeing Derek's condition, turned very pale. "No, your body is so congested. You need to find a woman to alleviate the situation."
As a powerful werewolf Alpha, Derek possessed strength and dignity beyond ordinary people.
His body reacted strongly to the drug, not only due to his human instincts but also because the werewolf blood in him was restless and unsettled.
The physiological characteristics of werewolves made it more challenging for them to control their desires in certain situations, and Derek was currently trapped in this predicament.