Third person's POV
As soon as Tabitha stepped out of the house, the biting winter wind hit her face like a knife, stinging her skin.
Just as Derek had said, everything had been arranged.
"Tabitha, the helicopter is ready. You can leave now."
"Thank you."
"However, the helipad is a bit far. You'll need to walk there."
"That's fine," Tabitha waved it off.
Wrapped in a thick down jacket, she buried her face in the hood. She felt as though someone was watching her, but she didn't dare look back.
She was afraid that if she turned around, she wouldn't be able to leave. In her heart, she kept repeating, Don't look back. Just keep walking.
Behind the curtains, Derek held Kyrian, who was crying silently. Kyrian reached out toward the empty air, as if trying to grab the hem of Tabitha's coat.
"Dad, I don't want Mom to leave. Will she abandon me?"
"No, she loves you. How could she abandon you? She's just leaving for a little while."
Kyrian sniffled. "But Dad, don't you miss her?"
"I do. I miss her so much it drives me crazy. I even thought about locking her up so she'd stay with me forever. But..."
Derek sighed deeply. "I've already made one mistake. I don't want to make another. Tabitha deserves to shine. In the past, I forced her to stay by my side, taking away her dreams, her happiness, and her future. She was like a bird in a cage. Now, I'm opening that cage and letting her fly to a wider sky."
"But Dad, aren't you afraid Mom might fall for someone else and start a new family with another man? What would you do then?"
Derek had thought about that possibility. But even when he'd disguised himself as Wilmot and spent so much time with Tabitha, even when they'd faced life and death together, even when he'd been there for her at her most vulnerable, she hadn't fallen for him. So he believed Tabitha wouldn't easily shift her affections.
"Your mom and I still have you and your siblings. That connection will always be there. No matter how far she flies, we'll meet again someday."
As Tabitha's figure disappeared into the snowy landscape, Kyrian thought about the years he'd spent without his mother. All the emotions he'd bottled up suddenly burst forth.
"Dad, I want to say goodbye to Mom."
But it wasn't just about saying goodbye. He wanted to talk to her more, to see her one last time, to hear her voice.
Kyrian dashed out like the wind, running through the snow and shouting, "Mom! Mom, wait for me!"
But the howling wind and snow drowned out his voice. All he could see was a vast expanse of white, with no sign of Tabitha.
He ran a few more steps, but his small figure tripped and fell into the snow, quickly buried by the falling flakes.
"Mom!"
Tabitha was about to board the helicopter when she thought she heard a voice. She turned around, but all she saw was endless white. There was no one there.
It must have been her imagination, her longing for her child playing tricks on her. Tabitha wiped the tears from her face and climbed into the helicopter.
"Don't go, Mom! Wait for me!"
The snow had fallen all night, leaving a thick blanket on the ground.
Kyrian struggled to get up from the snowdrift, only to see the helicopter's door close and the rotors begin to spin, lifting it into the air.
Kyrian ran desperately toward it. Even though he'd promised Tabitha he'd be strong, the moment of separation shattered his resolve, leaving only instinctive reluctance.
He was just a child—a child who had long been deprived of a mother's love. His face was filled with longing for Tabitha.
"Mom, don't go! I just got to see you. Please stay, Mom!"
His small body fell into the snow again. Kyrian cried, tears streaming down his face as he shouted at the top of his lungs.
But the wind was too strong, and the roar of the helicopter's rotors drowned out his voice. Tabitha couldn't hear him.
"Mom, I miss you. I've always missed you. Please stay, okay? I'll be good. I'll listen to you. I lied—I don't want you to leave at all. I want to see you every day. I don't want to train or be an Alpha. I just want to be your son. Mom... look at me one more time..."
Kyrian slowly got up from the ground, only to collapse again, crying in utter despair.
His trainer, who had been with him for so long, had always thought the boy was strong. No matter how hard, painful, or exhausting the training was, Kyrian always gritted his teeth and pushed through.
This was the first time the trainer had seen Kyrian break down like a child denied candy. But then again, Kyrian was just a boy under five. Wasn't it natural for him to be a little selfish sometimes?
"Good boy, don't cry."
The helicopter had taken off, carrying Tabitha away and shattering all of Kyrian's hopes.
Derek picked him up from the snow, brushing off the flakes and wrapping him in his own military coat before holding him close.
The trainer saluted Derek, who nodded and said, "Let him rest for a couple of days."
"Yes, Alpha Derek."
Kyrian clung to Derek, crying so hard he could barely breathe, his body warmed by his father's embrace.
"Dad, I'm not as strong as I thought. I don't want anything else. I just want Mom to come back. I just want to be a normal kid."
"Shh, don't cry. You're a good boy."
"I don't want to be a good boy. I want to be a bad boy. They say only crying kids get candy."