Third person's POV
"Are you serious?" Tabitha frowned. "This is life or death. Do you want him to die?"
"You don't get it," Alvin said quickly. "That woman isn't really Alpha Derek's fiancée. She made it up to convince Mrs. Atkinson to help. Derek's got someone else—someone he loves. If he finds out she fed him the medicine, he'll lose it."
"So what? It's just medicine. I can't exactly summon his 'someone else' here," Tabitha muttered.
"Everything else is negotiable, but Alpha Derek's stubborn about this. He's loved Tabitha his whole life. He won't let another woman touch him intimately. I can't make that call for him. Any other ideas?"
Tabitha froze. Tabitha? She hadn't heard that name in years.
"Since he loves Tabitha so much, where is she? Why isn't she here?"
"Tabitha left over three years ago. Derek's searched everywhere but couldn't find her. This time, he got distracted because someone hired a Tabitha look-alike. That's why he got hurt."
Tabitha was speechless. So Derek was still obsessed with her.
"There is another way," she said slowly.
"What?"
"You're his friend. You feed him."
Alvin instinctively swallowed, pointing at himself. "Me?"
"Who else? Hurry up. Every second you waste is another second closer to him dying."
Alvin sighed inwardly.
Fine.
If it saved Derek's life, he'd do it.
He lifted the medicine, took a mouthful, and winced.
"Steady. Don't waste it. The second dose had different herbs—different effects." Tabitha said.
Gritting his teeth, Alvin closed his eyes and did what needed to be done.
"It's like CPR," he told himself. "Just like CPR."
Besides, Derek didn't hold it against me, so what right did I have to hold it against him?
Alvin was reliable—Tabitha hadn't misjudged him there.
To be fair, Alvin was quite handsome. If others saw two guys doing this, it would've been quite a sight.
"Ahem, getting sidetracked." Tabitha thought.
Tabitha watched, then turned back to the herbs. Focus.
Derek needed to take eighty-one doses of medicine in total.
For the first three days, he had to take a dose every three hours—his life hung by a thread, and the medicine had to be strong.
After each dose, Alvin laid Derek down to rest before moving him to the tub to sweat out the toxins.
For the next day and night, they worked in tandem. Tabitha prepared and brewed the medicine; Alvin fed Derek and cared for him.
By the second day, Derek's lips regained color, and he began swallowing the medicine on his own.
"Alpha Derek is fighting now!" Alvin nearly cried with relief.
"Don't celebrate yet. The poison damaged his organs. Recovery won't be easy."
"Still, I'm grateful. Without you, he'd be gone."
Tabitha nodded.
"Just doing my job. You should rest. Get someone to relieve you."
"Yes, ma'am."
After Alvin left, Tabitha prepared to check on Derek.
Despite their history, she felt uneasy. But as a doctor, she had to assess his condition.
She lifted the tub lid. The water was scalding—not enough to burn, but certainly uncomfortable.
She reached for Derek's arm to gauge the toxin's retreat.
Suddenly, his hand shot out, yanking her wrist.
With a splash, Tabitha was pulled into the tub.
The tub was large enough for two, but Derek, still half-mad, showed no mercy.
Tabitha gagged on the hot water, her back slamming against the tub's edge.
Derek pinned her with his body, his left hand gripping her throat, his voice a raspy growl. "What do you want?"
Tabitha stayed calm.
Derek's hearing had returned faster than his sight—typical, since hearing was the last sense to go.
But his vision was still blurred. To him, she was just a shadow.
Without familiar voices to ground him, he didn't understand where he was. Instinctively self-protecting, he gripped Tabitha's throat tightly, not giving her a chance to escape.
"Kill me if you want," she said, altering her voice.
"Who are you?"
"The one saving your life."