After organizing his thoughts, Derek whispered a few words into Spike's ear. Spike looked reluctant and said with a pained expression, "Alpha Derek, this is too dangerous."
Derek insisted, "Do as I say. You can't get the answer without risking the lamb."
Spike was confused, completely unsure of who or what Derek was targeting.
Derek stayed put in the room, making no sound.
Meanwhile, Spike meticulously described the entire yard and its surroundings to Derek, even sketching a rough map on Derek's palm when detailing complex areas.
Derek, with his sharp mind, quickly constructed a mental map.
He then explored the room by touch, memorizing the positions and heights of the furniture.
"Alright, take me for a walk," Derek said.
Spike led Derek slowly through the yard.
From Spike's descriptions, Derek learned that Tabitha lived in the adjacent stilt house.
Night had just fallen. Alma was pounding medicine in the yard, the rhythmic sound of the pestle accompanied by her explanations of herbal properties to Hedwig.
Neither Tabitha nor Jasper was in the yard, which left Derek's mind racing with uneasy thoughts.
His heart felt torn, but he maintained a calm exterior.
Alma, noticing Derek's slow movements, called out to him, "Hey, you there."
Spike quickly introduced Derek, "Alpha Derek, this is Mrs. Atkinson."
Derek stepped forward and said sincerely, "I've been here for days but haven't formally met you until now, Mrs. Atkinson. Thank you for saving my life. I'm truly grateful."
Since Alma had likely figured out his identity, Derek decided honesty was the best policy.
He respected her deeply, knowing she had saved Tabitha.
"Unlike that haughty young lady, I hear she's your fiancée," Alma said, testing Derek.
Derek explained, "The wolfsbane had me in a bad state before. She's the daughter of my mentor, and that's the extent of our relationship."
Alma pressed, "That girl seems quite smitten with you. Not the slightest bit interested?"
Derek replied, "You flatter me. If I were to cherish every admirer, I'd run out of time in a year."
Alma remarked, "You're quite arrogant."
Derek's face lit up with confidence. "I speak the truth. Responding to everyone's affection is not love—it's promiscuity. I'm a possessive and selfish person. Once I love someone, it's forever."
Alma countered, "You're not young. Shouldn't you be married by now? If you're already wed and still attracting young ladies, your so-called self-love seems questionable."
Spike quickly added, "After Alpha Derek and Tabitha parted ways, Miss Dalton started pursuing him. Alpha Derek has rejected her multiple times, but she's persistent. Alpha Derek has truly had only Tabitha in all these years."
Alma sneered, "If you loved her so much, why did you part ways? Seems like your love wasn't as deep as you claim."
Derek winced inwardly at Alma's words, recalling the agony of his separation from Tabitha.
Some wounds were best kept buried.
Standing quietly in the night breeze, he vowed silently—this time, he would find Tabitha again and never let her go.
Alma's mocking smile made Derek's neck tense as if pressed by an invisible hand, his head drooping heavily. His Adam's apple bobbed nervously.
Hedwig stood on tiptoe, her small face flickering in the campfire's light. Her amber eyes reflected her father's quivering eyelashes.
Unconsciously, she twirled the loose strands at the end of her braid—a gesture mimicked from Tabitha, who would often wind the tassel of her pen cap around her fingers while grading papers late at night.
Until now, "father" had been a concept as vague to Hedwig as a torn page in a fairy tale book.
One stormy night, she'd barged into Tabitha's study with her teddy bear, only to find her mother staring at a yellowed photo.
The young man in the leather jacket, holding a wolf by the shoulder, was now standing before her. His right knuckles rapped against the stone table edge, emitting an anxious "click-click" sound.
His voice was rough, like sandpaper on rusty iron, "Do you remember the snowfall three years ago? She had a fever but insisted on picking elderberries for the pack. I carried her three miles through the snow to keep her from slipping... The imprints of her nails are still on my back."
He lifted his shirt, revealing three faint pink crescent scars on his lower back. In the campfire's glow, they resembled three coiled snakes.