Tabitha's POV

I fixed Holly with pleading eyes, hoping that she would agree.

But before she said anything, a voice I knew too well filled the doorway.

"Seriously? You came begging at my house?"

I stood up in disbelief and watched as Daphne and Derek walked in.

Then I whipped around back at Holly.

Holly smiled at Daphne dotingly. Then she told me, "Daphne is Mark's daughter. I was about to introduce her to you just now. You're about the same age, and I'm sure you can be friends."

Talk about a cruel twist of fate. Daphne's father stole my dad's mate.

And now, she stole mine.

Like that was not enough, they saw me in such a sorry state. I was literally a clown in their ritzy life.

Of course, Daphne wouldn't miss such a perfect chance to humiliate me.

She walked over and said to Holly in an ironic tone, "Friends with her? Not gonna happen. She's a thief. You'd better go check if anything is missing."

Hearing Daphne's words, Holly started to scrutinize me.

"What's going on? You're thieving now? Tabitha, how'd you get like this?"

The memories of Holly heartlessly letting go of my hand and leaving with Mark when I was little came flooding back.

I looked at her in disappointment and asked, "You take her word over mine just like that? You didn't even bother to ask me, huh? Are you really my mom?"

"Watch your tone!" Holly glared at me. "Daphne has always been a sweet girl. She never lies. But you've always been lack of parental control. Maybe that's why you picked up some bad habits."

"Parental control? You're making it sound like I didn't want a mom to set me straight. Wasn't it you who walked out on me and Dad?"

Holly blushed with shame. It seemed she didn't want me to bring up her past when Daphne was around.

I looked away in disappointment, sick of the sight of her. Then I caught a glimpse of Derek, who stood there in silence and showed no response.

Daphne noticed what I was doing and glanced at Derek, too.

Then she immediately turned around and complained to Holly, "Can you kick her out? I don't want her in my house."

"Something happened to Tabitha's pack, so I offered to let her stay here for a few days. Well, I'll go tell her otherwise if you don't like it," Holly sounded so affectionate as if Daphne were her real daughter.

Then, Holly looked back and said to me apologetically, "Tabitha, I've been busy planning Daphne's wedding, so I might not have the time for you... Maybe you should..."

I had long stopped craving maternal love from Holly. However, getting ditched again after so many years, I couldn't help feeling heartbreak.

Biting back tears, I replied, "Mrs. Sutton, I never wanted to stay in your house, and I would never be friends with a homewrecker. Don't sweat it."

"Nonsense! How can you say that about Daphne when her fiancé is here! Do you know who he is?" Holly shot a nervous glance at Derek while scolding me.

When Daphne slandered me, Holly took her word for it right away. Yet when I stated the facts, Holly sided with Daphne still.

I stared at Derek, remarking, "Of course. He's Black Thorn Pack's Alpha. How could I not know him? Alpha Derek, didn't expect you to tie the knot again so soon. Well, why don't you introduce me to Mrs. Sutton?"

Holly looked at Derek in confusion, obviously having no idea that he was married.

"Alpha Derek, Mark and I don't know much about Black Thorn Pack. Who is Tabitha to you?"

Derek replied with a cold face, "She used to be my Luna. But I'm gonna reject her pretty soon."

He made our years of romance sound like crap.

At such thought, I was rather disheartened than angry.

"You'd better keep your word. If you don't reject me, Daphne will always be the homewrecker," I warned.

Daphne chuckled and cut in, "You're about to be expelled from Black Thorn Pack. How dare you act all cocky? If I were you, I'd start to worry about what to do when I became homeless."

I turned my head and glared at Daphne. "I wouldn't end up homeless even if I left Black Thorn Pack! So what if you become part of his pack? To me, you're always a shameless bitch, a pathetic rogue!"

"Shut up!"

Holly interrupted me loudly before I finished.

Then she slapped me hard across the face.

My cheek stung. I looked back, only to see her breathing heavily out of rage.

"Apologize to Daphne!" she commanded.

"No way!" I roared through gritted teeth.

Boiling with anger, Holly lifted her hand, trying to smack me again, but someone stopped her.

Derek eyed Holly icily and ordered, "Apologize to her."

Derek's POV

Holly actually slapped Tabitha right before me!

While I stood there in silence, my wolf Leo roared in my mind, "Damn it, Derek! What were you thinking? How could you let her insult our mate like that?"

Recently, I'd been forcing myself to spend more time with Daphne, which brought Leo's wrath upon me.

Now, I could hardly contain his fury.

I used to believe that all I left for Tabitha was hatred. I thought I had gotten over her.

Yet I was wrong.

The moment I saw her stubborn expression and reddened cheek, my heart ached.

Yet before I could even speak, Holly raised her arm again.

She wanted to give Tabitha a second slap?!

The nerve of her!

Enraged, I immediately grabbed her arm.

"Alpha Derek?" Holly looked at me in disbelief.

I took a deep breath, suppressing Leo's anger, and said, "Tabitha's still Luna of the Black Thorn Pack. How dare you slap her in front of me?"

"C'mon, Derek. Why so serious? Holly was just punishing her for disrespecting me. Besides, aren't you about to reject her anyway?" Daphne took my arm, trying to play charm on me.

I let go of Holly and shifted my gaze to Daphne, remarking, "As long as the rejection's not done, she's my Luna. You are a rogue, so you naturally don't understand the weight of the status. Truth is, insulting a Luna means declaring war on the pack."

I turned and stared at Holly, questioning, "Is that what you want?"

She went pale, waving her hands, unsure what to say.

Daphne flushed with embarrassment. She hated it when people called her a rogue.

But I didn't give a damn.

Eyes teary, she lashed out at Holly. "How dare you provoke Alpha Derek? You wanna spoil my happiness, huh?"

"Of course not, sweetie," Holly tried comforting her, but Daphne shoved her hand away with disgust.

"Apologize to Alpha Derek, now!" Daphne ordered.

"This bitch owes our mate an apology, not us!" Leo raged in my mind.

I instinctively shifted my gaze to Tabitha.

Seeing her watching with a deadpan like a bystander, I felt annoyed. Didn't she realize that I was doing this for her sake?

Snapping back to reality, I waved my hand and said, "Don't you dare disrespect my Luna ever again. Or there will be consequences!"

Holly nodded, her face flushed with embarrassment.

Suddenly, a baby's cry broke the tense air.

Our ruckus woke him, I guessed.

Tabitha, hearing the voice, finally lost her cool.

She rushed to the stroller and bent down to look at the baby. And I didn't stop her.

Soon, she jerked her head up and eyed me in disbelief.

The pain in her eyes was evident, but I didn't explain.

Then, she turned around and rushed into the bathroom, slamming the door shut.

"You idiot! I can't feel Crystal now," Leo cursed, his tone worried.

Crystal was Tabitha's wolf, and my recent behavior had weakened her, which partly explained why Leo was displeased.

After a while, Tabitha walked out of the bathroom.

Fixing my gaze on her, I found that she grew thinner, and her usually florid complexion seemed drained of color.

What happened to her?

"You good?" I couldn't help but ask.

"None of your business." Her tone was cold, just like the look on her face.

She brushed past me, and I could feel that she was feeble.

I wanted to drill down, but she marched straight to the front door, giving me no chance to talk.

She then turned and told me earnestly, "I wanna get the rejection ceremony done ASAP. So meet me at the Council of Elders when you're available. Marrying you is the biggest mistake I've ever made, and now I wanna put an end to it while I still can."

With that, she opened the door and left.

The look in her eyes was so icy, like I was a total stranger to her.

'No way! She's my mate. How could she stop loving me before we reject each other?' I murmured in my heart.

Sensing that Tabitha was going to leave me for good, I couldn't help panicking. A feeling I'd never had.

I thought about chasing after her, but Elena's waxen face came unbidden to my mind.

That poor girl died at such a young age. She didn't deserve that!

At this thought, my hatred towards John got reignited. I clenched my fists, trying to avoid showing concern for Tabitha.

But Leo just wouldn't stop urging me to see if she was alright.

Eventually, worry overcame hatred.

I opened the door and followed Tabitha, ignoring the stunned looks of Daphne and Holly.

To my surprise, she hadn't gone far.

Seemed like she fell, as she was collapsing at the curb. Just as I was about to approach her, a man came by from the intersection, helping her up.

Under the streetlight, I could see his gentle gaze on Tabitha crystal clear.

Jealousy devoured me.