Chapter 89 The Night She Disappeared

Chapter 89 The Night She Disappeared
The crowd erupted in panic, the warriors' screams echoed, and the smell of sulfur filled the air. Shax tried to sharpen his wolf vision in the darkness, but the smoke seemed to have a magical barrier blocking his vision.
A few minutes later, as the emergency lights came on and the smoke began to subside, an eerie silence fell over the Black Fang.
The arena revealed an absurd outcome. The rogue lay bleeding to the point of death, but Michelle, who had been staggering, was gone.
The arena was completely empty.
"Where did she go?"
"That bitch couldn't have finished him off, that's impossible!"
"Yeah, she was clearly the loser! What the hell is this? Did someone help that bitch?!"
Shax, Sylas, and the others were speechless, staring at the empty space in the center of the arena, now only a pool of cooling blood.
The cheers of the pack members filled the night air again, believing this was part of some spectacular execution trick their Alpha had prepared. Sylas laughed loudly, the sound echoing, shaking the night air.
But Shax stood frozen on the edge of the balcony, his cold, glinting eyes fixed intently on the spot where Michelle had last been seen. A sudden emptiness consumed his soul, a black hole left behind after the mind-link was severed.
'Where did she go?' Shax thought.
Something thick like mud began to creep up his throat, choking his breath more powerfully than any anger. He knew one thing: Michelle hadn't escaped alone, and the real battle was just beginning in the shadows.
The chaos in Black Fang was spiraling out of control.
While everyone was too focused on Michelle disappearing in the mysterious smoke, Rachel also vanished from behind the iron bars of the dungeon. There were no broken locks, no traces of a struggle. They seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth.
And clearly, the prison guard had received his punishment from their Alpha.
Rumors spread like a plague. Many in the pack whispered that a traitor from within the inner circle must have broken Rachel's prison. However, many began to believe that this was all a brilliant plot orchestrated by Michelle herself; that Michelle wasn't the helpless maid they had always believed her to be.
Amidst the heat of these rumors, Shax's name inevitably got dragged into the mix.
"He's been with that bitch for months, there's no way he didn't know she could shift into her wolf form."
"Hey, hey, is that all? Some say Beta Shax helped that bitch escape and beat up the rogue that night."
"But others say Beta was always by our Alpha's side that night. Are you saying that Alpha didn't notice when Beta Shax left his side to ruin the match?"
"Come on, how naive. Beta Shax could have ordered someone else to do it."
Meanwhile, Sylas, with a calm rage, immediately assembled a team of elite hunters to track them down in the forest. However, unusually, Shax wasn't included this time.
It wasn't something he needed to worry about, as he preferred to protect Skai. He wasn't so eager to chase or capture Michelle now, for a more profound fear was lodged in his chest. He was deeply worried that he would instantly buckle and submit completely to the mate bond if he got too close to her.
Distance was his only defense now. He hoped it would drain him of his feelings, even though his wolf continued to complain day and night, struggling and projecting the very real physical pain of not being with Michelle.
Shax tried to dull the feeling.
He continued to be haunted by Michelle's last words in his head.
"I hate you so much."
Something felt terribly wrong. The foundation of all his assumptions and negative views about Michelle was beginning to crumble, but his ego was too big; he still refused to admit that he might have misjudged her and inflicted the deepest wound.
However, neither distance nor time was enough to silence Sylas.
Three days after the escape, he showed up at Shax’s wing of the mansion—unannounced, as always. The doors opened without warning, and Sylas stepped in like he owned the air itself, a strange woman trailing a step behind him. She kept her head lowered, hands clasped tightly in front of her, as if she already understood she didn’t belong here.
“I’ll be taking Skai,” Sylas said, his tone casual, almost bored. “Hand him over to the new nanny.”
Shax didn’t move.
Sylas glanced at him, then added lightly, “Besides, I’d like to bond with my son. It’s a little strange, don’t you think? My own child growing closer to his uncle instead of me.”
A sharp, humorless scoff slipped from Shax’s lips. “Bonding? Now?”
He tightened his hold on Skai, instinctively pulling the child closer to his chest. The baby stirred faintly, letting out a soft breath against him. Michelle’s warning echoed in his mind—low, urgent, impossible to ignore. Sylas has an agenda for that child.
And Luna Bertha… she had died protecting that secret. Protecting Skai.
Even when he wasn’t hers.
Shax stared at the new nanny, then turned his sharp gaze to his older brother.
“Luna Bertha…” His voice came out low, rough, a growl barely leashed in his throat. “…did she really choose to die?”
Sylas had been walking toward the cradle, but his steps halted.
Slowly, he turned.
A smile spread across his face, pleasant at first glance, almost amused. His eyes curved into crescents, warm in shape… but not in substance. The glint beneath them was cold. Cutting. Like something waiting to strike.
“That’s an odd question,” Sylas murmured, his voice dipping softer, more dangerous. “Especially from someone who never cared before.”
He tilted his head slightly, studying Shax. “Why?” he continued. “Do you think I killed my own wife?”
Shax didn't back down an inch. Their gazes locked, unyielding and equal, neither willing to give an inch.
The air grew heavy and suffocating, as if the slightest spark could set the place off on the spot.
Shax parted his lips, his voice steady despite the tension coiling in his chest.
“It’s not impossible… is it?”