Chapter 92 What She Got Wrong About Him

Chapter 92 What She Got Wrong About Him
Shax's voice dropped to a raspy, bone-chilling whisper. He leaned forward until Michelle could feel his warm breath brushing against her lips.
Before she could process the words, Shax's hand moved. His thick, rough fingers slipped under the hem of Michelle's tattered, blood-crusted shirt. His calloused palm came into direct contact with the cold, bare skin of her waist and back.
"Hey, what are—" 
"Ssh!"
The rough sensation of his hand felt like a grazing electric shock, searing every nerve it touched.
Michelle whimpered softly, a desperate groan caught in her throat.
Her body was completely immobile, locked in place by the suffocating combination of Shax's dominant aura and the mate bond that had suddenly awakened, roaring to life in response to the skin-to-skin contact. She was forced to surrender as Shax's large arms wrapped securely around her narrow waist.
With one effortless pull, as if she weighed nothing at all, Shax lifted her body off the ground.
Michelle's pale legs dangled in the air, her stomach pressed tightly against his. This position forced them into an agonizingly intimate proximity, where no secrets could hide from the frantic rhythm of each other's heartbeats.
Shax's eyes darkened. His golden irises dimmed, clouded by something ancient and savage. He stared at Michelle's pale, trembling lips as if considering devouring them right then and there, before his gaze snapped up to lock onto her brown eyes.
"Do you know how insulting those words are?" Shax whispered in a low, dangerous tone.
Michelle held her breath. The oxygen around her seemed to vanish, replaced entirely by the scent of rain-drenched pine forests and Shax's overpowering dark musk. The aroma assaulted her senses, seeping beneath her skin and igniting a wave of misplaced, traitorous arousal in the pit of her stomach.
She refused to be lulled any longer. She refused to be destroyed by the illusion of this mate bond.
With the last of her desperate strength, Michelle pressed her palms flat against his rock-hard chest and pushed.
"Let me go," she hissed, her voice trembling with cold and volatile emotion.
Shax merely let her small hands push against his chest muscles without yielding a single millimeter. He let out a sardonic scoff that vibrated deep within his chest, sending tremors straight through hers.
"Let you go? So you can run again? Hide in a rat hole and let yourself rot? No way. You're coming with me."
"Let me go!" She hammered her fists against his shoulders and kicked her legs in the empty air, the only useless resistance she could offer.
"I won't let you take me to Sylas! You bastard—"
Shax's grip on her waist tightened. He yanked her closer, lowering his face until the tips of their noses brushed. The searing heat of his breath hit her skin, carrying the heavy weight of his suppressed rage.
"Fuck." They were so close that Michelle could see the fine, pulsing veins at his temples. "How many times do I have to tell you I won't hand you over to that bastard? Just shut up, if you still want to see our child."
Michelle's world violently stopped spinning. The suffocating air instantly cleared. Her pupils dilated as she searched Shax's golden eyes for any hint of deceit, finding nothing but absolute, terrifying certainty.
"Skai..." Her voice broke into a fragile whisper. The hands that had been pushing against his chest now curled desperately into the collar of his jacket. "You... you're taking me to him?"
Shax didn't answer with words. He turned on his heel, securing Michelle in his arms, and stepped out into the darkness, leaving the foul-smelling warehouse behind.
The night wind rustled through the dry, skeletal branches as Shax carried Michelle through the deep shadows of the towering trees. They had left the outer grounds and were now approaching an old, abandoned pavilion tucked away in the farthest corner of Sylas's estate. It wasn't far from where Michelle had been hiding these past few days.
The weathered wooden door creaked softly as Shax kicked it open. Absolute darkness and the thick, suffocating smell of dust greeted them. He carried her into a corner of the room, barely illuminated by a sliver of moonlight piercing through a shattered window. There stood a massive, antique wooden wardrobe.
Shax stopped. His gaze dropped to the bottom compartment of the closet.
Michelle struggled weakly, and this time, Shax loosened his iron grip. She scrambled out of his arms, her bare feet barely registering the freezing stone floor as she dropped to her knees. She squeezed her upper body into the dusty, cavernous bottom shelf.
Atop a pile of thick, mismatched blankets arranged into a makeshift nest, a tiny figure lay curled into a ball. Skai was fast asleep. His small chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm, and his tiny fingers tightly clutched a faded cloth bear.
Michelle's chest caved in as if struck by a boulder. Tears spilled silently over her lashes. But the overwhelming relief that flooded her veins was instantly swallowed by the vicious sting of a mother's fury. She whipped her head around, glaring murderously at Shax's looming silhouette.
"How could you put him in a closet?!" she hissed sharply, her eyes narrowing into lethal slits in the dark. "Are you crazy?"
Shax casually crossed his arms over his massive chest. "So? Do you think it's better to let him sleep on a silk bed in the main mansion, without knowing when Sylas might come after my son?"
The words struck Michelle right in the jugular. She bit her lower lip so hard it went numb, tasting copper. The brutal, undeniable truth silenced her completely. She turned back to the closet, staring at her son's peaceful face, so blissfully oblivious to the bloody war raging around him.
With trembling hands, Michelle wiped her tears away. She leaned down, stroking Skai's soft hair with a feather-light touch, and pressed a lingering kiss to her son's warm forehead. The faint scent of milk and pure innocence lingered on his skin, the absolute last pure thing left in her ruined life.
"What do you want from me?" Michelle asked, her voice cracking as she backed out of the closet. "You... you can't possibly want nothing in return after risking your position to hide Skai and bring me to him."
At that, Shax's posture shifted. He crouched down, lowering his massive frame until they were perfectly eye-level. The sudden lack of distance made his domineering aura press down on her chest once more.
"A wise attitude, Michelle," Shax murmured. His predatory gaze roamed her face, assessing every crack in her defenses. "If you want to continue seeing our son, then you will follow my every word. I… need to make sure of something."
"Make sure of what?" Michelle's brows pulled together, every muscle in her body pulling taut.