Chapter 87 Chapter 87

Chapter 87 Chapter 87

~MIKAEL~

It was midnight and I had just finished sorting out the pack's issues. We hadn't figured out who had poisoned Nyra's food, but I had made sure everyone who worked in the kitchen was locked up until further notice.

It was exhausting, but it was better to take precautionary measures to prevent it from happening again. Tonight, I was going to spend the night in Nyra's room as usual. I knocked twice before opening the door.

The dimly lit room felt strange; her scent was faint, almost like it was merely a remnant of her presence.

"Nyra," I called, sitting on the edge of the bed. I couldn't get through to her.

I stood up immediately and rushed to the bathroom, but she wasn't there.

Where would she go at this hour?

It was late in the night.

I rushed out of the room and called the sentinels. "Have you seen my mate?" I asked, and they all shook their heads.

Time seemed to stall with each passing second. "Send word to the other sentinels nearby and search the area," I instructed. He bowed his head and left.

The silence that followed was deafening. I paced the hallway, my claws itching to tear through the very floorboards. Every second she was gone felt like a physical blow to my chest.

"Mikael?"

I spun around to see Natalia standing at the end of the corridor, her expression unreadable.

"I can't find her, Natalia," I barked, my voice cracking with a mixture of rage and desperation. "Someone took her — right under our noses, after the poisoning… they took her!" That was the only explanation I could come up with.

"Gone? No… that's impossible!" She blurted out in shock, then shook her head slowly, as if remembering something.

"Oh, no!" She slapped her hand over her mouth.

"What is it? Do you have any idea where she might be?"

She shook her head. "I think… I met with her today and she said something about wanting me to protect Olive. I asked if she was leaving, but she said no. I think…" she trailed off.

"No!" I roared, the sound echoing through the pack house. "She wouldn't leave me. She's my mate! Someone has kidnapped her, and I will burn this world to the ground to find whoever touched her."

I refused to hear it. I couldn't believe she would run. It had to be a conspiracy.

\~~~

Days bled into a week. The search was relentless. I pushed the sentinels to their breaking point, scouring every inch of the border and the surrounding neutral territories.

I became a ghost in my own home — hardened, jaded, and volatile. Anyone who dared approach me with pack business or rational suggestions was met with a snarl or a shout. I stopped eating; I stopped sleeping.

Every night, I found myself drawn back to her room. I would sit in the darkness, surrounded by the fading scent of jasmine and the haunting memory of her laugh. The room that had once been a sanctuary was now a tomb of what-ifs.

I was hunched over her vanity, clutching a ribbon she used to wear, when the door creaked open. A small, hesitant shadow fell across the floor.

"Uncle Mikael?"

It was her daughter — the one I had come to call mine. I tried to harden my features and wipe the moisture from my eyes, but I almost broke down right then and there.

"Where did Mommy go?" she asked, her voice small and trembling. "Is she coming back?"

I didn't want to believe Natalia's words — there was absolutely no way she would have left Olive alone. There was something we were missing, something important.

The truth was a jagged pill I couldn't swallow. I reached out and pulled her into a stiff embrace. "She… she had to travel, little one," I lied, my heart shattering. "It's a long journey, but she will be back soon."

The girl looked up at me, her eyes wide with pure, untainted innocence. "Okay," she whispered. "Since you said Mummy was going to come back, she will. You never lie to me."

She hugged me back and then left the room, leaving me alone with the crushing weight of a promise I wasn't sure I could keep. I looked at the moon through the window and made a silent vow: I don't care if you've gone to the ends of the earth or into the arms of a ghost — I am coming for you.

I clenched my fists. "You said you were going to give me time to figure out what I feel — why did you leave before I got the chance? Who took you away from me?"

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath. I am going to trust that you are alive and well, little flame. The bond is not broken, and that is what I am holding onto.