**When Midnight Winds Carry Secrets Toward Worlds Yet Unknown**
**Chapter 92**
**Bella**
As I stepped back into the cottage, a wave of unease washed over me, leaving me feeling unsteady and hollow. Nancy and Cindy had taken the children to their room, where they were busy soothing them with toys and a sprinkle of the enchanting magic Nancy could conjure. They understood that I needed a moment alone to process the chaos that had unfolded.
I sank onto the sofa, curling my knees tightly against my chest, my hands trembling with the weight of my thoughts. The scene kept replaying in my mind, a relentless loop that I couldn’t escape. No matter how many times I blinked or tried to steady my breath, the memory remained etched in my mind with agonizing clarity.
That creature… He was a giant, towering at least eight feet tall, with claws that gleamed like knives in the dim light. His roar reverberated through the earth itself, a primal sound that shook me to my core. And those molten-gold eyes—how they pierced through me, filled with a sorrow that seemed to reach into my very soul, just before he vanished into the depths of the forest.
And then there was Tasha.
I squeezed my eyes shut, but the horror flooded back—metal crunching under pressure, the violent shudder of the tree as it absorbed the impact, Tasha’s desperate scream slicing through the air, the flash of claws, and the gruesome moment he gutted her, hanging her like a warning. Yet, what haunted me most was the look he gave me right after. That moment when his Lycan met my gaze.
It was heartbreak personified.
My throat tightened painfully. I found myself whispering into the empty room, “My Scott…” It wasn’t the brutality of the act that terrified me; it was the anguish etched on his face just before he fled. The sound he made, a mix of pain and fear, echoed in my mind.
He didn’t run because he wanted to; he ran because he thought I was afraid of him. That realization shattered something deep within me. I broke down, the sobs spilling out uncontrollably. “Scott, come back…”
Time slipped away from me, and I lost track of when night fell or how the day dragged on. Scott didn’t return. Every sound outside sent me into a panic, every creak of the cottage floor made my heart race. I found myself getting out of bed repeatedly, rushing to the door, hoping to see him standing there, but it was always someone else. I couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep. My body felt like a tightly coiled spring, shaking with anxiety. Millie informed me that Troy and Brandon had gone out to look for him.
The twins, sweet and innocent, were confused. “Mommy,” Emma asked softly, tugging at my shirt, “where’s Daddy?”
I forced a weak smile, my heart aching. “He’ll come back soon, baby. Don’t worry.” But inside, panic clawed at my insides. What if he was hurt? What if he couldn’t shift back? My hands trembled so violently that I had to grip the edge of the counter to steady myself. I knew Scott would never abandon us. If he wasn’t here, it meant he couldn’t be.
Then, on the evening of the second day, Troy walked in, looking utterly spent. His clothes were caked in dirt, his hair a wild mess, and his eyes bore the heavy rim of sleepless worry. I shot up from my chair as soon as he entered.
“Troy, please tell me you found him,” I implored, rushing toward him. “Is he okay? Is he hurt?”
He exhaled slowly, the sound heavy with exhaustion. “His Majesty hasn’t shifted back.”
My heart sank like a stone. I stared at him, disbelief washing over me. “What do you mean?” My voice came out as a faint whisper.
“Scott… is still in his Lycan form,” Troy clarified, his expression grim.
A hand flew to my mouth as tears threatened to spill.
Troy took a step closer, his voice low and steady. “Bella, you need to understand. His beast is unstable right now. He hasn’t let anyone near him. We’ve been tracking him through the woods. Several wild wolves attempted to approach, and he killed them without hesitation. The same goes for a few mountain beasts. You can’t imagine the devastation he has wrought in the forest.”
I flinched at his words. “But,” I protested quickly, “he would never hurt me.”
Troy hesitated, his gaze wavering. For a long moment, he looked torn, as if grappling with whether to reveal the truth. He swallowed hard. “He believes that if you see him like that, fully shifted, you might reject him. And that fear is driving his Lycan into madness.”
Tears streamed down my face. “Oh God! No. No, he misunderstood. Everything happened so fast that I just froze.”

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