Back in the underwater cave, Blue Tang woke up when he noticed the warm body in his arms had disappeared! At first, he thought she went to relieve herself. He checked the entire cave, but there was no sign of her anywhere.
He asked the guards outside of the cave and they did not see anyone come or go out of the cave. Without a merman's help, she would not make it to the shore alone. None of the mermen were willing to steal her and risk the wrath of Blue Tang.
He was their King! They were all loyal to him and their Mermaid Queen. This was treated as the highest-level threat, especially since she might be pregnant with their next Mermaid Queen!
Blue Tang sent out his fastest messengers to explore the surrounding areas. He went to the island personally to investigate her mates. They were all sleeping on the island.
Blue Tang looked around and Nick woke up. He noticed Blue Tang and asked, "What are you looking for?" He thought Blue Tang might make a sneak attack in the middle of the night out of jealousy.
He had seen how Blue Tang watched their interactions earlier and knew how much he wanted Amber all to himself. He could sympathize with Blue Tang except Nick was her favorite.
Nick would want to kill him too if the roles were reversed. They were evenly matched so a surprise attack would be a good move for Blue Tang. If he could make it look like an accident he would not have to tell Amber he killed her beloved mate.
Blue Tang surprised him with his next words. "Amber is missing. She was asleep in my arms and I woke up when I no longer felt her next to me."
Nick mumbled, "It happened again!" He had a distraught look on his face as he remembered the last time she disappeared for an entire year! He didn't want to go through that again.
He almost lost his mind last time, but at least this time he had hope she would return. He just didn't know when. Blue Tang heard Nick even though he spoke quietly.
"Something like this has happened before? When? How did you get her back?"
Nick could understand why Blue Tang was confused. As far as he knew Amber did not tell him she was from another world. She did not care for him as much as her other mates.
Nick debated if he should share Amber's secret with Blue Tang. Ultimately he took pity on him and decided to share the secret. By now, the rest of the mates and guardians were awake.
Most of them did not know Amber the last time she disappeared. Nick had gone to the Monkey Village to ask if they had seen her, so Oliver had heard about it. Ray also heard when Nick went to the Beast City. Tom was there when she came back and met her after Nick mated with her.
Nick explained, "Amber has a secret. I will tell you since you are her mate now, but you must keep this a secret. Her life would be in danger if the wrong people heard about it." Blue Tang nodded.
He did not want to put Amber's life in danger and the entire Merman Tribe would fight to the death to protect her secret. They could be trusted.
"Amber is more unique than you know. She is not from our world. She came to our world in a dream one day and I happened to find her by a lake. She thought it was a dream.
I brought her back to my village and claimed her as my mate. She was unaware of our rules and customs. Everything was new to her. One night, I woke up when I noticed she was not next to me.
One second she was gone as if she disappeared into the air without a trace or scent. I went to the Beast City and sent some of my tribe members to Monkey Village and Bird Mountain to ask about her.
No one had seen her or knew about her. I almost lost my mind with sorrow! I had finally found the perfect mate for me and she was gone. I spent a year hunting behemoths and came back to the Cheetah Village once a month.
After a year, she reappeared the same way she disappeared, silently in her sleep in my cave. She thought she was only gone for a day. I told her it had been a year in our world.
That was when she told me about her world and she started to believe this was not a dream. She became my mate and we moved to the Beast City. She gained her other mates and guardians.
She had her cub in the middle of the cold season. She has been here for about a year. I guess this happens every year, but there is no way to know for sure."
Blue Tang and the others were all shocked. They never thought the truth was like this. The others who had known Amber for this past year knew a little about her home world, but they didn't expect her to disappear for an entire year.
Eli was sad. He missed his mother. He was not ready to be separated for an entire year. Oliver took pity on his son and comforted him. He knew how the loss of a parent can affect a young beast man.
He had experienced it himself when his parents died. At least there was a hope that Amber would return in a year. "Don't be sad son, your mother will return in a year. Until then I will teach you how to become a beast man."
Eli stopped sobbing and looked at Oliver with sad and a little distrustful eyes. He remembered his training from before. He didn't like the way his father taught him.
Barry noticed the distrust and spoke up, "I will also help protect you. As Amber's only cub in this world, you are the only thing she left behind. I will guard you as I would her."
Eli felt a little better. He trusted Barry more than his father. Oliver understood and didn't take it to heart. He still hugged the baby monkey until he calmed down.
"What do we do now?" Blue Tang asked. He was used to giving orders, but he was unfamiliar with this situation. He could only rely on Nick for guidance.
"I am going to hunt behemoths until I feel her presence again. I feel like if I can get stronger I may be able to reach her." Nick would go crazy if he just sat and waited for Amber to return. He had to do something to vent his emotions.
Ray and Tyler agreed with Nick. They would go with him to hunt and level up. They had no reason to wait behind if she would be gone for an entire year.
Blue Tang thought about it, "I will wait here for her to return. I will send word if she comes back sooner. You can return often for updates."
Tom offered, "I will be the messenger to reach them if she reappears sooner than a year. I will stay on the island." Fred decided to wait with him, "I will stay as well. She will need someone to gather nuts and berries for her when she returns."
They had to hold on to the hope that she would return soon. They spend the day and night on the island preparing for the journey. Blue Tang went back to give the orders to the Mermen Tribe.
He wanted to level up as well, so he sparred with the three-striped mermen. It would take longer than hunting behemoths, but this way he could stay close to the cave in case she returned.
They were not sure of the exact day or time she would return. They could only keep a hopeful watch. Oliver and Barry took Eli back to the Beast City. They would raise him as the prince of the Cheetah tribe.
He was not a cheetah, but his mother was the Cheetah Queen and didn't have any other cubs. If another cheetah wanted to challenge him for the throne they could, but Nick would not take the challenge lightly.
Oliver would teach him about medicine and Barry would teach him more survival tricks. They got along well. Hopefully, they could show Amber how well they raised her cub when she returned.
Nick, Tyler, and Ray left to hunt behemoths. It was a few months of hunting when Nick finally broke past the level four barrier. Once he reached level five, his stripes vanished. His ears and tail also were hidden. He looked like a human man.
Suddenly he felt Amber call him. He responded to the call, "Amber, Where are you?" Tyler and Ray were nearby and heard him call out to Amber. They had both leveled up to four-striped beast kings.
When they looked toward Nick, he vanished right in front of their eyes!