The Lycan King’s Mark (Nevara) by Tiffanie L. Campbell novel Chapter 135

Chapter 135 – Between Duty and Desire

Kael

25 Points

The castle felt different now that the announcement had gone live. Not louder exactly, but faster. Information moved through halls the way scent moves through air–quietly, invisibly, and everywhere at once. Guards were already requesting updated rotations. Administrative officers were revising square layouts. The security office had sent three separate messages in under ten minutes asking for clarification on crowd containment strategy.

An open wedding in the town square. Wolves invited. Equal standing. Joint patrol visibility.

It was the kind of declaration that looked decisive from the throne and became complicated everywhere else.

I should have gone directly to the security wing.

Instead, I found myself walking down the west corridor toward a door I shouldn’t be headed to right now.

I told myself I was confirming my guest was complying with instructions.

The lie barely convinced me.

Before I entered, I paused before turning the handle. Reddick stood there, hair slightly disheveled, sleeves rolled halfway up his forearms as though he had been deep in something and only just remembered the outside world.

He didn’t look surprised to see me.

“You stayed,” I said before I could stop myself.

His mouth curved slowly, like he had been waiting for me to ask.

“Of course I did. I’m not leaving you again.”

There was no performance in his voice. No flirtation layered over it. Just fact.

I stepped inside and shut the door, the latch clicking into place behind me. He barely had time to adjust before I had him backed lightly against the wood, my hand braced beside his shoulder. The kiss wasn’t careful or measured. It wasn’t even strategic. It was relief. It was confirmation. It was the grounding I hadn’t realized I needed since stepping back onto castle grounds.

He responded instantly, fingers gripping my jacket as though anchoring himself there. For a few seconds the hum of the castle outside ceased to matter.

I pulled back first, not because I wanted to, but because I had to.

“The king made it official,” I said quietly, my forehead still close to his. “Open wedding. Town square. Wolves invited.”

He didn’t flinch. If anything, he looked amused.

Chapter 175–Between Duty and Desire

“Which means you’re about to disappear into work.”

“Yes.”

“And security is going to become your entire personality for the next week.”

“That was already a risk,” I replied dryly.

He smiled, and the tension eased just enough to breathe again.

+25 Points

“It’s okay,” he said, softer now. “It’s actually incredibly sexy how dedicated you are. To your job. To the king.

To her.”

I gave him a look.

“What?” he shrugged. “It is.”

His hand slid lower before I could anticipate it, fingers brushing deliberately across the front of my

trousers, gripping my ck. My breath caught despite myself.

“Reddick.”

He leaned closer, voice dropping.

“If we can steal a few minutes in between patrol revisions and square mapping, I won’t complain.” His grip

tightened just enough to test my restraint. “And if we can’t, I won’t complain about that either.”

I caught his wrist and eased his hand away before my control slipped further.

“It’s not just your body I’m after,” he added, the teasing gone now. “I stayed for more than that.”

The sincerity in his tone hit harder than the flirtation ever could.

I stepped back, putting distance between us before desire blurred into distraction. That was when I

noticed the stack of books on the coffee table.

Several of them.

Thick bindings. Official seals.

“What is all this?” I asked.

Reddick moved past me and dropped onto the sofa, reaching for one of the volumes with casual familiarity.

“While you were gone, I got bored. Sabrina mentioned the castle library is open to anyone staying here, so I went exploring.”

I picked up the top volume.

Royal Lineage Archives – Consolidated Records.

“You chose light reading,” I observed.

& Chapter 135 – Between Duty and Desire

He smiled faintly. “I’ve always liked history.”

I flipped the cover open and skimmed a few pages. Names. Dates. Succession notes. Generational

transitions. Formal recognitions of heirs.

“You’re reading family records,” I said.

+25 Points

“Genealogies are fascinating,” he replied easily, leaning back against the arm of the sofa. “You can learn a

lot about a kingdom by looking at who inherited it.”

His tone was mild. Casual.

Too casual.

“What exactly are you looking for?” I asked.

“Context,” he answered without hesitation. “The royal line has… evolved. I wanted to understand how.”

I studied him for a moment longer. He held my gaze steadily, no flicker of defensiveness. Just curiosity.

Just interest.

It would have been easier to doubt him if he looked nervous.

“You know most of that is already public record,” I said.

“Yes,” he agreed. “But public record and internal archive aren’t always identical.”

That was a sharp observation.

I closed the book slowly.

“You’re digging,” I said.

He shrugged one shoulder. “I like to know the story of the place I’m standing in.”

There was something in the phrasing that lingered, but it wasn’t enough to alarm me. Not yet.

“And what story have you found so far?” I asked.

“That power shifts quietly before it shifts loudly,” he said. “And that abdications are rarely as simple as

they appear.”

I frowned slightly.

“Abdications?”

He waved a hand dismissively. “Ancient ones. Centuries back. War–era transitions. It’s all very dramatic on

paper.”

The explanation was easy. Too easy.

But the archives were filled with war–era transitions. And staged deaths. And missing heirs. It was hardly

unusual reading material for someone with an academic interest.

Chapter 135 – Between Duty and Desire

“You’re going to turn into a scholar if I leave you alone too long,” I said.

“I could think of worse fates, besides, I’m already one..”

His eyes softened slightly.

“I’m not just here to distract you,” he added. “If I’m staying, I want to understand the world I’m in.”

That landed more cleanly than anything else he had said.

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