The Lycan King’s Mark (Nevara) by Tiffanie L. Campbell novel Chapter 140

Chapter 140 – The Ceremony Begins

Nevara

The square had never held this many people.

From the entrance to the plaza, the crowd stretched outward in every direction until the far streets disappeared beneath a sea of bodies. The chairs Michelle had insisted on arranging the night before were nearly invisible now, swallowed by the sheer number of guests pressing into the surrounding roads and balconies.

Wolves.

Lycans.

Families from both territories standing shoulder to shoulder beneath the strings of lights stretched across the square.

The murmur of their voices blended with the smells drifting from the vendor carts and the faint music warming up near the fountain. It felt less like a royal event and more like a festival that had slowly grown too large for the city to contain.

Sabrina stood beside me, adjusting the fall of my veil with quick, practiced movements.

“Hold still,” she murmured.

“I am holding still.”

“You’re breathing like you’re about to run into battle.”

“That’s because I’ve done this before.”

Sabrina gave a soft snort.

“This time the crowd actually wants you to win.”

I glanced toward the front row where my mother sat with Noah and Jonas. Noah’s feet swung back and forth beneath his chair as he leaned forward, watching the platform with open excitement. Jonas sat beside him, trying very hard to look calm and grown up despite the way he kept turning around to stare at the massive crowd behind them.

My mother caught my eye.

She gave a small nod.

Pride.

Encouragement.

A quiet reminder that this moment mattered.

The musicians near the fountain shifted their instruments into position.

< Chapter 140 – The Ceremony Begins

Across the square, the low murmur of the crowd gradually softened.

People turned toward the wide aisle that cut through the center of the plaza.

The ceremony was beginning.

At the far end of the square, movement near the palace steps drew every eye in the crowd.

Thoren stepped into view.

$25 Points

The sunlight caught briefly on the dark fabric of his jacket as he descended the stone staircase toward the plaza floor. Kael walked beside him, close enough to be clearly part of the procession while still carrying the unmistakable alertness of a man who had spent the last two days preparing for every possible disaster.

The applause began almost instantly.

It spread across the square in waves as Thoren and Kael walked slowly down the aisle toward the

platform. Wolves and Lycans alike clapped, some cheering openly, others simply watching with quiet

intensity as the king moved through the crowd.

Kael’s head never stopped moving.

Even as he walked beside Thoren, his eyes swept constantly across the square–rooftops, alleyways, the shifting lines of bodies packed between the vendor carts and the chairs.

Normally he would have been moving through the crowd himself, adjusting patrol routes and

double–checking positions.

Today he couldn’t.

Today he had to trust his men.

And I could see in the tightness of his shoulders that he hated it.

Thoren reached the platform first and stepped up beside the officiant, the applause gradually fading as the crowd settled again. Kael moved to the side of the stage where the inner security ring waited, his gaze still scanning the square with quiet intensity.

The musicians shifted into a new melody.

Sabrina squeezed my hand once.

“Time for my part.”

Before I could respond, she stepped away and moved toward the aisle. The crowd parted easily for her as she walked down the center path toward the platform, her posture calm and confident despite the thousands of eyes watching.

She climbed the steps and took her place on the opposite side of the officiant from Thoren.

Across the square, the musicians softened their playing as the attention of the entire plaza shifted back

< Chapter 140 – The Ceremony Begins

toward the entrance.

My father stepped forward beside me.

For a moment we simply stood there together.

He looked out over the crowd, then back at me.

“You ready?” he asked quietly.

I followed his gaze toward the platform.

Thoren stood beside the officiant, one hand resting loosely at his side as he watched the entrance.

Waiting.

+25 Points

Behind him, Kael shifted slightly, speaking quietly into the small communication device clipped to his

collar before returning his attention to the crowd.

Always watching.

Always calculating.

“I think so,” I said.

My father offered his arm.

“Then let’s not keep the kingdom waiting.”

I slipped my hand through his arm and stepped forward.

The music swelled gently as we began walking down the aisle.

Thousands of faces turned toward us as we moved through the crowd. Wolves stood beside Lycans, their

expressions a mixture of curiosity, hope, and cautious excitement as they watched the procession unfold.

Children leaned into the aisle for a better view.

Somewhere in the crowd, someone began clapping softly again.

The sound spread slowly outward until the entire square joined in.

By the time we reached the platform, the applause had faded into a quiet anticipation that seemed to hold the entire plaza in place.

My father guided me up the steps,

Thoren’s

eyes met mine the moment I reached the top.

For a second the noise of the crowd faded into something distant and unimportant.

Just him.

Just this moment.

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