The Lycan King’s Mark (Nevara) by Tiffanie L. Campbell novel Chapter 147

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Chapter 147 – The First Move

Thoren

The man woke with a groan.

It was low and ragged, the sound of someone clawing his way back from unconsciousness. His head sagged forward as awareness slowly returned, dark hair falling across his face while the light flickered against the damp stone walls of the chamber.

He sat bound to a wooden chair in the center of the room. His wrists were tied behind his back and his ankles lashed tightly to the chair legs. A thin streak of dried blood ran from the corner of his mouth where Kael’s fist had split his lip earlier.

I stood across the chamber with my arms folded.

Kael leaned against the stone wall beside me. He looked relaxed, but I had known him too long to mistake

that posture for ease. His eyes hadn’t left the prisoner since we entered the room.

The man groaned again and shifted against the ropes.

Then his eyes opened.

They moved slowly around the chamber, confusion fading as awareness settled in. His gaze landed on

Kael first. Fear flickered across his face.

When he finally looked at me, that fear deepened.

Good.

He understood exactly who he was sitting in front of.

“Do you know who I am?” I asked.

The man swallowed hard.

“Yes.”

His voice came out rough.

“The Lycan King.”

I inclined my head slightly.

“Good. That saves us some time.”

The man shifted in the chair again, testing the ropes with small movements he probably thought we

wouldn’t notice.

I noticed.

So did Kael.

< Chapter 147- The First Move

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It was instinct for both of us by now. Years of watching enemies search for weaknesses in whatever restraint held them had made the signs obvious. A man tied to a chair always believed there was a way

out if he could stall long enough.

He wouldn’t find one here.

The chamber beneath the palace was quiet except for the faint drip of water somewhere deeper in the tunnels. These rooms had been built long before my reign–before my father’s reign even. Stone carved for

war councils and prisoners who needed answers pulled from them.

I didn’t like using them.

But tonight wasn’t a night for preference.

Somewhere in the city, my mate’s nephew had been taken from the middle of our wedding.

And the man in front of me had helped make it happen.

The prisoner’s breathing slowly steadied as he lifted his head again. His eyes moved between Kael and

me, measuring, calculating.

That alone told me he wasn’t just some hired gun dragged into this job without understanding it.

He knew what he’d done.

And he believed it mattered.

Kael pushed off the wall and stepped forward.

The prisoner’s eyes tracked him nervously.

“You fired the shot,” Kael said.

It wasn’t a question.

The man hesitated before nodding once.

“Yes,”

I studied him carefully.

He was a wolf. The scent alone made that obvious. Mid–thirties, strong build, the kind of man who could blend easily into a crowd without drawing attention.

A perfect choice for a diversion.

“Why?” I asked.

The man’s gaze drifted toward the wall.

Avoidance.

It was a small tell, but an obvious one. People who lied usually looked directly at you, trying too hard to appear confident. The ones who refused to answer tended to stare anywhere else in the room–at the

(Chapter 147 – The First Move

“Why did you fire the shot?”

His lips curled faintly.

“It was a message.”

Kael’s brow furrowed.

“What kind of message?”

The man looked back at me.

“That your kingdom isn’t as united as you think.”

My jaw tightened.

Nevara had said almost the same thing earlier.

“Who sent you?” I asked.

The man didn’t answer.

Kael sighed.

Then he punched him.

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The crack echoed sharply through the chamber as the prisoner’s head snapped sideways. Blood sprayed across the stone floor.

He groaned.

Kael flexed his fingers slowly.

“I’m running out of patience.”

The man spat blood.

“You think this stops with me?”

His voice carried a strange confidence now–like someone who believed the outcome had already been decided.

“This was just the beginning.”

A cold weight settled in my chest.

“Beginning of what?” I asked.

The man laughed weakly.

“The wolves remember who they are.”

Kael leaned closer, his voice dropping.

“Careful.”

< Chapter 147 – The First Move

But the prisoner wasn’t looking at him.

He was staring straight at me.

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“You think marrying her fixes everything?” he said. “You think wolves will kneel to Lycans because of one

ceremony?”

The words hung in the air between us.

Kael stiffened beside me.

“Who sent you?” I repeated.

The man’s eyes gleamed.

“The North.”

The word settled across the chamber like frost.

Kael grabbed the front of his shirt.

“Which pack?”

The man shook his head slowly.

“You already know.”

And I did.

The acting alpha. The one who had appeared months ago to stabilize Tobias’s old pack.

The one who had disappeared tonight.

“What is his plan?” I asked.

The man smiled.

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