The Lycan King’s Mark (Nevara) by Tiffanie L. Campbell novel Chapter 150

Chapter 150 – Steam

Kael

By the time I reached my door, my shoulders felt like they were made of stone.

+25 Points

The palace hallways had quieted, but the tension hadn’t. Guards still moved between wings with purposeful strides, radios murmuring updates about patrol shifts and gate inspections. Normally I would

have been right there with them, directing the search myself.

Instead, the king had looked me in the eye and told me to go to bed.

I still wasn’t sure if that had been an order or a kindness.

Probably both.

I stepped into my quarters and closed the door behind me. The lights were already on, casting a warm glow across the room, and the steady sound of running water drifted from the bathroom down the short

hall.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of my mouth.

Of course.

I shrugged out of my jacket and tossed it over the back of a chair before heading toward the steam spilling out of the bathroom doorway.

The shower was already running hot, fogging the mirrors and glass panels. Reddick stood beneath the spray with one hand braced against the tile wall, his dark hair slicked back as the water rolled down his

shoulders.

He glanced toward the door when it opened.

“You look stressed,” he said.

I leaned against the frame for a moment.

“That obvious?”

He smiled faintly.

“You disappeared for hours and when you walked past earlier you looked like you were carrying the entire

kingdom on your back.”

That wasn’t entirely inaccurate.

He tilted his head toward the shower.

“Hop in.”

I raised an eyebrow.

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Chapter 150- Steam

“Is that an invitation or an order?”

“An invitation,” he said. “Hot water works wonders for releasing tension.”

I considered refusing out of pure stubbornness.

Then my shoulders reminded me how long the night had been.

“Move over.”

+25 Points

Reddick shifted slightly as I stripped off my shirt and stepped into the shower beside him. The heat hit immediately, pounding against my back and neck.

For a moment I just stood there with my head bowed, letting the water roll down my spine.

“Damn,” I muttered.

Reddick chuckled quietly.

“Better?”

“Infinitely.”

The tension in my muscles began loosening almost immediately.

Reddick reached for the shelf built into the wall and grabbed a loofah, squeezing a line of body wash

across it before stepping behind me.

“Turn around.”

I turned so my back faced him.

A second later the warm foam pressed against my shoulders as he began scrubbing slow circles across

my back.

The simple contact made me exhale.

“Damn,” I repeated. “I needed this.”

“I could tell.”

He worked methodically down my shoulders and across my upper back, the steady rhythm easing knots I

hadn’t even realized had formed.

For a few minutes the only sound in the room was the water hitting tile.

Then he spoke again.

“So tell me what happened.”

His voice was calm but curious.

“I was down in the square for the ceremony,” he continued. “Everything looked ready. People were

celebrating.”

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< Chapter 150 – Steam

“Turn around.”

I turned to face him.

+25 Points

Steam curled between us as he pressed the loofah against my chest, working the soap across my skin in

slow circles.

“Sounds like you’re dealing with something bigger than a kidnapping,” he said.

“That’s exactly what it feels like.”

The loofah moved down the center of my chest.

“Did the man say anything useful?”

“Only fragments.”

I ran a hand through my wet hair.

“They kept repeating the same thing.”

“What?”

“That the boy is important.”

Reddick’s brow furrowed slightly.

“Important how?”

“That’s the problem.”

The loofah slid lower.

“We don’t know yet.”

His hand slowed when he reached the lower edge of my stomach. My body reacted automatically to the

proximity, and he noticed immediately.

His mouth curved slightly.

“Sorry,” he said lightly.

“Occupational hazard.”

I huffed out a quiet breath.

“You’re enjoying this.”

“Maybe a little.”

He finished rinsing the soap away and tossed the loofah back onto the shelf.

For a moment we just stood beneath the spray.

The heat of the water and the steady rhythm of it against the tile made the room feel strangely calm

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< Chapter 150–Steam

compared to the storm still raging outside the palace walls.

Reddick studied my face for a moment.

“You’ve been carrying this entire investigation tonight.”

“Someone has to.”

“You don’t always have to be that someone.”

I snorted quietly.

“Tell that to the king.”

“I might.”

A small smile tugged at my mouth.

Then the tension returned just as quickly.

“We’re pretty certain they aren’t planning to hurt the kid,” I said.

“That’s something.”

“Maybe.”

“But if they need him alive…”

Reddick finished the thought.

“Then they plan to use him.”

“Exactly.”

The steam hung thick between us.

Finally Reddick shut off the water.

The sudden quiet felt strange after the constant rush of the shower.

He grabbed a towel and tossed it toward me.

“You know,” he said casually as we stepped out onto the bathroom floor, “I have a better idea for relieving

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