The Lycan King’s Mark (Nevara) by Tiffanie L. Campbell novel Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18 – Mate in Name Only

Nevara

His arm still braced the door, blocking my path. His face was unreadable, but something burned behind those eyes–sharp, focused, relentless.

“You don’t have a mate anymore?” he repeated slowly. “And… technically, you never did?”

The disbelief in his voice wasn’t hostile. Just stunned. Like the words didn’t compute.

I sighed. “You’re not going to let this go so we can talk about it tomorrow, are you?”

“Absolutely not.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. “Then I’m not telling this whole damn story in the hallway where anyone passing by can get the highlight reel of my life. Come inside.”

I pushed the door open and walked into the room, tossing the blanket back onto the bed. The fire was still

burning low in the hearth, casting amber shadows across the walls. I grabbed another log, fed it to the flames, then dropped into one of the oversized chairs near the fireplace.

Thoren followed me silently.

He didn’t sit right away–just watched me. Assessing. Waiting.

I pointed to the other chair with a lazy flick of my fingers. “You wanted the story. You might as well sit

down for it.”

Finally, he moved–lowering himself into the seat across from me, arms resting on his knees, body angled toward mine. He looked too large for the chair, too dangerous for the quiet intimacy of the moment.

“So,” he said, voice low, “start from the beginning.”

I inhaled slowly, letting the fire warm my bare feet.

“Not long after you…” I swallowed. “After you rejected me, I went back to my pack. Tried to forget. Or

pretend to. It was going about as well as you’d expect.”

He didn’t interrupt. Just waited.

“One day, I was walking in the woods. Trying to clear my head. And I heard a howl–painful, raw. So I ran

toward it. Couldn’t ignore it. Even if I wanted to.”

My hands tightened on the blanket draped across my lap.

“I found the alpha–my alpha at the time–unconscious. His wolf form. Caught in a bear trap. The metal

had snapped over his leg, and the force must’ve flung him into a rock. He was bleeding heavily. I thought

he was dead.”

Thoren’s jaw tensed, but he said nothing.

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< CHAPTER 18 – Mate in Name Only

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“I managed to get the trap off and tore the hem of my dress to wrap his leg. Then I ran for help. They got to him in time. He lived. But it scared the elders. Badly. He had no heir. No mate. Nearly dying like that made them panic.”

“So they forced him to choose someone.”

I nodded. “They started setting up an arranged match–with the daughter of a rival alpha. It was political, strategic. But he hated the idea. Hated her. My brother, the beta, talked him out of it. Said if he had to marry someone, it might as well be me.”

I met Thoren’s eyes.

“It made sense at the time. I was unattached. Familiar. My brother vouched for me. And I was still broken. Still trying to prove I could move on from you. So when the alpha asked me to marry him, I said yes.”

“And he never marked you?” Thoren asked, voice rough now.

“No,” I said. “He didn’t love me. And I knew it. He never touched me like a mate. Never kissed me unless we were in public. Never… anything. We shared a house, but barely shared a life.”

“That doesn’t explain why you said you never had a mate.”

“I’m getting there.”

He waited again. Silent and intense.

“We were married for three years. We never mated during that time. I kept telling myself it was fine. That peace had come. That I was useful, at least. But after my brother died… things changed.”

My throat tightened.

“He was my anchor. The only one who ever really stood up for me. When he died, the alpha started pulling away even more. And then he moved my brother’s widow into the house.”

Thoren’s brow furrowed. “That’s… odd.”

“I thought so too,” I said. “Until our third anniversary. I came home early. Walked into our bedroom and

found him…”

I swallowed hard.

“Touching himself. With a picture of her in his hand.”

Thoren’s face darkened.

“That was the moment it clicked. He’d been obsessed with her from the start. Maybe even before my

brother died. I don’t know. I didn’t ask.”

“And you just left?”

I shook my head. “Not yet. I got smart. Tricked him into signing some paperwork I told him was about land

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ownership. They were Ovozok

Thoren banked. “You forged your own freedow

“Damn right I did”

“And he doesn’t know

“He might by now, I said, “but I doubt it. I left a few days ago. Packed my things. Drove straight to my parents‘ old cabin. And I don’t think he’s even looked up from her long enough to notice

Silence stretched between us

Just firelight. And weight.

“Bo” I said, voice softer now, “that’s the story of how I had a mate who wasn’t really my mate. A marriage that never meant anything. And why I was alone in a rogue–infested cabin with nothing but dry soup and a bat,”

Thorer’s hands flexed on his knees.

His expression was unreadable–but there was something there. Fury, maybe. Or grief.

Then his jaw shifted. Slowly. Like he was weighing something heavy behind his teeth.

“I want you to stay”

The words were quiet. Firm. No heat. Just truth.

I blinked, “What?”

“I’m not going to force you. The choice is yours,” he said, voice lower now. “But I’m not letting you go back to that cabin.”

1 straightened slightly in my seat, the burn of surprise catching in my chest.

“You’re not letting me?”

His mouth quirked, “Don’t do that. Don’t act like I’m throwing chains on you. I’m not.”

“Then what are you doing?”

“I’m offering you something better,” he said. “If you really want to leave the castle, I’ll arrange it. There’s a small town twenty miles from where I found you–quiet, safe, independent. I can set you up there. Give you a place that’s yours”

He paused.

“But I’d rather you stay here.”

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