The Lycan King’s Mark (Nevara) by Tiffanie L. Campbell novel Chapter 30

30 – The Bargain

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CHAPTER 30 – The Bargain

Tobias

Vanessa was locked in the Alpha wing, two guards posted outside her door like sentinels. Noah was

inside with her–only reason she hadn’t been dragged to the holding cells in chains. The betrayal burned

hot in my blood, but the boy didn’t deserve to pay for his mother’s sins.

Not yet, anyway.

I’d made the call an hour ago.

Sent one of my men to retrieve Nevara’s parents from their little house near the east ridge. They’d been dodging my calls for weeks. Wouldn’t answer texts, wouldn’t show their faces. And now I knew why.

They hated me. Good. The hate was mutual.

The front door slammed. Heavy footsteps approached. “Alpha,” came Brent’s voice from the hallway.” They’re here.”

I nodded once. “Send them in.”

Nevara’s mother entered first, stiff–backed and sharp–eyed. Her husband followed, jaw tight, the same protective edge he’d always worn when it came to her and Nickolai. They didn’t even sit.

“What is the meaning of this?” her father demanded. “You had us dragged here like criminals.”

“I tried to call,” I said flatly.

“We don’t want anything to do with you.” Her mother’s lip curled. “Nickolai is dead. Nevara is gone. And we’re only still here because this was our home before it ever belonged to you.”

I leaned back in my chair. “We have unfinished business.”

“There’s nothing to finish.”

“Tell me where she is.”

That made them both freeze. Her father narrowed his eyes. “Why would we do that?”

“Because I’m asking nicely.”

Her mother scoffed. “You don’t get to ask anything. You don’t care about her. You didn’t even care about our son. Nickolai was your best friend. Your beta. And what did you do the second he was gone? You moved on to his grieving widow. Meanwhile, your own wife was grieving a husband who was very much alive–just too much of a coward to come home.”

That landed like a slap. I let it burn.

“That’s all in the past,” I said. “I’ve made mistakes. I know that. But I need to find Nevara. I need to make

things right.”

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< CHAPTER 30 – The Bargain

“Too late.”

“Is it?” I arched a brow. “I feel like you’ll change your tune.”

Her father stepped forward. “We’re not helping you. Ever.”

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“You sure about that?” I stood, slow and deliberate, letting my voice drop low. “Because while you say you’ve made peace with losing her… what about losing Noah?”

That made her mother flinch.

“You wouldn’t,” her father said. But there was doubt now. A sliver.

“She’s not your wife anymore,” her mother snapped. “Stop calling her that.”

“She was my mate,” I growled. “Maybe not by fate. But by choice. And I’m not giving up on her.”

They didn’t speak.

“Vanessa confessed,” I continued. “She murdered Nickolai. That confession means she’s going to be punished–and it won’t be gentle. That boy in her room? He’s going to need somewhere to go. And if you don’t tell me what I need to know, I’ll make damn sure he ends up anywhere but with you. Or maybe I don’t send him anywhere at all.”

“You’d kill a child?” her father hissed, fists clenched.

“I don’t want to,” I said honestly. “But I will do whatever it takes to get to her. Do not test me.”

Silence. Then her mother spoke, voice soft and bitter. “You want to know where she is?”

“More than anything.”

“Bring us our grandson first.”

I nodded to Brent. “Go.”

He was back minutes later with Noah in tow. The boy looked confused, sleepy–eyed from whatever book he’d been curled up with. Her mother dropped to her knees and pulled him into a hug, tears sliding down

her cheeks.

Her father crouched beside him. “You’re going to come stay with us for a little while, okay, buddy?”

“Like a sleepover?” Noah asked, clutching his stuffed bear tighter.

“Yeah,” her mother said gently. “Just like that. A really long sleepover.”

“I need my blanket,” Noah said, eyes wide. “And my racecar–the red one, not the blue.”

They looked up at me. I nodded to Brent again. “Go get them.”

Noah hesitated, then glanced between them. “Is Mommy coming?”

They froze.

< CHAPTER 30 – The Bargain

+25 Points

“She can’t right now,” her mother answered softly. “But she loves you. So much. She’d want you to be safe”

Her father stood. “He needs to say goodbye to her. No matter what she’s done, she’s still his mother. And he loves her. That’s not something you can take from a kid.”

I exhaled, jaw clenched. “Very well. Come with me.”

I led them down the hall, past the guards, and into the Alpha wing.

The door unlocked with a heavy click. Vanessa looked up from the chair in the corner where she sat, pale and exhausted, eyes haunted.

“Noah,” she breathed.

He ran into her arms, babbling about his toys and his blanket and the sleepover. She hugged him tight, burying her face in his curls, silent tears wetting his scalp.

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