The Lycan King’s Mark (Nevara) by Tiffanie L. Campbell novel Chapter 42

CHAPTER 42 – Boundaries

Thoren

She shook her head before I even asked.

One small movement–tight, instinctive, eyes wide like prey scenting danger–and that was all I needed.

“I’ll handle it,” I said quietly, already turning toward the door. “Sabrina will help you get the bags to your

room.”

Nevara didn’t argue. Didn’t ask questions. She just nodded once and clutched the handles of the shopping.

bags a little tighter.

I walked out.

And whatever warmth had bloomed in me that afternoon? It vanished with the wind at the front gates.

The man standing there wasn’t hard to place. He looked exactly like I expected him to–bitter, squared jaw, stiff shoulders, eyes that scanned the grounds like he was already judging it unworthy.

Tobias.

I’d never met him before. But I didn’t need an introduction to recognize a man who thought the world

owed him something.

Still, I gave him the courtesy of silence–for about three seconds.

“State your name and your business,” I said, voice low but not soft.

He smirked. “I’m here to speak with Nevara.”

I didn’t blink. “I said state your name and your business.”

His smirk twisted into a sneer. “My business is with Nevara. Who the hell are you to be questioning me,

anyway?”

Ah.

There it was.

The stupidity.

I stepped forward, letting every inch of my status roll off me like a storm front..

“Well,” I said, voice sharpened to a blade, “considering this is my castle, and Nevara is my guest, that gives me the right to question anyone at my doorstep.”

His brow twitched, barely.

I stepped closer. “And considering I am king, that authority extends far beyond my doorstep. Across this entire kingdom. Including the dust you call a pack.”

< CHAPTER 42 – Boundaries

+25 Points

He shifted his weight, just enough to make his boots squeak. He didn’t like that.

“You, alpha,” I snarled, “are out of your range here. Your rule ended at the edge of your territory. Mine

reaches further than yours ever will. You’d be wise not to cross me.”

He exhaled sharply through his nose.

“She doesn’t want to see you.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Of course he didn’t.

“I want to hear it from her myself.”

I tilted my head. “What part of she doesn’t want to see you are you struggling with?”

His mouth opened. I didn’t give him the chance.

“She doesn’t want to see you,” I said again, slower. “Not even long enough to tell you she doesn’t want to see you. That’s how much she doesn’t want to see you.”

Tobias bristled. “You can’t speak for her.”

“No,” I said, calm as ice. “But I can listen when she tells me something. I’m not the kind of man who forces a woman to do something she doesn’t want to do.”

He stiffened.

Ah. There it was.

“That sounds like it was directed at me.”

1

gave him a half–shrug. “It wasn’t directed at anyone. Just a general statement.” Then I smiled coldly. “But

if you thought it was about you and the shoe fits… maybe that says something.”

His nostrils flared. “I never forced her to do anything.”

I took another step. He had to tilt his head to keep eye contact.

“No?” I asked, voice dipped to a growl. “What about moving her dead brother’s wife into your home the day

of the funeral–just to play house while you kept neglecting your own wife?”

“That had nothing to do with her,” he snapped. “It wasn’t-”

“Oh?” I cut in. “But she lived there. Slept there. And you forced her to accept it when she didn’t want to.

You ever heard the saying, ‘if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…“?”

His lips pressed into a thin line. “Just let me see her. I just want to apologize.”

I stared at him.

“Bit late for that, don’t you think?” I said, voice flat. “It’s been, what? A month? Since she left you. Secretly

divorced you. Vanished.”

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He didn’t answer.

I stepped even closer–one more inch and he’d be breathing my shadow.

“And now you come looking? After she finally found peace?”

He didn’t respond.

“Get off my land,” I said. “Better yet, get out of my city. And don’t come back.”

He opened his mouth.

I showed my teeth.

“Unless you’re planning to leave on your own,” I added, “I’d be happy to help you find the exit.”

He backed up a step, rage flickering behind his eyes. But he didn’t speak again.

Smart.

+25 Points

Just turned and walked, jaw clenched so tight it looked like his molars might crack under the pressure. I waited until he was nothing but a speck on the horizon before I turned back toward the castle.

Toward her.

The warmth I’d felt earlier wasn’t gone–but it was quieter now. Steadier. Like a fire banked for the night. And all I wanted to do was get back inside and make sure she was alright.

When I reached her room, the door was cracked open just enough to catch light from the hallway.

I knocked once, firm but soft. “Nevara?”

No answer.

I pushed the door open a little farther, careful not to startle her. “Nevara?”

A beat passed. Then her voice floated out from the closet, muffled slightly. “In here!”

I stepped in, the scent of her still fresh in the air. Warm vanilla. Faint cinnamon. And something that was just… her.

She was standing in front of the open closet, arms moving as she hung the new dresses. Bags were scattered at her feet, some half–unpacked, others still tied with glossy ribbons. She looked over her shoulder when I entered and smiled–small, but real.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey,” I replied, voice softer than I expected. “It was Tobias.”

Her shoulders tensed just slightly, but she didn’t stop what she was doing.

“He argued,” I continued. “But he’s gone now.”

She stilled.

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< CHAPTER 42 – Boundaries

And then, without a word, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around my waist.

No hesitation.

Just heat and contact and something unspoken threading between us.

+25 Points

She pressed her cheek to my chest, one hand resting flat against my sternum like she was anchoring herself there. “Thank you.”

I held her immediately, arms circling around her without thought. The curve of her spine fit perfectly

against me, like she’d been built to settle there.

“You don’t need to thank me for that,” I murmured into her hair. “That’s part of my job.”

“Right,” she said, a small smile in her voice. “As king.”

I could’ve said it then.

And as your mate.

It hovered right there on the edge of my tongue, sharp with longing. But I didn’t let it fall. Not yet. We were making progress. Slow, steady, real.

I wasn’t going to ruin that by rushing a truth she wasn’t ready for.

And speaking of ruining things…

The closet door creaked open wider.

“Oh! Sorry!” Michelle’s voice rang out like a chime made of chaos. “The door was open, I called out, but no

one answered and I heard low voices from the closet, so I-”

“So you just walked in?” I said, turning toward her, still holding Nevara gently against me.

Michelle blinked, all innocent sparkle and perfectly tousled curls. “Well, yes. I thought maybe you two were

just-”

“We weren’t,” Nevara said quickly, stepping back from me, though her hand lingered for a breath longer before falling away.

Michelle looked between us with one brow raised and a faint little smirk. “You sure? Because from where

I’m standing, it looked like something.”

“I’m positive,” Nevara said coolly.

I cleared my throat. “Michelle, next time maybe wait to be invited before barging into someone else’s

room.”

“But this used to be my room,” she said with a shrug.

“And now it’s not,” I replied, voice flat.

She pouted a little, then waved a hand like she was dismissing the entire scene. “Fine, fine. I’ll knock next

< CHAPTER 42–Boundaries

time. Gods, you’re so touchy today.”

+25 Points

Then she looked at Nevara again–more pointedly this time. “Though… I must say, you two make a cute

couple.”

“Michelle,” I warned.

She held her hands up in mock surrender. “Alright, alright! I’m leaving.”

But she didn’t turn to go. Not right away. She let her eyes linger one last time on Nevara, then on me. Her expression unreadable–half mischief, half… something else.

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