The Lycan King’s Mark (Nevara) by Tiffanie L. Campbell novel Chapter 75

Chapter 75 – If It’s Them

Thoren

Three more days. That’s how long I’d been chewing through reports, dispatching scouts, watching leads dry up faster than a blood trail in the sun.

Two and a half weeks total she’s been gone. How has he evaded me so long?

Then Kael knocked.

He didn’t wait for permission–just stepped in, face tight.

“They found something,” he said.

I stood before he finished the sentence.

“A patrol unit heading west picked up signs of movement. Couple outside a cabin–said it looked lived–in. They stopped, showed them your photo set. The couple didn’t see faces, but…” He shifted. “They said they saw a man and a woman headed north. A few weeks ago. Toward another cabin, maybe five miles off.”

“Couldn’t confirm it was them?” I asked.

Kael shook his head. “Said the pair kept to themselves. No names. Just passed by, gear slung over their backs. But the timing matches. Direction too.”

I didn’t hesitate.

“Take me there.”

Kael blinked. “Sir-”

“I said take me there.”

His jaw flexed. “Scouts are holding position. Awaiting further instruction.”

“Good.” I grabbed my coat from the hook, the motion sharp, final. “Then we move now.”

I didn’t even make it to the door before Michelle stepped into the threshold, arms crossed.

“You shouldn’t be going,” she said flatly.

I narrowed my eyes. “Out of my way, Michelle.”

“No.” Her voice didn’t rise. “Not until you consider the cost. If it is them, then great–you’re there. But if it’s not, then you’ve delayed the search on a maybe. You’re the King. Thoren. You’re needed here. Not chasing every shadow.”

“This isn’t a shadow,” I snapped. “This is a lead. A real one.”

She didn’t flinch. “Then let them check it out. Confirm. You can move once we know more.”

“And give that weasel a head start?” My tone turned cold. “No. If it’s him… if he has her… I’m not giving him

Chapter 75 – If it’s Them

one second more than he’s already stolen. If I’m there, I end it. Personally.”

Michelle stepped back half a pace, exhaling slowly. “Then let me handle the rest.”

I met her eyes. The same defiance. The same loyalty.

“You managed it while I was unconscious,” I said. “You can do it again.”

Her jaw tightened. “Damn right I can.”

One

“Then it’s settled.” I turned to Kael. “Tell the scouts to maintain perimeter until I arrive. No contact. No sudden moves. I want eyes on the cabin at all times. If anyone leaves, they follow. Quietly.”

Kael nodded once. “Yes, sir.”

I looked back at Michelle, voice low. “If something breaks while I’m out–if we get another hit–you’re authorized to deploy whoever you need. Use my seal.”

She

gave a tight nod. “I already planned to.”

I was halfway down the hall when I heard her voice again, quieter.

“Bring her home.”

We shifted at the treeline.

No time for horses. No need for wheels.

Kael fell in beside me, both of us on two legs, claws flexing with each stride. Our Lycans cut through the wild fast and low–built for speed, for terrain, for war.

No wasted breath. No need to talk. Not until the outpost came into view. Only took about 45 minutes of solid running.

The scout flagged us down from behind a boulder, his scent already thick with adrenaline.

“They’re inside,” he said, eyes wide as he looked between our towering forms.

Kael nodded once. “Any movement?”

“Nothing suspicious. Just… normal. She’s reading. He’s cooking.”

“Windows?” I asked, voice low and distorted through my fangs.

“Front. Partial side view. Curtains mostly closed.”

Kael and I moved closer, slipping into the trees to approach from the southeast. Ten yards out now. Cabin quiet. Firelight flickering inside.

“Front’s our cleanest entry,” Kael muttered beside me. “Door’s old. Won’t take much.”

“If it’s them, we go fast,” I said. “You flank. I breach.”

“Copy that.”

Chapter 75–If It’s Them

I crept two more steps–then a sound snapped through the quiet.

A scream.

High. Female. Sharp.

I didn’t wait.

Didn’t think.

My claws hit the porch. Wood splintered beneath me. I barreled through the front door in a roar of shattered hinges.

The room exploded into motion.

Clam

She was bent over the couch. He was behind her, hands gripping her hips. Slamming himself into her as hard and fast as he could manage.

Her head whipped around, and her scream slammed into me again. “What the–get out!!”

I froze.

Everything froze.

It wasn’t her.

It wasn’t Nevara,

And the man?

Not Tobias.

Fuck.

The woman grabbed a throw pillow, half–covering herself, trying to scramble upright as the man yanked his pants up, shouting, “What the hell?!”

Kael caught up behind me, then stopped just as hard.

“Shit,” I muttered, already backing out. “Shit.”

“I told you they didn’t see faces,” Kael growled.

“Shut up.”

I turned on my heel, stalked back outside, dragging splinters with me. The cold hit me like a punishment.

I spotted the scout, still wide–eyed at the treeline.

“You,” I barked. “Go in. Apologize. Say… something. That we’re from the Lycan Kingdom and thought it was a different couple. Damage control.”

He stammered. “Yes–yes, your majesty.”

I didn’t watch him go.

Chapter 75 – If It’s Them

Didn’t care what excuse he came up with.

Because it didn’t matter.

It wasn’t her.

And I’d just blown one of our only leads wide open.

I didn’t stop walking until the trees swallowed me whole.

Станет

Didn’t stop moving until I was far enough from the cabin to lose the smell of sex and embarrassment still clinging to my nose.

And then I snapped.

Claws out, I turned on the nearest tree–massive, aged, thick with bark and rot–and tore into it like it had lied to me. Like it was him.

Flesh and wood split alike under my rage. The trunk shuddered with every blow. Bark exploded in strips. A hollow cracked deep inside it.

I drove my fist into the center with a roar.

Again. And again.

The forest rang with the sound of it–splintering wood, snarled breath, blood–hot fury finding somewhere to land.

I wanted it to bleed.

I needed something to bleed.

Thirty fucking scouts. Twelve regions covered. Half a dozen false leads. And this one–this had felt real.

And I’d shattered it like a fool with a temper problem.

Like a male who couldn’t control himself when it counted.

My claws slipped from rage to exhaustion, the gouges now too deep to tear more from.

I sank to my knees in the moss, panting.

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