The Lycan King’s Mark (Nevara) by Tiffanie L. Campbell novel Chapter 83

Chapter 83 Between the Light and the Fall

Chapter 83 – Between the Light and the Fall

Thoren

The door clicked shut behind the doctor, and for a moment, there was only silence.

No beeping.

No voices.

No breath, it seemed.

Just the low hum of dread tightening its claws around my throat.

+25 Points

I stood by her bedside, looking down at the woman who owned every single piece of my heart and soul. The woman I loved beyond reason.

Her skin was too pale. Her pulse-a trembling thread beneath my fingertips. That mark on her neck, Tobias’s mark, looked wrong on her. Like something rotting where there should’ve been

bloom.

I reached out. My hand hovered near the space where my own mark should have gone. Should have always gone.

I could fix this. I could give her a bond strong enough to burn out the rot, anchor her wolf, bring her back to me. I was her fated mate. The connection was already there.

But…

I didn’t move.

Instead, I curled my hand into a fist and pulled it back.

Because if I did this-if I took this-if I marked her while she was unconscious, I would be choosing for her.

And she deserved more than that.

She deserved everything.

“I can’t do it,” I whispered, voice cracking in my own throat. “Not like this.”

I sank onto the edge of the bed, the mattress barely shifting beneath me. My hands cupped her shoulders gently. Her skin was too cool. Her body so still it didn’t feel real.

“Come on,” I begged, rocking forward slightly. “Come on, Nevara. Choose this. Choose me.

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Fight.”

She didn’t respond.

Her head lolled slightly to the side.

“No,” I growled, and shook her gently. “No. You’re not doing this. Don’t you dare fade away. Fight me, godsdamn it!”

Still nothing.

“Please,” I choked, gripping her shoulders tighter. “Please just… come back.”

The door burst open.

Michelle was the first through, eyes wide with alarm. The doctor followed close behind.

“Thoren!” Michelle gasped, running to me. “What are you doing?”

She grabbed my hands, pulling me back from Nevara’s body, her warmth a shock against the cold seeping into my bones.

“I can’t do it,” I said again, this time to her. “If I do, I’m no better than Tobias. I’d be forcing it.”

Michelle’s expression softened as she crouched in front of me, still holding my wrists.

“No, it’s not the same,” she said gently. “Don’t you dare put yourself in the same darkness as that man. You love her. You’ve always loved her. This would be out of desperation, not

control.”

“She needs to choose it,” I said hoarsely. “She has to. I can’t steal that from her.”

Michelle looked to the doctor, who gave a small, solemn nod. “There’s a chance she could come through this on her own. It’s slim, but not impossible. Her wolf is still fighting.”

“See?” I said, a little too loud. “There. See? Miracles happen. Doctors get it wrong all the time.

Michelle smiled faintly, her eyes glistening. “If you believe she’ll come back to you, then we wait. You’ve made it this far, Thoren. You’ve done everything right.”

“I’m just… I’m stuck,” I admitted, dropping my forehead into my hands. “If I do nothing, she could die. If I do it, she might still die. But then… if she lives, I’ll have stolen her choice. How do I live with any of that?”

Michelle didn’t answer right away.

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< Chapter 83 Between the Light and the Fall

She just sat beside me, rubbing small, grounding circles on my back.

“This is the kind of choice that leaves a scar either way,” she whispered.

+25 Points

“I feel it,” I said softly. “I feel like she’s going to make it. I don’t know how. But something in my soul says she’s not done yet.”

“Then we hold onto that,” Michelle said. “We wait.”

And so we did.

We waited.

Unaware of what price fate was preparing to extract in return.

Michelle stood and gently smoothed her pants, trying to bring some levity into the thick tension hanging over us like storm clouds. “You should try to rest a little. Maybe lie down, close your eyes, take your mind off everything.”

I snorted. “Yeah, that sounds easy right now.”

“I could make you some tea,” she offered, eyebrows raised.

“Fuck no,” I muttered, finally cracking a half-smile. “I’m never letting you make me tea again.”

She laughed-a real, genuine laugh that made her eyes crinkle-and the sound did something inside me. Warmed something brittle. Gave me just enough breath to stay upright.

“There he is,” she said, nudging my knee with hers. “The grumpy bastard I know and love.”

I huffed and scrubbed a hand over my face. “I’ve got Kael digging into something. I didn’t mention it earlier, but… it’s been eating at me.”

Michelle’s expression shifted instantly. She pulled up a chair and leaned forward. “What is it?

“Tobias knew where she’d be,” I said. “He didn’t just stumble across her in the woods. He was waiting. On the very first day she was on her solo route.”

“Too much of a coincidence,” she murmured.

“Exactly, Someone gave him that intel.”

She cursed under her breath. “Fucking traitor.”

“I’m having Kael take the direct approach-records, surveillance, logs, interrogations if necessary. But I want you watching too, Eyes and ears in the shadows. People say more

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