The Lycan King’s Mark (Nevara) by Tiffanie L. Campbell novel Chapter 96

Chapter 96 – Shifting Plates

Chapter 96 – Shifting Plates

Nevara

+25 Points

By the time we made it to the dining room, my parents and Noah were already seated, laughing over something my mother said. For a moment, it felt like the calm before everything changed. Like if I focused hard enough, I could pretend none of it was unraveling.

I took my seat beside Noah, greeting him with a soft smile. “Heard you ditched the dragon.”

He grinned. “Only because I didn’t want it to burn the meat.”

Michelle swept into the room a few minutes later, taking the seat at the head of the table with her usual graceful authority. “Evening, everyone.”

Then came Thoren.

He entered without fanfare, his shoulders squared and expression unreadable. But his eyes found mine instantly-and lingered. He sat beside me, brushing his hand against my knee beneath the table in silent apology.

It didn’t last.

Because not even thirty seconds later, she walked in.

Bethany.

And right behind her was Jonas, trotting at her side with his cheeks flushed and his eyes

wide as he scanned the table.

I blinked in disbelief. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. What the hell are you going in here?”

Bethany’s mouth curved in a smirk as she glided to the end of the table. “We came to eat

dinner. What does it look like?”

“You could’ve had dinner in your room,” I snapped.

Bethany placed a protective hand on Jonas’s shoulder. “And what kind of hospitality is that toward the future king of this kingdom?”

The words hit like acid. My appetite shriveled up and died on the spot.

I shoved my chair back and stood. “I’m no longer hungry.”

Thoren tried to reach for me, but I was already walking out.

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Chapter 98

+25 Points

I made it halfway down the corridor before I heard his footsteps catch up. “Nevara, wait-”

I stopped but didn’t turn around. “Why is she eating dinner in the dining room with us?”

“I didn’t invite her,” he said firmly. “I swear it. She showed up. Michelle didn’t stop her because

”

“Because no one wants to rock the boat,” I finished bitterly, spinning to face him. “You

could’ve told her to leave.”

Thoren exhaled, jaw flexing. “Unless we want a kingdom-wide scandal on our hands, my hands are kind of tied right now.”

I stared at him, my voice trembling. “You’re asking me to just sit there, night after night, while she pretends her son is yours. To just smile and eat and carry on while my own parents sit there trying to act like everything is fine.”

“I’m not asking you to be okay with this,” he said, stepping closer. “I just need you to understand that this has to be handled delicately. And I will. I am handling it.”

I crossed my arms. “Then handle it. Because I’m not sharing a table with her again.”

He was quiet for a beat. Then: “How about this-” he softened his voice, “I’ll have Sabrina bring our dinner to my office. Just the two of us. No audience. No drama.”

“I was really looking forward to dinner with my parents,” I said quietly. “It was supposed to be a moment. Something normal. Peaceful.”

“I know,” he murmured, cupping the back of his neck. “Alright. If she insists on eating dining room, then we set up another space. Somewhere she doesn’t know about. I’ll have the staff prepare a separate room for private meals with your family. We’ll keep it quiet.”

the

I nodded slowly. “Fine. But this doesn’t go on for weeks, Thoren.”

“It won’t,” he said, brushing my hair behind my ear. “I won’t let it.”

Dinner in Thoren’s office was quieter than I expected.

Not cold, Just… quiet.

He sat beside me on the velvet settee near the fire, legs spread wide, his plate balanced on one knee. I curled beside him with my own food, stealing glances at the way his hair kept falling into his eyes, at the way his jaw ticked when he was thinking too hard..

He didn’t say much. Neither did I.

But when the plates were empty and the fire had burned low, he set his aside and pulled me

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Chapter 96

into his lap.

I straddled him, hands braced on his chest, our foreheads almost touching. His hands settled on my hips and slid up my sides, slow and possessive.

“I want you,” he murmured, voice hoarse. “So fucking bad, Nevara.”

My breath hitched. “It’s been weeks.”

“I know,” he growled, kissing my throat. “Too long. Before you were taken. And then everything since-”

“-just hit the ground running,” I finished, breathless.

He nodded, lips ghosting over my jaw. “I can’t stop thinking about it. About you. The way you taste. The way you sound when I-”

I cut him off with my mouth.

The kiss wasn’t sweet. It was molten. Starved. Desperate.

I rolled my hips over the thick bulge pressing up against me, and he groaned, dragging me tighter against him. My body remembered everything, every beat of him, every slow push and deep stretch. I rocked harder, heat pooling between my thighs as his hands slid beneath my shirt, palms hot against my skin.

His mouth captured mine again, his tongue stroking deep and filthy, and I was just about to yank the shirt over my head when-

Knock knock knock.

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