Mated To The Alpha King (Raven and Ethan) novel Chapter 162

Chapter 162

Raven’s POV

The guards dragged me out of the room as I kept telling him I was innocent, screaming the words until my throat burned, but Alpha Ethan didn’t even glance my way.

He didn’t give a damn about anything I said. His back was the only thing I saw as he walked away, his steps echoing in my head like a death sentence.

“I didn’t kill her!” I cried again, my voice breaking, my legs scraping against the rough floor as the guards hauled me like a sack of garbage. “Please…1 didn’t kill Elisa! You have to believe me!”

But my pleas fell on deaf ears. The guards‘ grip only tightened, their fingers like iron clamps digging into my arms as they dragged me through the long, cold hallway that smelled faintly of blood and damp stone. The walls here were darker than any part of the pack house, as if the very shadows knew what was about to happen to me. My heart pounded in my chest, a heavy thud that made my ribs ache.

Where are they taking me?

I already knew the answer, even though my mind fought to deny it. The stories whispered among the servants–about the punishment chambers, about the cages that swallowed people whole and never spat them out–flooded back like venom.

“No…” I whispered, the word, trembling on my lips as panic clawed at my chest. “No, no, no, please…”

They didn’t speak. They didn’t even look at me.

The silence was worse than words.

We reached a heavy iron door at the end of the hall. One of the guards shoved it open with a grunt, the metal screeching like a tortured soul. The smell hit me first–damp, mildew, something metallic like old blood. My stomach turned violently.

They dragged me inside. My bare feet scraped against the wet floor as my eyes adjusted to the dim torchlight flickering along the walls. And then I saw it.

The cage.

It wasn’t big–just enough for a person to crouch inside. Iron bars, rusted at the edges, and below… my breath hitched–water. Murky, dark water that rippled as the guards kicked it open.

“No,” I choked, my voice trembling. “Please don’t… I didn’t do anything! Please!”

One guard finally spoke, his voice like gravel. “Alpha’s orders.”

Before I could fight, they shoved me forward. My body slammed against the wet iron, the freezing water soaking through my thin clothes instantly.

I gasped, the shock of the cold ripping the breath from my lungs. The water came up to my chest, then my neck, as they forced me down and locked the cage door behind me with a harsh clang.

“No! Please! Don’t leave me here!” I screamed, grabbing the bars with frozen fingers, but they were already walking away. Their boots splashed through puddles, fading with every step until I was alone.

Alone… in the dark… in a cage half–filled with icy water.

My teeth chattered uncontrollably. The cold seeped deep, past my skin, past my bones, until it felt like it was eating me alive from the inside out. I tried to stand, but the ceiling of the cage was so low that I couldn’t even straighten my back. My knees scraped the iron floor as I crouched there, shivering violently.

The water… oh God, the water was so high, Just a few inches below my nose. If I slipped, if I lost my strength… I would drown.

I pressed my hands against the bars, searching for something, anything, to hold onto, but the metal was slick with rust and slime. My fingers kept sliding

1/3

Chapter 162

off. Panic surged like wildfire.

I can’t die here.

Not like this.

Hot tears stung my eyes, mixing with the cold water as I whispered, “Why?”

Why

this happening to me?”

And then, like a cruel joke, my mind dragged me back–to that night. The night

Elisa was

killed.

I saw flashes of her smile. Her laughter. Her voice calling me by name. And then the screams. The blood. The lifeless body that wasn’t there when I woke

1. up.

“Where… where is she?” I whispered, choking on a sob as my teeth clattered. “Who took her body? Who did this?”

But no one answered.

The only sound was the drip… drip… drip of water from the ceiling and my own shaky breaths.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block out the memories, but they kept coming–like waves crashing over me.

“I wish…” My voice cracked, barely audible over the sound of the water tapping against the cage. “I wish I was never his mate.

The word burned like poison on my tongue. Alpha Ethan. The man who once made my heart race… now the man who sentenced me to this hell.

“I wish I had a mate like Beta Matthew,” I whispered, my throat tightening as another sob clawed its way out. “He would never… never do this to me…”

Matthew.

God, where was he? I hadn’t seen him since I woke up. Did he believe I killed Elisa too? Did he hate me now? The thought crushed me harder than the cage, harder than the water biting at my skin.

Maybe he thinks I’m a monster. Maybe everyone does.

My body trembled violently. My strength was draining, every second pulling me closer to the edge. My lips were turning numb. My fingers barely clung to

the bars now.

I wanted to scream, to fight, to claw my way out–but what was the point? No one was coming. No one cared.

Still… I couldn’t give up.

“I won’t die,” I hissed through chattering teeth, my voice fierce despite the weakness clawing at me. “I won’t die here. I… I was ready to die before, but not like this. Not before I make him regret every single thing he’s done to me.”

Alpha Ethan.

The name tasted like fire now.

I pictured his face, the cold fury in his eyes, and the way he looked at me like I was filth. One day… one day, I would make him feel this pain.

But even as I swore it, doubt gnawed at me. What if I didn’t survive this? What if this was it?

My head drooped, my chin brushing the freezing water.

No. No, stay awake, Raven. Stay awake.

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