Mated To The Alpha King (Raven and Ethan) novel Chapter 174

Chapter 174

Alpha Ethan’s POV

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“Are you really going to let her go?” Elisa asked me as I stood there, frozen, watching Raven walk away. Her steps were cold and strong, cutting me deeper than any sharp knife.

Her words stayed in my head like a loud shout in an empty hall, but I couldn’t answer her. My throat felt tight, and my chest burned like fire inside me.

Raven didn’t even look back. Not once. Not after everything that happened.

Her back was straight, her head held high, and her hair flew behind her like a flag in the wind. Every step she took felt like another nail pushed into my heart, and still, I couldn’t move.

“Elisa,” I finally said, but the words died in my mouth. What was I going to tell her? That I didn’t want Raven to leave? That I wanted to beg her to stay? That I wanted to fall on my knees and say everything I have kept inside me the guilt, the shame, the pain?

No. Elisa would not understand. No one would. Not after what I did to Raven. Not after all the pain I gave her.

And the worst part?

I knew I deserved all the hate I saw in her eyes.

My fists closed so hard that my nails cut into my palms. I turned away from Elisa, not listening as she called me. My wolf moved inside me, angry and loud, telling me to stop Raven before she left my life forever.

And for once, I listened.

Before my mind could stop me, my legs started moving–long, quick steps down the hall like a man chasing his last

chance.

“Raven!” I shouted, my voice rough and breaking with something I didn’t want to name.

She didn’t stop.

She didn’t even turn.

I reached her just as she got to her door. My hand shot out and held the door before she could slam it. The hit went through my arm, but I didn’t care. I pushed it open and stepped inside, forcing myself into her space like the shameless

man i was.

Her smell hit me first, sweet, wide, Addictive. It wrapped around me like a memory, choking me with the cruel reminder of all I lost: the sound of her laugh, the softness of her touch, and the light in her eyes before I killed it.

She turned around, her eyes burning like fire.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she shouted, her voice sharp like a knife. “Get out, Ethan. Just go. I don’t want to see

you.”

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Fri, 29 Aug

Chapter 174

Her words cut deep, but I didn’t move. I couldn’t.

“Raven, please,” I said, my voice breaking on that one word. “I… I know what I did to you was bad. I know I“.

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“Bad?” she cut me off, laughing without joy. The sound was empty and hard, the kind that makes your bones hurt. “You knew it was bad, but you kept doing it! Again and again! And now you want to stand here and act like you feel sorry? Like you’re the sad Alpha?”

Her words tore through me like claws.

was blinded by grief,” I said softly, hating how weak it sounded.

“Grief?” She stepped closer, her eyes stabbing into mine like sharp knives. “Do you think if I wanted revenge for what you did to me, I would hurt your sister? Do you think I’m that heartless, Ethan? That I’m a beast like you?”

“No,” I said fast, shaking my head, my throat raw. “No, Raven. I know. I know you’re not like me. I know you could never hurt Elisa. I just“.

“You just what?” she snapped. “You just wanted someone to suffer because you were in pain? You wanted someone to pay for something they didn’t do? And I was the easiest one, right? The broken little maid who couldn’t fight back?”

Her voice cracked at the end, and that broke me more than anything else.

“Raven…” I took a step toward her, my hand half–lifting before I dropped it. “I know I can’t fix what I did. I know you can’t forgive me now. Maybe not ever. But please… don’t leave. Stay. Just… stay.”

She looked at me for a long moment, then laughed.

It wasn’t sweet. It wasn’t soft. It was sharp, bitter, and full of all the pain I gave her.

“Oh, now you want me to stay?” she said, her voice full of anger. “Now, after you locked me in that water cage for hours while I begged you to let me out? You didn’t care if I lived or died then, Ethan! Not one bit! And now you expect me to care that you don’t want me to go? Now that you know I’m’not the monster who killed your sister, right?”

“Raven”

“No!” she shouted, tears shining in her eyes even as her face turned hard like stone. “I’m not that broken little girl you kept hurting, Ethan. Not anymore. I’m a woman now. Strong enough to face you. Strong enough to walk away from you. So here’s what you should do: go write a better speech, because what you’re saying now? It’s trash. It will never be enough.”

Her hand grabbed the door, and before I could say another word

SLAM!

The door closed in my face, the sound loud like a death bell.

I stood there, frozen, my breath stuck in my throat, my heart beating like a drum.

I could have broken the door. I could have ripped it off the wall if I wanted. But what would that do? Force her to hear me? Trap her again like before?

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11:21 Fri, 29 Aug

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