Mated To The Alpha King (Raven and Ethan) novel Chapter 223

Chapter 223

Alpha Ethan’s Pov

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I was asked to go out as the labor started again. Every bone in me resisted leaving her side, my wife. My Ava. She was in there, fighting, and I was supposed to wait outside like some helpless stranger?

“Alpha, please,” the doctor said firmly, his tone laced with both respect and urgency. “We need the space to work. We need calmness. You being here will only distract her and us.”

I clenched my jaw so tightly it ached, my fists curling until my nails dug into my palms. My wolf raged within me, wanting to tear through them and stay by her side, to protect her, to whisper to her that she wasn’t alone.

But logic… logic forced me back. With one last glance at the doors that separated me from Ava, I turned away.

The waiting area was painfully quiet, the kind of quiet that pressed into your chest and suffocated you. I dropped into one of the hard plastic chairs, the coldness biting into me.

My elbows rested on my knees, and I locked my hands together, pressing them against my mouth as if I could pray my fear away.

Her cries seeped faintly through the walls, muffled but sharp enough to pierce me. Each one was a dagger.

Each one reminded me that she was in there battling for her life, for our child’s life, while I sat here useless.

My wolf paced inside me, snarling, restless.

She’s ours. She’s hurting. Go to her. Don’t sit here like a coward.

I can’t, I told him, even if it was tearing me apart. I can’t risk her life by barging in. They know what they’re doing. I have to trust them.

Trust. A word I had never been good at.

Minutes dragged like hours. The clock on the wall ticked mockingly, each sound reminding me of how powerless I was.

Then, Matthew’s voice brushed into my mind through the mind link.

Ethan. How is Ava?

I swallowed, my throat dry. She’s trying. But the doctor said it’s… it’s a fifty percent chance she makes it out alive.

The silence on the other end was long enough for dread to pool in my gut. Then Matthew spoke, his voice firm, steady, like a hand gripping mine. She will make it, Ethan. Ava is strong. Stronger than most of us. You have to hold on to that.

I let out a shaky breath, dragging my hands over my face. I pray so. But don’t you think this is fate… getting back at me?

12:46 Tue, Sep 30

Chapter 223

What?

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I lost my first chance at love, Matthew. And now, when I finally found peace, finally found joy with Ava, the moon goddess decides to test me this way. Maybe this is punishment. Maybe my sins… maybe they’ve finally caught up with me.

Matthew’s reply was sharp, almost like a growl. Don’t think like that. Yes, you made mistakes, but we all did. That has nothing to do with what’s happening now.

Stop drowning in guilt. This isn’t about you–it’s about Ava. And she needs you strong when she comes out of

there.

I wanted to argue, but my throat locked. My chest was too tight, too heavy. His words silenced me, and before I could respond, the link closed.

I sat there again, back hunched, elbows pressing into my thighs, my chin resting on my fists. All I could see was Ava. Her smile. Her laugh. The way she’d brush her fingers against mine absentmindedly when we walked together. The way she had the power to calm the storm in me when no one else could.

If I lose her…

The thought alone was unbearable.

I had already lost one chance at love. I thought that was it, that the moon goddess had condemned me to a life of emptiness. But then Ava had come, a light I didn’t deserve but was desperate to keep. And now… the moon goddess had other plans.

An hour crawled by. Each tick of the clock was a hammer to my skull.

Then, the door opened.

The doctor stepped out, his coat stained with blood. Not just a smudge–streaks. His forehead was damp, a smear of crimson on his skin where he must have wiped it with his sleeve.

My heart stopped. I was on my feet in an instant, closing the space between us so fast I nearly collided with him.

“How’s Ava?!” I demanded, my voice hoarse but fierce. “Was she alive? Did she make it out alive?!”

The doctor raised a hand quickly, his expression worn but steady. “Alpha, all is fine. She made it through.”

Relief hit me so hard my knees almost buckled. I exhaled, the air rushing out of me in a ragged sigh. My wolf stilled, his claws withdrawing, his growl easing. She’s alive.

But the doctor’s eyes… they unsettled me. He didn’t look relieved. He looked… weighed down.

“We need to talk,” he said softly. “In my office.”

Dread crept back, heavier than before. Still, I followed him, my boots echoing like thunder down the hall. My heart pounded in my chest, each beat harder, faster, threatening to tear me apart.

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