Mated To The Alpha King (Raven and Ethan) novel Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Raven’s POV

Ilaid on the bed, but I couldn’t sleep I kept tossing, turning, pulling the sheets up, then pushing them away like they were the cause of my torment. But it wasn’t the sheets. It was the day. It was the past. It was the future. It was everything and nothing at the same time, weighing down on my chest the a boulder that wouldn’t move.

And then my mind went to alpha Ethan the way he fells fulfilled anytime he tortured me.

I sighed, frustration boiling beneath my skin as I pushed myself off the bed. The room was suffocating, the silence screaming too loud for me to bear. I needed to get out of here–out of this cursed room, out of my own head. I needed fresh air, even if it couldn’t blow away the heaviness wrapped around my soul

I grabbed my thin robe and slipped it on over my nightdress, tiptoeing past the other sleeping maids in the servants‘ quarters. They didn’t stir. It was better that way. I didn’t need anyone asking questions or offering pity. I just needed space.

The cold air kissed my skin the moment I stepped outside. It was late–maybe past midnight–but the moon was high and bright, casting silver over the garden path. The silence out here was different. Not so heavy. Not so loud. Just… calm,

I walked the familiar path that curved around the back of the pack house, past the rows of carefully trimmed roses, the towering hydrangeas, and the beds of lavender swaying gently with the breeze. Then I saw it–my favorite spot. A bench under the old willow tree. Its hanging branches offered a kind of privacy that I couldn’t find anywhere else in this place.

I sank onto the bench and pulled my legs up to my chest, resting my chin on my knees as i stared out at the moonlit garden. The tears came quietly at first–silent, hot streams that trickled down my checks. But soon, sabs racked my body, violent and uncontrolled.

If I had known that things will turn out like this I would have letted go when Olivia took him six years ago but something in me kept pushing me to get closer to him, and maybe he will tell the bond, but he’ll no was I wrong about the whole thing

“If she hadn’t died…” I whispered into the night. “if my mother hadn’t died having me… maybe i wouldn’t be here.”

The words broke something in me, and I clutched my arms tighter around mysel

“Maybe I wouldn’t be a maid in my mate’s pack. Maybe… I wouldn’t have to live like this. Pretending like I’m nothing like I don’t matter. Like I don’t

bleed

Achoked sobescaped me. My hands trembled.

“And now…now he’s blackmailing me. My own mate. The one who’s supposed to cherish me, protect me, love me–he’s turned me into his ex–slave. His puppet And he doesn’t even know I’m his mate…”

I dug my nails into my palms I didn’t know what hurt more his cruelty or the fact that I had to hide the truth from him, Every day I woke up and served him like I was just another lowly worker in this place, and every night I went to sleep with the ache of rejection, the sting of injustice.

And then-

“What the hell are you doing out here?”

I jumped, startled by the deep voice that cut through the still night air like a whip.

Alpha Ethan,

I quickly wiped my tears and stood up, my back straightening instinctively in his presence: But my eyes burned, and my lips were trembling, I didn’t have the strength to hide it

“Lasked you a question,” he growled, stepping closer. “Why are you not in bed?”

Chapter 36

“I couldn’t sleep,” said quietly

“You couldn’t sleep,” he mocked, his eyes natwing. “So instead, you’re out here wandering around like some stray?”

Topened my mouth, then closed it. There was no point arguing

“you’re going to stay up late and then oversleep again. And then what? Miss the tasks I gave your he snapped, voice growing louder. “I should’ve kn better than to think you were capable of basic obedience.”

That was it.

Something in me snapped.

I had taken enough. Endured enough, Survived enough

“You are a monster,” I spat, my voice shaking with rage and pain. “You act like everyone’s beneath you. You treat people like tools. Like boys. Like they don’t have feelings, or thoughts, or lives. You think just because you’re Alpha, you have the right to crush everyone under your boot?”

His eyes darkened.

“Say that again,” he said, his voice dangerously low.

I didn’t flinch. “You. Are, A. Monster.

The slap came fast. I didn’t even see his hand move. Just the sting across my cheek, the force knocking me back onto the bench.

Pain exploded in my face, and for a moment, the world blurred. But before I could regain my bearings, he grabbed me by the arm and yanked me up. Another hit this time across my ribs. I cried out, the sound swallowed by the night.

“you ungrateful little…”

I didn’t hear the rest. My ears were ringing. My vision swam. But I didn’t fall. I refused to

When he let go, I stumbled back, clutching my side. My breath came in short, shallow gasps.

He looked at me, breathing hard, his chest rising and falling like a storm barely contained.

And then he turned and walked away

Just like that

As if I were nothing

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