Mated To The Alpha King (Raven and Ethan) novel Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Alpha Ethan’s POV

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The sound of my boots echoed against the marble floor as I walked past her without a word, grabbing the document I had come for. I didn’t spare her another glance as I exited the room, but the image of what I had just witnessed clung to my thoughts like a stubborn shadow. The tension between Olivia and Raven had been thick–unmistakably so. Something about their posture, their stiff expressions… it wasn’t a normal exchange between Luna and

maid.

Could it have been an argument? That didn’t make any sense. Olivia would never lower herself to publicly argue with a maid–she was far too polished, too calculating. Then again, Raven wasn’t like the others. She had a defiant streak. Maybe Olivia had caught her doing something inappropriate and was reprimanding her.

Still, the whole interaction felt off. I clenched my jaw, trying to shake the unease gnawing at me. I didn’t have time for distractions–not when border tensions were rising and alliances were hanging by a thread. I pushed the thoughts aside and returned to my office, where a mountain of paperwork waited for me. Contracts needed signing, reports needed reviewing, and my inbox had been flooding with messages for days.

I sat down heavily, the leather of my chair creaking under the weight of responsibility. Flipping open a thick file of alliance proposals, I scanned the terms with a practiced eye. The border dispute with the Eastern Pack was worsening. If I didn’t seal this treaty soon, war could be knocking at our door by the end of the month. My pen hovered above the signature line, unmoving. My fingers itched, but my mind wandered.

Raven’s face crept back into my thoughts–calm, unreadable. There was always something elusive about her. She wasn’t like the others, who flinched in my presence or looked at me with reverence. Her gaze was steady, unflinching, like she was looking right through me, peeling back layers I didn’t even

know I had.

And now… she was avoiding me.

That shouldn’t matter. She was a maid. A servant. A tool–someone meant to serve a purpose and be forgotten once that purpose had been fulfilled.

Thad told her that.

The memory came back with a sting, like salt in an open wound. I hadn’t intended to be cruel. It was meant to be a boundary, a reminder of who we were -what we were. But the flicker of pain in her eyes when I said it… it had stayed with me. Haunted me. More than it should have.

I tried to refocus, but the room grew quiet around me. Too quiet. The sun was already dipping beyond the horizon, casting amber hues through the tall windows, painting golden lines across my desk. My spine ached from hours of sitting hunched over. I leaned back with a groan, rotating my shoulders to

work out the tension.

I needed a massage.

And not just any massage–I needed her. Her hands, her calm voice, the way she worked in silence without expecting anything in return. Raven had a gift -not just with her fingers but with her presence. She made silence feel like peace instead of loneliness.

I pressed the intercom on my desk. “Send someone to fetch Raven,” I ordered curtly.

“Yes, Alpha,” came the guard’s immediate response.

I stood and moved to the corner of the room where a coffee pot sat. I poured the remainder of the now–cold coffee down the sink, the metallic clatter of the cup hitting porcelain louder than I intended. I tried not to admit it to myself, but I was anticipating seeing her. That calm steadiness. That rare spark in her eyes that made me feel… something I didn’t have a name for.

I waited.

Ten minutes passed.

Then fifteen.

Finally, a knock. But instead of Raven, the guard stepped in–alone.

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21:10 Fr, 18 Jun

Chapter 41

“She’s not in her quarters, Alpha.”

I frowned. “What do you mean she’s not there?”

“We checked twice, sir. The room is empty. There’s no sign of her anywhere.”

A cold chill ran down my spine. “Check the kitchen. Laundry room. Storage. Everywhere she might be.”

“Yes, Alpha,” the guard replied quickly and left..

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The silence that followed was deafening. My hands curled into fists as an unfamiliar sense of dread bloomed in my chest. She was gone. She couldn’t have run away… could she?

She wouldn’t. She can’t. Raven was a rogue when she arrived. She had no pack, no family–no place to go. But the thought clung to me like thorns. I had told her she was just a tool. Just something to be used and discarded. And I said it with enough coldness that, hearing it now in my mind, made my stomach twist.

Had those words pushed her away?

I stormed out of my office, my heart thudding with a fury I couldn’t name. My guards avoided my gaze as I stalked the corridors. I reached the garden, stepping into the cooling twilight air. The stone bench near the rose hedge–her usual spot–was empty.

“Raven!” I called. The sound of her name rang through the trees.

No answer.

Damn it.

My mind raced. If something had happened to her–if someone had taken her, or if she had truly left–I needed answers. Fast. And if anyone knew anything, it would be Beta Matthew. He and Raven had been… talking lately. Nothing overt, but enough for me to notice. Enough to make me suspicious.

I changed course and headed straight for Matthew’s quarters. The hallway was quiet, the pack mostly tucked away for the night. I didn’t bother knocking.

I shoved the door open.

And froze.

The room was dim, the soft flicker of a bedside lamp casting golden shadows. My brain stalled, refusing for a moment to accept what my eyes were seeing.

There on the bed–were two figures, nestled beneath a thick duvet.

Raven.

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