Mated To The Alpha King (Raven and Ethan) novel Chapter 358

Chapter 358

Alpha Ethan’s POV

The message burned into my screen long after the phone slipped from my hand and landed softly on the desk.

Mike is dead.

The words replayed in my mind like a slow, merciless echo. Mike was careful, calculated, and always two steps ahead dead. And the worst part wasn’t the threat buried inside the message.

It was the certainty.

Someone knew exactly what I had been doing.

Someone had been watching.

I didn’t call Matthew.

I didn’t call the guards.

Instinct told me this was a trap, and instinct told me something else too: if I involved anyone, whoever sent that message would disappear. Whoever had information about Reven would vanish along with it.

So I did the one thing an Alpha was never supposed to do.

I went alone.

The cafeteria sat at the edge of the business district, old and unremarkable, the kind of place people passed every day without ever really seeing.

It was already past eight when I pulled up, my heartbeat steady, my expression calm.

On the outside.

Inside, every nerve was coiled tight.

I scanned the area before stepping out of the car. No immediate threats. No obvious surveillance. Too clean. That worried me more than anything.

I entered the cafeteria.

The smell of coffee and fried food filled the air. A few early customers sat scattered across the room, absorbed in their own lives, unaware that mine was hanging by a thread.

I chose a seat near the back, my back to the wall.

And waited.

Minutes passed.

Then- Someone slid into the seat across from me.

He looked ordinary. Too ordinary. Mid–thirties. Dark hair, Calm eyes. No visible weapons. No nervous energy. The kind of man who blended into crowds effortlessly.

“You’re late,” he said mildly.

I leaned back slightly. “You said eight.”

He glanced at his watch. “You’re right. My mistake.”

I studied him carefully, “You killed my investigator.”

His lips curved into a faint smile. “I didn’t say I killed him. I said he was dead.”

My jaw tightened. “Why am I here?”

“Because you’re stubborn,” he replied easily. “And because you don’t know how to let the dead stay buried.”

“She’s not dead,” I said flatly.

His smile widened. “No. She isn’t.”

The bond flared sharply, sending a jolt through my chest.

I forced myself to remain still. “Where is she?”

“Careful,” he said, lifting a finger. “That’s not how this works.”

I leaned forward, lowering my voice. “You sent me her necklace.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“To make sure you understood the rules,” he replied. “You’re not the only one who wants her.”

My blood ran cold. “Who else?”

He ignored the question. “You’ve been very busy since the fire. Private investigators. Quiet inquiries. Breaking council protocol.”

I didn’t deny it.

“You should have stopped when you received the package,” he continued. “That was mercy.”

“Mercy doesn’t involve murder,” I growled.

He shrugged. “Depends on perspective.”

My hands clenched beneath the table. “You said you know where my mate is.”

“I said I could tell you,” he corrected. “There’s a difference.”

“What do you want?” I asked.

He leaned back, crossing his arms. “Patience.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“No,” he agreed calmly. “But it’s the only one you’re getting today.”

Rage simmered beneath my skin, threatening to tear free. “You lured me here just to talk?”

“I lured you here to see you,” he replied. “To make sure you’re exactly who I thought you were.”

“And?” I snapped.

“And you are,” he said simply. “Desperate. Reckless. Still very much in love.”

I stood abruptly, the chair scraping against the floor. “This cation is over.”

He didn’t move.

“If you walk out now,” he said quietly, “you’ll never find her.”

I froze.

Silence stretched between us, thick and suffocating.

Slowly, I sat back down.

“Good choice,” he said.

My voice came out low and deadly. “You have one chance to start making sense.”

He studied me for a moment, then nodded. “She’s alive. She survived the fire. Barely.”

My heart slammed violently against my ribs.

The realization hit me like a punch to the gut.

“Where is she?” I demanded.

He shook his head. “Not yet.”

I slammed my fist into the table. Cups rattled, drawing glances from nearby customers.

“You think this is a game?” I snarled.

“No,” he replied calmly. “I think it’s leverage.”

“For what?”

He leaned forward, lowering his voice. “For your silence.”

I laughed harshly. “You’re asking the wrong Alpha.”

“I’m not asking,” he corrected. “I’m informing.”

My jaw clenched painfully. “And if I refuse?”

He met my gaze steadily. “Then she suffers.”

The bond screamed.

Pain ripped through my chest so suddenly I had to grip the edge of the table to steady myself. Images flashed through my mind blood, chains, her voice breaking.

I swallowed hard. “You hurt her…”

“Not me,” he said quickly. “But yes. She’s hurting.”

I closed my eyes briefly.

Control.

You lose control, you lose her.

“What do you want from me?” I asked quietly.

“Time,” he replied. “And restraint.”

“Until when?”

He stood. “Until you’re told otherwise.”

He slid a small object across the table toward me.

A phone.

“Keep it on,” he said. “When the time comes, you’ll hear from us.”

“Us?” I echoed.

He paused at the edge of the table, looking down at me. “You’re not the only predator in this story, Alpha.”

Then he turned and walked out.

I sat there long after he was gone, my pulse roaring in my ears.

Reven was alive.

She was suffering.

And someone had declared war.