Mated To The Alpha King (Raven and Ethan) novel Chapter 376

Chapter 376

Alpha Ethan Pov

The fluorescent lights of the mall seemed to hum with a sudden, oppressive intensity, vibrating against my skull as the realization set in. Lucian was gone.

One moment he was there, fidgeting with a plastic toy on the shelf, his small face scrunched in concentration. Next, the space beside me was a hollow void, swallowed by the sea of Saturday shoppers.

“Lucian?” I called out. My voice was steady, but it carried that serrated edge of Alpha authority that usually made everyone within a fifty–foot radius freeze in their tracks.

The girls looked up from a display of glittery hair ties, their eyes widening. Lyra, the oldest, clutched her shopping bag to her chest until the paper crinkled. “He said he went to use the bathroom, Daddy,” she whispered, her voice trembling.

“A long time ago. Before you started looking at the watches.”

I didn’t wait for another word. I strode toward the restrooms, each step heavy enough to crack the tile.

1

My heart began a slow, rhythmic thud against my ribs, a war drum signaling danger. I pushed open the heavy door to the men’s room, the scent of industrial bleach stinging my nose.

“Lucian!” I barked.

I checked every stall, kicking the doors open. Empty. Panic is a deceptive thing. People think it’s a fire that burns you up, but for a father, for an Alpha, it’s a block of ice that slides into your veins, freezing your breath until your lungs ache.

I checked the arcade, the food court, and the opposite wing of the mall. My pace quickened into a near–run, my wolf pacing restlessly behind my ribs, snarling at the scent of so many strangers.

Had he been taken? Had some rogue scented his royal blood? My mind spiraled into a whirlwind of dark possibilities. “Lucian!” I roared again, completely ignoring the startled stares and hushed whispers of the humans around me.

Just as I was about to reach for my phone to command my security team to lock down every single exit in the building, a small, cold hand tapped my waist.

I spun around so fast I nearly sent the boy flying. Lucian stood there, looking fragile and tiny against the backdrop of the neon signs and bustling crowds.

But it wasn’t fear I saw in his eyes. His expression was unreadable not crying, not frantic, but hollow. He looked like he had seen the end of the world.

AN

I dropped to one knee, my hands gripping his shoulders. “Where did you go? Lucian, I’ve been half out of my mind! You never leave my side without asking. What happened?”

Lucian said nothing.

His gaze was anchored to the distance, staring toward the main glass entrance of the mall where the afternoon sun was

at the doors.

Beating things. Slowly, traktingly, he lifted a trembling finge

“Mummy,” he whispered.

The air in the mall suddenly felt like ice. “What? What are you talking about, buddy?” I asked. I forced my voice into a low, soothing vibration, though my own pulse was screaming.

“Lucian… you know Mummy is in heaven. We talked about this.”

10

Chapter 876

He looked at me then, and the raw agony in his eyes felt like a silver blade through my heart. “I saw her, Daddy. I saw her just now, I ran to her… I called her ‘Mummy!

I was so happy I thought I would pop.” He swallowed hard, a single, fat tear finally escaping and rolling down his cheek. “But she looked at me like I was a bug.

She told me she didn’t know me. She said I must have the wrong person and walked away”

I felt the oxygen leave the room. I pulled him into a fierce, protective hug, burying my face in his hair, trying to mask the scent of my own rising fear. “Lucian… I know how much you miss her. We all do.

But sometimes, when we miss someone that much, our minds play tricks. You probably saw a woman who looked a bit like her, and because your heart wants to see Raven so badly, you thought”

“No!” He pulled back, his small face hardening with a conviction that made my blood run cold. “You think I’m lying.

But I know my mummy. It was her face. Her eyes. She was right there, Daddy. And she denied, “Lucian, stop,” I said, my voice shaking with a mix of grief and frustration.

“You’re scaring me, and you’re scaring your sisters. Raven is… she’s gone. The woman you saw… she wasn’t your mother. Now, let’s go join the girls. They’re waiting.”

He followed me back like a ghost, his spirit seemingly extinguished. I handed the kids their bags and ushered them toward the checkout, but I couldn’t shake the sensation.

It was a prickle at the base of my brain, the instinct of a predator who knows a shadow has just crossed his path.

“Stay here,” I told the kids, my voice leaving no room for argument. “Stay right by this bench. If you move, you’re grounded for a month. I forgot something at the store.”

I turned and bolted. I ran toward the mall exit, my lungs burning, my wolf screaming for a scent that shouldn’t exist. I burst through the glass doors into the humid afternoon air, my eyes scanning the parking lot, the bus stops, and the departing

cars.

“Raven?” I whispered, the name tasting like ash and hope.

I checked the security desk, my Alpha presence looming over the guard until he turned pale. “I need to see the North Exit tapes. Now.”

“Sir, unless there’s a police report”

“I am Alpha Ethan,” I growled, the vibration of my voice rattling the pens on his desk. “Check the damn tapes.”

Minutes later, we peered at the grainy, flickering monitors. I saw Lucian/I saw him break into a sprint toward a woman whose back was to the camera.

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