Mated To The Alpha King (Raven and Ethan) novel Chapter 396

Chapter 396

Reven’s POV

Warmth.

Not the gentle warmth of sunlight or blankets.

This was deeper solid, surrounding, and alive.

It pressed against my back, my waist, my thighs… a heavy heat that made it hard to move, hard to breathe, hard to think.

My body felt strangely loose, like my muscles had melted overnight, leaving only a dull ache behind.

My mind surfaced slowly, dragging through thick fog.

Something was… off.

I shifted slightly.

An arm tightened around me.

My eyes snapped open.

For one disorienting second, I didn’t recognize anything not the high ceiling above me, not the dark unfamiliar walls, not the scent of expensive cologne mixed with clean sheets.

Then I looked down.

A large male arm was draped possessively across my waist.

Bare skin touched bare skin.

My stomach dropped.

No.

No, no, no.I twisted carefully, my heart pounding so hard it made my vision blur.

Alpha Ethan.

His face was inches from mine, relaxed in sleep, dark lashes casting soft shadows across his cheeks. Without his usual sharp expression, he looked almost peaceful… younger…. disarmingly human.

And I was completely naked in his bed.

My brain screamed.

I yanked the sheet up to my chin, scrambling backward until my shoulders hit the headboard with a dull thud.

The movement woke him.

His eyes opened instantly clear, alert, and dangerous even half–asleep.

For a moment, he just looked at me, taking in the panic, the distance, the way I clutched the sheet like armor.

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12:48 am

Chapter 396

“Morning,” he said quietly, his voice rough with sleep.

Morning?!

My throat tightened.

“W–what happened?” I croaked.

He pushed himself up slowly, careful, nonthreatening.

“You were drugged at the ball,” he said. “I brought you home.”

Fragments crashed into me like broken glass – the drink, dizziness, heat crawling under my skin, his voice telling me I was safe, water, darkness…

My face burned,

“Did we…” I couldn’t finish.

His gaze softened just a fraction.

“No. We didn’t.”

Relief slammed into me so hard I nearly sagged.

But it didn’t erase the mortification.

“You were overheated and disoriented,” he continued. “You needed to cool down. I stayed with you until the effects wore off.”

Stayed.

With me.

Naked.

I wanted the floor to open and swallow me.

“I’m so sorry,” I blurted.

His brow furrowed. “For what?”

“For… everything!”

He studied me like he genuinely didn’t understand.

I couldn’t look at him anymore.

–

My clothes were folded neatly on a chair across the room dress, shoes, everything placed with almost unsettling care.

“I need to get dressed,” I said quickly.

He nodded and turned his back, giving me privacy without a word.

That somehow made it worse.

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12:48 am PP

Chapter 396

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I scrambled out of the bed, clutching the sheet around me as I rushed to the chair. My hands shook so badly I fumbled with the zipper, nearly tripping over the hem of the dress.

Don’t think. Don’t look. Don’t breathe.

Just leave.

When I finally managed to get dressed, I grabbed my bag and headed straight for the door.

“Reven.”

I froze.

But I didn’t turn.

“You don’t have to run,” he said quietly.

I absolutely did.

“Thank you… for helping me,” I muttered, then yanked the door open and fled.

The cool morning air hit my face like a slap.

I didn’t stop walking almost running until I reached the outer gates of the pack house. Only then did I slow, bending forward slightly, hands on my knees as I struggled to catch my breath.

My face still burned.

He saw me naked.

He held me naked.

And I had no memory of what I said… or did.

A groan escaped me as I covered my face.

“I’m never going back there,” I muttered.

At the office building, I stopped dead in my tracks.

Work.

The thought of facing people of pretending everything was normal made my stomach twist violently.

No.

I pulled out my phone and dialed.

“I’m sick,” I told my manager weakly. “I won’t be coming in today.”

There was a pause filled with clear disapproval, but she accepted it.

I hung up and immediately felt both guilty and relieved.

By the time I reached our apartment, my legs felt like they belonged to someone else.

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1248 am G pp

Chapter 296

Rd opened the door before I could knock twice.

Tu 36 vouchers.

“Oh my Gort, thank greatness you’re back!” she exclaimed, pulling me inside. “I was so worried! What happened!”

1 dropped onto the bed like my bones had dissolved.

“Everything” 1 groaned, covering my face.

Her expression sharpened instantly

Did he hurt you?”

“Did you two?” “No” I sat up abruptly. “We didn’t have sex!”

She related visibly

“Okay, good. Then why do you look like you just survived a war?”

“He saw me naked!”

Edna blinked

That’s it?”

That’s NOT it! I cried. “I don’t even remember how it happened!”

She bit her lip, trying not to smile.

Reven, he’s a grown man. It’s not like he’s never seen a woman before.”

That doesn’t make it better!”

My phone buzzed loudly on the bed.

Alpha Ethan.

My heart lurched into my throat.

I stared at the screen like it might explode.

Answer it,” Edna said.

I can’t

Why not?”

‘Because I don’t know how to face him.”

The call ended.

遊

Then immediately started again.

I flipped the phone face down.

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12:49 am

Chapter 396

“I can’t,” I whispered.

By evening, the apartment felt suffocating.

Edna began getting ready for work, pulling on her club uniform and fixing her makeup.

“You should come with me,” she said suddenly.

“What?”

“I don’t like the idea of you sitting here alone spiraling.”

She wasn’t wrong.

“Okay,” I said quietly.

The club was overwhelming the moment we stepped inside.

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Music pounded through the floor, vibrating up into my bones. Lights flashed in dizzying colors purple, red, blue washing over bodies packed tightly together on the dance floor. The air smelled like perfume, sweat, alcohol, and something electric.

Edna disappeared into the staff area, leaving me at a small table in a shadowed corner.