Mated To The Alpha King. - Chapter 12: Chapter 12

Raven’s POV
I stared at the food on the table, then took a glance at Alpha Ethan—or should I say, my mate. “Thanks,” I muttered to him as I rested on the bed. He didn’t look my way; he just stared out the window.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his eyes still fixed outside the window.
“I’m fine, and I don’t need your sympathy. I just need to be discharged. My family will be sick with worry about me,” I told him, even though it was a lie. I just wanted to get out of this place. I couldn't continue this way—acting as if nothing were wrong—when deep down, I was dying. Dying from knowing that the person I had longed to meet for years was right in front of me… but I couldn’t have him. All because—
“Are you sure you’re ready to be discharged?” Alpha Ethan’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
“Yes,” I said firmly, forcing my voice to stay steady even though my chest felt like it was caving in. “I can handle myself.”
Alpha Ethan finally turned to look at me. His expression was unreadable—a mixture of concern and restraint. For a moment, I thought he might argue, insist I stay longer, maybe even show a sliver of the care I wished he felt for me—but instead, he nodded slowly.
“If that’s what you want,” he said quietly, then walked over to the foot of the bed. “I’ll let the doctor know. You’ll be released this evening.”
I turned my face away, staring at the blank wall to hide the sudden sting behind my eyes. I wanted him to fight for me. Just once. To ask me to stay. But instead, he made it so easy to walk away.
“I’ll have someone bring your clothes,” he added.
Just then, he turned to leave but stopped at the door and looked back at me.
“There’s something else,” he said, his tone heavy with unspoken weight. “Since you’re a rogue, you technically have no rank, no claim, no ties. But… I’ve been thinking.”
I blinked at him, unsure where he was going with this. He took a few steps back into the room, his hands folded behind him in that authoritative, composed way he always carried himself. It made me feel small and exposed—especially now that I knew he was my mate. My mate… and someone else’s Alpha. Someone else’s everything.
“I don’t usually allow rogues to stay within pack borders unless they’ve proven their worth,” he continued, his eyes dark and unreadable. “But I’m willing to make an exception in your case. I’d like to offer you a place here.”
I swallowed, my heart thudding. Hope flickered inside me, uninvited.
“I want to make you an official member of my pack,” he said. “And also… assign you as Luna Olivia’s personal maid.”
The hope shattered into icy shards.
My eyes widened. My lips parted, but no words came out. Had I heard him right?
“A maid?” I finally whispered, the word burning like acid on my tongue.
“Yes,” he said simply, watching me closely. “You’d be in the Luna’s service. It’s a position of trust. You’d have food, shelter, protection. And if you prove yourself loyal, eventually a place in this pack.”
I stared at him in disbelief. My chest tightened with indignation, rage, and something far more dangerous—hurt. Deep, soul-wrenching hurt.
You want me, your mate, to serve the woman you chose over me?
A laugh bubbled up in my throat—bitter and hollow. I didn’t let it escape. I just looked away and clenched my fists in the hospital bedsheets.
“You want me to serve her?” I said quietly. “To fetch her water, help her dress, polish her shoes?” I asked.
He looked at me with surprise. “Is that a problem?” he asked.
I just shook my head at him as silent tears slipped down my cheek. I quickly wiped them away.
It’s okay, Raven, my wolf said inside me.
A start. A start to what? A life spent beneath her heel while she flaunted what was supposed to be mine?
I wanted to scream. To throw something. To ask him to go to hell and take his ‘offer’ with him. My pride roared in protest, clawing at me from within, demanding I say no. That I walk away and never look back.
But then… Olivia’s face flashed in my mind. Her triumphant smirk. The way she paraded around the pack house when we were younger like she owned every stone, every breath, every man—including mine.
And slowly, something shifted inside me. Something cold. Something calculating.
Maybe this wasn’t an insult. Maybe it was an opportunity.
Maybe being close to her wasn’t a curse—it was a chance.
A chance to watch. To listen. To learn.
A chance… to destroy her.
I breathed out slowly, my fingers relaxing.
“If I say yes,” I said, lifting my gaze to meet his, “I want full access to the pack house. I want to train when I’m not serving. I want a room—not a cage. And I want to be treated as a member, not a prisoner.”
His eyes narrowed slightly, as if weighing my request.
“You’d have to earn that,” he said cautiously. “But if you cooperate, stay loyal, and keep your head down, yes. It’s possible.”
I nodded once, slowly.
“Fine,” I said. “I accept.”
He seemed almost surprised. He opened his mouth to say something, but then thought better of it and nodded.
“I’ll have someone bring your uniform later,” he said before finally walking out the door.
As soon as he was gone, I sat up fully and slid off the bed. My knees were still weak, but my resolve had never felt stronger. I walked slowly to the window and stared out into the forest—the territory that now belonged to them.
It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right. But I would endure it.
I would clean her dresses. I would carry her tray. I would nod and smile and bow when needed. I would do it all—until the day I no longer had to.
Until the day she lost everything the way I had.
I was no longer the weak girl she knew six years ago.