The Road to Obsidian

POV: Marcella

The vibration of the SUV hums through the floorboards, traveling straight up through the soles of my worn boots. It has been over seven agonizing hours since we pulled out of our driveway and began the long journey to the Obsidian Pack. I sit pressed against the cold leather of the backseat door. Vance sits up front, his head tipped back as he snores softly. Dad grips the steering wheel, his eyes glued to the highway. Beside me, Jade stares at her glowing phone screen, wearing massive noise-canceling headphones to tune out the world.

They all ignore me. It is a rare, beautiful blessing.

I stare out the tinted window and let my mind wander. I think about my mother’s book. It is the very last physical possession of hers that still exists. Over the years, my father made it his personal mission to erase her memory from our lives. He burned her clothes, snapped her records, and smashed every photograph he could find. But he never found the book. I kept it safely hidden beneath a loose floorboard under my bed, wrapped in a plastic bag to protect the fragile, yellowed pages. If everything goes according to plan tonight, my father will never get the chance to find it or destroy it.

I close my eyes and meticulously visualize my escape. The midnight air. The chaotic crowd at the Blue Moon Ball. Seraphina waiting by the tree line. We will slip away into the shadows and run until our lungs burn and our legs give out. We will run until we are free.

A loud, painful rumble erupts from my stomach, dragging me out of my daydream.

The harsh sound is startlingly loud in the confined space of the backseat. I press my hands flat against my abdomen, trying to muffle the noise. A sharp cramp twists my insides. I have not consumed a single bite of food since yesterday’s meager dinner—a tiny portion of cold potatoes and a tough scrap of meat my father deemed unfit for his own plate. My body is weak. My limbs feel heavy, weighed down by an intense, gnawing starvation.

A wave of fresh anger washes over me as I remember our brief stop at a service station a few hours ago. My father parked the SUV near a busy roadside diner. When I reached for the door handle, he snapped the child locks into place.

He rolled his window down just enough to speak to a passing group of wolves stretching their legs in the parking lot. "My youngest is far too travel-sick to eat," he announced loudly, putting on his best concerned-father voice for the bystanders. "Poor thing needs to rest in the quiet. I am going to let her sleep it off."

He forced me to remain locked in the hot car while he, Vance, and Jade went inside to eat. The sun beat down through the windshield, turning the interior into a suffocating oven. I sat there sweating, my stomach cramping, watching through the diner's plate-glass window as they laughed and devoured huge platters of hot food. I wanted to cry. The unfairness burned the back of my throat, but I swallowed the tears down.

I only received a drink because of a passing stranger. A kind she-wolf walked past our SUV, noticing my flushed face and panting breaths through the glass. When my father returned to the car, she publicly stopped him, suggesting that a bottle of cold water would do wonders for his daughter's travel sickness. Trapped by an audience, my father had to maintain his fake facade. He forced a tight smile, thanked the woman, and bought me a simple plastic bottle of water. He tossed it at my chest the second the car doors closed.

I sip the remaining drops of water now, trying to ignore the painful hollow feeling under my ribs.

The GPS on the dashboard chimes, announcing that our destination is near.

The dense forest lining the highway begins to thin out. Dad shifts in his seat, sitting up straighter. He reaches up and adjusts the rearview mirror. His cold, dark eyes lock onto mine in the reflection.

The quiet peace of the car shatters instantly.

"We are arriving," he growls. His voice is a low, dangerous rumble that vibrates through the leather seats. "Mutt. I am only going to say this once, and you had better listen closely."

I keep my face blank, holding his stare in the mirror.

"If I catch even a single sniff of you misbehaving tonight," he warns, his voice escalating with every word. The interior of the SUV practically vibrates with his building rage. "If you do anything to humiliate our family or our pack, I swear to the Moon Goddess that you will never see the light of day again. Do I make myself clear?"

I lower my gaze to my lap, adopting the subservient posture he demands. "Yes, sir," I reply meekly. "I understand."

My hollow voice betrays my bone-deep exhaustion. I am so tired of this miserable existence. I am tired of the fear. But I know better than to let any defiance show on my face.

Jade pulls her headphones down to her neck. She turns in her seat, glaring at me with a malicious sneer. "And for the Moon's sake, if you actually meet your mate tonight, you stay the hell away from us."

I clench my jaw, refusing to look at her.

"I mean it," Jade snaps. "I do not want my future mate to know we are related. Finding out he has a pathetic omega for a sister-in-law would be enough to send any strong male running in the opposite direction. You stay out of my sight."

"Yeah, I second that," Vance echoes from the front seat, not even bothering to turn around.

Jade smirks, a cruel glint in her eyes. "Actually, maybe she will devastate some poor, unsuspecting man by being his mate. That would ensure she is packed up and dragged away from us forever."

My father instantly shoots the idea down with a harsh scoff. "Do not be ridiculous, Jade. There is no chance of that." He glances at me in the mirror again, his lip curling in disgust. "If the poor soul destined to be her mate is present at this ball tonight, he will undoubtedly run the very second he realizes who she is. He will reject her before she even gets the chance to speak."

The words are meant to tear me down, but they bounce off the thick armor I have built around my heart.

"I just hope he runs quietly," my father mutters, gripping the steering wheel tighter. "I hope he spares our family the sheer embarrassment of a public rejection."

Jade throws her head back and cackles. The sound grates against my ears. "I doubt the Moon Goddess would be cruel enough to dump that thing onto any male."

I tune out their horribly familiar cruelty. I have heard these insults a thousand times before. They mean nothing to me now. Tonight, I am leaving, and they will never have the chance to speak to me this way again.

I turn my gaze out the window, mesmerized by the changing scenery. We are finally entering the sprawling Obsidian pack lands. The territory is breathtaking. Huge, ancient trees line the manicured roads, their branches forming a lush green canopy overhead.

We approach a set of massive iron gates. Heavily armed guards patrol the entrance, checking names against clipboards. Because my father holds the rank of Beta in our pack, our family is granted priority access. We are second in line to pass through the heavily guarded checkpoints.

The SUV rolls up a long, winding driveway. The trees clear, revealing the grand estate.

The Obsidian Alpha-Pack House is a magnificent sight. It is a massive, elegantly structured building spanning five stories high. The exterior is painted a smooth, light gray, accented with stark white trim around the towering windows and wide double doors. It is far larger than our own pack house back home.

The sprawling front lawn is currently buzzing with hundreds of excited wolves. Guests from dozens of different packs mill around the gardens, dressed in their finest clothes, laughing and greeting one another. The air crackles with vibrant, nervous energy.

We park the SUV in a designated VIP area. The moment I step out of the vehicle, the cool evening breeze hits my face. I take a deep breath, filling my lungs with the scent of pine and fresh rain. Despite the gnawing hunger in my stomach and the dull ache in my ribs, a tiny flicker of excitement ignites in my chest. This is it. The setting of my final escape.

A pair of sharply dressed Obsidian warriors greet us near the entrance and usher our family inside the grand double doors. We are led down a wide corridor and guided into an enormous, crowded gala hall.

The room is breathtakingly huge. Crystal chandeliers hang from the vaulted ceiling, casting a warm golden glow over the massive crowd. I stick close to the walls, trying to make myself as small as possible as my family pushes their way toward the center of the room.

The dull roar of hundreds of overlapping conversations fills the air. Suddenly, a microphone screeches, cutting through the noise. The crowd falls silent, turning their attention toward a grand, elevated stage at the far end of the hall.

Two tall, commanding men step into the spotlight. They exude power, their broad shoulders and confident strides instantly demanding respect from every wolf in the room.

The man holding the microphone steps forward. He offers the crowd a warm, welcoming smile. "Good evening, everyone," his deep voice booms through the speakers. "For those of you who do not know me yet, my name is Gideon. I am the Beta here at the Obsidian Pack. And this," he gestures to the stoic man standing beside him, "is my brother and our Gamma, Will."

A polite murmur ripples through the audience.

"First, I want to thank you all for traveling here today," Gideon continues politely. "I understand that some of you have traveled quite some distance to join us. I know you would like some time to rest before tonight's festivities begin, so I will not keep you any longer than necessary."

Gideon sweeps his gaze across the massive crowd. "Now, while the traditional meet-and-greets are usually conducted by the Alpha of the pack upon arrival, we have an overwhelming volume of guests arriving back-to-back today. It is simply impossible for him to conduct personal introductions at this moment."

A few disappointed whispers break out near the front of the stage, but Gideon holds up a hand to quiet them.

"Our Alpha sends his deepest thanks to all of you," Gideon explains smoothly. "He cannot wait to see you all later tonight at the main ball, where he will personally welcome everyone and officially kick off the celebration."

I let out a slow, quiet breath, feeling a massive wave of relief wash over my tired body.

I do not mind waiting at all. In fact, I prefer it. Over the past few weeks, I have heard plenty of dark rumors circulating about the Obsidian Alpha. The whispers say Alpha Xander is a grumpy git. They say he is harsh, ruthless, and quick to anger.

Frankly, I already have far more than enough angry, domineering men in my life. I have spent my entire existence dodging their tempers and surviving their wrath. The longer I can delay coming face-to-face with another furious authority figure, the better. All I need to do is keep my head down, blend into the background of this massive crowd, and wait for the midnight chaos to begin.