Obsidian: Raven (Book 3) (The Reaver Chronicles Spin off Series)

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The next couple of days went by without a hitch. Things were back to normal. Talus and his cronies were bullying me again, and I was halfway ditching school in order to make the time go by faster. I was in sixth period and it was Thursday. I had one more f*****g day, one more day to deal with the bullshit and I was free. f**k yes, free.

I would never truly be free of Talus though. Once he was ready, he would become Alpha of the Obsidian pack. I didn’t envy him. That type of responsibility was a heavy weight to carry. The Obsidian pack was the largest, most ruthless pack in the world. Especially now with Reavers in the mix. Alpha Drake lived up to his name, and was feared amongst other packs.

The story goes that his family was murdered while another pack tried to absorb his. He broke free, taking warriors with him. They trained for years to be ready, growing in secret, until they were able to attack and take back the pack. Once they did, they killed every man, woman, and child in the pack as a lesson to be learned. Making their Alpha watch it all, and then killing him too.

No one f***s with Alpha Drake, or this pack. I could imagine Talus with his shitty ass attitude, could easily pull off being an heir to that throne. He was ruthless, and I couldn’t see him giving in to pressure. He would exhibit the same front as his father, and run this pack flawlessly. Unfortunately, I would still be part of this pack, and he would then become my Alpha. It was like I couldn’t get away from him if I tried.

I tried to quit thinking about s**t. I tended to overthink, often. It was a flaw that got me in trouble more times than I'd like to admit. I wasn’t one to go into things without a thought out plan though. It just wasn’t me.

The bell rang and I think I was out of my seat before anyone else. I was in a hurry to get literally anywhere else but here. Anywhere else but wherever Talus was. I bolted out of school, through the school gates. This time instead of heading to the forest, I headed the opposite direction, towards our training grounds. I was never really the strongest Wolf, or the best fighter, but I did love to run.

There was just something about running on the outdoor track at our training grounds that was calming, especially with this cold weather. Too bad it wasn't snowing, and that made me regret not taking the opportunity when it was the other day, to go for a run.

I got to the track and let out a sigh of relief, noting that I was here alone. I threw my bag down on the bleachers and made sure my shoes were tied correctly. I planned to run after school today so I just wore a simple shirt with a sleeveless hoodie that zipped up over the top. That way I could shed the layer when I got too hot. I could see my breath in front of me so I figured I probably would just leave it on, but we will see how it goes.

I got onto the track, stretching first to make sure I didn’t injure myself. Then I started off with a light jog to get my blood pumping. I made it three laps around the track before I started running full speed. The aching in my lungs was freeing, in a sense.

The lack of oxygen made my other senses heightened, and it always made me feel as if I were superhuman. Not that I wasn’t, I mean, I could literally shift into a Wolf. And plus I healed faster than a Human would. But just something about having your other senses heightened made you feel… Invincible? That was the word.

I was halfway around the track for my second lap at full speed when it hit me. That f*****g ocean mist, woodsy pine scent, battering through my senses like a f*****g freight train. I looked up and locked eyes with Talus. He was sitting in the bleachers, watching me run. He was alone, and he didn't look away when we locked eyes.

“What in the good f**k is he doing here.” I snarled to Aya. “I have no idea, but look at the way his hair shines in the reflection from the sun.” She swooned. No, no, no. I was not going to look at his hair. I was not going to even acknowledge him more than I already had. I just kept running, ignoring that he was even there.

I made it around my second lap and was heading for my third lap. I had never run three full laps at full speed, not yet. It was something I was working towards, but I figured well, it’s now or never. I just kept pushing, and at the end of my third lap my legs and chest were screaming for relief.

I slowed down back to a light jog, to allow myself to catch my breath, and jogged once around the track. Then went into a brisk walk, and walked two more laps just to help clear my head. The entire time I was running though, I could still smell Talus. His scent was invading my mind like a parasite. No matter how hard I tried to ignore it, it was just there… he was just there.

I slowly looked up from across the track and we locked eyes again. I tore my gaze from his as fast as I could. Why was he here? In fact, why was he STILL here? I had caught my breath already and the light layer of sweat that had formed on my body was now drying in the cold, but I wasn’t shivering.

I walked over to the bleachers, dangerously close to Talus, when I rubbed my arms. I suddenly got a cold chill. I grabbed my bag and threw it over my shoulder, turning to leave. Talus remained still, silent, unmoving. I turned back to face him.

“Well, say whatever it is you're going to say and get it over with.” I snarled at him, making eye contact once again.

I figured it was better to just get it over with than have it happen when I least expected it. He raised one eyebrow at me, as if he were deciding what words to articulate.

“What, cat got your tongue?” I snapped. He stayed silent and I could see a sly grin forming on his face. I rolled my eyes at him and turned, walking away from the bleachers and off the field.

I knew he hadn’t followed me because his scent got less and less invading the further I walked. Thank the gods he didn't follow. I honestly didn’t know if I could handle him any longer. Plus, why the hell was he following me anyways? f**k, just leave me the hell alone.

I spent the rest of the afternoon in the forest playing in the snow. I built a snowman and then proceeded to let it melt by the fire I had burning in the pit. The river was just down the trail a little ways and I wandered over to it. It was frozen solid.

The ice crystals were glistening from the glint of the sun, exposing the running water underneath. So it wasn’t as solid as I thought. It just looked like it was. It must be just the top layer that was frozen, but the running water underneath was still flowing freely. I took a seat on the edge of the snow covered dirt, letting my feet hang down so they were touching the ice.

Ice was such a neat chemical reaction. I had always loved how the icicles formed, freezing from melted water flowing downwards.

The forest always looked like an ice castle after the sun shone brightly and caused melted snow to freeze in hanging glory all around me. The thing I loved most about the winter was the ice. The sun was starting to set and I figured it was time to head home. I pushed myself back to get a bigger lip to stand up on, but my hand slipped on the snowy ground causing me to lose my grip and slip off the ledge right into the frozen river below.

Just as I thought, the ice was only frozen on the top layer. The second I touched it, I fell straight through into the freezing river below. The sheer cold took my breath away. Well, that, and being under the water, of course. I felt my legs going numb as I tried to swim upwards but I realized that the current had taken me and I was now trapped under the ice, and flowing further downstream.

The panic began to set in as I realized I couldn’t get my legs to move the way I needed them to be able to surface. Breaking the ice wouldn’t be hard but I couldn't seem to get myself to the ice to break it. I was too far under the water, and with limited use of my limbs due to the blistering cold, I could barely move.

My life started to flash before my eyes as I realized that this was it. This was how I died, drowning in a freezing cold, ice covered river. Of all things to kill me, this would be it. I couldn’t even hear Aya screaming for me to swim as my head started to spin from lack of oxygen.

Even if I could have swam, I wouldn’t have known where to even swim to at this point. The next thing I know someone grabbed me around the waist and was pushing me up from the icy water and onto the snow covered ledge above. I rolled over onto my side, gasping for breath.

My lungs were burning and the black spots were starting to fade from my vision when I sort of came to and realized I was staring into a pair of eyes exactly like my own. I must have been dazed still. “D-dad?” I croaked, not realizing that it wasn’t my dad at all, until Talus’ silky voice ran through my mind.

“I’m sorry, sugar. It’s not your dad. It’s just me.” He said softly, and then a barrage of sensation barreled through my body as his scent hit me full force. “Holy fuck.” I groaned, trying not to look at the man who just saved my life. The man who had, for 15 years, done nothing but torment me, and make my life f*****g miserable. The man who I loathed, but was oddly attracted too. The man that was apparently following me?

“Are you following me?” I asked between coughing up icy water and gasping for breath. He started laughing, but it wasn’t a sinister laugh, it was more of a playful laugh. Something I had never heard come from him in all this time. It sounded heavenly, if I'm being honest… but I wasn't.

I was going to hide that I enjoyed it even a little. He would never get that satisfaction. This was some sort of cruel joke, right? It had to be. “I wasn’t following you, but I heard you scream when you fell in.” He said. I knew damn well that I didn’t scream. I didn’t make a f*****g sound, he was lying. And wait, did he just call me sugar? What in the f**k was happening? It was definitely a lack of oxygen, had to be.

“We need to get you dry before you catch a cold.” He said, while standing and holding his hand out to help me up. This was a f*****g trap, I could feel it. Everything in my body told me to run from him, to get away… that this was some sort of trap. But for some reason I couldn’t move.

I reluctantly reached up and grabbed his hand, which was warm to my touch, then stood on my feet before I realized I was actually freezing cold. I looked around, realizing just how far downstream I had gone before he had reached me. How did he even know where I was? There’s no way he could see me under that layer of ice, even though it wasn’t too thick.

“How did you?” I started to ask, but he just motioned for me to follow him. “Look, Talus..” I said, and his name felt so right coming off my tongue. I hated it. I hated the fact that we were here, that he, of all people, had to be the one to save me. Why him? Why not just let me f*****g drown?

He stopped and turned, locking eyes with me. I was trying my hardest not to get lost in his icy orbs. “Thank you, for saving me. I will be fine.” I said, and walked past him towards the trail. I knew he was following me but he stayed behind, leaving me to my tantrum.

I got back to the firepit and stood by it momentarily while I gathered my things. I had nearly frozen to death in that water, and the cold outside was doing little to warm me. The fire was just what I needed to unthaw for a bit.

I could still smell Talus’ scent lingering, telling me he wasn’t far, but luckily he didn’t stop or try to talk to me again. I only stayed for a brief moment before putting the fire out and heading home.

Hopefully I could make it before I turned into an icicle myself.