Chapter 171: The Obsidian Clan

Ivy’s POV

I stared at Daniel like he’d grown two heads. “You can’t be serious. You’re really thinking of knocking me out cold…dragging me like some sack of potatoes…to see that… that beast of a man? The one who stalks my nightmares and rips me apart every single night?”

Daniel groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose like he’d been repeating the same prayer for centuries. “For the one hundredth time, Ivy…there is no way he will hurt you. Don’t you get it? Hurting you would be the same as hurting himself. You’re bound. You’ve been chosen by the Moon Goddess herself for him. And so has he. Stop being so damn difficult.”

My jaw tightened, but he didn’t give me time to bite back before continuing.

“The king’s Beta came three days ago, Ivy,” he said, his voice low, urgent. “He begged your father to send you. Begged. They’re giving you time to go willingly, but it’s dragging too long. And if you don’t make a decision soon…” His silver eyes locked onto mine, burning with a warning I didn’t want to hear. “…everyone you love and care about will be in danger. Your father. Your uncle. Rosa. Even me. Evil forces are at play here. Forces that want the king to perish. And if that happens, Ivy, the world will suffer. Not just werekind. Humans too.”

The silence that followed was thick, suffocating.

I huffed, folding my arms tight across my chest like a shield. “I don’t love you. Or care about you, for that matter.”

His brows shot up, stunned. “What?”

“You added your name in the list of people I love and care about,” I said coldly. “I just wanted to point out that I don’t.”

For a heartbeat, Daniel looked like I’d stabbed him. Then he groaned, dragging a hand down his face in pure exasperation. “That’s not the point, Ivy! This isn’t about your feelings for me. This is bigger than you, bigger than me…hell, bigger than all of us combined! If you just went and saw him, you’d be doing the entire world a favor.”

I chewed on his words, my wolf pacing restlessly inside me, practically vibrating with anticipation.

But me? I pressed the defiance deep into my bones, forcing the words out like a verdict. “Nope. Not happening.”

I spun on my heel toward the door, determination sharpening each step. But I didn’t get far.

A blur of movement, faster than thought, faster than breath…Daniel was suddenly behind me. His hand curled around my arm, and his voice whispered against my ear, almost broken.

“I’m sorry.”

Before I could comprehend what was happening, the sharp scent of chemicals flooded my nose. A cloth pressed hard against my face. I thrashed, clawing at his wrist, my muffled scream trapped against the suffocating napkin.

“Stop…Daniel! Stop!” My voice was weak, slurred. I tried not to inhale, and begged Nyxara to do something, anything.

‘Finally,’ she sighed, her voice lazy and pleased. Don’t fight it. This is what I’ve been waiting for. Infact, I thought he would have knocked you out instead so you bleed for refusing our mate.

Traitor! You don’t even know this person. How are you so sure?  I screamed at her. Help me! Get us out of this!

But she only purred, sinking deeper into the comfort of it all. I could picture her on a beach right now, a sun umbrella, a cocktail swirling in her hand like we were on vacation instead of being abducted.

Coward, I spat, as my vision blurred. You betrayed me… for a man.

My body went slack, limbs too heavy to fight anymore. The last thing I saw before darkness swallowed me was Daniel’s anguished face above mine, his lips moving soundlessly.

And then…

A voice, sharp and cold, cutting through the haze.

“Is she out?”

The sound sent an icy shiver down my spine even as everything else faded.

Who could that be?

The moment Ivy went limp in Daniel’s arms, silence swallowed the room. Her lashes fluttered once before settling into stillness, her body slack against him. Daniel’s jaw clenched as he adjusted his hold, fury and guilt mingling in his eyes.

The door creaked open. A figure stepped in with the quiet precision of a man who’d been waiting for this very moment. Ezra. The King’s Beta.

“Is she out cold?” His voice was gravel, hoarse with exhaustion. The man looked like he hadn’t known sleep in weeks, shadows carved into the hollows of his face.

“Yes,” Daniel bit out.

Ezra’s sharp eyes flicked to the unconscious girl before settling back on him.

“You know the deal. Her father only agreed to this as long as I went with the convoy taking her back to the kingdom,” Daniel growled low in his throat, his fangs flashing briefly.

“And you know what I think about that. Your clan was wiped away, Daniel. As it stands now, you’re the only one left of the Obsidian Fang. The King never had the chance to complete the investigation before everything went to hell. You are the last thread of your bloodline. You should be protected at all costs. You shouldn’t step foot anywhere near the realm until the truth is uncovered about what happened all those years ago.”

Daniel’s jaw tightened, but his shoulders squared as though bracing against the weight of truth he had carried too long.

Ezra continued, voice dark and sharp. “The kingdom cannot risk losing every last drop of Obsidian Fang blood. If you fall, your clan is gone forever.”

For a moment, Daniel said nothing. Then Ezra’s grip on Ivy shifted, his tone low but unyielding. “I’m going with you, regardless of all this.”

Ezra’s eyes snapped to him. “Can’t you just listen, and continue to hide among the humans? Is that so hard?”

“It is now,” Daniel snarled. “I have my own plans. Tell the king he shouldn’t be worried about me…I can handle myself. I have suspicions about where to start digging first, but I’ve been barred from the kingdom for too long. With the deal the kingdom signed, with her,” his hold on Ivy tightened…“you can’t go back on your word. I enter with her, and I start my search. For closure. For revenge. For my clan.”

Ezra exhaled through his nose, irritation crackling like heat around him. “The sorceress already gave her counsel. She said your focus should be on finding your mate and securing heirs. If you don’t, your bloodline dies with you. That is what matters now…not chasing shadows of the past, or babysitting the queen.”

Daniel’s eyes burned, his arms curling tighter around Ivy’s limp body as though she were both shield and anchor. “It’s either our deal… or the King’s mate doesn’t leave this building. And you, Ezra, know better than most what it means to stand against the last One of the Obsidian Fang.”

The words were soft, but they carried the weight of an ancient threat. Ezra’s jaw ticked, his hand twitching at his side.

Finally, he sighed, rubbing a weary hand over his face. “Fine. But you stay within the palace walls. If you must leave, you do so with company. No more vanishing into shadows.”

Daniel inclined his head once, sharply. “Done.”

Ezra stepped forward, extending his arms to take Ivy. Daniel’s body went taut, his expression ice. “No. Not you.” His voice rumbled low. “I don’t trust you enough for that. I’ll carry her until we’re inside the palace. Then…and only then…you can let your King have her.”

The silence stretched, charged and brittle. Ezra cleared his throat, then nodded once. A reluctant truce.

Together, they moved toward the door, Daniel’s steps measured, his grip unyielding around the unconscious girl who was both the king’s curse and salvation. Ezra’s gaze scanned the empty corridors ahead, his hand resting near the blade at his hip.

But as they turned the corner out of the boardroom, a figure stepped into their path.

Marcus.

His eyes swept over Ivy’s limp form in Daniel’s arms, then flicked to Ezra’s grim face. His voice came out low and dangerous, slicing through the tension like steel.

“What,” Marcus said, his tone a promise of violence, “the hell is going on here?”