Dark Fae (Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac Book 1)

by Caroline Peckham

  “You’re gonna be the prettiest Medusa in the club.” Dante started laughing as he handed them to me and I scowled as I took them. But hell, I’d already made my bed. It was time to lie in it.

  I pulled off my shirt and pants, folding them on the chair with my Atlas. Dante seemed mildly impressed by my willingness, his brows raised as he handed me the suit. I tugged it on and he moved to zip up the back for me with another chuckle. I pulled off my mask and put on the Medusa wig so plastic snakes fell around my shoulders. Dante approached me with some bright green make up that glittered.

  “Dude.” I frowned. “Is that really necessary?”

  “Greyshine might recognise you. It’s gotta be done.” He started painting it onto my face with more skill than I’d expected, finishing off the look with some snake eye contact lenses. I looked in the mirror and groaned; the suit showed every fucking bit of my junk and ass crack.

  Oh man, the lengths I go to…

  “Do you not have any real Medusas in this place?” I asked, frowning down at my costume.

  Dante moved to search for something beyond the rack of clothes. “Yeah there is, but some people just like the illusion. They’re building up to the real deal I guess- what’s your shoe size?”

  “Eleven,” I called.

  “Here we go.” He reappeared holding a pair of rhinestone encrusted high heels apparently made for men.

  I frowned, shaking my head. “How the hell am I gonna walk in those?” He’s gonna make me wear them even if I can’t, I just fucking know it.

  He shrugged, tossing them in front of me. I pushed my feet into them with my pride flying away on the wind. When I lifted my head, I found Dante holding a massive blue strap on dick.

  “No fucking way.” I shook my head. “That is not necessary.”

  “Sure it is.” He moved closer, his eyes dancing with amusement.

  “Dante I swear on the stars-”

  He lunged at me and I yelped as he spun me around with brute force, wrapping that freaking massive cock around my waist.

  The door opened and we both looked around. A cyclops with fake spinning eyes on her nipples and a real one in the centre of her face gazed at us in alarm. Her eyes landed on where Dante’s hands were locked around the shaft of the huge plastic dick now protruding between my legs and she backed up with a giggle. “Oh sorry!”

  Dante’s crotch was pressed to my ass and I huffed angrily as the woman shut the door and hurried away.

  “Great now she thinks we were screwing.”

  “You need to chill, cavallo. Who cares what some girl thinks?” Dante barked a laugh, releasing me as he stepped away, the strap-on firmly strapped on. Life.

  “So what now? I am not coming onto our fucking Principle.” Though a horrible part of me knew I would if it came to it. For the money. Which was just plain rock bottom. Or maybe I’d already hit that with the massive plastic dick hanging between my legs. Or maybe it was when I’d put the lycra suit on...

  “Na, you’re just gonna invite him to one of the back rooms.”

  Sweet relief filled me.

  He reached into his pocket and took something out. “Then you’re gonna go in the room with him and his date and plant this camera somewhere that will get a good view of him getting fucked.” He passed me the small device and a chill ran through me.

  “Why would you want a sex tape of the Principle?” I asked in confusion and horror.

  “Because it’s good sense to get dirt on your peers, cavallo. Once he finds out I have this, I’ll have him wrapped around my little finger. No more detentions or faculty members snooping into my shit. It’ll keep him on side too. The Brotherhood can’t use him against me if he’s scared shitless that I’ll out the video.”

  “That’s…pretty clever,” I remarked and his chest swelled. Clearly stroking Dante’s ego was a solid way to keep in his good books and I made a mental note of it. If he did this to people who weren’t his enemies, I did not wanna find out what he did to people who were.

  I sighed, thinking over how I was gonna pull this off, feeling overly hot in this damn suit. “Do I need to get the camera back?”

  “Nope. It feeds directly to my Atlas and I’ve cast a charm on it so it will combust after two hours.” He smiled proudly.

  “Right. Remind me why I’m needed for this and you didn’t just pay off one of your staff here?”

  Dante grinned broadly, but didn’t answer my question as he went on, “The next act on stage is what Greyshine’s waiting for. When it’s over, approach him and say he can have the dancer for an hour, complimentary of the club for being a good customer.”

  “But won’t the staff question that?”

  “No, I’ve paid for the dancer already under a fake name. When you beckon him off the stage, tell him Shiner is ready for him.”

  I nodded, memorising everything he said as I tried not to focus on how crazy this was.

  He steered me toward the door and leaned close to my ear before we exited, his breath sweeping across my neck. “Oh and if you fuck this up, cavallo, I’ll have your glittery Pegasus balls cut off.”

  Oh shit.

  “I won’t,” I said thickly, my heart thrashing in my chest.

  “Good,” Dante said brightly, the threat passing from his tone. “Wait here for one minute before heading back to the bar. When you’ve planted the camera, I’ll be waiting out front in my car.”

  “Got it,” I said, my mouth overly dry as I reached up to tuck the camera under my wig.

  He looked me over, snorting a laugh. “Hey if you ever need a job, you’ve got one here as a Medusa. Or maybe you wanna get that sparkly tail of yours on stage?”

  “No,” I snarled, the ferocity in my tone making his brows arch. I was fighting so hard to stop Elise from falling prey to this life, that I simply wasn’t gonna sign up for it myself unless I was down to my last scrap of dignity. Which was pretty hard to say dressed the way I was.

  He shrugged and headed out the door. I released a breath, practising walking in my heels as I waited for a minute to pass. It was surprisingly easy which might have been due to the graceful nature of my Order.

  When the time was up, I slipped out the door, heading back into the bar and slinking into the shadows as my eyes fell on the stage. The Pegasus was making her exit, glitter falling from her coat as she headed off stage and into the hands of a muscular guy who stroked her mane and led her toward one of the booths. She shifted back into her Fae form and he led her inside by her bridle, his other hand squeezing her ass.

  I fought a shudder as he pulled the curtain and I looked back to the stage. The lights had switched to a dark green glow and smoke poured out of vents in the stage floor to a round of cheers. Principle Greyshine sat up straighter and I wondered what the hell this guy was into.

  A powerful voice filled the room, “Please welcome to the stage, a man who likes Fae to kneel at his feet, who bites as hard as he fucks and who will make you scream for mercy all night long. It’s the one and only Dragon Commander and dirtiest High Councillor of them all. Lionel Afucks!”

  Ho-ly shit. A Lionel Acrux impersonator stepped onto the stage, wearing a massive scaly strap-on dick that was bright fucking green. He had scales painted onto his skin to match, coating his entire body which was all muscle. He wore high heels which were twice the height of mine and a spiky tail that dragged out behind him. The crowd called to him, throwing cash onto the stage as he started dancing on the poles, casting huge showers of sparks with his fire Element.

  Surely this wasn’t what Greyshine was into? But as I looked his way and found his fucking hand down his pants, I was proved sorely wrong.

  To his credit, Lionel Afucks was a damn good dancer. His hips sashayed to the beat of the music and his swings on the pole were top notch. When he was finally done and his tiny green briefs were stuffed with auras, he started gathering up the rest of the tips from the floor.

  I made my move, digging for my courage as I made a beeline toward my princip
al. He didn’t even have the courtesy to extract his hand from his pants as I arrived in front of him. His eyes slid over me then he leaned sideways to try and see past me.

  “Is he doing any more dances tonight?” he asked hopefully.

  I slapped on my most charming smile and played the role I had in Old Sal’s bar. “Actually, sir, the club would like to offer you an hour with Mr Afucks on the house for being such a loyal customer.” Did those words really just come out of my mouth?

  Greyshine sat up straighter, taking his hand out of his pants at last. “Oh really?”

  “Yes, he’s all yours. I’ll be glad to fetch him for you if you’d like to accept our offer?”

  He nodded keenly, running a hand over his bald patch and shifting nervously. “Oh yes, that would be delightful’.”

  I’d always wondered if he dropped the fake ass ‘cool principal’ act outside of school. And apparently, he did. I wondered why he bothered at all. It wasn’t winning him points with anyone.

  I beamed, turning away and heading to the stage where Lionel was still gathering up tips. “Hey, Mr Shiner is ready for you.”

  He looked up and I realised he had reptilian contact lenses in. His face split into a smile which revealed a set of fake sharp teeth. “Oh yeah? Well I’m gonna make sure I show him a good time. Do you know he paid me double my asking price?”

  “Wow, I wish I could get a night with him.” I feigned a smile.

  “I’ll put in a good word for you, sugardick. Bring him to room three out back.”

  “Got it.” I saluted him as he headed off stage and walked back to Greyshine, beckoning him out of his seat. He linked his arm with mine and I tugged him toward the back rooms.

  “Is he excited to see me?” Greyshine asked.

  “Yes, sir. He’s overjoyed.” Cringe. I guided him through the door and headed to room three, opening it and walking inside.

  The lights were dimmed to a red glow and Lionel was spread out on the black sheets already, lubing up his strap on. I died inside. Like literally some part of me withered up and fucking died.

  “Hello, Shiner,” Lionel purred and I released Greyshine.

  “Hi Lionel,” he said shyly.

  I side-stepped my principal, glancing around in search of somewhere I could stash this damn camera and high-tail it out of there. I pretended to fiddle with my snake wig as I tugged out the device and clasped it between my fingers, pressing the little button on the side to set it recording.

  “Are you joining us, snake eyes?” Lionel asked, eyeing me hopefully and Greyshine looked over, seeming intrigued by that idea too.

  “No, my contact lens just fell out. Don’t mind me.” They didn’t mind me at all, immediately starting to kiss each other’s faces off and I took the opportunity to place the camera next to a vase on a small table. Oh whoops that’s not a vase it’s another massive dildo.

  I headed for the door and moans followed me. I wished I’d made it out of the room quicker as Greyshine groaned, “I’ve been a baaaad little Sphinx, Lionel. You’ll have to punish me for breaking the Council laws.”

  I shut the door firmly, fighting a shudder as I strode away and headed back to the dressing room. Inside, I wiped the makeup from my face and quickly changed back into my clothes, putting my mask back on too.

  Adrenaline pumped through my veins as I hurried back out into the bar and made my way to the exit. I jogged upstairs, pushed through the door and waved goodbye to Fabio with relief humming through my veins.

  I jumped into Dante’s car and laughter bubbled out of my chest unexpectedly.

  Dante joined in, the two of us falling apart as he showed me the screen of his Atlas. “You did it.”

  I lifted a hand to hide the image of my Principal being screwed up the ass by a pretend Dragon, grimacing.

  “You made me do this as a test, didn’t you?” I guessed.

  “Yep,” Dante said with a bright smile.

  “Did it really have to be that extreme?”

  “Yep.” He started laughing.

  “You know you’re an asshole, right?” I broke a grin.

  “Yep.” Dante tossed the Atlas into the back seat, kicking the engine into gear as laughter tumbled from his throat. “You know what? I think you just became my new friend, cavallo.”

  It had been a few weeks since I’d visited Principle Greyshine so I headed to his office on the ground floor of Altair Halls, smiling to myself as I approached his door and rapped my knuckles against the wood.

  “Sorry kiddo, I’m quite busy right now!” his cheery voice came in return. Unlike most people in this school, I knew a lot about Randal Greyshine. I made it my damn business to know because someone in his position of power could too easily fuck up my education if he snooped into what I got up to on a daily basis.

  Greyshine was moderately powerful. As a Cancer he had the Element of water, he was also a Sphinx which meant he was highly intelligent and was not to be underestimated. The ‘down with the kids yet entirely unapproachable’ act he put on in front of the students was actually a tactic. He flew under the radar, never drew too much attention and therefore no issues from either of the gangs. And that meant he could spend most of his days doing whatever he liked.

  “Too busy to see me, Randal?” I asked, a smirk pulling at my features.

  Several locks were hurriedly unbolted on the other side of the door along with a magical forcefield withdrawing. A beat of silence passed then Greyshine yanked the door open. He looked hot and bothered at the sight of me. His collar was loose as if he’d been tugging at it and the bald patch atop his head was shining with sweat.

  “Oh, Mr Oscura, what can I help you with?” His eyes flipped up and down the empty corridor as if he were looking for a lifeline. His back was to the door as if he was gonna stop me from coming in but fuck if he was. I shoved my way past him, entering his office which was basically a small and untidy library. Books filled every spare space on shelves, his desk, in piles on the floor. The only part of the wall which wasn’t hidden behind a huge stack of them was where his certificates of excellence hung from his time as a student at Aurora Academy.

  Greyshine shut the door, locking it and immediately casting a silencing bubble around us.

  I shoved the pile of books out of the chair in front of his desk and dropped into it. He gasped, hurrying forward to collect them from the space around my feet before carefully re-stacking them in a corner of the room. He was shaking. And he had damn good reason to be.

  “Is there something I can do for you?” he asked, all the bullshit slang utterly dropped in my presence. He knew I saw right through him, right down to his tighty whities and beyond. I kicked my feet up on the desk, my shining leather shoes resting on top of an Astrology tome.

  Greyshine eyed it, looking uncomfortable but he wouldn’t dare tell me not to. He sidled behind his desk between the stacks and dropped into his own chair, clearing his throat several times.

  “I’m just checking in, Randal. Making sure you’re not up to anything that might make me publish a certain video on FaeBook.” A certain video Gareth had gotten for me. Fuck…Gareth.

  Greyshine turned deathly pale, wetting his mouth as he stared at me. “I wouldn’t do anything against you, Mr Oscura.” He threaded and unthreaded his fingers, a bead of sweat rolling down his brow. “Please don’t publish it,” he hissed, a note of desperation in his tone.

  I pretended to consider his words. “Alright. But…”

  “But?” he breathed.

  “I need you to get me out of detention with Professor Mars for the gang fight the other day.”

  “Of course,” he said immediately. “Anything else?”

  “There’s been a noticeable decline in chocolate poptarts in the breakfast buffet,” I mused, picking up one of his books and flicking through it.

  “Oh well…you see, the thing is…we’ve had some cutbacks and-”

  “And?” I growled, electricity dancing along my skin.

  “A-and I�
�ll be sure to order in plenty more chocolate p-p-poptarts.”

  “Good,” I said brightly, flashing him a smile. I didn’t even like chocolate poptarts. My eyes snagged on a picture of a navy blue dragon in his book which looked kinda like me. “Can I keep this?” I asked as I ripped the page out and Greyshine winced full bodily.

  “O-of course,” he stuttered.

  “Great.” I rose to my feet, jamming the picture into my pocket and walking around his desk. He shrank into his chair, cowering beneath me as I leaned down toward him.

  “What are you doing?” he gasped.

  I air kissed either side of his cheeks and leant in to speak in his ear. “Un amico che diventa nemico è il nemico più crudele di tutti.”

  “W-what does that mean?” he breathed, his blue eyes round with fear.

  “It means, a friend who becomes an enemy is the cruellest enemy of all.” I clapped him on the shoulder, beaming before walking to the door. “Ciao Principale.”

  I stepped into the corridor with energy humming through my veins. Now, with that dealt with, it was time to go for a fly.

  ***

  I soared low over The Iron Wood, flexing my navy wings as electricity crackled across my scales and made them flash like a tempestuous sky. I roared to the moon and my pack howled in response, crying out to their Alpha who rode the wind above them. Pride tugged at my chest and I released another bellow, drinking in the sound of the Werewolves howling below me in the forest. Mia famiglia. My friends. My Clan.

  I caught glimpses of their fur between the trees, their heads lifted, howling to the massive beast who swooped above. My wings brushed the treetops as I banked hard, leading them toward Tempest Lake in the north west corner of campus. I reached the water’s edge before they did and dropped low, my wings skimming the still surface and sending ripples across it for miles.

  I circled the dark body of water at high speed, ringing back around to where my pack were pouring out of the trees onto the pebble beach. They drank in the light of the moon, its power refilling their magic reserves as they raced along the shore.