Dark Fae (Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac Book 1)

by Caroline Peckham

  “Sorry, dude,” Leon muttered and the sound of him rummaging about followed as he tried to hunt down the offending piece of technology within his bed. “It’s probably just a Mindy who can’t sleep because she’s dreaming of sucking my- well shit.”

  The serious tone of his voice made me ditch the pillow and turn to face him. I squinted in the darkness and a low growl came from him, sending a shiver of fear along my spine. I didn’t think I’d ever been so sharply aware of the fact that I was sleeping a few meters away from a goddamn Lion before.

  “What is it?” I asked, pushing myself to sit up so that my duvet fell to pool around my waist.

  “Are you okay, baby?” Sasha asked as she woke too.

  A growl tore from Leon’s lips as she tried to reach for him and she leapt backwards, tripping over a pile of his clothes that he’d dumped in the middle of the room before she fell onto my bed. I steadied her, noticing the tremor running through her flesh as she recoiled from her King in fright.

  “Leon, dude, that wasn’t cool,” I said warily.

  His head snapped up to look at me and the moonlight spilling in from the window caught in his eyes, making me flinch. I bit down on my tongue and got to my feet, determined not to fall back in response to the dangerous energy he was exuding like Sasha had.

  “Tell me what’s wrong,” I demanded.

  Another low growl sounded from him and he leapt out of bed, yanking on a pair of sweatpants and pushing his feet into his sneakers before heading for the door. “There’s something I’ve gotta do,” he snarled. “If you wanna help then keep up.”

  He ripped the door open and I swore beneath my breath as I snatched a pair of jeans and a rumpled t-shirt from the end of my bed a pulled them on. I grabbed my sneakers, not wasting time putting them on as I chased after Leon into the corridor. He was already taking the stairs and was almost out of sight. I had to run to catch him and even then I could hardly keep up.

  I managed to jam my sneakers on my feet one at a time as we descended flight after flight of stairs in silence.

  Leon’s frame was tight with a posture so unfamiliar to me that I hardly recognised him.

  “What the hell’s going on?” I asked as he growled beneath his breath again.

  “Some asshole is about to find out what happens when you steal from the Nights.”

  I frowned in response to that. His family were thieves but they had a rule against anyone stealing from them? Seriously? And it sounded like it must have been a pretty important rule at that because Leon was angrier than I’d ever seen him. In fact, I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen him angry at all. But now that I had, I realised that I’d been letting his easy going facade blind me to the beast that lay beneath his flesh. He was a Nemean Lion, king of the jungle, one of the most ferocious Orders in existence. To forget about that was bordering on insanity. Not to mention the fact that I’d stolen from him once too. The guilt I felt over that still ate at me but there was nothing I could do about it. I had vague intentions to get the crystal back from the pawn shop once I hit up Gabriel Nox for all he was worth, but until that came together I just had to focus on paying Old Sal every month and protecting Ella. The money I was earning from Dante and Ryder was covering the payments, but it wasn’t reliable. Some weeks they had several jobs for me, other weeks nothing at all. And I couldn’t be late with even one payment. I knew she’d be true to her word about putting Ella straight on the stage the moment I did.

  “What did they steal?” I asked.

  “The Heart of Memoriae. It’s been in my family for three generations. And some fucker stole it and pawned it. Who the hell in Alestria is stupid enough to pawn something belonging to the Nights? They didn’t even take it to some other city to sell! We’re gonna pay the asshole who bought it a visit and fix this.”

  “Okay...” I still didn’t know what we were after but Leon seemed to have lost patience with walking.

  He started running and I sped after him, wondering why the hell I was going at all but feeling like I had to. His behaviour was so out of character that I didn’t even know what to make of it and I had to be sure he was alright. Despite the fact that I’d screwed him over when we first met, Leon Night was one of my best friends in this place and if there was a chance that he needed my help then I was gonna be there for him.

  We ran across campus and headed straight for the parking lot which was to the left of Altair Halls.

  Leon led the way to a flashy orange sports car and I let out a low whistle as he hit the button on his key fob and the Faeseratti unlocked with a bleep and a flash of its headlights.

  “This is your car?” I asked in astonishment.

  “It is now,” he replied. “I dunno who the asshole was who paid for it originally, but his loss is my gain.” There was none of Leon’s usual jokey attitude, he just presented me with the facts before dropping into the driver’s seat.

  I hurried around to the passenger side and barely felt my ass hit the expensive as shit leather before he tore out of the parking lot. The gates at the front of the school were open and he shot out onto the highway so fast that I was pressed back into my seat.

  My heart pounded and I quickly clipped my seatbelt on as he pressed his foot to the floor and we flew away from Aurora Academy at nearly three times the speed limit.

  “Ah, Leon, do you think that maybe-”

  I screamed like a fucking girl as a horn blared and Leon swerved an eighteen wheeler, overtaking it on the wrong side of the road before swerving back into lane again.

  I stopped talking, gripping either side of my chair instead as I just concentrated on praying to the stars that we didn’t die. Headlights flashed by in a blur and Leon didn’t slow one bit.

  He took an exit and started speeding down the back streets, taking lefts and rights so quickly that I hardly saw them but I slowly realised that I recognised this part of the city. We weren’t far from Mom’s crappy apartment where her and Elise would be curled up in bed right about now. Old Sal’s strip club was beyond the next set of lights and the entire contents of the world I’d grown up in was all within walking distance.

  Leon bumped the car up onto the curb, a horrible screech sounding as the sports car bottomed out on the concrete. He either didn’t notice or didn’t care.

  He leapt out of the car and prowled straight towards the twenty-four hour pawn shop whose red lights were creating a warm glow on the sidewalk. His hair was wild about his shoulders and his chest was still bare. I didn’t know who we were going to find in this place, but I hoped they just gave Leon back whatever the hell they’d taken from him because it seemed like he’d completely lost his shit over it.

  Leon threw the door open and a little bell rang a moment before the glass door hit the wall so hard that it shattered into a thousand pieces.

  I leapt back, cringing as Leon released a roar loud enough to send fear spiralling through me. I’d never seen him like this. Not even close and I was suddenly worried about the guy he was looking for.

  “I want to talk to you about a piece of my family’s property that you purchased!” he bellowed as he headed further into the store and I followed cautiously, unsure if I was insane to do so or not.

  Glass crunched beneath my sneakers as I moved into the darkened store. Shelves lined the walls, stacked to the roof with all sorts of pawned items.

  My gaze was drawn straight to the Fae behind the counter as he got to his feet and raised a handful of fire in his palms.

  “I don’t know anything about that, Mr Night,” he said and I was surprised that he recognised Leon so easily. Had I been stupid to ignore the fact that his family was one of the most powerful names in Alestria? Maybe I should have thought more about what that really meant before now. “But if you think there’s anything in my store that belongs to your family then I’m sure-”

  Leon slammed his finger down on the glass counter and growled in warning. “That, belongs to me.”

  I couldn’t see what he was pointing at, but th
e shopkeeper quickly reached beneath the counter and tossed it to him.

  “I wasn’t here when that came in. I think one of the weekend boys or-”

  Leon roared again and the guy’s fire stuttered out. He stumbled backwards and a floppy brown toupee fell from his head. I almost laughed but the taste of Leon’s rage in the air held me silent.

  “Hold this for me, Gareth.” Leon looked over his shoulder at me and tossed me a small white object. I caught it but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from him to look at what it was.

  “You’ve got what you wanted, Leon,” I said quickly as fire ten times more powerful than the pawnbroker’s had been sprang to life in his hands. “Why don’t we just-”

  “You will tell me who brought this in here,” Leon demanded and the shopkeeper backed up fearfully.

  With a burst of energy, the pawnbroker turned and fled through a door behind the counter.

  Leon released a roar so loud and terrifying that I dropped into a crouch, throwing my arms over my head defensively before I could stop myself.

  A scream sounded beyond the counter and I looked up again just in time to see an enormous Lion bound over it before disappearing through the door as Leon took chase.

  I scrambled after him, almost tripping on his abandoned sweatpants and sneakers before I vaulted the counter and shoved my way through the door.

  A terrified scream sounded ahead of me and I raced out into a stone courtyard where Leon had pounced on the pawnbroker and had his entire torso clamped in his powerful jaws. I’d never seen Leon in his Lion form before and my lips parted as I stared at him. He was gigantic, bigger than a shire horse and powerful enough to rival a Dragon.

  I froze in place, my fist locked around the thing he’d tossed me and a strange sensation seeping from it into my skin.

  “He was a big guy!” the pawnbroker was screaming, pain lending his words a pitchy tone. “Bald head! I think he works nearby but I didn’t get his name!”

  My fingers uncurled slowly as dread flooded through my chest. I was shaking, afraid of what I’d find when I looked at what Leon had retrieved from the store. Because if he would go this far to punish the person who had bought it, what would he do to the one who’d stolen it in the first place?

  I opened my hand and my worst nightmare was confirmed as I recognised the crystal I’d stolen from him. The one Petri had pawned for me so I could pay Old Sal.

  Leon roared again and I recoiled as he threw the shopkeeper to the ground before pouncing on him once more.

  His screams were shrill and desperate and the most horrifying sound of breaking bones followed as I stared down at the crystal in my hand, wondering if I was about to find myself at the mercy of a Lion at any moment.

  I should run. I should just fucking run and-

  The next scream was so loud and filled with agony that I couldn’t help but look back up. It cut off abruptly and Leon shook his head to the side before tossing a severed arm against the wall with a sickening thump.

  My mouth fell open and I could only stare, frozen to the spot in horror as Leon reared back into his Fae form. He was covered in blood, his naked flesh slick with it and it ran through his mane of hair, staining it a deep red.

  He leaned over the pawnbroker who seemed to have passed out and reached forward to heal the stump where his arm should have been before he bled out

  I could only stare on, wondering if he was going to turn on me next, my mind blank and panic gripping me.

  “That asshole won’t cross the Nights again,” Leon said darkly as he strode towards me, plucking the crystal from my grip and holding it up to the light of the moon for a moment. “Thanks for your help.”

  I nodded mutely, not knowing how I’d helped at all and wondering what the fuck had just happened. He didn’t seem to be aiming a shred of anger at me though and his usual demeanour appeared to be sliding back into place as if he hadn’t just mutilated that guy for buying something that had been stolen from him.

  Leon started humming as he headed back into the storefront and I followed him, not knowing what else I should do.

  He pulled his sweatpants back on then headed out of the shop with me trotting along behind him.

  Leon turned back to the store and called on his fire Element again. My eyes widened as he threw two huge fireballs into the store and he raised his hands as he commanded the fire to burn thicker, faster, hotter. After a few moments, Leon snapped his fist shut and the raging fire went out. All that was left of the store was a charcoal husk of nothing. No CCTV, no DNA, no fingerprints...no nothing. It was just gone.

  When Leon Night snapped, he snapped hard.

  Leon hopped back into his car and I dropped into the passenger seat as he started the engine. He tossed the crystal into my lap like he didn’t give two shits about it despite the insanity I’d just witnessed.

  “Keep hold of that for me, will you?” he asked casually like we were chatting about the weather. “Just for a few months or so. In case the FIB come asking questions about it. If I don’t have it there isn’t any evidence.”

  “Okay,” I agreed, not seeming to have a choice. I slid the crystal into my pocket and Leon flashed me a bright smile. I wondered if he knew how much blood was coating his skin.

  “Thanks, dude. You’re a good friend,” he said as he reached out to turn on the radio.

  “You too,” I replied because Leon had to be my friend. Now and always. I’d seen what happened to people who got on his bad side and that sure as shit wasn’t going to be me.

  A song came on that he seemed to like and he started singing at the top of his voice while I tried to get my erratic heartbeat back under control.

  I just had to hope that he never managed to track down Petri. Because if he ever found out that I was the one who had stolen from him, I was pretty sure Leon Night would kill me.

  “Are you ready for your surprise, little monster?” I whispered in Elise’s ear as she ground her ass against me on the dance floor. I was rock hard. She knew it. I knew it. Even the band knew it. And I was definitely down with that. We’d had several drinks and I’d fetched them all. Like a damn saint.

  “If it’s your dick, it’s not much of a surprise,” Elise said, sliding her hand around the back of my neck as her ass ground into me again. Fuck. Me. Sideways. I didn’t think I’d ever been this hot for a girl before. I was doing stuff for her. Actual nice gestures. It didn’t make any sense, but it felt like a freaking rollercoaster ride I didn’t wanna get off of.

  “Damn, I tied a ribbon around it and everything,” I joked and she laughed, her tits rising and falling with every note of the song that was playing. I gripped her waist and flipped her around, grinning mischievously.

  “Hm, well if there is a ribbon…” She bit her lip, her eyes dancing with the game.

  “Finish your sentence,” I commanded and she laughed again, pressing a hand to my chest and tip-toeing up to speak into my ear.

  “Maybe I want to untie it with my teeth.”

  Dammit, why didn’t I go with the dick ribbon idea?

  My manhood twitched happily and I groaned into her neck, tugging her closer. I was tipsy, so was she. We were both hot for each other, so why did it feel like I still wasn’t gonna get laid tonight?

  Elise stepped away, catching my hand and twirling herself beneath it. I smirked, reaching into my back pocket and taking out the surprise I had for her. Which was a far cry from a dick ribbon. I handed her the small box which I’d wrapped in red paper my damn self.

  “No Mindys were involved in the purchasing of this gift,” I told her with a smile which was slightly more nervous than my last.

  What if she hates it?

  Elise’s brows lifted as she tore the paper off and I handed it to a Mindy who was walking by. The velvet blue box set my pulse racing and Elise lifted her eyes to me with a question in them.

  “You didn’t buy me jewellery, did you?” she asked and I could not fucking tell if she wanted jewellery or not. Either way, it
wasn’t what was in that box.

  “Just open it,” I sighed impatiently and she flipped it open, her eyes landing on the gift inside.

  A fat silver coin sat in it engraved with a drawing of a furry little monster with her nickname etched into the top of it. I hooked my own one out of my pocket, showing her the engraving I’d had done of a Lion with the words Leo the Lion arching over the top.

  It was childish and stupid and us. I just hoped she liked it.

  She grinned at the coin, twisting it between her fingers. “You had this made for me?”

  “Yeah.” I ran a hand down the back of my neck, fighting away my nerves at the next part. “Will you come with me? I wanna show you where these go.” I stepped away, holding out my hand for her to take and she hesitated.

  “Where to?” she asked, a flash of distrust in her eyes.

  I frowned. Hadn’t I done enough to make her trust me yet?

  “Are you really gonna make me ruin the surprise?” I gave her my biggest eyes and she chewed her lip, sliding her hand into mine.

  “Well I suppose we wouldn’t want that.”

  I towed her along, feeling stupidly happy as we headed outside and circled around to the back of the sports hall. I led her along the path to Rigel Library then pulled her up short in front of the old stone wishing well that sat out front. A wooden roof covered it but the chain and bucket had been missing before I’d started at Aurora.

  I perched on the wall and Elise pressed her hands to it, leaning over the edge.

  “Careful, Elise, you wouldn’t wanna fall down there,” I said in a dark tone. “Legend has it…a freshman was pushed in nearly a hundred years ago. The bullies who did it poured Faesine on top of him then cast a silencing bubble around the well.” I leaned in closer, her lips parted as she fell captive to the story. “The kid was a fire Elemental and the moment he cast a flame to see by, he burned himself alive in the flammable liquid.” I paused for dramatic effect and Elise’s eyes sparkled at the wild story.