Savage Fae (Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac Book 2)

by Caroline Peckham

  “Can I get you anything?” I asked him. “A water? Hot towel? Sliced grapefruit?”

  “Nah man, I’m good.” Leon half laughed and released me, withdrawing his power and leaving me feeling a little like I’d just been passed through the ringer. But decidedly more like myself too.

  I cleared my throat as embarrassment clawed at me and mentally slapped myself for letting their Charisma in so easily.

  “Sorry about that,” I said, running a hand down the back of my neck.

  “Don’t worry about it. Roary’s Charisma is more refined than mine. If you touch him then you’re pretty much guaranteed to fall under its power even if he isn’t trying to use it. When he turns it on like he did then…” Leon shrugged, scowling at the door where his brother had just disappeared. “I swear he just does it around me to prove he can take my Mindys. Fucking Roary.”

  “Well who needs Mindys?” I asked, slapping him on the back bracingly. “If we win this match you’ll have your pick of the girls, Mindy or not. Everyone loves a Pitball champion.”

  Leon’s scowl turned to a smirk at that and he nodded. “You’re right. Have you got anyone coming to watch?”

  I shook my head, my stomach knotting guiltily. I had wanted to invite Ella but I hadn’t done it. Somehow, inviting her to come and visit me at the academy always felt like a dick move. Like I’d be rubbing in her face how great it was here while she was stuck back at high school having a sub-standard magical education. It just didn’t seem right to drag her out here and make her take three buses just to sit on her own in the stands and see all the things she didn’t have.

  “My sister couldn’t make it and this isn’t really my mom’s kinda thing,” I said with a shrug.

  “Shame,” Leon said. “But then I’d really rather Roary wasn’t here so maybe you’re getting off lightly.”

  Before I could answer, a shrill whistle blew and Coach Mars appeared to usher us out to start the match.

  My heartbeat spiked as we all headed after him and made our way up to the pitch.

  The team from Everstar Academy were already lined up for the ball toss on the other side of the Pit in their black and gold kits and a smile bit into my cheeks as the crowd cheered us on.

  Dante leapt from the stands where a huge crowd of Oscura Werewolves were whooping and hollering in support of him. I spotted Rosalie cupping her hands around her mouth and howling to the sky amongst them. Roary Night was sitting a few chairs along from her, talking to some of the older Oscura guys while a huge group of girls lingered as close as they could to him without actually climbing over people to get nearer.

  We soon lined up in front of the opposition and I strode forward to meet the other team captain beside the Pit.

  The crowd faded away as my focus zeroed in on the match and I gave every inch of my attention to the heavy Earthball in Coach Mars’s hands.

  Announcements were being made over the tannoy, our names listed as our positions were called out and the crowd slowly fell silent in anticipation of the kick-off.

  The other team captain was a wiry guy called Finley with a mean glint in his eye and a pencil thin moustache that made him look like a villain from the twenties. He smirked at me as Mars lifted the whistle to his lips and the whole world narrowed in on that exact moment.

  Mars tossed the ball up, his whistle blaring and I leapt for it, casting air magic beneath me to shoot me higher and snatching the ball from the air.

  Half a second later, Finley slammed into me and I hit the ground hard beneath him, the air driving from my lungs as I fought to keep my hold on the ball.

  He slammed his fists into my side and I winced at the sharp pain which followed each of the blows.

  With a snarl of determination, I managed to get my legs between us and kicked out at him, knocking him off of me. I twisted on the ground, throwing the heavy ball with all my might and yelling out in satisfaction as Leon caught it and raced away.

  I got to my feet and sprinted after him, ready to help him make the Pit if he needed me as pain continued to blossom along my side.

  The crowd screamed their encouragement as Leon raced for the Pit with the ball beneath his arm and his head low, crashing straight into every member of the opposition as they came at him and sending them flying.

  With a Lion’s roar, he broke between the two Pit Keepers and slammed the ball straight into the Pit, scoring the first point of the game to Aurora and sending the crowd wild.

  I cheered with the rest of them, jogging away to the Air Hole in the north quarter of the pitch to wait and see if the next round would provide a ball from that Element.

  Dante joined me at the hole as we waited for the timer to reset and I glanced at him with a smirk. He didn’t return it, pointing at my side instead and I looked down to find blood pooling through my shirt.

  I quickly tugged my shirt up, frowning as I spotted several wounds oozing blood across my ribs. The punches Finley had thrown at me had hurt but I hadn’t realised quite how much. Nor could I work out how exactly he’d cut me open.

  “Stronzo barare,” Dante growled, reaching out to pull a sliver of ice from my side. The pain sharpened as he did so and I quickly placed a hand to the wounds to heal them.

  “He stabbed me?” I asked incredulously. We were allowed to use our magic in tackles in the game but intentionally stabbing someone was against the rules. “We should tell Coach Mars-”

  “No, mio amico. An Oscura handles their own problems.”

  “I’m not an Oscura,” I argued. “And if he’s cheating we should-”

  “We can beat these stronzos even if they are cheating,” Dante growled, a clear command for me not to say a word to our coach. “And if they keep playing dirty, they’ll find out exactly who they’ve been fucking with after the match.”

  I opened my mouth to protest that idea but the whistle blew, sounding the start of the next round and an ice ball flew out of the Water Hole.

  Dante raced across the pitch to intercept the Everstar player who had caught it and I fell into the game as I ran to play on too.

  ***

  The crowd roared enthusiastically as the final score flashed up on the board.

  Aurora Academy: 12

  Everstar Academy: 11

  We’d won. But fuck had it been hard. As soon as the Everstar team realised we weren’t going to report them for cheating, their tactics only got dirtier. I was bruised and bloodied, magically drained from healing myself so often and pissed as all hell. I wanted to chew Dante out for not allowing us to tell Coach Mars about it. We’d damn near lost the game and it had only been my final, desperate race for the Pit that had saved us in the end.

  “You look angry, cavallo,” Dante said, wrapping an arm around me as we headed off of the pitch. “Shouldn’t you be celebrating our win?”

  “I am,” I ground out. “I’m just…we shouldn’t have let them get away with cheating like that.”

  “Who said anything about letting them get away with it?” Dante purred. His grip on me tightening as we drew closer to the locker rooms and instead of following the rest of our team inside, he steered me towards the Everstar lockers instead.

  Leon smirked as he moved to join us, prowling forward on my other side, his eyes wild with that same danger I’d seen in them the night in the pawn shop.

  “Where are we going?” I asked in confusion.

  Dante chuckled, cupping his free hand around his mouth and howling for his pack. Tension grew in my gut as the Oscuras raced to follow us, pack mates from school and his family alike drawing in behind us.

  Dante pushed open the door to the locker rooms and a prickle of anticipation ran down my spine as the Everstar team looked our way.

  “So,” Dante called out, his voice loud and commanding. “Who here thought it would be a good idea to cheat against the Oscura King?”

  “Look, man,” Finley said quickly, moving to stand before his team, his cocky demeanour fleeing in a heartbeat. “It’s not personal. We cheat all
the time…and you won anyway so no big deal, right?”

  Dante turned to look at his family who had clustered into the space behind us. “Do you think it’s no big deal that they disrespected me like that?” he asked casually.

  The wolves snarled defiantly, the hairs raising along the back of my neck in response.

  A dark smile lit Leon’s features and his hands clenched into fists as he stared down the team who had tried to cheat us out of our win.

  “I don’t think they agree with you, stronzo,” Dante purred, his eyes back on Finley.

  Finley backed up, bumping into a few of his teammates as if he thought he might flee but the wolves had already circled around them, penning them in and snarling low.

  “I think you need to learn a lesson in respect,” Dante said slowly, stepping forward with intent, guiding me along with him, a hand pressed firmly to my spine.

  I resisted, my heels digging into the tiled floor as I shook my head a little.

  Dante turned his dark gaze on me and all joking and playfulness had fled from him. There was nothing of the guy I’d begun to think of as my friend in his gaze now. I was looking upon the King of the Oscura Clan, Storm Dragon born of Wolves. And his dark expression said he meant business.

  “You’re with us or against us, cavallo,” he warned as a sliver of fear raced down my spine.

  “C’mon man,” Leon encouraged, slapping a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t you want to teach these assholes a lesson? They cheated, almost cost us the match, stabbed you.”

  I frowned as the Wolves all howled their encouragement and Dante kept me pinned in his gaze. They were right though; these guys had almost stolen the win from us just because they weren’t Fae enough to play by the rules.

  “Aren’t you tired of letting life shit on you, cavallo?” Dante purred enticingly. “Don’t you want to feel what it’s like to take back the reins? Don’t you wanna know what it’s like to be an Alpha?”

  Somehow his words were slipping beneath my defences, calling out to every little screaming part of me that had always been dealt a shit hand in life. They whispered of the way my mom had passed me this debt, and of the life my sister would be doomed to if I couldn’t make these payments. Of the way I’d never once in my entire existence had anything easy. And then assholes like Finley came along and tried to cheat me out of one of the few things I’d earned for myself.

  A growl tore from Leon’s throat as he stalked forward, no longer waiting for me to join him as he tossed his filthy Pitball shirt to the floor.

  “Last chance, mio amico, time to prove how Fae you are,” Dante said.

  Electricity crackled through the air as he turned to face Finley and the rest of his team of cheaters. The touch of Dante’s storm power lit a spark of its own inside me and I found myself striding forward at his side.

  He was right. It was time I stopped letting life crap all over me. Time I started standing tall and owning my own destiny. I wasn’t going to let Old Sal ruin Elise’s future and I sure as shit wasn’t going to be the kind of man who stood by and let people like Finley take me for a fool.

  A snarl of rage left my lips and the wolves all howled as the fight suddenly broke out.

  I gave in to the bloodlust, letting my instincts guide me as my fists flew, pounding flesh and bone with a rage fuelled by all the injustice I’d had to endure in my life.

  I cried out, punching, kicking, biting and tearing into my foe as Leon and Dante fought beside me. A few of the wolves joined the fray to even out the numbers and for a brief time I felt what it was like to be a part of a pack. And not just any pack, the most fearsome group of Werewolves in the whole of Alestria.

  I lost all sense of everything around me aside from the pain in my limbs as blows were landed against me and the swell of my muscles as I fought back with the fury of hell.

  “We’ve won, cavallo!” Dante’s voice came to me as I continued to punch and punch and punch. It took me another few moments to realise that Finley had stopped fighting back beneath me.

  Leon’s hand gripped my shoulder and he pulled me up to stand beside him.

  Blood dripped from my knuckles and my chest heaved as I looked around at the bloody and beaten members of the Everstar team.

  The Wolves were howling their victory and Dante was laughing.

  I glanced up and spotted Rosalie Oscura filming the whole thing with a wild glint in her eyes as her older cousins crowded close around her protectively.

  A part of me wondered if I should have felt guilty for going too far. But in that moment, I didn’t feel guilt. All I felt was the power of knowing I’d fought back. Of triumphing over someone who had tried to knock me down.

  And as that power surged through me, a savage smile pulled at my lips. And I had to wonder if I might just like to feel this way more often.

  Elise headed to The Rigel library on Sunday and I was prepared for a stake out to catch her stalker at last. I walked to the grounds outside the library and pretended to take an interest in The Weeping Well, the creepy clack clack clack noise sounding from within its depths. It was no fucking joke. The thing legit creeped me out. But it also had some new, delicious memories attached to it now.

  I took out the little monster coin Elise had told me to keep, grinning to myself as the sun gleamed against the silver surface.

  I gazed across the area, eyeing the students who were heading in and out of the library, wondering if I was looking at Elise’s stalker amongst them. Now why would someone want to follow her around..?

  Aside from the obvious of course. That ass was reason alone. But if someone was stalking my girl and jerking off over her in a bush, I was going to catch them today and rip their dick off for it. Might even throw it in the well too. Although, the kid who’d died down there probably wouldn’t appreciate an eternity with a rotting dick.

  I started flipping the coin off of my thumb and catching it, figuring I should probably find a more covert place to watch from. I was stalking a stalker. Lion style. And I wasn’t even asking anyone for help. I could have had Mindys staked out here for days with no food or water, but I was starting to see that maybe that wasn’t entirely cool. And maybe maybe, doing things for myself could actually feel good. And doing things for Elise felt hella good. Especially when it came to her body.

  I flipped the coin too high as my mind got snagged on her naked flesh and I cursed as it hit the wall of the well and bounced into it.

  “No!” I lunged forward and a ding sounded as it landed on a brick jutting out of the wall a few feet down. “Fuck fuck fuck.” I moved around it, leaning in and reaching for the coin, my fingertips barely grazing it.

  “Come on, you sucker,” I said through my teeth, pressing my free hand to the inside of the wall to steady myself. Rancid air blew around me and a horrible moaning wind carried up from the bottom of the abyss. I gazed into the pit, wondering if I’d lost my fucking mind as I pushed up onto my tiptoes in an effort to get my coin.

  The scent of metal hit my nose followed by the faint smell of smoke. I grimaced, my heart thumping solidly in my chest as I tried not to think about the real possibility of a burned up little ghost kid at the bottom of this well. But I couldn’t just leave without it. That coin was more than some trinket. Sure, I could have had another one made, but this one meant something. It meant Elise was mine in some small way at all times.

  I caught it between two fingers, then lurched forward as I lost my footing. “Fuck – no!”

  Someone caught me by the belt and yanked me backwards. My ass hit the ground and I turned to find Ryder standing there with a smirk on his face.

  “I was really fucking tempted for a Scar – Mufasa moment right then,” he said and I stared at him, unable to process the fact Ryder fucking Draconis had just saved my neck.

  “What changed your mind?” I got to my feet, brushing off the seat of my pants and stuffing the coin into my pocket.

  “Mufasa didn’t hang off that cliff by his ass.” Ryder shrugged and star
ted to walk away.

  “You wanna watch The Lion King with me sometime? It’s clearly your favourite!” I called after him, but he ignored me, heading past the library and slowing as he approached someone in the shadows.

  I raised a brow, moving after him at a leisurely place, figuring that little chat looked dodgy as shit.

  I wonder if it has anything to do with Elise’s stalker. If anyone in this school is stalker-material it’s Ryder with his snake eyes and shady personality.

  I headed to the front wall of the library, moving to the far end and resting back against it, listening to the conversation happening around the corner.

  “-you need a hell of a lot of it though, Mr Draconis.” I recognised Kipling Junior’s voice and frowned, intrigued enough to continue loitering there.

  “You can get anything, why is this any different?” Ryder snarled.

  “It’s not the getting it. It’s the timescale you’ve given us. It’s not long enough. It’s a very rare substance. We’ll have to acquire it from multiple sources.”

  “So fucking acquire it,” Ryder hissed.

  “We need an extra few weeks,” Kipling Junior demanded and Ryder sighed.

  “I have things I need to deal with. Just get it to me ASAP.”

  Heavy footfalls sounded Ryder walking away and I moved toward the library as if I was about to enter then did a circle when I spotted him heading past Voyant Sports Hall.

  I didn’t know what Ryder was up to, but I imagined it had to do with his gang war with the Oscuras. I watched Dante’s back whenever I could, but I didn’t have much information to go on here. So what if Ryder was buying something dodgy? That wasn’t exactly a newsflash. He was always buying dodgy shit. And doing dodgy shit. And being a dodgy fucker in general.

  I scanned the area, focusing back on the task at hand. If I was a stalker…where would I be?

  My gaze landed on a group of bushes to the right of the library. It gave a good view of the doorway and no one would see you there if there was enough room to hide. I headed that way, circling the bushes and peering between the leaves.