“Wouldn’t do it, bro,” Grayson said casually, his eyes still on his Atlas. “My Wolf’s almost as big as Seth’s now.”
“I’m stronger though,” Hadley said with a smirk, then dropped down beside him with a sigh. “But you’re just not the snack I want.”
Grayson nuzzled his head, leaving a wet lick on his temple. “Don’t be too butt hurt, she’ll never let you bite her. It freaks her out.”
“It doesn’t freak me out,” Athena tsked. “I just hate being used by parasites.”
“Parasite?” Hadley spat, sitting up straight and glaring at her.
She shrugged innocently, twirling a lock of dark purple hair around her finger. “That’s what you are. It’s like that venomous twat Highspell said in Cardinal Magic, you’re one of the parasitic Orders.”
“You’re asking for it,” Hadley warned, jumping up and raising a hand, casting a wooden club in it and smashing my wooden spikes to shit.
Athena sat there, watching him batter a path toward her before he bumped up against her air shield again.
She smirked tauntingly. “Now what, Altair? Or should I call you Alspare?” she purred.
He whacked his club against her shield and she scowled at him as he started using his Order strength to beat the hell out of it.
“Open up,” he snapped and she started laughing.
“Never!” she cried, jumping to her feet and starting to strip off. Hadley gazed up at her, the club hanging loose in his hand as he watched her with his jaw ticking. When she was down to her underwear, revealing the tattoo of a half moon over her hip, she leapt over his head. She shifted into her huge black and grey Wolf form which kinda looked like a giant husky and sprinted out of the cave. Hadley took chase with the speed of his Order, spitting curses as he went. I laughed and Grayson howled his encouragement to Athena as he pushed himself upright.
Grayson looked to me with a smile. “So, did you understand anything Professor Zenith said about star bonds ‘cause my mind is fucking blown. I don’t ever wanna be cursed with that shit. Why would I give up having ten girls fight to suck my dick every night for one chick only?”
He’d built a pack solely of fangirls within a couple of weeks of being here and they all followed him around like needy puppies. It hadn’t exactly slipped my attention that all of the other spares were getting laid regularly and I was pretty much avoiding any attention cast my way. At this rate, I was probably going to be a thirty-year-old virgin with a couple of house cats for company. Oh no wait, I was more likely going to be married off to some crusty crouton faced witch I had to produce Dragon heirs with. Oh fuck, that can’t be my first time. I’ve got to sort this out.
The problem was, the only girl I wanted was taken. And now I’d joined her herd, her boyfriend was officially my Dom. And he made a point of keeping me under his hooves at all times. He was also a good guy, which just made it more frustrating. But I still couldn’t help looking at Sofia. She’d been my one good thing before I’d come here, and now I was at Zodiac Academy which was the most incredible place ever and she was still the best thing in my life.
“I think we have the opposite problems,” I told Grayson and his eyebrows arched.
He folded his muscular arms around his legs, scooting closer to me with intrigue in his eyes. “Who is she?”
“A girl I can’t have,” I said, flicking my hair out of my eyes. It was growing kinda long, but I hadn’t cut it since Sofia had pushed her fingers into it the other week and told me it made me look like a real stallion.
“Spill it, Acrux, I want all the details because I’m pretty sure my heart is just another cock and I need to figure out if it’ll ever want anything but multiple pussy.”
I snorted, scrubbing a hand over the back of my neck. “She’s in my herd. And she’s older than me. And taken by the herd Dom.”
“That’s like the same as a Wolf Alpha, right?” he asked.
“Yeah, sort of. They mate with the most fertile female though once they take over,” I explained.
“So she’s the hot AFFF?” he smirked. “Hot as fuck fertile female?”
“Yeah,” I snorted, ignoring the heat rising up my face.
He jumped up and smacked me on the cheek playfully. “Isn’t it obvious, dude?”
“No?” I frowned.
“You have to hoof kick the Dom in the face and take his place,” Grayson said with his lopsided smile. “Oh hey, that rhymed.”
I grinned at that image. I couldn’t deny I’d been butting up against Tyler a lot since I’d joined his herd. The instinct was there, but I knew I was holding back because of Sofia. I didn’t wanna force her Dom beneath me and steal her away. Okay I did. I wanted that a lot. I was dreaming about it and becoming far more aggressive than I’d realised I was whenever I was around her and Tyler came strutting over to her like Black Beauty on Faeroids. But I wanted her to pick me for me too, not just because I was the Dom.
The bell rang somewhere off in the distance and I knew it was time to get to class. I pushed to my feet and Grayson knocked his shoulder against mine as we walked out of the caves.
“So do you get butterflies and shit around her?” he asked.
“No, it feels more like an earthquake in my chest and a thunderstorm in my head.”
“Sweeeet,” Grayson said. “That sounds more up my street. I should try letting a guy or two suck my cock, maybe I’m just not into girls.”
“Your whole pack is literally made up of girls that you screw every day,” I pointed out.
“True, but maybe I need some variety.” He looked me up and down like he was trying to work out if I could be attractive to him and I elbowed him in the gut.
We stepped outside and as we headed along the path into the trees a swarm of baying girls ran out of them. They rushed around Grayson and tugged him away from me as they fought to hug and kiss him. He grinned stupidly, letting them pull him along and he tossed me a salute goodbye. “Later, dude.”
I snorted at him then glanced up at the sky, biting the inside of my cheeks as the clouds called to me far above. My magic reserves rarely got depleted because I flew through them at every chance I could. I was obsessed with it. After being shut up in my father’s manor for so long, I wasn’t going to miss a single opportunity I got to do it. I’d even bought a Tempa Pegobag online which stretched to stay on my back whenever I shifted.
When the Wolves were out of sight, I kicked off my shoes and started stripping down, a grin pulling at my lips as I stuffed everything into my pack which was shaped like a cloud with white glitter glimmering on it – and was cool as shit thank you very much.
I put it on my back again when I was naked then leapt forward and let my Pegasus form spill free from my flesh. I whinnied loudly as my hooves hit the ground and I shook my head as glitter tumbled from my mane and my lilac wings flexed out either side of me. I started galloping down the path, my gaze on the sky as I flapped my wings and leapt off of the ground, climbing up towards the waiting clouds. As soon as I rushed through them, my magic reserves started to swell. I did cartwheels and backflips as I made my way across campus towards the Fire Arena for my next class. It was literally the best feeling in the world.
When I was above the huge amphitheatre, I circled down toward it like a bird of prey, spotting the class filing into the sandy pit below dressed in their fitted fire resistant uniforms. Oh shit I’m late.
I dove out of the sky and landed at the heart of the amphitheatre much to Professor Pyro’s disapproval.
“Goodness!” she shouted. “Shift back this instant, boy.” She threw her hand at me, her fingers twisting and the spell hit me in the chest, making me rear up angrily as a buzzing energy trickled through my veins.
My tail whipped out and I bucked as the spell rippled through me and forced me to shift.
My bare feet hit the ground and I cursed as everyone in class stared at my naked ass. I met Sofia’s gaze and grabbed my junk with a groan of embarrassment and Pyro’s eyebrows nearly roc
keted into her hairline.
“Oh goodness, I didn’t realise it was you, Prince A-Acrux,” she stammered. “Please don’t mention this to your father.”
My brother stalked up to her with smoke pluming from his nostrils and she backed up in alarm, sputtering apologies as he laid into her for it. Which just made the whole thing worse as anyone who hadn’t already been staring turned to see what he was yelling about and more heat rushed up my neck. I knew it was normal for everyone to get naked around campus before shifting, but I still hadn’t gotten used to it. Especially the stares. A bunch of girls started giggling behind me and I glanced over my shoulder to find them snapping photos of my ass. Oh man.
Sofia jerked her head in the direction of the changing rooms and I nodded awkwardly before running off in that direction. I hurried inside and released a breath of relief as I headed to a bench, dropped my bag onto it and changed into my skin tight fire suit. It didn’t do much to hide my dick anyway, but I guessed it was better than just standing out there butt naked.
I seriously had to start getting used to that. I just hadn’t had the chance to adjust to herd life before coming to Zodiac. Most Orders had spent time with their kind long before they headed off for magical training. And at least I didn’t have a small dick like Hubert Pluto in my herd, not that he seemed to give a shit. He’d had a twenty minute conversation with me yesterday with his hands on his hips and his little dipper blowing in the breeze. Most of the herd had their bits decorated with glitter and gemstones too and I swear the big diamond at the top of his dick was always winking at me.
I’d always averted my eyes whenever Sofia stripped down, but I’d heard her talking to one of her friends about her new vajazzle the other day and the little pink gemstones she had above her clit. All this shit was so new to me and I’d never really thought about decorating my dick before. Was that what I was expected to do? Did my cock need to be sporting a bigger diamond than Hubert’s to prove how worthy I was of my place in the herd? Mindfuck.
I dumped my bag in a locker and jogged back out to the arena where everyone had started practising their magic. Tory was working with Darcy as Pyro only paired Orders together, but since Tory was pretending to still be under my father’s influence they weren’t talking much. Darcy looked about ten times happier than she had in weeks though. It was a weight off of my heart as well. I didn’t know how Tory was going to escape him entirely, but there had to be a way now she wasn’t controlled by him completely.
“Mr Acrux, would you like to pair with Miss Cygnus, your fire magic is coming on quite well so let’s see how you do with a more advanced shape cast,” Pyro encouraged and I looked over to Sofia with a grin, nodding as I joined her. “Help Mr Acrux,” she told Sofia and I realised this was first year stuff she shouldn’t have been making her do. It pissed me off that I was getting preferential treatment. Especially if it was affecting Sofia’s work.
“You don’t have to,” I told her and she cast a silencing bubble around us, tucking a lock of short, gold hair behind her ear.
“I don’t mind,” she said brightly. “I’ve been able to turn sand into glass for a while anyway,” she said, nodding over to the other sophomores who were practising just that. “Perks of being friends with the Vegas. Their study sessions are kinda intense and I swear I learn more with them sometimes than I do with Pyro.”
“If you’re sure?” I asked. “I can’t form anything other than simple shapes and Hadley can make a fucking rhombus.” I looked over at him as he casually cast a pyramid then made splashes of fire spew out the top of it like it was a volcano. Fucking Hadley. The girl he was working with was so busy staring at him, she kept burning herself on her own flames.
“If you want to make something three dimensional, you have to stop focusing so hard,” Sofia explained, raising her hands and creating a square of flames between them. Her fingers worked in practised movements as she cast another square beside it then let lines of flames merge them to form a cube. “The harder you try to force it, the less obedient the flames are. Think of it as like blowing on a candle. If you blow too hard, the flame will go out, but just a little and it will bend the way you want it to.”
I stood beside her, stealing a glance at her pretty face and cute little nose while I cast a square with my fire magic. That was easy enough, but building anything else onto it was always the hard part. I watched her magic, then watched her, then her mouth. Fuck, her mouth. Her lips were candyfloss pink and she lightly tugged her lower one between her teeth as she concentrated.
The smell of burning reached me and she wheeled toward me with a gasp. “Xavier!”
I looked down, finding I was legitimately on fire. “Fuck!” I lurched away from her as the fire resistant uniform started somehow burning under the intensity of my flames and climbing up my arm. I waved my arm wildly which only made it fucking worse then remembered I had water magic and cast it at myself with absolutely no control. I knocked myself over with the amount I used, landing on my ass utterly drenched.
“Oh my stars, he’s so fucking cute,” Nina Starstruck whispered to her friend and the two of them giggled. “He’s like a clumsy little Darius who doesn’t even realise he’s hot.”
Great.
Sofia offered me a hand to help me up, but I was too mortified to take it. I knocked her hand away and got up myself, dusting the sand off my ass which wouldn’t go anywhere because I was fucking soaked. I released a horsey snort of frustration and turned away from Nina who was batting her long lashes at me. I knew I wasn’t like my brother, but that had always just been fine until everyone and their cat started pointing it out.
Sofia reached up and pushed my damp hair out of my eyes, tiptoeing to do so. She was so small it was just another thing I fucking adored about her.
She’s taken, bro. Get the hint.
“You put the fire out at least.” She laughed lightly and I couldn’t help but grin at the sound.
“Yeah, I guess,” I murmured and she jabbed me playfully in the arm.
“You’ll get it. It’ll just click one of these days.”
“I just hope it clicks before The Reckoning or I’m fucked,” I said.
I couldn’t lose my place at Zodiac. I had to work harder and make sure I didn’t do anything stupid like this when I was being assessed. I didn’t work too well under pressure and Sofia always got me so worked up that I often ended up embarrassing myself in front of her. I’d done a perfect water cast just yesterday, creating a river that flowed in whichever direction I urged it to. But was she there to see that? No. She was here to see me acting like I was still on day one of my training.
I focused on creating a cube for the rest of the lesson, determined to do it and prove I wasn’t actually a useless dick pigeon, and by the time Pyro called an end to the lesson, I’d not only perfected it, I’d created a pyramid just like Hadley’s too. Sure, he’d moved on to casting a whole flaming flock of birds flying around the amphitheatre, but I was getting there.
I cleaned up in the changing room with Hadley, pulling my uniform back on after a shower.
“Did you catch Athena?” I asked him and he blew out a breath of frustration.
“No,” he growled. “I lost her in the woods and couldn’t find her.” His fangs snapped out as he thought about it and I gripped his bare arm, forcing him to look at me.
“Be careful. Darius told me what happened with Caleb and Tory when he hunted her. You can’t let this get to you.”
“I know,” he huffed. “I’m not going to hurt her. I keep myself topped up on easier prey. I just wanna catch her one time. The hunt feels so fucking good.”
“Just don’t do anything stupid,” I pushed and he nodded.
“I won’t, man.” He pulled on his shirt.
“Hey Hadley, are you ready?” a guy called and I glanced over at Trent who was covered from head to toe in tattoos.
“Yeah,” Hadley said, looking to me. “I’m getting a tattoo sleeve.” He pointed to his right arm. “It’
s gonna be all the planets as skulls, Trent’s a sick artist. Maybe you should get one too?”
“There’s nothing I really want. Enjoy though.” I put my sparkly cloud bag on my back and he eyed it with a snort.
“Nice bag,” he teased.
I flipped him my middle finger with a smirk and he shot off with Trent, the guy apparently a Vampire too as they disappeared together out the door.
I headed outside and found Sofia standing there leaning against the wall. I walked over to join her, pushing a hand through my hair and her gaze dipped to my bicep, a blush lining her cheeks as I arrived. Before I could say a single word to her, a huge silver Pegasus dropped out of the sky, landing right in front of her and snorting furiously at me. Tyler trotted around her in a circle, his tail whipping out as he marked his territory and anger prickled through me.
I stamped my own foot as my Pegasus instincts urged me to challenge him.
“Chill out, Ty.” Sofia patted his neck, glancing at me around him as she bit her lip again in that way that made my dick jerk to attention.
Tyler shifted into his Fae form and Sofia pulled a pair of sweatpants from her bag, tossing them at him. He tugged them on before he marched up to me and threw his arm around my shoulders.
“Hey, bud, how’s it going?” he asked with a wide smile like he hadn’t just gone all Dom on me and Sofia. He took his Atlas out and snapped a photo of us, tapping away as he posted it on FaeBook with the caption ‘Hanging with the third in the herd.’
I hated being the third. Third best. It just didn’t sit right with me.
I’d risen up through the ranks fast and now the only ones who were above me were Tyler and his mate. I kept dreaming about fighting him, burying my fists in his stomach or ramming my horn into his gut before claiming Sofia from him and forcing everyone else in the herd under my command. The idea got me seriously hard. I’d woken up with a boner over that idea so many times since I’d arrived here that I was starting to think I had issues.
Zodiac Academy: Fated Throne Page 30
