Savage Fae (Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac Book 2)

by Caroline Peckham

I gripped his broad shoulders as tight as I could as he took what he craved from me, my nails drawing blood on his back as I clung to him like I’d fall right off of the world if I let go. The pleasure in my flesh was blinding me so that the whole universe narrowed in around the movements of his body inside mine.

  “Leon,” I gasped as my muscles tightened around him again, unsure if I could take any more of this.

  “Say it, little monster,” he purred in my ear, moving faster, thrusting harder like he’d never get enough, his body owning mine as I bowed to his desire beneath him.

  For a moment my scrambled brain couldn’t figure out what he wanted me to say and he growled as my moans were the only response he got.

  “Tell me I’m yours,” he demanded.

  “Ah, fuck, yes,” I gasped as he slammed into me again. “You’re mine, Leon. Mine.”

  His grip on me tightened and he cried out as his release poured through him and the pleasure crashing through my body overwhelmed me yet again.

  I could only cling to him as his weight pressed down on top of me in the most deliciously satisfying way. He released his grip on my leg and I let it fall from his shoulder to rest on the hood of the car as I tried to remember what we’d even been doing out here in the first place.

  Our heavy breathing filled the air and Leon nuzzled his jaw against my neck as we stayed locked together for a long moment, bathing in the pleasure we’d just given each other. My limbs slowly relaxed enough for me to release my hold on his shoulders and I trailed my fingers through his golden hair, drawing a purr of contentment from my Lion which made me smile so widely it almost hurt.

  “Shit, Elise, I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of you,” Leon said against my skin, his hand trailing up and over my breast.

  I only laughed, because I didn’t know what to say to him. I shouldn’t have been letting myself get close to him like this. I still didn’t know what had happened to Gareth and I didn’t know what it might take for me to claim vengeance once I figured it out. I couldn’t promise him anything even if I wanted to. And I didn’t think I had enough good left in me to be making promises anyway.

  Leon’s hand moved beneath my bra and I moaned softly as he teased my nipple between his fingers, sending aftershocks of pleasure dancing over my skin.

  “I can’t keep this car,” he breathed. “It has to be gone by the time Roary comes looking for it.”

  “Then let’s go dump it in a lake,” I said with a grin. “Let the fish have it so he can’t.”

  Leon pushed himself up so that he was looking down at me. “You’re a savage, little monster,” he joked.

  “He deserves it,” I said defiantly. “No one hurts my Leo and gets away with it.”

  Leon’s eyes lit with heat as I called him mine again and I smirked in response. “Come on then. Let’s go drown his car.”

  I laughed as he moved off of me and we started to put our clothes back on.

  Leon Night was becoming my new addiction. He was joy and laughter and sunshine and even though I couldn’t offer him the world, I decided not to overthink offering him anything else.

  He accepted me the way I was and wanted me even more for it. So if a broken girl was good enough for him then I wouldn’t fight it. Because I needed some joy in my life like a starving man needed meals. And I planned on gorging myself on him for as long as I could with whatever time I could steal with him.

  Eleven Months Before the Solarid Meteor Shower…

  I headed down to the ground floor of The Vega Dorms on my way to the Cafaeteria to look for Dante. He wasn’t in his room and I was seriously anticipating the look on his face when I showed him the video I’d just recorded of Ryder screwing Professor King. I shot him a message to try and get his location but he hadn’t replied to the last three I’d sent.

  Gareth:

  You’ll really want to see what I got for you on King! Where are you dude??

  My heart lurched as I was accosted by strong hands and dragged through the door that led to the basement.

  Bryce Corvus pinned me to the wall with a hungry grin on his face, his fangs on show. “Word is you wanna help out the Brotherhood, so here’s your first job, pledge.”

  “I’m not pledging, I just agreed to help out Ryder for some extra cash,” I choked against his tight hold on my throat. Didn’t know why I had to clarify that right then but my stupid mouth ran away with me.

  Bryce slammed my head back against the wall then slapped a piece of paper onto my chest. “Whatever. If you fuck this up, you’re dead. And I don’t mean that in an empty threat sort of way. I mean it in the ten pieces in an alley kind of way, got it?”

  “Got it,” I breathed, fighting hard not to shake as he released me and shot away with his Vampire speed, leaving the door swinging slowly closed behind him.

  I breathed heavily, reaching for the post-it note he’d stuck to my chest. Peeling it off with my heart in my throat, I gazed down at the instructions.

  21 Moonshine Street

  Collect the Star Rover there and take it to the address logged into the satnav.

  Key on the front left wheel.

  Thirty minutes and counting.

  “Shit,” I hissed, running out of the door into the night air and stripping off my clothes as I went. I stuffed them in my bag, hopping along to get my right shoe off before doing the same with the other.

  Lorenzo Oscura was walking up the path and he waved as he spotted me, his eyes glittering excitedly. “Hey Gareth, I’ve got some more pointers for you!” he called.

  “Not right now, Lorenzo.” I continued to strip and when I was butt naked with the elastic cord of my bag strapped around my neck, I released my Order form. I raced along the concrete to pick up speed on all four hooves and Lorenzo turned to watch me go with a look of disappointment. Students dove out of my way as I spread my wings, flapping them hard then launching myself into the sky.

  Panic gripped my heart as I sped toward the address. Moonshine Street was way across town in the west quarter, deep in Lunar territory.

  I spent ten of my precious thirty minutes flying there then landed on the quiet street where grass sprouted from the pavements, trotting toward number twenty one.

  Outside the abandoned looking house was a dusty Star Rover. I shifted back into my Fae form, hurriedly getting dressed before hunting for the key on top of the front left wheel.

  I knelt down skimming my hand across it, snagging out the key and unlocking the door. I dropped into the car with a breath of relief, tapping the satnav and bringing up the saved location. It was deep in the heart of The Iron Wood along an old track. I had fifteen minutes left and the satnav said it would take sixteen to get there.

  I kicked it into gear, heading up the road and driving the huge vehicle as best I could. Harvey had been teaching me to drive on and off for the past year, but I definitely wasn’t licensed and I sure as shit still needed a few more lessons.

  I drove over a speed bump and my stomach swooped as I took it too fast, but the vehicle was built for off-roading so I didn’t do any damage. A dull thump in the trunk drew my attention for a second before I swore in alarm as I nearly drove straight through a stop sign.

  The car idled and I turned slowly down the next road before picking up the pace again.

  Do NOT get pulled over by the cops, Gareth Tempa.

  I drove as fast as I could without breaking the speed limit, but as my timer ticked down I had to throw caution to the wind and give it some gas.

  I sped toward The Iron Wood, spotting the thick trees rising up the nearest hill beyond the city border.

  “Come on, come on,” I growled at myself.

  I finally reached the outskirts of the city and turned down the dirt track which led deep into the woodland. I raced along it, driving flat out as adrenaline ran through my veins like jet fuel.

  A whoop escaped me as I tore over bumps and raced through the dark trees. Something was crashing about in the trunk and I started to get curious about what
exactly I was delivering in this car. Because this Star Rover sure wasn’t worth stealing, so there had to be some contraband onboard.

  “Hey! Let me out!” a male voice came from the back and I slammed on the brakes as I sucked in a breath of horror.

  The engine grumbled and my breathing quickened as I tried to convince myself I’d just imagined that voice.

  “Hello?! Please! Let me out of here!”

  My eyes flicked to the time till arrival on the satnav and my chest crushed. I couldn’t get any oxygen in at all.

  There’s a guy in the boot.

  If I let him out, I’m fucked.

  If I bring him wherever I’m going, he’s fucked.

  If I don’t earn enough money this month, Ella’s fucked.

  I kept driving, swallowing the hard ball in my throat. I didn’t blink as I continued on, driving so recklessly over the bumps that it nearly drowned out the screaming in the trunk. But not nearly well enough.

  A light grew up ahead and I finally emerged in a clearing where a dirt bike stood in the centre of the track, its headlight glaring at me. It was darkest green, the paintwork designed to look like reptilian scales and I didn’t have to guess who it belonged to.

  I stopped the car, my mouth dry as I jumped out and moved around to the trunk. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I planted myself in front of it, needing an explanation before I let this happen.

  But shit, I was supposed to just do jobs and walk away with the cash. I wasn’t supposed to get involved more than that.

  Why am I standing here and where the fuck is Ryder?

  A terrifying hiss made all the blood in my body turned to ice. Something huge was moving through the canopy above. The branches were swaying, leaves scattered and fell at my feet. The moon was hidden behind the clouds and the glaring light of the bike was only making it more difficult for me to spot whatever was up there.

  I cupped my hands around my eyes, a soft whinny leaving my throat as I considered turning into my Order form.

  “Hello?!” The guy in the trunk started hammering on the side. “Please let me out!”

  The trees groaned as some huge beast moved through them and sweat glided down my spine as I waited for it to appear.

  The bushes to my left rustled as whatever it was descended into them. My heart stopped altogether as a gigantic snake head pushed through the foliage. Ryder’s tongue flicked out, tasting the air as he slithered toward me. He was as thick as a bus and as long as the tree he’d just climbed down.

  I shuddered as he wound his way across the ground, lifting his head high enough to look me in the eyes.

  “I made it on time,” I said, but why I said that I had no idea.

  Ryder dropped to the ground, disappearing beyond the vehicle, his tail flicking out of sight.

  A minute later he appeared in a pair of jeans with a baseball bat in his hand. “Let him out.”

  “Fuck, Ryder this is…I dunno, man.” I pressed my back to the door of the trunk. Apparently I had a death wish.

  “You wanted work, didn’t you? Here’s your job.”

  I eyed the baseball bat in his hand with fear crushing my organs. “Are you gonna kill him?”

  “Let. Him. Out,” Ryder said in a dangerous tone, his eyes flashing to their reptilian form as he swung the bat in front of him to point it at me. “You defy me again and I’ll make sure you regret it.”

  My shaking hand managed to open the trunk and I stepped back as I pulled it wide. A man was curled up into a ball inside, his hands bound behind his back in glowing blue cuffs. Ryder cracked his neck, waiting for the guy to exit but he didn’t.

  “Get out,” Ryder spat. “You weren’t so shy when you crossed the Brotherhood, Micky. Now get the fuck out and face your fate.”

  “Ryder,” I breathed, but I regretted it the second his gaze swung onto me again.

  “Get him out. Be useful or leave,” he barked and I jerked forward on command, reaching into the trunk and pulling at the guy’s shirt.

  He rolled fast, throwing a kick at me and catching me in the chin.

  “Ah!” I stumbled back, raising my hands to cast air, but Micky wasn’t focused on me anymore. He was out of the trunk, staring at Ryder, his eyes wide. His hair was thin and his face gaunt, sheer panic written over his features.

  “Get the cuffs off him,” Ryder ordered me, tossing me a key which I fumbled to catch. “Let him fight me with magic and see if he really is Fae or not.”

  My lips parted. Those were magic blocking cuffs? How the hell had he got his hands on some of those? Because he’s the King of the Lunar Brotherhood, idiot.

  I stepped toward Micky and he looked at me with a wild glint in his gaze that said he was about to bolt. I reached for the cuffs and he watched as I hesitantly slid the key into them.

  I twisted it and the glowing blue light died in an instant. Micky shook them off and I raised my hands, casting a tight air shield around me, but he didn’t fight. He ran.

  Micky fled into the trees and Ryder threw his head back as he laughed. “You’re only prolonging the inevitable!”

  He strode around to his bike and I shook like a leaf as he started it and rode it past the Star Rover, halting it in front of me as he rested the bat across his knees. “Are you with me or not, brother?”

  Shit shit shit.

  With him? I wasn’t fucking with him. Except I was. I had to be. I needed this job. Because if I said no, I might just make an enemy of Ryder Draconis. And judging by the baseball bat, the scary ass look in his eyes and the terrified man running away through the trees, I reckoned that was the stupidest idea in the history of the world.

  I hurried forward, swinging a leg over the back of his bike. He took off before I’d found anything to hold onto, figuring I couldn’t just wrap my arms around his damn waist. He wouldn’t like that at all.

  But when he put on a burst of speed and a yell of fright escaped me, I wrapped my arms around that motherfucker like he was my damn grandma at a Christmas party.

  He didn’t stop me, he just drove faster into the trees, the two beams of light slicing the dark apart as he hunted for his prey.

  Why does he even want me with him?!

  He churned up the ground as the bike raced along and Micky soon appeared up ahead. Ryder held the baseball bat out with his right hand, swinging it in preparation as he chased the guy down. He could have used magic, but he clearly wanted to do this the personal way.

  The bat connected with Micky’s head and he hit the ground with a solid thump. Ryder veered back in a sharp circle and I gasped as I nearly came off the seat. He shot forward, then jolted to a halt, kicking the stand down as he cut the engine. He was off the bike in a heartbeat and bringing the bat down toward the Brotherhood traitor.

  Micky cast a shell of ice around him and Ryder’s bat collided with it, a dong ringing out through the woods. The ice was thick and Ryder’s chest and arms were taut with muscle as he beat the bat against it again and again, grunts of effort escaping him with each swing.

  Micky tried to reinforce it but Ryder’s blows were too powerful. He soon made a big enough crack then discarded the bat, punching a hole through it and dragging Micky full bodily out of the cage of ice. He launched him against a tree then pinned him there with vines, striding toward him across the mossy ground.

  My heart thumped in my ears and I was only half aware of sliding off the bike and moving after Ryder.

  “You think you can sell out my people and not pay for it? You’ve been giving Felix Oscura locations and times when the strongest members of my gang would be absent so he can obliterate our people at every attack. So he could murder innocent civilians!” Ryder’s fist slammed into Micky’s gut. “Say it.” He punched him again. “Fucking admit it.”

  “I did it, I’m sorry, so sorry,” Micky coughed blood, going limp in his binds. “I needed the money. Ma was sick and I couldn’t pay her hospital bills. But she didn’t make it-”

  “Then you should have come to me!�
�� Ryder bellowed. “I wouldn’t have let a Brother’s family die. But you sold me out. All of us.” He punched him again, sighing as Micky’s pain fuelled his magic reserves.

  “I-I didn’t think, boss,” Micky spluttered.

  “I’m not your boss anymore.” Ryder spat on his chest, his saliva mixing with the blood pouring from Micky’s mouth. “I’m your comeuppance.” He waved a hand and a vine wrapped around Micky’s throat.

  “Wait no st-” Micky’s pleas were cut off as the vine yanked his head sideways and a loud snap sounded his neck breaking.

  My heart ceased to beat.

  Ryder breathed heavily as we stood in the wake of Micky’s death. Silence closed in on me, making the world seem horribly small. Like just me, Ryder and this murder were the only things that inhabited it.

  “You killed him,” I breathed and Ryder turned to me with pure darkness in his eyes.

  “Traitors die. That’s the law in the Brotherhood. You’re not going to forget that now, are you?”

  I shook my head, fear keeping me from saying another word. This was why he wanted me to do this job. He wanted me to see what happened to the people who crossed him.

  Ryder raised his hand, carving a hole in the ground and using his vines to draw Micky’s body deep into the dirt.

  I’d never, ever betray Ryder if I could help it. But the horrible, terrifying truth was I already had.

  I was working for his enemy. Double crossing him just like this guy had. And if he ever found out, he would put me in the ground without mercy, without remorse, without blinking. Just like Micky.

  I couldn’t show Dante that video of Ryder and Professor King. I couldn’t go against Ryder so absolutely. But not doing so would be betraying Dante too.

  For a terrifying second I realised I might soon end up in a grave…and maybe it just came down to which one of them would dig it.

  “-Draconis! Mr Draconis pay attention!” Professor Mars shot a blast of water at me and I stumbled back, blinking out of my stupor.

  Eugene Dipper was buried in the ground at my feet, the tip of his white hair peeking above the disturbed earth.