Broken Fae Read online

  BROKEN FAE

  Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac

  Book 4

  Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti

  Table of Contents

  Campus Map

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Author Note

  Welcome to Aurora Academy, here is your campus map.

  Please take note of where The Lunar Brotherhood and Oscura Clan have claimed turf to ensure you don’t cross into their territory unintentionally. Faculty will not be held responsible for gang maiming or disembowelment. Have a great term!

  Click the map to enlarge.

  To the man who was hustling to sell facemasks for years before Covid, living rough on the streets and warning us of the nightmare to come.

  May your cardboard doomsday signs be framed and celebrated.

  May we always heed your warnings in future, no matter if the next plague requires wearing glittering buttplugs 24/7 to ward off the Coronass virus of 2021.

  May we never take you and your wild ramblings for granted again.

  We will buy your buttplugs, good sir. Just name your price.

  M y stomach swooped and all of a sudden the stars spat us back out again, my feet crunching against gravel as I stumbled backwards and my grip on Leon tightened.

  He lost his balance too and I tipped over, dragging him with me as we both fell to the ground. My back hit the gravel and the air was driven from my lungs half a second later as a big ass Nemean Lion shifter fell straight on top of me.

  “Fuck, sorry little monster,” Leon hissed, rolling to his left and dragging me over on top of him instead.

  “I think you broke my ribs,” I wheezed as the silence of our destination washed over me.

  There were no more sounds of the FIB hunting in the woods, no clamour of sirens or screams of battle.

  We were alone. And the idea of that broke my heart.

  “Who’s there?” a deep growl demanded, and a shiver raced down my spine as I scrambled to get up.

  “It’s just me, Dad!” Leon called back quickly. “Don’t go all mountain lion on us and pounce from the porch!”

  I scrambled upright and Leon leapt up beside me as I looked at his huge home in surprise. I hadn’t really thought about where Leon was taking me when he’d thrown the stardust, but I guessed it made sense for him to come home.

  “What the hell are you doing breaching the detection and anti- stardust spells?” Reginald demanded, striding forward with the lights from the house haloing his silhouette and casting his features in shadows.

  “Sorry. We were in a tight spot and Dante gave us some stardust to outrun the FIB,” Leon explained, taking my hand as he pulled me forward. I was tugged along with him, suddenly feeling desperately aware of the state of my torn and filthy clothes. I stank of the muck that sat at the bottom of The Weeping Well, full of rotting corpses. And I was covered in scrapes, bruises, cuts and even the bite from the feral Vampire.

  “Well, don’t just linger out there like a couple of hyenas, your mother has dinner on the table.” Reginald turned and strode back into the house without waiting for us and I looked up at Leon hesitantly as we were shrouded in the dark.

  “Come on then, little monster,” he said, unable to hide the grin on his face. “Let’s go let them know you’re part of the family now.”

  He started walking, practically running as he was filled with excitement about sharing this news with his family, but I just froze. I knew I’d met them before and it had gone okay but that had been different; I’d only been playing the part of Leon’s girlfriend, not showing up with silver rings in my eyes and announcing myself as one of the family. What if they didn’t want me? My own mother didn’t, so why would Leon’s?

  Leon made it to the front door before he glanced back and realised I wasn’t following. His brow pinched and he looked back at me in confusion as he took a step closer to me again.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, holding out a hand to me in offering.

  “Are we just going to stroll in there, looking like death warmed up, covered in mud and blood and both half beaten to shit and just casually announce that we had our Divine Moment and now they’re stuck with me for life?” I asked, biting on my bottom lip as the idea of that sent a shiver running down my spine.

  “Yeah,” Leon agreed enthusiastically. “It’ll be epic. Come on.” He held his hand out more firmly and I swallowed down a lump in my throat as I forced myself to close the distance between us.

  So what if they didn’t want me anyway? Leon did. He’d just announced it to the stars themselves and bound himself to me for all of time. And that was more than good enough for me.

  I took his hand and he led me into the grand hallway with a grin on his face as I eyed the state of him too. He was shirtless, his golden skin covered in filth, Ryder’s bloody handprint still marking his flesh. His beautiful hair was dirty and bedraggled and he definitely had the stench of that death pit at the bottom of the well on him too.

  I kicked my sneakers off before we headed on down the corridor, trying to make some effort to protect their pristine tiled floors from the filth, though Leon didn’t seem to care about tracking it through the house.

  Leon knocked the doors to the dining room open with a bang and tugged me inside as his family all looked up from their desserts.

  Reginald had taken his place at the head of the table and his three wives, Safira, Marie and Latisha sat around him. Leon’s brother, Roary, was leaning back in his chair and his eyebrows rose as he took in the state of us.

  “Well don’t you two look like a pair of pigs that have been rolling in the shit?” he teased, pushing a hand through his dark mane.

  All eyes fell on us and I laughed nervously as Leon’s grip tightened on my fingers.

  Chairs scraped across the floor as Leon’s moms all leapt from their seats and ran to greet him, cooing and fussing at the sight of their not so little cub.

  “Oh look at you! You look like you did that time you got into the chocolate when you were three,” Latisha purred as she pulled Leon into a hug, mud and all.

  “I’ve never seen a boy get himself so filthy,” Marie added fondly like he’d just won a filthy mess competition.

  “Oh your beautiful mane is all mucky,” Safira commented as she pawed at it like she might stand a chance of cleaning it by hand right here in the dining room.

  “Have you been on a job?” Marie asked.

  “What was the take?” Roary cut in from his spot across the room.

  “It wasn’t that kind of job,” Leon began but Safira shrieked suddenly, pushing t
he other Lionesses aside as she grabbed Leon’s face between her hands and tilted his head down towards hers as she stared into his eyes.

  “Look at his eyes!” she cried, releasing Leon and swirling around to face me as she snatched my face into her grasp too.

  “Oh praise the stars!” Marie shrieked as she looked into Leon’s eyes too, taking in the silver which now ringed them.

  “May the moon have mercy on us all!” Latisha breathed, clutching her heart.

  “My beautiful boy! This might just be the happiest day of my life!” Safira exclaimed as she stared into my eyes for a long moment before bursting into tears.

  “What is it?” Reginald asked.

  The Lionesses scattered at the sound of his chair pushing back so that he could prowl forward. I bit my lip nervously as the huge man closed in on us, his gleaming mane of golden hair hanging perfectly around his shoulders and his pristine suit about as far from our ruined clothing as you could get. I felt like a half dead mouse dragged in by the cat instead of some prize to be presented, but the way Leon kept looking at me said he didn’t see me that way at all, even if I did look like absolute shit.

  Leon tugged me closer, straightening his spine proudly. “We had our Divine Moment tonight,” he announced.

  Reginald’s lips parted, his eyes swivelling between my eyes and Leon’s as he hunted for the truth and I offered him a tentative smile.

  “Oh my boy!” he exclaimed, a smile breaking across his face like the sun breaking through the clouds. A deep purr resonated from him and he threw his arms around the two of us, locking us in an embrace tight enough to crush bones, not to mention ruin his fancy pants suit with all of our grime.

  I laughed as Leon started purring too and suddenly the whole room was filled with the sounds of the Lions exclaiming in excitement.

  Another set of arms closed around us and I found myself in the middle of a Lion sandwich as Roary joined the Lion pile, his purr rattling through my spine as he nuzzled against my hair, not seeming to give one shit that it was full of muck and grime.

  “Welcome to the pride, little Vampire,” he said warmly as Reginald nuzzled me too.

  I should have been uncomfortable as hell being crushed between people who were practically strangers and goddamn nuzzled, but it didn’t feel like that. It felt like becoming a part of something which my heart had been aching for. I suddenly didn’t feel so adrift in the world. I had people who wanted me to be a part of their family. People who were welcoming me without so much as a question over it.

  The sound of plates clattering came a moment before the male Lions released me and Reginald grasped my shoulders, pushing me towards the table where Latisha, Marie and Safira had all just placed their desserts onto a plate they’d laid out for me.

  Roary crossed to his own plate too and quickly pushed a fat slice of cheesecake on top of the others, scraping the china to make sure I got every last crumb.

  I looked up at Leon in confusion as he beamed at me like this was the best thing that had ever happened to him. I didn’t know what was going on, only that Lions didn’t share food. I’d seen Dante trying to steal a french fry from Leon once, but it was like trying to get blood from a stone. No way he ever offered up food from his plate once he started on it.

  Reginald moved to collect his plate last, scraping his food from it too before offering me his fork.

  “I don’t understand what’s happening,” I said in confusion, my eyes finding Leon’s as I hunted for an answer.

  “They’re offering to share their food with you,” Leon explained.

  “It means you’re a part of the pride,” Reginald said proudly, beaming at Leon as he continued to purr.

  Reginald’s eyes shifted to me again and the fondness I found in the golden depths of his gaze had me chewing on my bottom lip. I smiled at him tentatively, reaching out to take the fork before turning to face the mountain of food they’d offered up.

  Safira dragged a chair back for me and Leon moved close behind me, his hands landing on my shoulders as I speared a huge chunk of cheesecake onto my fork.

  The whole family crowded in to watch me like this was the most interesting thing they’d ever seen and as I shoved the cheesecake into my mouth, they all started clapping and purring so loudly it sounded like a mini avalanche was taking place.

  “I’ll run the bath!” Safira squealed.

  “I’ll get the brushes!” Marie added excitedly.

  “I’ll find the lotions!” Latisha gushed and the three of them raced from the room before I could ask what the hell that was all for.

  Reginald and Roary dropped into seats either side of mine, grinning widely as they continued to watch me eat like they’d never seen anything so fascinating.

  Leon’s purr was so loud that I could feel it resonating through his hands where they were still pressed to my shoulders.

  He leaned forward, nuzzling against me as I tried not to laugh while shovelling cheesecake into my mouth. My stomach was already fit to burst and I’d hardly made it half way through the plate, but I didn’t know how this was supposed to go and I didn’t want to offend them by leaving any.

  I speared another bite onto my fork and turned to look up at Leon questioningly. “Do you wanna help me out with this, Leo?” I asked, offering him the food and hoping he’d tell me if I wasn’t supposed to share.

  The smile he gave me cast aside any doubts and he lunged forward, his mouth closing over the fork as he accepted the food and his purr deepened.

  I laughed, lifting another slice in my hand and offering it to him. Leon groaned as I fed him, closing his eyes like I was doing something so much better than shoving a bit of cake into his mouth.

  Roary laughed beside us, pushing a hand through his mane as he watched us together. “I’m so pleased for you, little brother,” he said. “You’re one of the best people I know and I’m so glad you’ve found happiness like this.”

  “You’ve done us all proud, Leonidas,” Reginald added, clapping his son on the shoulder with a deep fondness which spoke of his love for his son. “She’s a beautiful girl and a perfect mate for you. You needed to be challenged and pushed out of your comfort zone to grow into the Lion I always knew you could be and now I can see nothing but the brightest future before you.”

  “Shit guys, you’re gonna make me blush,” I teased and they all laughed fondly as they continued to watch me with the food.

  Reginald and Roary had both slung their arms around the back of my chair and Leon was leaning down over me so closely that I felt like I was being boxed in. There was nothing threatening about their stances though, it was more like they were…eager.

  I hesitated as I glanced between the three male Lions, wondering what they were waiting for. Roary smiled excitedly as I looked at him and his gaze cut to my plate which was still stacked high with cake.

  “Do err…you guys want to share?” I offered hesitantly.

  The three male Lions all snarled eagerly, pouncing on my plate and snatching handfuls of cake for themselves as they fought over my food.

  I laughed as I was almost knocked out of my chair and scrambled out from between them as they all dove on my plate. They snarled, growled, snatched and shoved and eventually Leon and Roary fell back with handfuls of cake while Reginald was left to lick the plate.

  I laughed again as Leon stalked towards me with cheesecake smeared across his face and Roary grinned at us as he licked more from his fingers.

  “We’ll make a Lioness out of you yet, little monster,” he teased.

  “I quite like being a Vampire,” I replied, flashing my fangs at him. “But being an honorary Lion sounds pretty good to me.”

  “Not a Lioness?” Roary teased.

  “No,” Leon replied for me. “She’s not submissive enough for that.”

  The others laughed and I shrugged because it was true. I might have been mated to Leon now, but I wasn’t about to start serving him hand and foot. I didn’t think he’d want me to anyway.
/>   Leon tugged me into his arms and my fangs tingled as I breathed in the scent of his skin. “Any chance you’ve got some magic to spare?” I asked, looking up at him hopefully though I knew after his fight with King and Nightshade he must have been pretty much running on empty too. But my fangs were aching with need and the empty feeling in my chest was begging to be filled. I was desperate for the taste of magic on my tongue and I was worried I might lunge at someone if I didn’t get some soon.

  “Here,” Roary offered, moving forward with his wrist held out.

  “Seriously?” I asked in surprise. Roary gave off intense Alpha vibes and I wasn’t likely to best him in a fight with his level of magic and the fact that he was fully trained. I also didn’t get the impression he was the type to enjoy being bitten but he didn’t even hesitate as I moved closer to him, the need in my body driving me to take what he was offering.

  “You’re a part of the pride now,” he said with a smile. “We look after our own.”

  Reginald smiled proudly as he placed the spotless plate down on the table.

  “You’re a Night now, Elise,” he added in a deep voice that commanded attention. “Everything we have is yours. Anything you want, need or desire will be granted. You’ll find that being a part of a pride is something truly wonderful.”

  Something in my chest thawed at his words and I smiled genuinely as Roary shifted closer, still offering his wrist.

  “Thank you,” I breathed, looking between these three huge Lions who were willing to embrace me into their family as if I’d always been meant to be a part of it. And maybe I had been. The stars had chosen me for Leon, fate had pushed us together and deemed us a perfect match. And I couldn’t deny the ache of longing I felt at the idea of belonging somewhere like this. Of being wanted, needed, maybe even loved.

  Leon gave me a little nudge towards Roary and I gave up trying to resist as I snatched his hand into my grip and drove my fangs into his wrist.

  I sighed in relief as blood and power washed over my tongue and I sated the desperate ache in my body with his magic. He was just as powerful as Leon, but his blood didn’t taste as alluring somehow. It gave me all I needed but it didn’t unlock the taste and heat of the sun like Leon’s did.