The Awakening as Told by the Boys (Zodiac Academy, #1.5)

by Caroline Peckham

Celestial Council,

Pain was ricocheting through my body with every step I took. His pain. And the Guardian bond begged me to find him, to heal him, but he clearly didn’t give a fuck about what I wanted.

colliding with him so hard I knocked him back against the wall at his back. A pained curse slipped from his lips as I pinned him in place with one hand, the other sliding up his shirt and seeking out the bruised flesh as I released a wave of healing magic from my body into his.

I ripped his shirt off his chest and he swore as I did the same to my own in the next second, pressing my flesh to his as my magic swelled against my skin and demanded he meet it with his own.

“Fuck you,” I said through my teeth. “Why’d you stay away? Why have you done this?” “I deserve every wound,” he said bitterly and I caught hold of his chin, searching his eyes and finding nothing but an empty grave there.

His throat bobbed as he looked back at me, looking so broken it shattered what whole pieces of my soul still remained. “He hurt Xavier.”

wants me to deal with the Vegas,” he continued, his tone so hollow it frightened me. This wasn’t my friend. This was the creature Lionel wanted him to be. His leashed monster.

And one of them has reached into my chest and taken hold of a cord tethered to my soul.

“And I’m afraid of what you’ll become to save him,”

And I swear I could feel the stars coming loose from the sky, every one of them threatening to fall.

if I should just throw all of my rage at the stars and tell each and every one of them to get fucked.

stole every forbidden second staring at her face. I never got to just look at her, always having to turn away, to steal every little glance.

my gaze fell straight to her bare flesh. I pictured spreading those legs, driving her down on my desk and making her take my cock like a good girl.

Run for your star damned life, Blue. I cannot protect you and I wouldn’t even if I could.

She was the sweetest fucking fruit I’d ever seen, hanging there so ripe and appetising that my mouth was watering for a bite. Just one, lingering bite.

And holy shit, has she been smelling me?

I decided that that girl was currently the only thing making my life seem remotely enjoyable and if she left, she wouldn’t come back in here. She wouldn’t bring her light to me anymore. I’d be alone in the dark again and with everything that had happened lately I needed her to stay.

just don’t want you to leave. Because when you do, I’ll have to return to reality. And my reality sucks so fucking much, you have no idea.

“Do you want me and my sister dead?”

I was sure that I didn’t want to see her or her sister die. To see this girl perish would break something in me I didn’t even know existed until I met her. “No, Blue. I don't.”

She inspired so much lust in me that I found myself entirely unable to jerk off over anyone other than her, memories of her body, her mouth or even just her calling me fucking names filling my mind the second I wrapped my fist around my throbbing cock.

but I just ended up closing my goddamn eyes and thinking of her anyway, imaging how good it would feel to be filling her with my dick instead of fucking my hand all the damn time.

Father had stolen Lance’s life when he’d bound us together and I was sick of dragging him into my bullshit all the damn time.

forcing my scowl to tighten as I thought of my brother screaming in agony and refused to let her distract me from my goal.

Her question caught me so off guard that I almost cracked, a laugh building in my chest which had no fucking business being there. I was forced to crush it with a firm reminder of the way the scent of Xavier's burning flesh had filled the air in my father’s office and I forced myself to take back control of the situation.

She was practically smirking at me, baiting me, daring me to do my worst like she truly thought she could handle it if I did. And damn my heart to the stars, but I was tempted to do just that. Let her see the beast in me and see if she truly could handle it.

eyes still glittering like she was getting off on the danger of taunting the villain in me.

“No one is higher up the food chain than me, Roxy,”

“What are you doing?” she gasped, staring at me as I dropped my jeans, knocking my boxers off with them and letting her get a good eyeful of the full length of my cock.

I gritted my teeth as my dick continued to get all kinds of ideas about the things it could do with her if I just made her bow for me now and I tried not to let my gaze linger on her mouth while I considered how much I'd like to fuck it.

I wanted that. I wanted it more than I could say and it was so fucking tempting to just step forward, catch her by the back of the neck and kiss her roughly until she gave in and bowed to me the way I ached for her to. I could see it in her eyes. The temptation despite the hatred and I wanted to hate fuck her so much that I almost took that final step.

He endured all his father threw at him and even thrived despite it and despite him having his demons,

I was just so powerful that if I fed on another Fae's happiness for too long I usually ended up stealing it away and leaving them feeling empty or sad for a while afterwards. I much preferred to get my fix from taking unpleasant emotions away from them and leaving them feeling free from their burdens and happier than they'd been to begin with.

Darcy reached out to take her hand, making guilt well in my chest for a moment before I forced myself to focus on why I had to do this.

"I don't think we can actually kill one of the Vega princesses." There was a bite of anger and maybe even pain which accompanied that statement but as I shot him a look,

Was he reluctant to go ahead with this for some reason or was this what he needed?

Darius growled in a dark warning, his gaze narrowing on Caleb who didn't even bother to deny it.

was almost certain there was reluctance there too but it was tempered by a steely determination which I knew wouldn't be swayed.

"I volunteer as tribute!

Tory's gaze scoured across our line up and as she landed on Darius, her upper lip peeled back in clear dislike which caused him to tense up irritably.

"Fifty auras says she turns you down flat," Caleb said with a shake of his head. "A hundred," Darius upped the bet and Seth gasped as if he was offended.

"You and me were never officially anything anyway," Darius said. "And now we're officially nothing."

"Fuck Tory Vega. Do it without a silencing bubble so the whole House can hear her screaming your name and then-" "I'm going flying," Darius snapped, dropping his bag and starting to strip quickly.

“This is getting out of hand.” “I’m fine,” I said dismissively. “This isn’t fine,” he growled, deadly serious. He never spoke to me like that. We only ever joked around together, he was one of the few people I could actually have fun with.

“You’re wasting yourself,” he snarled. “You’re so fucking special, Lance, if I could only show you, you wouldn’t even recognise the person I know you can be.”

I’m talking about an early grave here. And I don’t really give a damn if the stars think it’s a bad idea to tell you that, because I’m done trying to nudge you in the right direction, I’m forcing your hand. So put some star damned clothes on, walk out that door and go do your duty tonight because if you don’t, I swear to you, you’ll regret it.”

I moved up behind her, my fingers brushing her elbow and her head turned, her breath hitching as I moved to her side. “Evening,” I murmured in her ear, energy buzzing in my veins like a drug. The interaction only lasted two seconds and yet as I walked past her, that energy remained in me and I held onto it as hard as I could, thinking of the darkness I’d been a slave to only moments ago and not wanting it to creep in again.

And something in me shifted as I realised I was going to try and protect the Vegas from their wrath.

Darius scoffed. "So I assume she shot you down," he said cockily

He didn't like it any more than I did, I was certain of that. But whatever was going on with his father was enough to make him do it anyway.