Darius Scorch, the summer fae king.
He was a verifiable giant, wearing nothing but a pair of sneakers and black joggers. A ton of his muscle and scarred, brown skin was on display.
The bargain marks all over Callum were sprawling, glittering gray swirls in different shapes and sizes, with some empty space between them. Darius’s, on the other hand, were so tightlypacked that I couldn’t tell where one began or another ended. They covered every inch of him, other than his face and the palm of his hands.
According to the internet, they were all over his cock, too. Not that I’d researched it. At least, not intentionally.
You can’t blame a girl for being curious.
Darius was well-known across the city for his magic. Fire, and pleasure. People were drawn to him, and he was known for the small, silly bargains he made with them, leaving them feeling amazing afterward.
Personally, I thought offering any part of your soul was crazy, but offering a part of your soul for something as silly as a drink in a bar was next level insane.
People did that, though. That was how strong his pull was.
His scars suggested there was something more to him behind the playful bargains and sex magic, somethingmore, but I didn’t know what it could be. Maybe it had to do with the price of his power.
Callum talked to Darius while I slipped out of the car and walked over to the men. I stepped up next to Callum, and he took my hand. He didn’t seem completely comfortable with the tiny public display of affection, but I knew we were supposed to make it look like we were in love.
He kept the drizzle of rain off me with his magic, so I supposed that would work in our benefit. That seemed like a lot of effort to go to for someone you didn’t care about.
"So, this is the famous Kat," Darius said with a grin.
"Hey." I pushed my fingers between Callum’s, feeling both a little awkward and a little reluctant. Callum’s grip was stiff, but he didn’t stop me from making the hand-holding look more intimate.
We were going to have a really hard time convincing people we were in love. It was a good thing I’d made sure he smelled like me.
Something told me I was going to have to do the brunt of the work. If that was the cost of my bargain, so be it.
The actual mate bond… well, that was something else entirely.
"Nice to finally meet you." Darius held out a hand like he wanted me to shake it, but Callum blocked me from doing so. Probably because of Darius’s pleasure magic. "Since you’re a part of the squad now, I go by Dare."
"You’ve got to stop calling it a squad." Callum’s expression was deadpanned, but I thought he might actually be trying to make a joke.
Darius’s widening grin confirmed that. "Make me."
"I would, but we need to get in there. Kat's boyfriend is probably missing her."
I elbowed Callum in the side hard enough that he winced. Felt kind of bad afterward. He had enough pain in his life. But he was being an asshole, so he did deserve it. "If I have to tell you one more time that he's basically my brother, you will regret it."
"Make him regret it." Darius started to nudge my arm.
Callum's hand pressed the small of my back, basically driving me away from his friend before the guy could touch me. "We'll see you in there."
"Who's the other parking spot for?" I asked, as we walked toward the crazy-loud arena not far from Crescent Villa. It was on the front edge of the orchard.
"Merrily. She'll get here just before it starts."
"Because of her magic?"
Callum dipped his head.
We were silent as we walked down the path toward the pit. Like most werewolves, I had seen the large, bowl-shaped clearing in the orchard that was used for challenges. I'd never seen a challenge in person, because the invitation list was usually exclusive, but I'd seen the pit itself.
The path leading toward it was paved with pretty, reddish stone tiles, and was empty other than us. Almost everyone would be gathered at the pit already, because most people wouldn't risk pissing the Alpha off by not showing up earlier.
Fairy lights had been woven through the massive fruit trees on either side of the path, reminding me of Gwen's bedroom in our childhood home.
