“Why?” I stamped my foot and his eyebrow arched at me.
“Because I don’t want to.” He tried to quicken his pace, but I caught his arm, tugging to make him look at me again, which he did, and the death glare I received was enough to make me release him, though I still forged on with my request.
“Come on, I’ll pay you. And I’ll do something for you in return too. What do you want?” I asked and he thought on that.
“Anything I want?” he confirmed and I nodded.
“Anything,” I agreed and he thought on that for a minute.
“Do you know Gabriel Nox?” he asked.
“Yeah, what about him?”
“Well he’s an old friend of mine, and he likes to use his Sight to get one up on me. Like the other morning, he told me he foresaw me choking on the last pancake if I ate it. But then he went and ate it, so I know his game. He played me like a fucking fool.”
“Okay…and what do you want me to do about that?”
“I want a little revenge,” he said with a grin. “But I can’t get him back myself because he’ll be watching for me. But he’s not gonna be watching for you…”
“So you want me to do what exactly?” I frowned.
“I don’t wanna know a single thing about what you do, or else he’ll see it coming. But I want you to prank him so fucking good he’ll never mess with me again.”
“You know he could literally see this conversation right now though, don’t you?” I said, aware that I had about as much chance of pranking Gabriel Nox as I had of shifting into a Dragon like my good ol’ daddy had always wanted.
“Nah, he’s busy right now,” he said with a knowing smirk. “So have we got a deal?” He offered me his inked hand.
“Dick piercing first?” I confirmed and he nodded, so I slid my palm into his and a flash of power rang between us as we made the deal. I had no idea how I was gonna fulfil my end of that bargain, but I’d give it a shot.
“Alright, I’ll get what I need. You know where the Oscura Clan are housed?”
I nodded my agreement because yeah, everyone knew where the pack of cutthroat Werewolves had taken up residence – you could hear them howling, partying or fucking at all hours of the day and night unless the silencing bubbles were maintained at all times, and Rosalie and Dante Oscura arrived at the dining hall with their enormous pack in tow every morning drawing plenty of attention. I’d even been down there with the Heirs and the twins to party with them a couple of times and it had been seriously good fun.
“Just before you get to their quarters there are a series of rooms for me and my family. I use the first on the left for my work. Meet me there in ten minutes.”
I nodded, bounding away with an excited neigh as I headed in that direction. I grabbed an apple and a couple of carrots as I passed by the buffet, thankful no one I knew was around as I walked down the twisting tunnels which led towards the Oscura Clan’s territory.
Inside the room the tattooist had directed me to was a small lounge area with a few couches and chairs that looked like they’d been made from woven moss.
I chomped my way through my apple with an excited whinny before starting on my carrots, putting my feet up on the wooden coffee table as I waited for my new friend to arrive. When he appeared with a box in his arms, I sat upright in my seat, swallowing a mouthful of my carrot.
“I didn’t get your name?” I asked brightly.
“Carson,” he said, placing the box down on the table and flipping the lid open.
I gasped, leaning forward as I took in the terrifying-looking needle inside which sat beside a tattoo gun.
“Alright, let’s get this over with. Pants off, lay back on the couch,” Carson directed and a little tremor of nerves ran through me before I dropped my pants alongside my boxers and laid down on the mossy cushions, leaving my ‘Horn and Raised’ t-shirt and rainbow socks in place.
“What about the piercings?” I asked. “Don’t I need to pick something?”
“Pick whatever you want,” he said. “I’m an earth Elemental. I can make metal and gemstones however you like. Just give me an idea of what you’re going for here. A Prince Faebert?”
I shook my head, knowing exactly what I wanted. “A Jacob’s Ladder,” I said with no hint of doubt in my voice. “A rainbow one.”
He stared at me with his dark green eyes shining with mirth. “You sure about that? The whole fucking cock?”