Page 19 of Creatures of Chaos

He shakes his head. “Something came up with the council. I have to shoot over there right now. Sorry.”

“No worries,” I say, trying to cover my disappointment.

Becks has a far-off look in his eyes when I shut my locker and turn to him. I’m about to ask him if everything is okay when Shawn, a fellow dragon shifter and one of his vodenball teammates, comes up from behind him and slaps a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, Becks. Heard the council is looking for your match. You’d better get whatever fun there is to be had right away before you’re shackled to some chick.”

Becks swivels his head to glare at Shawn, but Shawn doesn’t even see because he’s already moved past us to join a group of guys exiting the school.

“What’s he talking about?” I ask, anxiety crawling up my chest to lodge in my throat.

Becks won’t meet my gaze, his eyes unfocused as he runs his tongue over his top row of teeth.

“Becks?” I prod around the knot of unease.

He releases a sigh and finally looks at me. “The council decided it would be beneficial for me to be mated after I graduate.”

My heart stops, the blood freezing in my veins, chilling me to the core. It takes a solid five seconds before I can respond.

“What? They want to mate you? You’re just barely eighteen. Usually heirs aren’t matched—let alone mated—until their mid-twenties.”

“Yeah, well—” He grabs the back of his neck, rubbing it as he grinds his teeth. “They decided otherwise.”

“But . . . why?”

Panic wells in my chest and spills over like a boiling pot of tar, scalding my insides and making it hard to breathe.

I always knew Becks wasn’t for me. Even before he was named heir I knew he was destined to marry someone powerful and would never be mine. I told myself so many times that I was just thankful and content with our friendship, but as the reality of Becks being pledged to another female stares me in the face, I know I’ve been lying to myself the whole time.

I’m not okay with just being his friend, and I don’t think I ever will be.

Hunching over so we’re closer in height, he gently grabs my shoulders and turns me toward him. “Don’t worry about it, okay? Nothing will change between us. I promise.”

Not even Becks’ warm touch can thaw me now. I am ice. Hard. Cold. Incapable of feelings.

“Change nothing?” Is he delusional? “Becks, having a life-mate is going to changeeverything. Not just between you and me, but in all aspects of your life. Nothing will ever be the same again.”

Becks straightens, putting distance between us. “I know that!” he snaps, taking me aback. Becks hardly ever raises his voice, least of all to me. “They said that it could just be a mating in name at first. At least until next fall. So even if I’m matched, I’ll have the rest of the summer.”

He runs a hand through his hair; the strands stick up at all different angles. There’s a wild look in his eyes he’s trying hard to contain, and it’s in that moment I realize that the lie that nothing will change is what Becks is telling himself to hold himself together.

Does the thought of Becks being matched, let alone mated, to another female unleash an almost debilitating sense of panic within me? Yes, of course it does. But even if it feels like I’m cracking apart, this is happening to Becks, not me. If I’m panicking, Becks has to be doing a million times worse. He doesn’t need a friend who’s freaking out on him right now, he needs a rock, someone calm and solid who will tell him everything is going to be okay, even when it obviously isn’t.

I move closer to Becks, placing a light hand on his forearm for comfort. The muscles beneath his skin are tight and bunched, as if he is getting ready to hit something, but then he starts to relax beneath my grip.

Shifters are a touchy-feeling bunch, especially dragon shifters, who see physical touch as a way to offer heat to another. According to Becks, it’s comforting and seen as a way to care for one another, so although physical contact is a little awkward for me, I don’t shy away from it now because I know it soothes my friend.

“You’re right. It’s going to be okay,” I say, my voice leveling out and calm. “It’s still mid-semester, so you have months before graduation.” Really only two, but I don’t point that out. “And who knows, maybe the council will change their mind and giveyou another couple years like you expected. Nothing is set in stone right now.”

“Right, exactly,” Becks says, some of the crazed look leaving his eyes. “Maybe they will change their minds.”

Now that some of the shock has worn off, his comments about not having control of his life and his bitterness against the council earlier today make crystal clear sense now.

“Is there any way to get out of this?” I ask gently, hoping there might be some sort of loophole to help him prolong the inevitable, or maybe get out of his situation altogether. Arranged matings of any sort are almost unheard of nowadays, but as the dragon heir, Becks has to play by a whole different set of rules than the rest of us. If only being the dragon heir was something Becks had a choice in. It’s a role he never wanted, but it’s not one he’s in a position to abdicate.

He shakes his head. “Not that I know of, but I can do some poking around.”

“Would your parents be able to help?”

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