Page 77 of Creatures of Chaos

Talon nods. “Naturally.”

It can’t be as easy as that. There has to be a catch, but as I stare at Talon, he’s giving nothing away. All I see right now is the easygoing guy he portrays himself to be to the rest of the school. That he can switch back and forth between personas so easily should be unnerving, but if he can do what he says he can do and get Becks out from underneath the arranged life-mating, do I really care what mysteries the guy is keeping to himself?

He holds out his hand for me to take. “Do we have a deal?”

I look at his outstretched hand, knowing what he’s offering me is weightier than a simple handshake, but I take it anyway.

The moment my hand slips into his, a rush of heat swamps my body, starting from the point where our hands connect and running up my arm straight to my head and then down my body. It leaves me lightheaded.

I gasp. “What was that?”

“I was just sealing our agreement.”

I blink back up at him, realizing what he just did. He used magic,vampire magicto be exact, to create an unbreakable bond between us. If he comes through on his end of the bargain, I’ll have no choice but to come through on my end. So if he gets Becks free of the life-mating, then I won’t be able to pass the next trial even if I want to. The only thing that frees either of us from this arrangement is if the other person releases them.

I realize I’m still gripping Talon’s hand and let go immediately, but the heat from his grip lingers.

“You just used vampire magic,” I accuse, my mind trying to put together the pieces so that they make sense.

“So I did,” he says.

I’ve seen Talon use lots of different types of magic, but never one thing that I knew only belonged to one species. But now, even though it doesn’t quite feel right, I can’t deny it. Talon is a vampire.

With a wink, Talon turns from me and starts toward the stairs, leaving me gawking behind him.

I pushthe revelation of Talon’s creature species out of my mind. I always knew Talon had to be something, so why not a vampire? It explains the darkness that lurks in his gaze. But something about it doesn’t exactly feel right, and that nags at me.

I make it back to the table before the end of lunch, but the space is crowded with our usual gang as well as a few dragon shifter friends of Becks’ that I don’t really know and there isn’t a spot for me. Becks spots me first and jumps up to grab an empty chair from another table and slide it next to his. I smile my thanks as I slip into the seat, and when he settles into his own chair he rests his arm against the back of mine. No one seems to notice when he picks up a piece of my hair and starts to play with it, but I’m acutely aware of the way he twirls the strands around his fingers.

“Where have you been, girl?” Shayla asks, and several heads turn in my direction, including the dragon shifters that don’t usually sit with us.

Letting go of my hair, Becks reaches for a fry on his tray. I try not to be disappointed, but I can’t help but wonder if he stopped because he didn’t want anyone to know he was touching me.

“Oh, um, I had to catch up with Talon about a project we’re working on.” I really hope no one knows either of our schedules well enough to call me out on that lie. I don’t have to look over at Becks to know that he’s stiffened up next to me.

“Talon, eh?” Carmen, one of the dragon shifters says, and then wiggles her eyebrows at me. “I wouldn’t mind having a special project with him. He is one fine creature.”

“I second that,” Shayla says with a laugh, and then she and Carmen high five.

“Hey,” Owen says next to her, looking properly annoyed.

Giggling, Shayla plants a kiss on his cheek to mollify him. “Don’t worry, babe, the mysterious bad boys don’t really do it for me. Besides, I’m partial to blonds who can light stuff on fire.”

Owen grumbles under his breath but picks up Shayla’s hand and kisses her palm. As they stare lovingly into each other’s eyes, something in my heart tweaks. I thought I would be content with knowing Becks wants to be with me as much as I do him, but I want more. I want Becks to publicly claim me as his. I don’t want to hide in the shadows. I want to stand in the daylight, free to express our feelings for each other for all to see, but we can’t. I remind myself that if Talon comes through, maybe we will be able to soon.

“How did that go?” Ensley asks, leaning forward. “Is Talon prepared to do his part? His part of the project, I mean.”

She and Becks knew I was going to talk to Talon. I’m surprised Becks didn’t ask me about it immediately, but maybe he just forced it from his mind. He certainly wasn’t happy to hear I was planning on meeting Talon alone.

I nod and smile. “We’re all set. He’s confident he’ll be able to get his part done quickly. In fact, he wanted to take an even bigger role in the assignment than I expected.”

Her eyebrows rise.

“What does that mean?” Becks asks.

“Um . . .” I glance over at Becks to see the frown on his face. How am I supposed to answer that in front of everyone? “He just pointed out that he’s more familiar with the material than I am, so it might be better if he runs lead on the work.”

I’m not sure if that made any sense to Ensley or Becks, but that’s all I’m going to say about it until we’re in private.

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