Changed

by Jean Booth

  I dressed in loose clothing and followed him back to his room where John was waiting with breakfast. The smells of hot chocolate, muffins, and ham couldn’t distract me from the sight of his completely healed and whole body. I ran to him, hugging him close, needing to feel his body to make certain it wasn’t my delusional mind playing tricks on me.

  “You’re okay. It wasn’t a dream. You really are okay!” I smiled at him, patting his arms, chest, and face to verify that he really was whole and alive. I couldn’t believe how good he looked.

  “Thanks to you,” he said, eyes filling with tears as he hugged me back. “You really shouldn’t have done that. But I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Now eat.”

  He sat with us, and they both watched as I scarfed the food down, moaning in contentment. I’d eaten enough to fill two grown men before I realized they were still staring in fascination. I blushed.

  “What? I haven’t eaten in…well I don’t know how long. How long have I been here? How long was I in that house?” I shuddered as a sudden chill ran up my spine.

  “Tomorrow is the night of the Hunter’s Moon. It’s been two weeks since you were taken.” Stephan’s quiet voice was filled with regret. My fork fell from my fingers.

  “Well then.” I cleared my throat, trying not to sound horrified. “It’s been two weeks since I’ve eaten. Do either of you know what happened? How did they know I’d be at my house alone?” I choked out the words, trying to sound more together than I felt. Two weeks. It felt like an eternity. I returned to eating even though the food now felt like lead in my stomach.

  “It was James. He betrayed us to Nicholas in hopes of getting revenge on you for humiliating him. He drugged me. My own brother kidnapped and helped them torture me.” He didn’t even try to hide the pain in his voice. “I’m so sorry, Natasha. I never thought he’d be capable of doing something like that. At least we don’t have to worry about him anymore.” A tear slid silently down John’s face. He ignored it.

  “Oh my God. That really happened?” I looked at them in horror, food forgotten with the realization that the murder of the one I called Not John truly took place. It wasn’t just a dream inflicted by my pain-addled mind. My stomach churned as I thought of the other memories I’d thought were dreams. I prayed they weren’t real, but knew my prayers fell on deaf ears. Forcing myself away from these thoughts, I said the only thing I could. “I’m so sorry, John.” He nodded. His sad smile telling me he understood but was still grieving for the brother who betrayed us.

  “Are they all dead, then?” I whispered.

  “Yes,” Stephan said, his voice firm and clipped. He didn’t want to talk about it and neither did I. Not yet. The wounds were still too fresh. There was one thing I had to know though. I couldn’t wait another minute, or I’d chicken out and force myself to believe it was all part of the horrific nightmare I was placing all my memories into. Closing my eyes to say a quick prayer that I was wrong, I turned and looked directly at Stephan.

  “Nicholas told me some things about the prophecy and my mating I didn’t want to believe. I have to know. I deserve to know.” My voice shook as I asked what I didn’t want to believe. “Nicholas said Raif has to die, that he knew of his death from the beginning. Is it true?” I had to hear it from Stephan. He couldn’t meet my eyes, shattering my heart. “Why didn’t you tell me?” I whispered, throat tight with the pain of betrayal.

  “I wanted you to be able to survive on your own before I told you. I wasn’t certain how you’d react.” His voice was soft, regret thick in the air. “Raifuku should have told you before you agreed to mate. My heart truly grieves for you.” He slumped in his chair, head hanging in remorse. I still couldn’t believe it. They had to be wrong. Raif couldn’t die.

  “He knew I’d never agree to the mating, had I known. Is there any way to stop him?” I knew the answer before I asked, but still, I hoped. He looked up at me, tears pooling in his silver orbs. Gently, he shook his head. “Is that it then? Is there anything else I should know? Anything else that’s been kept from me?” My voice was cold, bitter with pain.

  “There’s still much you need to know about who you are and what you’re capable of. However, in regard to the prophecy, that will be completed when a full-blooded Atlantean mates and allows his blood to coat Poseidon’s alter. Only then will we be free of the curse that has hidden us from civilization for the past eleven thousand years.”

  “Could Nicholas have prevented it?” I shuddered at the memory of what was done to me. Stephan vibrated in anger.

  “No. He would’ve eventually killed you. That may have prevented the fulfillment, or it would’ve succeeded in completing the prophecy. We’re uncertain if a mixed blood’s death would be sufficient. No one’s been able to give Cleito her tears back before. Nicholas wouldn’t have risked killing you if he truly wished to remove the threat of fulfillment.” Anger gave way to a deep pain as he spoke. “Once mated, the only true way to remove the bond is the death of a mate. The survivor, however, usually joins their mate shortly after death.” He wasn’t talking to me anymore. He was lost in his own thoughts, his own pain that he kept hidden from the world. I went pale at his words.

  “So, I might die when Raif does.” My voice was monotone. Maybe that was for the best.

  “The bonds of mating are soul deep. You and Raifuku are truly two bodies sharing one soul. Normally, mates live the remainder of their long mortal lives together, strengthening the bonds until they’re so thick the mortal bodies literally cannot live without each other. There’s only one that I know of that has survived the death of their mate, and he almost went mad.” He shook his head. “You and Raifuku haven’t been mated long. Your bonds, while permanent and unbreakable, are still weak. You have an abnormal mating, one that should allow you to survive Raifuku’s death.”

  “I can’t deal with this right now. I can’t process this in front of you.” I’d seen the love Stephan had for me reflected in his eyes. How was I supposed to grieve for my soul mate in front of him? “Is there any place I can go, alone? Or at least somewhat alone?” I knew better than to just run off. Nicholas cured me of any desire I had to be completely alone.

  “I will take you someplace that’s safe for you.” Stephan held the door open for me and led me to his car. I was shaking with anger, hurt, and fear. How could they have kept this from me? How could Raif have mated with me without telling me it meant his death, and possibly my own? I wished I’d never gone on that stupid cruise. I never would’ve gone diving and never would’ve met Raif. My heart clenched.

  Stephan drove to a secluded rocky area of beach and pointed to a large, flat boulder in the water, about fifty feet from shore.

  “I often come here when I need to be alone. I’ll wait here for you. Take all the time you need.” He turned the radio on low to a jazz station he liked, giving me the illusion of privacy. I got out of the car and walked to the water. It was dark; the almost-full Hunter’s Moon cast an eerie blushed glow on the waters. I knew Stephan would be at my side in seconds if I shouted, and I took comfort in that as I dove into the black waters.

  I swam out to the boulder, ignoring the light stings of the jellyfish as I went. They were but an irritant after my time with Nicholas. The rock was slick, smooth from the continued beatings of the waves, and thick with algae growing all around, making it difficult to obtain purchase as I climbed up. I made it, slicing my palm on a jagged edge as I did so.

  I crawled to the middle of the boulder and sat. I wanted to cry, needed to, but was completely unable to do so. Instead, I watched as the blood dripped from my palm into the salty ocean waters. I watched as it dripped until the wound sealed shut, proof that I was still different, that I would never be human again.

  Everything compounded with the sealing of that small cut, coming together in a finality that rocked me to my core. I now fully understood what Stephan meant when he said I’d given up so much.

  I’d lost my family, my old, ignorant life, and my humanity.
Now I was going to lose my mate and probably my life. For what? A civilization that had existed just fine in the depths of the ocean for millennia, cursed by fate for overstepping their place in life? It wasn’t fair. They didn’t even want to change. They liked the way things were. Not only had I lost everything, but the people I was trying to help kept trying to kill me.

  I screamed my frustrations into the air. I screamed until my throat was sore. I cursed a god I wasn’t sure I believed in for allowing me to go through this. I cursed Poseidon for being an ass and allowing his people to be such fools. Finally, I cursed Raif. I hated him in that moment. But only for a moment. As I cursed and yelled at him through the winds and eight miles of ocean, I collapsed in wracking, tearless sobs.

  I understood why he hadn’t told me everything. In his own way, he was trying to protect me as he righted the wrongs that were done to his people. He’d known what mating meant for him from the beginning, yet he’d still done it. My heart broke, knowing I couldn’t even say goodbye. The waves crashed against the boulder, misting me with the salty water. The ocean’s waves allowed me to feel the wetness on my cheeks for the first time since mating, giving me the illusion of tears.

  Strong arms gathered me up, holding me protectively against a chest I was becoming way too familiar with. Stephan’s unique scent enveloped me as he rocked me gently in his arms, whispering in a language I didn’t understand.

  “I can’t even say goodbye,” I whispered as I sobbed tearlessly onto his shoulder. “Everything’s been taken from me, even my goodbye.”

  He held me long into the night, rocking me gently as the waves crashed all around us. He continued to hold me long after my sniffles subsided, and I let him. I needed the comfort. Truth was, there was only one other pair of arms I’d rather have around me but couldn’t. Sitting on a boulder in the Atlantic Ocean, I finally allowed myself to admit that my feelings for Stephan went so much deeper than friendship. If not for my bond to Raif, I’d think I was in love with Stephan.

  I looked up at him then. He watched the waves as silent tears streamed down his face. He was lost in another place, another time, but his pain was as fresh as mine. I wrapped my arms around him, returning the comfort he gave me.

  We sat there, each living our own version of hell on that rock, waves splashing about, completely oblivious to our tormented souls. I started to shiver in the early morning light, the spray from the waves cooling me to my core. His arms tightened around me, warming more than just my skin. I snuggled closer, my face buried in his warmth.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” I asked in a voice that was scratchy and hoarse from crying. His smile was weak.

  “Her name was Olivia.” It was all he said for a very long time. I was used to his pauses by now and waited for him to decide if he wanted to explain or not. It was his story to tell, or keep if he so desired, even if it was one I hoped he’d share. “She was a merchant’s daughter. I was trading, using that as an excuse to look for new donors, when I saw her. She was small, like you, with lavender eyes. It was the eyes that did it. She could’ve been a wrinkled old crone with three teeth for all I cared. As soon as our eyes met, I knew.” His voice was soft, and he clung to me, anchoring him to this time as his mind wandered into the past.

  “I stole her away that very night. I told her all about our race, about alma xemelgas, what she’d be risking if she went through with mating with me. She told me she’d been waiting for me her entire life, and even a moment in my arms would be worth anything.” Tears resumed falling silently down his face, and he had to clear his throat before continuing. “We were mated in private by the end of the week. I knew there were factions of Atlanteans that didn’t want the prophecy to be fulfilled. They would go to any lengths to prevent it, and I wouldn’t risk ending her life, or mine, for that of my people. We lived hidden from the world for her protection. It was heaven.

  “I knew there were people, like Nicholas, who would hurt her simply for knowing me.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  “Power,” he whispered. “I was the High Priest, the highest title we had when we sank. That’s why I became the leader on the surface. If those that opposed me were able to get to Olivia, they could control me. I’d do anything for my mate. Anyone would.”

  I thought of Raif and pain lanced through my heart. By mating with me, and sending me back to the surface, he was looking out for his people, not for me. He looked out for his people, even though it cost him his mate and his life. I couldn’t help but be angry with him at that knowledge. Stephan continued.

  “Olivia knew the risks when we mated. She knew what Poseidon would try to have us do if he found out about her. Still, she eagerly became my mate. She was everything to me.” He sighed deeply, shuddering at the memories as he gathered his thoughts. “We had a son.

  “He was three when we were discovered. I was headed home from the club when I felt her terror. She was strong; I’d trained her well. Even with her training and the instinct to protect her young, she was overtaken. I arrived at the house in time to watch as they were split open, their blood soaking the ground.” Only his silent tears betrayed the pain he still felt from that memory.

  “They thought only of preventing the prophecy. Had they asked, they would’ve known I’d never willingly separate from Olivia just to see my homeland again. She was worth more to me than that. I’d give anything to be with her again.

  “They thought I’d die then, with my family. I didn’t. I saw her blood splattering the lawn, seeping from her delicate throat, and went mad. In a rage, I slaughtered them all. Ten were sent to murder my wife and child; none lived past the night. I tortured information out of the one that spilled her blood. I enjoyed watching him suffer. He told me who sent them and why. He would’ve told me anything I wanted to hear by the end, just to stop the pain. I didn’t care. I knew there’d never be a release from my pain, so why should I grant him leniency?

  “Eventually, even my torture was taken from me. The coward died. The pain of losing Olivia and Caleb became too much for me to bear, and I passed out. When I came to, more than a week had passed. I was left lying in a field of decomposing corpses. I knew I had to dispose of the bodies and give my amada a proper burial, but I couldn’t. I had to eliminate the cause of her demise, the man who orchestrated the whole thing, Mneseus.”

  I gasped, horrified that Raif’s father could be so heartless and cruel as to murder an innocent woman and child. No wonder Stephan hated Raif so much. I opened my lips to say something, and Stephan stopped me with a slight shake of his head.

  “No, miña mascota, I’ve never spoken of this to anyone before; I fear if you interrupt, I’ll never finish. During my week of unconsciousness, something happened to me. I became more than I was before. I was different, yet completely the same. It’s difficult to explain, but I felt more complete than even after I’d mated. My soul was complete, but my heart was empty. It was a terrible feeling.

  “Forcing myself to do what was right, I piled the bodies of the murderers and burned them to ash. I took the remains of my wife and son to the ocean. There, I gave them a funeral fit for kings. I placed them together on a small raft with a sail. Controlling the winds, I watched as they were gently taken out to sea. When they were far enough away, I called upon the element of fire to set them aflame. It was a heartbreakingly beautiful sight.

  “Until you came, our house had remained barren. I never wanted to see it again. I didn’t know even if I could. It was no longer a peaceful haven. It had become a place of death. You’ve given it life again, after so many centuries of neglect. I thank you for that.” He gave me a shy smile, erasing some of his haunted expression.

  “What I did next still haunts my dreams. I didn’t set out only to kill Mneseus; I decimated his entire clan. You and Raifuku are quite possibly the only true Changers left of his line. There are a few vampires he created that remain, but even they are reaching the close of their long existence. The oldest of his creations is four-hundred-t
wenty-two years of age. She will live another six hundred years before the madness of the centuries weighs her down and I’m forced to end her existence. I loathe that day.

  “Mneseus knew I was coming for him. Even without the brutal murders of his clan, he knew I’d be after him. Truth be told, I should have destroyed him decades before, but I couldn’t bear to have any more Atlantean blood on my hands. I was tired of being the executioner of our people. Mneseus and I were the oldest survivors, and the years weighed heavily on us. Olivia saved me from the madness, and I’d hoped that Mneseus would’ve found the same salvation.

  “He was hiding in his South American compound when I found him. It was like a castle, but more heavily fortified. I blew the doors off, smashing the stone walls with hurricane force winds of fire that succeeded in obliterating half of my opposition.

  “Mneseus sat in a square garden in the middle of the compound on a king’s chair. I reigned in my temper, holding my need for vengeance back by a thread. I wanted to know why he had her killed. Truthfully, I wanted to rip his head off with my bare hands. Being destroyed by my power was too good for a man such as him. As I approached his makeshift throne, I demanded an explanation. His response rocked me to my core.

  “‘You’ve been neglecting your responsibilities as Poseidon’s High Priest.’ That’s what he told me. He said that since I’d mated, I’d been too distracted looking out for Olivia’s safety to pay attention to the threats to my own race. That was why he’d killed her. Because she was a distraction to me.” He said the word “distraction” like it was poison he was spitting from his mouth. “He said her loss was a worthy sacrifice for the good of our people. I saw through all his excuses. He wanted to die. He needed to provoke my anger so that I would kill him. In the end, the great Master of Arms was nothing but a weak, bitter old man.” Stephan kept his eyes on the horizon as he spoke, lost in the memory. “Even so, he couldn’t go without a fight.