The Transformed Box Set: Books 1, 2, 3, 3.5

by Stacy Claflin

  The scent that I had noticed in his classroom was stronger now. It was as if each person in the group had the odor, and it was overpowering to my sensitive nose.

  "I think we've covered just about everything for next week," Mr. Foley said. "Unless anyone has any questions."

  "Are we going to meet at the same place next week?" asked one of the kids.

  "It appears to be a good location. Unless that changes, we'll plan on making that our typical meeting spot."

  "Do we have a solution for the problem?" asked a girl.

  "I'm working on that," said Mr. Foley. "If it's not resolved by next week, then it will be for the next time."

  "We definitely need to get that taken care of."

  "It will be, don't worry," said Mr. Foley. "Now get back to the party and have fun. Act normal and don't worry about anything. Consider it done. If I don't see you sooner, we'll all see each other next week."

  What were they planning and why was a teacher in on it? The group scattered and most of the kids went towards the party. Mr. Foley went in the opposite direction. After all of the kids were out of his sight, he turned around and stared in my direction.

  He couldn't possibly know that I was in the tree watching them, could he? As tempted as I was to run back to the party faster than he could see me, I didn't budge. He continued to stare. I was sure that I was hidden from sight. But the way he was staring made me doubtful, even though it simply wasn't a possibility.

  He started walking in my direction and I made the split-second decision to jump from the tree and run back to the party. Everyone was buzzed, and having a good time, nobody even noticed when I appeared out of nowhere. Nobody except Clara, who raised an eyebrow at me.

  I grabbed another drink and thought about what I'd just seen as I watched the fire crackle. I tried to think of a logical reason for a teacher to be at a party with a group of kids. It didn't make any sense. What made even less sense was him seeing me in that tree, which should have been impossible.

  "Hey, stranger."

  I looked up and saw Tanner. "What are you doing here?"

  He wrapped his arms tightly around me in a hug. "I could ask you the same thing. I didn't think this was your scene. I go to these parties all the time, most of the athletes do."

  "Yeah, I saw my sister earlier. Clara and I brought Amanda because she's having a hard time."

  He smiled. "She seems to be doing pretty well now."

  I looked in the direction that he was gesturing and saw Amanda making out with the cute boy that was flirting with her earlier. "It looks that way, doesn't it?"

  "Are you hungry?"

  "No, Clara and I—"

  "Not that kind of hunger! Some of my teammates are roasting hot dogs and s'mores. There's lots to eat over there."

  "That sounds good."

  I followed him down through several paths. "Why are you guys so far away from everyone else?"

  "They like to feel exclusive. It's stupid, really. But it's fun."

  We came to a little creek, where he held out his hand. "Let me help you. I know all the places to step so you won't slip."

  "No thanks," I said. "I can easily maneuver my way through any treacherous forest. This is like a backyard picnic compared to other woods that I've had run through at lightning speed."

  He looked disappointed, but didn't say anything.

  When we got to the bonfire, I recognized a lot of football players and cheerleaders. Pretty much everyone from the homecoming court was there.

  Tanner handed me a marshmallow and a stick.

  "Hailey and Emma aren't here, are they?" I asked him.

  "Don't worry about them. When we were gone, everyone turned on them and they've gotten a lot nicer."

  Jealousy ran through me. "Have you spent time with them?" I asked, trying to sound like I didn't care.

  "Not much. I think that they were trying to find out if you were still pissed at them. I got the sense that they were a little scared of you."

  "I haven't seen them at school, so I have no clue."

  He laughed. "It sounds like they've been avoiding you. It's hard to stay away from those two, it seems like they're everywhere."

  I looked around at all of the faces and finally saw them. I almost didn't recognize Emma, because she'd lost so much weight. I hadn't been gone that long; I wondered how she'd done it. It couldn't be healthy, but then again, why did I care? She wasn't my friend anymore. Hailey looked less evil than normal, but she probably hadn't noticed me yet.

  Tanner grabbed my stick. "Haven't you roasted a marshmallow before? That's about to catch fire!"

  "That's the best way to eat them."

  He made a face. "You're one of those people. Try your s'more like this." He put it together and handed it to me.

  I took a bite and it melted in my mouth.

  "Pretty good, huh?"

  I nodded, my mouth full.

  He laughed at me. "I told you so."

  I grabbed a nearby bag of chips. "So you come to these parties a lot?"

  "When I can. I won't leave my brother home alone. He's at a friend's house tonight and my mom is working."

  "It sucks that she has to work so much."

  "I think she has to work more now to make up for when we were gone. I don't think she got much work done."

  "Our families are friends, we could give you guys some money."

  He gave me a hug. "That's what I love about you. My mom would be too proud to take a handout. She'd rather work twenty-four hours a day than take any money that she hadn't earned."

  "What about your dad? Doesn't he help?"

  He scowled. "He's supposed to, but he doesn't. Like I said before. We're better off without him."

  "I want to do something. What if I give you money and you tell her that you earned it?"

  "She would want to know how. I don't have a job and she doesn't want me to, either. She'd rather that I help my brother and enjoy being on the team."

  "I could rough up your dad. Convince him to stop being a deadbeat."

  "Good luck with that, he's completely off the radar. Not even the support enforcement people can find him. Let's talk about something else."

  "How often do you see Brad and Eric?"

  "Most nights. I wake up around three and we feed a little. They're really helping with this transition. I like that they don't want to hurt people. They're serious about keeping their cravings under control. They say that they want to control them and not the other way around."

  "Clara's helping me to control my cravings too. Except that she likes to hunt."

  "You guys are killing people?" Anger and disappointment flashed over his face.

  I couldn't look into his eyes. "Not innocent people. Besides, you already knew that it was me who took out that farmer after my first blood exposure."

  "Well, yeah. But that was when you had no control over it. Now you can control the hunger."

  "I do! I'm in control of it and we don't have to feed every day. I'm probably good for another week."

  He got in my face and I had to look into his eyes. "You should go with us. Then you won't have to kill anyone."

  "Thanks, Edward," I said sarcastically. "Do you sparkle in the sunlight now too? Seriously, I don't have any problem getting rid of people who do more harm than good in this world. I've always wanted to be able to get justice to creeps. Now I can do it without all of the red tape that the law requires. Royal vampires were actually created for that purpose. I'll have to tell you the story sometime."

  He sighed. "Don't call me Edward. I'm not feeding off forest animals. Though I do remember someone who was not too long ago. She gave me one right after I was turned. I liked that girl."

  I felt like I'd been slapped. "You don't like me now?" I demanded and stood up.

  He stood up and put his arm around me. "Of course I do, Alexis. I love you and I want you to choose me over Cliff. I'm only making the point that you don't have to kill people."

  "I know I don't have
to. Don't insinuate that Cliff approves of it, either, because he doesn't. Everyone at the castle drinks the bagged stuff. Most of them have never even had fresh blood. They were all exposed to bagged blood one little drop at a time. Not like I was." I glared at him, remembering when he set me up to be exposed to blood at a volleyball game.

  "You're going to bring that up every chance that you get, aren't you?"

  "I'm not holding it against you. It's a part of my history and it has an impact on how I am now."

  "But you're blaming me for the way you are."

  "No. I'm. Not."

  He didn't look convinced.

  "It just is what it is, Tanner. I'm not mad about it."

  "Then kiss me."

  "What?"

  "You heard me."

  I looked into his eyes; I saw the kind eyes that were there for me when the world was against me. Those were the eyes that defended me when nobody else would. They were the eyes that of the one that I had turned into vampire because I was so afraid that I would lose him forever. They were the eyes of a person that I couldn't deny that I loved.

  The fire crackled behind him. "Well?"

  Images of Cliff telling me to get out of his sight came to mind. I remembered my desperation to get him back and spending nearly two weeks in bed, depressed. All because I had kissed Tanner.

  "I need to get going, Tanner. It was good to talk to you."

  He frowned. "Is that how it's going to be?"

  "You said you weren't going to pressure me!"

  He leaned so close to me that our cheeks were almost touching. "I don't want to pressure you, but I also don't want you to forget what we have. It's special and you know it."

  I stepped back slightly. "Yes, it is. But we need to be friends now. You knew that I was with Cliff when we met."

  He leaned in again. "I also know that he wasn't there for you when you needed him. I was."

  I took in a deep breath. "He's here now and I'm going to be very careful not to send him running again."

  This time it was he who stepped back. "Okay. I'll see you around." He folded his arms and stared at me.

  "What? How did this go from fun and light-hearted to an argument so fast?"

  He glared at me. "It can't be light-hearted. I don't have a heartbeat. Remember?"

  It felt like he had punched me. "I saved your life. I couldn't let you die."

  "Instead, I'll live an eternity of pain watching you with him."

  A tear slipped out from my eye and ran down my face. I stared at him for a moment and then I ran off. I climbed a tree before I reached the main group of partiers. I took several deep breaths to regain my composure, but it was useless. The tears streamed down my face and I put my face in my arms and wept.

  Why had I been so stupid to think that I could choose one of them without hurting the other? I didn't want to hurt either one of them, but I couldn't be with both.

  Or could I? My mind raced with the possibilities, but I shook my head, knowing that it was unrealistic. There was no way that it could work out in the long run. I would eventually have to choose one of them and hurt the other. There was no getting around that. Besides, it would be too difficult to carry on two relationships.

  I had no choice. I would have to let Tanner go completely. Being just friends wasn't going to work out realistically. It would hurt him less in the long run if I cut him out of my life completely sooner than later.

  I opened my eyes and screamed when I saw Tanner sitting next to me. I fell off the branch and dropped about ten feet, getting scratched by every branch on the way down.

  "Nice," I muttered. "Real smooth."

  He climbed down to where I was. "I'm so sorry, Alexis. I didn't mean to scare you! Are you okay?"

  "I've probably already healed. What are you doing in this tree? I thought you were mad at me."

  He looked into my eyes. "I came to apologize. I don't know what came over me. It must be the transition I'm going through. Doesn't that cause some crazy emotions?"

  I nodded. "It sure does. Tanner, I want you to know that the last thing I want is to hurt you. You're so special to me and I hope that we can always be friends. But if it's not, I completely understand. I don't want to cause you any pain."

  "It would be more painful not having you in my life. Being your friend would be an honor. Besides, it does keep the window of opportunity open. You could still decide to choose me." He winked.

  I smiled. "Thanks, Tanner."

  He grinned, wrapping his arms around me. "That's a much better way for us to part. Unless you don't want to. We could go back and have more of those s'mores. Snuggle. Walk around. Whatever you want."

  "I'd better go check on Amanda. I'm the one who brought her here."

  He frowned. "She looked like she was doing quite well for herself from what I saw. But, you know where to find me."

  "Thanks, Tanner. I really appreciate you not making me feel bad. Honestly, I want us to get along and be the best of friends."

  If you're going to marry Cliff, shouldn't he be your best friend?

  "Seriously, with the sarcasm."

  "What?"

  Did he not mean for me to hear that? He was a royal vampire because I'd changed him with my blood, not my venom. I shouldn't have been able to hear his thoughts. Maybe he was a lower level royal because he'd been changed and not born a vampire. I'd have to look into that. "I heard what you thought, Tanner."

  "You did? Sorry about that. I'll have to watch my thoughts around you. Look, Alexis, one thing that I need you to understand is that this is very hard on me. It would be a lot different if we hadn't been through so much together. I need you to know that. I'm really trying, and I don't want to make you feel pressured. But the truth is that I love you fiercely and it kills me to know that you're choosing him. Especially since I know that you do love me. I'll just have to wait for you to make the right decision."

  "I'm sorry, Tanner. I really don't want you to feel this way. I wish that there were a way that I could take your pain away. It kills me that I'm doing this to you. I know it's my fault."

  "I don't want you to feel bad, either. I'll try harder to not pressure you, but at the same time, I want you to remember that I'll be waiting for you. I know what we have and how you feel. I'll just have to be patient."

  Part of me wanted to kiss him right there, but I knew how that would ruin things with Cliff. A lump was forming in my throat and it felt as big as a volleyball. "I need to go check on Amanda. She's under a lot of stress and I'm worried about her. If she's doing okay, maybe I'll come back and find you."

  He sighed. "You know where I'll be." He was gone.

  I shook my head, trying to clear my mind. Letting go of him was going to be very hard. I climbed out of the tree and headed back to the main party area. Clara was flirting with a group of guys and I didn't see Amanda anywhere. I walked around the edges of the group to see if she was with that guy in some secluded area. I could see a lot further than humans, so she couldn't hide too long.

  After a few minutes, I was starting to get desperate. Where was she? If she got hurt in any way, I would never forgive myself. That guy would pay, too. I could feel my fangs growing at the thought of vengeance. I didn't bother to hinder them; I was ready for attack if needed.

  I had walked around the entire group and didn't see her anywhere. I stood where Clara could see me and waited for her to make eye contact.

  Where's Amanda?

  She snuck off with that guy. She had a big grin on her face. You'd do well to relax and enjoy yourself.

  If I can't find her, you're going to help me.

  She's fine. She turned her attention back to the five guys that were fighting for her attention, loving every minute of it. But she wasn't being evil like Samantha, who was always on the prowl. Clara was just having fun. I could see that they were related, but I could also see how incredibly different they were.

  I walked away from the party to see if I could hear anything that would indicate where A
manda was. If she didn't want to be found, she was doing a great job of it. I leaned against a tree and closed my eyes. I focused on the scent of her blood and the unique pattern of her heartbeat. I had discovered that each person had a unique heartbeat pattern, like a fingerprint.

  I kicked the tree out of frustration. Why couldn't I locate her? Even worse, why hadn't I taken the time to memorize that guy's scent? I had just been happy that she was doing better and I hadn't thought beyond that. That was a mistake that I wouldn't be making again.

  "What are you doing out here, away from everyone else?"

  I opened my eyes. Mr. Foley was standing about ten feet away from me! Why had I not heard him or smelled him as he had approached? Was I so focused on Amanda that I had blocked everything else out? It was another mistake I would be avoiding in the future. If he could sneak up on me, then so could my enemies.

  "I'm looking for my friend. What are you doing here? Isn't it your job to report all of the illegal activity going on here?"

  He laughed. "I'm off the clock and I don't want to start off on a bad foot with my students."

  "You know, if you try to be buddies with your students, they won't respect you."

  "I see why everyone says you're so smart. I'm not trying to be buddies with anyone."

  "Sure you're not. That's why you're out here, at a drinking party in the woods."

  He smiled.

  I was taken in by how handsome he was. How could a teacher be so good looking? It was no wonder that everyone had been talking about him at school. "What's so funny?" I asked.

  "You're amusing."

  "You never answered my question. Why are you here? I'm pretty sure that you could get in trouble if someone was to turn you in to your boss."

  "I probably could. The thing is that a little earlier, I was in a different part of the woods with my Wilderness Club. I have the perfect alibi." But you already knew about that.

  So he did see me in the tree! It wasn't my imagination. Did he know that I could hear his mind? I decided to play it cool. "Wilderness Club? I've never heard of that."

  "You wouldn't have. It's very exclusive. There are students from both high schools and we meet about once a month for an outing in the wilderness."