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

by Stacy Claflin

  He stared at me for a minute and then said, "You're old enough. Of course. Would you like to order anything yet?"

  "Two Midori Sours to start off," Clara said.

  "And a plate of buffalo wings," I said.

  He smiled. "You'll love those; the cook uses a secret family recipe. They're the best you'll ever taste."

  "We'll see about that," Clara said. "You look pretty yummy yourself…."

  Someone walked by right then and I caught a whiff of a scent that was becoming all too familiar. I followed him with my eyes as he joined another guy at the bar. I didn't recognize either of them from Mr. Foley's class. They both looked older than high school age. Maybe they were frat boys.

  The one that had walked by us saw me looking at him and glared at me. I looked away and started playing with my napkin. Clara was still flirting with the waiter. "I can't wait to try those wings."

  He stood up straighter. "I'd better go put in your order. I'll be back."

  Clara winked at him and then turned to me. "If you don't mind, I think that I'll stick around here and wait for him to get off his shift."

  "I wouldn't mind spending some time alone with Cliff."

  She smiled. "I didn't think you would. So, what's the deal with the guys at the bar?"

  "What? You saw me looking at them? I thought you were focused on that waiter."

  "I have many talents. One of them is being very aware of my surroundings. Two centuries as a vampire will do that to you. What's the deal with them?"

  "They reminded me of some guys at school, but they're not. They look too old for high school."

  "Oh, I thought it might be something more exciting."

  "You're not planning on hunting the waiter are you?"

  "Keep your voice down," she hissed. "No, I'm just going to have a little fun with him."

  "You shouldn't play with your food."

  She rolled her eyes. "I've never heard that one before. He's not food, anyway. I'm just going to…have a good time with him."

  "That's more than I needed to know."

  She laughed. "Oh, that's right. You're saving yourself for Cliff. Actually, I do find that quite admirable. It's something that I could never do myself. I enjoy humans too much."

  "I thought you weren't looking for a relationship."

  "I'm not. I'm just looking for a good time, and luckily humans in this time period are looking for the same thing."

  The waiter showed up and they started to flirt again. As I sipped my drink, I snuck a look at the two guys at the bar. They were both glaring at me. What was it with these strangely scented people? They all appeared to hate me, except for Mr. Foley. Was it because he liked me that they hated me? I'd never met a single one of them, so I couldn't have done anything to them.

  Pretending that I had spilled something on my sleeve, I peeked at the two guys again and they were still glaring at me. Part of me wanted to march over there and ask them what their problem was, but I didn't want to make a scene and I was starving for the wings.

  As if reading my mind, the waiter said, "The wings are cooking. Do you want to order any meals? The cook's shift is about over and we'll be closing soon. Order now or forever hold your peace."

  Clara giggled. "I'm happy with appetizers."

  "Me, too." I was hoping to have dessert with Cliff. He always kept a stock of dessert items in the fridge.

  The waiter took off again and I noticed that I was still being glared at. It was really making me feel uncomfortable.

  "What's wrong with you?" Clara asked, sipping her drink.

  I debated whether I should say anything about the two guys or let it go. "Those two guys keep glaring at me."

  She looked over at them. "What's their deal?"

  "That's what I'd like to know."

  "Don't waste your time on those hillbillies. You'll probably never see them again."

  Unless they're friends with Mr. Foley, then I might see them in two nights. "Yeah, sure. Whatever."

  TEN

  I stood outside Cliff's house. All the lights were out and I wondered if he was even home. I decided to surprise him, so I went around to the living room side and went through the wall. The house was as quiet as it was dark.

  Finding a vampire is much more difficult than finding a human. There weren't any vitals to listen for and I couldn't hear him talking or making any noise. Thankful for such good night vision, I walked around downstairs, but didn't find him. I went up the stairs slowly.

  Still hearing nothing, I went straight for his bedroom. He was sleeping soundly in his bed. I stood and watched him, wondering what he was dreaming about. I wondered if he had been up late, because vampires were usually up much earlier.

  He looked so peaceful. I reached down and brushed his cheek with my finger. Before I had time to think, he was out of bed and had me pinned to the wall.

  "Cliff! It's me! It's Alexis!"

  "Alexis! What are you doing here?" he exclaimed. He backed up, grabbed a bathrobe and wrapped himself in it.

  "I came to see you. I thought I'd surprise you. Apparently I succeeded," I said, rubbing my neck.

  He wrapped me in his embrace. "I'm sorry for going after you like that. I didn't expect you to be here, I thought that if someone were here, it must mean trouble."

  I looked into his eyes. "I shouldn't have come in without your knowledge."

  "No, it's okay. I can't count the number of times I've watched you sleep. I'm glad that you're here."

  "You know, if anyone else said that it would be really creepy. But when you say it, it's so sweet."

  He smiled at me, grabbed some of my hair and ran his hand through the length of it. He made a face. "Why do you smell like smoke?"

  "Clara wanted to go to a bar."

  "She would. Is she here, too?"

  "No. She hooked up with our waiter. She said that she wanted to have some fun."

  He pulled me closer. "So, I have you to myself?"

  I smiled and put my arm around him. "Yes, sir. I thought we could have some dessert."

  He leaned in and kissed my cheek. "Mmmm. That sounds nice. I'll get dressed. You can go down and pick something out from the fridge."

  I kissed his cheek in return and walked out of the room, holding his gaze for a few moments before closing the door. I wanted nothing more than to hold him all night and be able to kiss him freely. I hoped that the wedding would be soon. I wondered what he had planned, or if it our parents would organize it.

  I didn't care about the details. I was ready to get the show on the road. I hoped they weren't going to make us wait until I graduated. Surely human traditions wouldn't mean anything to vampire royalty. My human parents had had their minds controlled once before. It could easily happen again. I didn't want to wait a year and a half.

  There were three cakes in the fridge. He sure had a sweet tooth! It was no wonder that we ate dessert together so often. I grabbed a cheesecake and put two pieces onto some plates. I sat down and imagined what kind of a wedding we would have. I had never been interested in weddings before so I didn't know any of the details involved. I vaguely remembered everyone obsessing over a royal wedding in Europe not all that long ago. I wished that I had paid more attention.

  I would have to ask Clara about royal vampire weddings. I didn't think that it would be the same to ask Cliff about them.

  Where was he, anyway? How long did it take to put some clothes on? I looked at my piece of cake and wanted to dig in. I sighed and waited, looking around the room.

  Five more minutes went by and I decided to see what was going on. I was starting to think that he had climbed back into bed and gone to sleep. I headed up the stairs. If he was sleeping, I wasn't going to bother him this time. I would just put the cake away and go home.

  His door was closed. Hadn't he said that he was going to meet me downstairs? Then I remember that I had closed the door. I pressed my ear against it and I heard him speaking very quietly. He was speaking so low that I couldn't even make out w
hat he was saying. Considering that I had the ability to hear conversations clear across a house, it struck me as strange.

  Who was he talking to? I pressed my ear to the door as hard as I could without making any noise. I couldn't hear anyone else, so he had to be talking on the phone or to himself. I really wanted to know who he was talking to. After a minute or so, I became frustrated at not being able to understand anything he said, so I went back downstairs.

  I watched the clock drag on for ten minutes before I put the cake back in the fridge and left. Whoever he was talking to, it was important and it didn't seem like he was too eager to come to the kitchen to see me. I turned off the light and left through the front door.

  I stepped onto the sidewalk and could see my house just a block away. Suddenly, I walked right into someone. Who would be out at this hour in our boring neighborhood?

  "Alexis! What are you doing here?"

  "Tanner," I said flatly. "I should ask you the same thing. You don't live around here. Were you stopping by to see me?"

  "I was on my way from the field with the others. I'd hoped that you'd join us."

  "I had other plans. In fact, those other plans happened earlier than I would have liked, so I should get home now so that I can get a little more sleep."

  "Is Cliff not letting you get enough sleep?"

  "Clara woke me up and I was out with her. I just stopped by to see Cliff, but he's busy. So it's definitely not him keeping me from my sleep."

  "I would never be too busy for you."

  "Tanner, I'm still irritated about what happened earlier. I also want to get home so that I can get some more rest before I have to face another day at school. I don't need much sleep, but I do need a bit."

  "I'm a vampire, too. You don't have to explain it to me."

  "Good. I'll see you around then."

  "The others really want to see you. I hope you'll join us tomorrow, even if you're still irritated at me."

  "I'll think about it. See you." I ran to my house and got settled into bed as quickly as possible. I couldn't believe the difference that two hours without sleep made. I was so sleepy.

  ***

  At school, I avoided both Cliff and Tanner. That meant that I also had to avoid Amanda and Clara, because our typical hang out spots would have been the first place that Tanner or Cliff would look for me. It wasn't too hard to stay hidden because I'd spent so many years invisible to the world.

  After school, I went to the library and sat in a little, hidden corner. As I began working on a project, I looked up and saw the chairs that Steve and I had sat in before I had found out that we were all vampires. A tear ran down my face as I thought about him. Why did he have to die? It wasn't fair. I wished that I could have done something to prevent his death.

  I felt guilty for not staying in touch with Brooke since returning home. She came over for that sleepover with Amanda, but that was the only time I saw her. I was pretty sure that her parents were at the castle, so she was probably alone in that big empty house.

  I picked up my phone and texted Brooke: How are you doing? I haven't seen you in a while.

  Getting by, it's lonely in the house. Parents back at the castle for a while.

  Want me to come over?

  Yeah!

  I picked up my stuff and hurried to the other end of town. I didn't think I had ever seen Brooke so happy to see me.

  "I'm sorry that I've barely spent any time with you. I guess it's just that I've been so focused on what I've had going on."

  "Don't feel bad. I haven't exactly been trying to see anyone either. I've been sitting around here feeling sorry for myself—when I'm not making your clothes."

  "Oh, I'm so sorry, Brooke. I haven't even talked to you about Steve since…."

  Brooke teared up. "It's not easy. He actually died protecting me. I was fighting off two vampires when a third came at me. He left the one he was fighting to attack the one that had jumped at me. Then both vampires went after him and overpowered him. I tried to help him, but the two that I was fighting held me down and I couldn't get to him. Before he died, he told me that he didn't want me to mourn him. He said the best gift that I could give him was to live a long and happy life."

  I hugged her. She went limp and started sobbing. I waited for her to let it all out, and then walked her to the couch and helped her sit down. I grabbed a tissue for her and sat down next to her. "Do you want to stay at my house for a while? It's got to be even worse staying here where he lived. There are so many memories. I didn't live here, and there are so many memories in this room alone."

  She patted her eyes with the tissue and said, "That sounds nice, but your house is probably full already. You've already got the three of you, and that's not counting your parents."

  "You can stay in my room, and I'm sure that my parents wouldn't mind. They adore you and appreciate everything that your family has done for me."

  "Thanks, Alexis. I'll definitely think about it."

  "Do you need me to get you anything?"

  She sighed. "I haven't really let my feelings out like that in a while. I've just been going through the motions of life. I've made you all kinds of clothes—it's amazing how much I can get done when I'm trying to avoid thinking about things."

  "I'm not worried about the clothes, Brooke. I know you don't want me wearing anything twice, but it truly doesn't bother me. What am I supposed to do with those clothes after I've worn them, anyway? My closet is stuffed. Do you want the material back? Should I donate them or give them to Amanda?"

  "You can do whatever you want with them. They're yours. Your parents supply me with plenty of money to buy you the best of everything."

  "Okay. You look weak—have you been taking care of yourself?"

  "I haven't been eating much. I could use a bag of blood, if you wouldn't mind getting one for me from the fridge. You can have one too, if you want."

  "You know how much I love that stuff."

  She smiled. "You can try it with some wine. Clara's right: it does make it taste better."

  "Why don't I ever see you drinking it with wine?"

  "I don't want to like it too much. I don't want to create a blood lust. I take as little as I can, and it's enough."

  "What would be so bad about actually enjoying it? It's part of the whole vampire experience."

  She pulled a strand of hair behind her ear. "I grew up with the castle rules, even living here. Cravings make vampires weak and impulsive, so we control them. That way they don't control us."

  "A little appetite isn't a bad thing. I don't know what you mean about it making us weak and impulsive though. I'm so much stronger after drinking fresh blood. I think more clearly, too."

  "Do you remember what you went through when you were first exposed?" she asked, eyes wide.

  I laughed. "That wasn't a little desire. That was an exploding volcano of cravings, the worst of the worst. Cliff and Steve said that they had never seen anyone's eyes turn that red—ever. That tells you how unusual my reaction was. Now I have a handle on my hunger and it doesn't control me."

  "I wouldn't want to risk losing control." She wiped away a tear that had escaped after I had said Steve's name.

  "Why don't you let me get you some blood with wine in it?" I asked.

  She sighed. "Why not? I could use a treat."

  I went into the kitchen and found the bags and the wine. I looked for the nicest wine glasses and filled two of them half with blood, half with wine. I hoped that I wouldn't gag on the blood. I didn't know how any of them could drink it from a bag. It tasted stale, like plastic.

  "Here you go," I said, trying to be as cheerful as possible. I gave her a glass and sat down next to her and raised my own glass. "To Stephen."

  "To my brother."

  We drank our blood wine in silence. It was better with the wine, although I had no plans of giving up the fresh stuff anytime soon. I thought about the many memories that I had of Steve. I remembered him as a little prankster, teasing us relentl
essly as little kids. I thought about how he had become kinder as he had grown older, but he had still held onto his strong personality. It definitely wasn't the same without his unfiltered comments and unique view on things.

  "I'm sorry that I wouldn't let you have wine with blood after you were first exposed," Brooke said. "I was afraid that it would make you disappear into your cravings. I didn't want you to be controlled by them. I was disappointed that the entire chain of events had become messed up for you. I had thought that sticking to the rules and being firm about it was best for you. That didn't turn out to be the case, though."

  I put my hand on her arm. "I know you were just looking out for me. I'm sorry that I was so difficult to deal with, and I know you were worried about disappointing my parents."

  "It was more than that, Alexis. I wanted everything to be perfect for you. I was lucky enough to grow up with you as a best friend. Almost nobody in the entire kingdom even knew that you were alive, and for some reason, I was able to live right next to you and be your friend. Both Steve and I always felt so honored about that. I can't tell you how many times we wanted to tell you the truth, but our parents drilled it into us that it was for your safety that we kept it from you."

  "Steve sure had a funny way of showing how honored he felt."

  We both laughed. "Like hiding that toad in your bed!"

  "And dumping mud down my back!"

  "Do you remember the time that he booby-trapped our playhouse when you and I were going to camp out in it?"

  "I forgot all about that! He must have put hours into setting that up. I'll never forget how surprised I was when we opened the door and that tub of vegetable oil poured all over us."

  She giggled. "I can't believe that we were dumb enough to go into the playhouse after that."

  "I don't know how he rigged that fan to blow the feathers on us when we walked by."

  "He never did tell me how he did that. It took forever to clean up after that. Of course, it didn't help that he managed to cover us with paint on top of the oil and feathers."

  "My mom was so mad about my clothes! I thought she was going to breathe fire."