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

by Stacy Claflin

  I got off the phone and started the car. "Tell me how to get to Eric and Brad's place."

  When we got to their house, I had to help Tanner out of the car. "I can walk," he told me.

  "Just lean on me, okay?"

  I set the alarm for the car and helped him to the door. I wanted to carry him, but I knew that would hurt his pride.

  "What happened to him?" Kayla asked, opening the door before I could knock.

  "It's a long story. Can he lie down on your couch while I explain everything?"

  She led the way and I helped him to lie down.

  Eric appeared. "He looks like crap. What happened?"

  "Be nice!" Kayla told him.

  "He was bitten by a werewolf," I said.

  Kayla gasped. "Is he going to be okay?"

  "If I can get the other half of the cure."

  "Can I see the bite?" Eric asked.

  "I'd rather not show anyone," Tanner said.

  "Why not? I've never seen a werewolf bite."

  "None of us has," I said. "They've been hiding for centuries."

  "Leave it to you guys to find them," Kayla said.

  "Let me see it, man," Eric insisted.

  "It's not in a place that's easy to reach."

  "Where were you bit?" Kayla asked, trying not laugh.

  "This isn't funny, it could kill him!" I told her.

  Her eyes widened. "I'm sorry."

  "Where is your bite?" Eric asked. "Maybe we should clean it out. What if it still has werewolf spit in it?"

  "I never thought of that!" I exclaimed. "Why didn't the doctor mention that?"

  "You talked to a doctor about a werewolf bite?" Kayla asked.

  "I know a doctor who is a vampire."

  "Nice."

  "Let us see the bite," Eric said. "You know that I was training to be a medic. I do know a thing or two about dealing with wounds."

  "Dude, no. I'll clean it myself." Tanner sat up, looking extra pale.

  "Let one of us help you. You look horrible."

  "You should have seen him before he had the first half of the cure," I said.

  "What's the first half?" Kayla asked.

  "Drinking the blood of a royal."

  "Good thing we know you!" she said. "What's the second half?"

  "Drinking werewolf blood."

  "You need to let me see the wound," Eric said. "I can help you with it."

  "No." Tanner stood up and took a step. He stumbled and all three of us were there to catch him as soon as he started to fall.

  "You need some help," Eric told him.

  "Look, it bit my butt. I don't need any of you looking at that."

  "Dude! I don't want to look at your butt, but you need help and I have medical training," Eric said. "Unless you want Alexis to clean it out. Has she already seen it?"

  "I haven't seen the bite," I said.

  "That's not what I meant."

  I rolled my eyes. "No, I haven't seen his butt. You check out the wound. Don't make him walk to the bathroom. Kayla and I will go to the kitchen so that he can have some privacy."

  "Is he going to be okay?" Kayla asked when we got to the kitchen.

  "As long as I can get him werewolf blood. Otherwise…." My lips started to tremble again.

  She gave me a hug. "You'll get it and he'll be fine. You were able to get us all into the sunlight; you can do this."

  "Do you guys hate me?"

  "What? How could we?"

  "I'm sure that Tanner's told you that I'm with Cliff now that he's back."

  "Sure, but we can't hate you. You helped us get into the sunlight. Besides, he still thinks the world of you. He thinks you two will still get together."

  "I'm not leading him on. I've told him that Cliff and I are destined to be together. But he's holding onto the thought that I would still choose him over Cliff."

  She smiled at me. "He's no fool, Alexis. He would rather be your friend and keep you in his life than make you choose and risk losing you all together. He adores you and he would do anything for you. I'm sure that whatever went down tonight is proof of that."

  I sat down. "It sure is. He could have run and saved his own tail, but he stuck around and fought with me."

  "He fought for you, and he took a bite in the rear for you."

  "I hope it's not too bad."

  "Why don't you go look?" she asked.

  "No!"

  She laughed so hard that she had to wipe tears from her face. When she calmed down again, she asked, "You're serious about Cliff, aren't you?"

  "Yes. He's my destiny and I won't do anything to risk our relationship again."

  "Well, we need to find Tanner a girlfriend. Got any ideas?"

  Jealousy ran through me. What was my problem? I wanted him to move on and be happy. I refused to be so selfish that I wouldn't want him to have a girlfriend.

  "You don't want him to have a girlfriend?"

  "I want him to be happy! I want him to be as happy as I am."

  She tilted her head. "I saw that look on your face. You can't deny it; you still have feelings for him."

  "I've already told Cliff that I do," I said too quickly.

  "Defensive. Okay, let's talk about something else. I don't want to get on your bad side."

  "You're not going to get on my bad side. I already hate myself for having feelings for both of them. It's not fair to either one of them. But to be fair, I did make my choice. If I have to deal with some jealousy when Tanner moves on, so be it. I deserve it."

  "You really are as good as Tanner claims. I thought he was exaggerating a little, but he wasn't."

  I started playing with a napkin. "Are they done in there? What's taking them so long?"

  My phone buzzed and I had a text from my dad. I opened it, figuring that he was worried.

  When you get home, you are grounded for a month. Maybe more.

  I dialed Clara's number. "What did you tell my parents?" I demanded.

  "I told them that you and Tanner are going to spend the night together, and that you're both safe. Apparently they took that to mean more than it does. Sorry about that."

  "You think? I can't believe you told them that! Oh my gosh! Seriously, you owe me big time for this."

  "I owe you? I don't think so. Next time you get a funny idea to do something on your own, talk to me about it. That's what I'm here for. I'm here to help you learn to live life as a vampire. I can't help you when you leave me in the dark."

  "Oh. My. Gosh! You sound just like everyone else, Clara. I wouldn't have expected this from you."

  "I thought that we were tight. I thought that you knew I had your back. I don't judge you or expect you to follow all those ridiculous rules of the castle. Apparently you don't trust me."

  "So you told them that on purpose? You wanted to get me in trouble?"

  "You may be the princess, but not everything is about you. Do you know what your parents have been through? You weren't here to see them when you were abducted. They're still traumatized. I told them the truth so that they, and Tanner's mom, could stop worrying. At least now they can be angry instead of worried sick. I did them a favor. Which is more than I can say for you."

  "I can't believe that I'm getting lectured by you! You love breaking the rules."

  "It's not about breaking the rules or having fun. You put me in a difficult position, Alexis. I've done the best I could. If you had seen how worried your parents were, you would have agreed with my decision."

  "Now they think I'm out sleeping with Tanner! I'm still a virgin and my parents think I'm not. That's so backwards!"

  "You also have the freedom to help Tanner all night. Nobody knows where you two are, so they can't bust in and make you go back home. You can give him all the blood that he needs and then go get the werewolf blood in the morning."

  "I am so using mind control on them to get out of being grounded. Just so you know. I'll probably use it to get them to think that I didn't sleep with Tanner. I can't have them and his mom look
ing at me and thinking that we did it!"

  "Good luck with that. Don't forget about Natalie and his brother, that's what they'll be thinking about too. I'll see you tomorrow."

  "Ugh!" I hung up on her.

  "So everyone thinks that Tanner's the man?"

  I looked over to see Eric smiling.

  "How long have you been standing there?" I asked.

  He laughed. "Long enough. I came in here to let you guys know that his bite looks pretty bad. But even in the short time that I was cleaning it out, it appeared to be healing itself. Your blood must be working."

  "Well it is half of what he needs."

  "You really think that you can get a werewolf who will give his blood?"

  "I know that I can. Is Tanner decent? I need to talk to him."

  "We both heard your conversation with your cousin, if that's what you're referring to."

  "Perfect."

  "Are you going to be okay if we go out to feed?" Kayla asked me. "We need to get going before it starts to get too late. That way when the people that we feed on wake up, they won't feel too bad."

  "That's thoughtful of you," I said. "Yeah, I'll be fine with Tanner. Don't worry about us."

  "Let's go, Eric. Brad's supposed to meet us at the field."

  "See you guys when you get back." I stood up and went to the living room where Tanner was laying. I couldn't tell if he was sleeping or not, so I just sat down on the floor in front of the couch.

  "So, if I survive this it sounds like I'm going to be in trouble," he said weakly. I looked up at him and he was smiling.

  "I don't know about you, but it sounds like I'm grounded for the rest of the year," I said.

  "There could be worse things than people thinking that I scored with you."

  I shoved him. "Have fun with my dad thinking that. I'm sure that's going to go over really well when we all go camping."

  "I hadn't thought of that."

  I rolled my eyes at him. "Do you need any more of my blood?"

  "I'm sure that I could use some. But only if you're up to it."

  "It's like I told you. I don't care about me. You're the one who's got a deadly bite. If I can help you out, I will."

  "Okay, I'll have some, but only if you promise to tell me when it's too much."

  "I don't care if you take too much."

  "Promise or I won't take any at all."

  I stared at him.

  "Promise?"

  "Fine, I promise," I lied and handed him my wrist. He bit down and I let him drink until I passed out.

  THIRTEEN

  I woke up in Tanner's arms. I looked around and saw that the couch had been pulled out into a bed. I tried to recall what happened and the last thing that I remembered was passing out when he was drinking my blood. I looked him over and he appeared to be doing better. He was sleeping peacefully and I couldn't tell that anything was wrong, even though I knew he needed werewolf blood soon.

  By the clock on the wall, it was almost six, so I'd have to get up and get ready for school soon. I sat up to gather my things and Tanner opened his eyes. "Good morning, beautiful."

  "What happened? Why are we in bed together?"

  He smiled. "I had them set up the hide-a-bed. I figured that if I were going to get in trouble for sleeping with you, I may as well at least sleep with you. Besides, you had it coming for lying to me. I can't believe you let me drink your blood until you passed out! What were you thinking?"

  "You needed it more than I did."

  He glared at me. "You promised."

  "I lied to help you. Now I need to go to school to help you again. You stay here and rest while I go and get the werewolf blood. Do you need anything before I leave?"

  "I might ask for your blood, but I don't trust you to tell me when enough is enough."

  "This time I will because I need my strength to go get that werewolf blood for you." I gave him my wrist again and let him know when to stop.

  "Thank you," he said. "I'll see you soon. You really think that you can get a werewolf to give it up?"

  "Believe me; I'll get it one way or another."

  "Who's the werewolf?"

  "This isn't the time for that discussion."

  I ran to my house and managed to get a shower and new clothes without running into anyone. I got to school early and marched to Mr. Foley's classroom. He was sitting at his desk, looking at his computer.

  I walked to his desk. "I know what you are. I don't know why you—"

  "Alexis! Why did you follow us last night?" His eyes were full of concern. I had expected to see anger, but didn't even see a glimmer of it.

  "You mean your 'Wilderness Club'? Forget about that. One of your dogs bit my friend and there's something that I need from you. I've brought an insane amount of silver with me so don't try to stop me from getting what I need. I'll take it directly from you if I have to."

  He smiled. "Don't get hasty. I know what you need and I've got a couple of vials right here." He reached into his desk and handed me two vials of red liquid. They stunk horribly.

  "Is this werewolf blood?"

  "Not so loud! Yes, and it's even from the one who bit him. She felt really badly after she turned back. I know you have half of the cure, so I got the other half for you."

  I took the vials from him. "I have a lot that I want to discuss with you during my TA hour. But first, I need to get this to my friend. This really is the right stuff?"

  "Like I said, it's from the one that bit him. It will help him to heal even more quickly."

  "Thanks," I said cautiously. "I'll let you know if it works."

  "It will. I'll see you in a few hours."

  I ran to the house. "You're back already? That was fast!" Tanner exclaimed.

  "Here, just drink these. I hope it's enough. If not, I'll get you some more."

  "How did you get it so fast?"

  "Would you drink it already? I need to get to school. I'll fill you in on the details later. I just need to see if it works."

  "Grumpy, grumpy," he said, smiling. Then he drank one vial followed by the other. "That was really nasty," he said, making a face.

  "Do you feel any better?"

  "Give it a minute to start working."

  I looked at the time. "I need to get going. Text me if you need anything at all, okay?"

  ***

  "Do you mind telling me what's going on?" I demanded, staring Mr. Foley down. "You chose me of all people to be your TA. You can't tell me that it was just a coincidence."

  "No, it wasn't a coincidence. But I didn't think you were going to follow us up there. I would have warned you that it wasn't safe."

  "I doubt that I would have listened anyway. Why did you choose me to be your TA? I don't understand. I would think that I'd be the last student you'd want. And yet, you're very friendly with me. What gives?"

  "Our pack has been having some issues with a coven of vampires. That's why we've had to find a new location. We've been going to one spot for many years without any problem. Then that coven found our spot and they've been harassing us ever since. I was hoping that you'd be able to get them to leave us alone."

  "That's why you wanted me to be your TA? So that I could solve a problem with common vampires for your pack?"

  "I was going to bring it up another way. I had no intention of putting you or any of your friends in danger."

  "Maybe you should have been more upfront with me. Of course I was going to be curious, especially after seeing your powwow at the party and then the little group chat here the other day."

  "I know you're mad. I understand, and I hope that the fact that I gave you the blood will help you to forgive me."

  I stared at him. "We'll see how it works for Tanner. So, how many of you are there in the area? Your entire species has been laying low for a few centuries, from what I keep hearing. Everyone thought you were nearly extinct."

  "You saw the group last night and at the party. That's it for our pack. The pack has been small and secluded
for many years, but for some reason the werewolf population has exploded in the last year."

  "Why is that?"

  He shook his head. "We don't know. Since before my grandparents' generation, the pack has been shrinking in numbers. Now new pack members are coming out of the woodwork."

  "How does someone become a werewolf?"

  "Usually, we're just born into a family. That's it."

  "Usually? That's not been happening lately?"

  "No, that's the strange part. They're just showing up out of nowhere. I figure that they come from a bloodline that somehow went dormant."

  "There's got to be an explanation for what's causing this. Why would dormant werewolf families suddenly become active?"

  "That's what I've been trying to figure out. Werewolves and vampires have always been mortal enemies, so the best idea that any of us has come up with is the fact that you were born. Now that you're growing into your full power, our species may feel a threat or need to protect itself. That's the only thing that makes sense about this huge population growth."

  I raised an eyebrow. "That could be a possibility. If that's the case, then why search me out? It sounds like your species is getting ready for a war against mine." I said, standing taller.

  "Alexis, I'm a pacifist. The last thing that I want is war or bloodshed, even among vampires. I'd like to bridge the gap between our species and see if we can all get along."

  "Is that possible? Even if I agree to it, there are a lot of other vampires in the world, and I'm pretty sure that most of them wouldn't be on the same page."

  "You're going to be the leader of them all. Vampires, in general, are extremely loyal to their leaders, but not so much the covens that are off in hiding doing their own thing. But all the others are."

  "I can't guarantee anything, Mr. Foley. Especially not now. I'm not in any leadership position yet and I've also spent the majority of my life being raised by humans. I'm only just beginning to learn what I need to know about vampire rules and culture. Wait a minute—is that why you came to me? Because I'm so unfamiliar with all of that?"

  "No! I would like some help protecting my pack. That's my main objective. If we can bring peace to our two species, that would be even better. I promise you that I don't have any ulterior motives. I'm not seeking your help because of your lack of familiarity with supernatural species."