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

by Stacy Claflin

  "What's going on out here?" I heard a guy ask. "Oh, score, Trevor!"

  I pulled away and looked at him. Blood ran down my face and Trevor's neck.

  A look of pure terror wiped over the face of guy at the door. "What the hell?"

  "You want in on some of the action?" I asked.

  "Are you kidding me?" He started shouting profanities like the others had and ran into the house, leaving the door open and making it easier for me to hear everything inside.

  I turned my attention back to Trevor and bit into his neck again. I savored the rest of his warm blood while listening to the conversation inside.

  "That chick's a vampire! She's out there drinking Trevor's blood!"

  Several people laughed and one person told him to ease up on the beer.

  "I'm not joking! She's a real vampire!"

  I was so focused on listening to what was going inside that I didn't realize I'd drained Trevor. I let him fall to the ground and Max looked at me with a look of complete fear.

  "What did you just do?" he asked, his eyes wide.

  I stared into his eyes. "You will remember nothing. We came out here alone and made out."

  Max's pupils shrank again. "We just made out."

  "Good. Let's go find out how drunk your friend is."

  We walked up the stairs and into the house. A couple of girls screamed when we walked in, but none of the guys even raised an eyebrow. One actually started laughing.

  I looked at him. "What's so funny?"

  "Jason's always trying to scare us. I have to admit, that blood looks pretty real. But you're not going to scare us."

  "She's a real freaking vampire!" Jason shouted. "That's real blood! Trevor's probably dead outside!"

  Half of the guys in the room burst into laughter.

  Max said, "Hey idiot, Trevor isn't out there. The girl and I went out alone and made out."

  "How do you explain the blood?" Jason demanded.

  "She's wild and nicked me. You're a freak."

  "I suppose you're going to call the cops and tell them that the girl who was abducted came here as a vampire to kill us all! You think they're going to buy it?"

  Most of the people in the room erupted into laughter. It was deafening.

  Clara got my attention. Are you out of your mind? You said you wanted a challenge, not that you had a death wish!

  I do want a challenge, and this is a real one. Look at these people.

  She glared at me. I wanted a little fun. I don't want to have to kill a party full of college kids! Which is what could end up happening if this gets out of control.

  I need to go take care of the guy outside. Use mind control if you have to on the guys here that need it. It looks like most of them think this is all a joke.

  Clara shook her head. What's gotten into you?

  I ran outside, grabbed Trevor and ran into the woods with him. Once I was a good way in, I dropped the body so that the forest animals could take care of him.

  When I got back to the house, Clara was sitting on the couch talking to some girls. She stood up and walked towards me. "Are you done yet?"

  "Yeah, let's get going."

  We walked outside. She was not happy. "I can't believe you! Don't do that again! It could have gone really bad and we might have had to kill all of those kids! There's no reason for so much bloodshed! That's plain reckless!"

  "It was fine. Nobody even flinched when I walked in just a minute ago."

  "Why exactly do you think that is?" she demanded.

  I didn't say anything.

  "Because I had to use mind control! The girls started freaking out, but at least there were only a few of them, so I could handle it. Luckily none of the guys took it seriously. They thought it was a prank."

  "Then it worked out; no harm done."

  "Don't do that again. There could have been a lot of harm done. I would have had to report that to your parents."

  "Seriously?" I asked.

  "Yes, seriously! How many guys did you drain?"

  "One. I snacked on two of them. I'm completely stuffed. I don't think I'll need to feed for weeks."

  She shook her head.

  "I told you that I needed to feed."

  "Apparently. Let's get back home. I'd like to get a little more sleep."

  We ran back home and she went back to bed. I was tired, but knew that I wouldn't be able to get any sleep. I was too excited about my vampire parents coming to get me. I hoped it would be that night. I put on some normal clothes and checked my email.

  After about half an hour, I felt the distinct presence of two very strong vampires. Sure that it was my parents, I turned around excitedly. My stomach dropped when I saw Cliff's parents standing in my room.

  "Don't look so excited to see us," Francine said snidely.

  "Why do you insist upon confronting me like this when my parents aren't around?"

  "You need to be more respectful of our son. You're acting like a harlot."

  I almost laughed. "A harlot?"

  "You won't keep your dirty hands off him. You act like you're married already, but you're not."

  "Believe me. When we're married, I won't keep my hands off of him. But he's at the castle now, so you've ensured that I won't be a hussy. Right?"

  Her face stiffened when I used the word from the text message. "You may be engaged to marry him, but he's not yours yet. I've raised him right and he won't be defiled. He will remain pure for now, even if I have to lock him away from you."

  "Is that the real reason that you called him to the castle?"

  "Look, George. She really is a bright one."

  I clenched my teeth, sure that steam shot out of my ears. "State your business and then leave. I have things to do."

  She looked at my laptop. "Yes, I see that. Email is so very important."

  "What are you here for?" I demanded.

  "To make sure that you know how serious we are about keeping our son's purity. I'll keep him away from you until the day of the wedding if I need to."

  I wanted to tear her apart. "He's fully capable of making his own decisions, you know. He has no intention of letting me defile him. I want you to leave."

  "Don't worry about him. We're going to keep him plenty busy at the castle. You won't be seeing him for a while."

  "I cannot believe that you called him to the castle because I kissed him! I want you to leave now, or I will scream."

  "Don't think for a moment that we'd hesitate to remove your humans from the earth."

  My jaw dropped and I put my hands on my hips. "You wouldn't! My mother and father—the king and queen—have placed me in the care of these people. I don't think they would be very happy with you harming them."

  She glared at me. Then her face showed worry. "George, do you sense that?"

  "Yes. What are the king and queen doing here? We need to leave immediately, Francine."

  "Oh, please stay," I said. "I'm sure that they'd love to catch up." I smiled with confidence. "Or would you rather them not know that you were here?"

  "Are you going to tell them?"

  I stepped forward. "Why wouldn't I?"

  My parents came through the wall. They looked extremely surprised to see George and Francine in my room.

  "What, pray tell, are you two doing here in our daughter's room?" my father demanded. "We have not sanctioned you to see her. What is going on?"

  George and Francine looked at each other and back at my parents.

  "Well?" my mother demanded.

  "We should be going," George said finally.

  "You really think so?" asked my father. "You're here without permission in our daughter's room. You're not going anywhere."

  "Tell us what you're doing here," my mother ordered. "Now."

  "Your daughter has been kissing our son!" Francine spit out.

  My mother and father both looked at her like she was an idiot.

  "They are engaged, Francine," my mother said.

  "We've even been disc
ussing details about the wedding, George," my father said. "I'd be worried if they weren't being affectionate. It's a good thing that they adore each other."

  "She's trying to defile him!" Francine sputtered. "She's going to destroy his purity."

  My father raised an eyebrow. "I happen to know that the two of you did a lot more than kiss each other during your engagement. Would you like me to recall some details for you?"

  I covered my mouth to keep from laughing.

  "You know he's right," my mother said. "You two are so concerned about his propriety, but you're both hypocrites."

  "The two of you are to leave our daughter alone, and you will not go near her without our direct permission," my father said. "Do we understand each other?"

  They both made constipated-looking faces and then bowed slightly to my parents. "We understand, your Majesties." They disappeared through the wall.

  I hugged my parents and we held onto each other for a few moments. "I'm really going with you guys? I finally get to go with you guys?"

  My father smiled. "Finally, we are reunited as a family."

  "Let's go! Do I need to bring a bag? I've already packed one."

  My mother smiled. "That's fine; bring what you wish. Though your room will have whatever you need. We should get going. We have a plane to catch."

  "A plane?"

  "You expected us to swim?" my father asked seriously.

  I tried not to laugh, but couldn't help smiling. "No. It just surprises me that the king and queen of the vampires would just walk into the airport and take an airplane." That's when I noticed that they were wearing normal clothes.

  "It's easy when we have the mind control powers that we do. That's how we were able to convince your human parents that your becoming a foreign exchange student is in everyone's best interest. They, your sister, and even Clara will remember a special going away party that you had. We didn't even have to be present to accomplish that."

  "How did you do that?" I asked, dumbfounded.

  "We'll teach you all of that later. Don't worry about the details for now. Let's get going."

  I grabbed my bag and took a quick look around my room. I was going to miss the place and my parents and sister.

  We went through the wall. Outside was a limo waiting for us. "Is that how you travel?"

  "Of course."

  The driver held the door open for me and I climbed inside. The interior of the limo was unbelievable, far nicer than the one I had ridden in for the homecoming dance.

  Once we were settled in and driving to the airport, my father offered me a glass of blood. That was the last thing that I wanted after going out earlier.

  "No thank you. I filled up earlier. I'm also not a fan of the bagged stuff."

  "You'll like this," my mother said. "We have it bagged fresh at the castle and we've developed a special process that preserves the best possible taste. That's the last thing on the minds of the humans who bag blood in hospitals. As a result, it always comes out tasting wrong."

  "That's for sure. But, I'll wait until I'm not so full."

  "I can't tell you how happy I am to have you with us at last," my father said. "Completing our family is such a treasure. It has torn us apart to be away from you for so long."

  "Ever since I found out that you existed, I've wanted to be back with you guys so badly. I wish it could have been sooner. I have a question for you. Why does everyone keep saying that I'm going to be the strongest vampire?"

  They looked at each other and I guessed that they were having a private conversation. My curiosity was growing stronger with each passing second.

  My father turned to look at me. "You were born with a very special mark that all descendants of the Fyrsturae have been looking for since the beginning of vampires. Over three thousand years."

  My mother said, "You still have it. We had it covered as soon as you were born. We feared for your safety greatly as soon as we saw it. The mark is a sign that you will rule as one of the most powerful vampires ever. It'll be as if you are one of the Fyrsturae."

  "We called for the strongest magic-working vampire to cover your mark from sight," my father said. "But as you can imagine, word traveled fast and far about you being born with the mark. Every descendant of the Fyrsturae knows what the mark means. Some are threatened, and that's why you were kidnapped."

  My mother looked gravely serious. "But the mark indicates even more than just all of that. There's even more to the story and prophecy. Only those of the first line know about the true meaning of the prophecy. It's been a heavily guarded secret amongst the descendants of Alrekur Vidarsson. It has never left our line, because there is a horrific curse attached to the prophecy. Anyone who shares the story outside of our line will befall unspeakable pain and horrors before dying a gruesome death. The curse has kept the prophecy within our line all of these centuries."

  "What is it?" My mind was racing with the possibilities, but I couldn't imagine what the big secret could be.

  "We'll tell you everything tomorrow. We want to focus on our travels for now."

  TWENTY

  When we had been dropped off at the airport, my parents instructed me to follow their lead. They walked around as if they ran the airport. Anytime they asked someone for something, they received it right away. They merely had to look someone in the eyes to get what they wanted.

  "I can't believe you were able to get first class tickets right at the counter," I whispered.

  "They just had to bump some people from that flight," my mother said. "Let's go to our terminal."

  There was an angry couple with a child at the terminal when we arrived. The parents were fighting with the poor flight attendant who looked near tears. "I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do about it. But you three will be on the next flight out."

  "Must be the people who got bumped from their flight," my father said.

  I felt bad for them. I'd been bumped from flights before and I knew how frustrating it was. I'd have to see if I could talk my parents into purchasing tickets ahead of time in the future.

  "They'll get over it," my mother said, almost as if she was reading my mind. "We did make sure that they would be properly compensated for their troubles. In the end, they'll be happier."

  "Really?" I asked, surprised.

  "Yes. They'll receive special treatment and free delicacies, courtesy of us. We're here to help humans, after all. If we must inconvenience them, we more than make it up."

  I felt much better.

  "Truly, daughter, we do everything we can to take care of them. We never do anything to harm them. It's the common vampires who don't care about mortals. We honor the purpose for the creation of our species, to help humans."

  It wasn't very long before we were seated in large, soft seats, waiting for the plane to take off.

  "Where are we going?" I asked.

  My father said, "We'll be spending some time in Germany."

  "What are we going to do in Germany?"

  "We have some business to attend to. Relax and enjoy the flight. Once we're there and settled, we'll explain everything to you. This really isn't the place."

  "Why do you like to travel…you know, with the," I lowered my voice, "humans? I would think with all of your resources, you'd have your own plane."

  "Oh, we do have a private jet that we take from time to time. We don't spend as much time with people as we'd like and traveling gives us good opportunities to mingle with them."

  I nodded and grabbed a magazine. I got the distinct feeling that they were having a silent conversation around me. I wished that they would explain everything to me like that too so that I wouldn't have to wait. I didn't want to irritate them though, so I decided to wait until they were ready to tell me everything.

  I tried unsuccessfully not to think about what the big secret of the first line might be. What could possibly be so important that a horrible curse would be released if the story was shared outside of our line? It was common knowledge that my mark th
at I'd never even seen meant I'd be the strongest vampire of all. But, what else could it mean?

  Stop thinking about it, I told myself. My curiosity was building to a point that I didn't think I could handle. I felt like I would burst if they didn't tell me soon. Or perhaps I'd burst some lights, like I'd done when I was going through my transformation.

  "You look anxious," my mother said. "Why don't you take a nap?" She rubbed my forehead and whispered to me in a foreign language. My eyelids became too heavy to hold up and I fell into a deep sleep.

  When I awoke, the plane was just landing. "Are we there, already?"

  "No, we're in New York and we're going to take a connecting flight directly to Germany."

  I stretched. The rest of the trip went by in a blur. My parents and I talked the whole way. They shared as much as they could about the various places that they had traveled over the previous several years. They couldn't say too much within the earshot of the mortals, however. I told them about my life, and though they already knew a lot from Brooke's family having filled them in over the years, there was still a lot that they didn't know. I was really glad that they seemed proud of me.

  When we arrived in Germany, I understood what culture shock meant. I felt overwhelmed by signs that I couldn't read and conversations around us that I couldn't understand. I'd taken four years of Spanish—German was nothing like either language that I knew.

  I watched in awe as my parents spoke fluently with people along the way to the airport exit. Another limo picked us up. This time the vampire driver spoke German, so I continued to be out of the loop. He drove us through the city and into a more rural area. We arrived at a mansion in the middle of nowhere.

  "This is our German home," my mother said.

  "How many homes do you have?"

  "We have homes all over the world. That way, we don't have to stay in hotels. We always have vampires to serve us as well, so it's even better than a hotel would be."

  "Wow…." The reality of being royalty was far more luxurious than I had imagined. When we were inside the mansion, they gave me the grand tour. I was introduced to the staff, all of whom bowed to me. Then I was taken to my room.

  "We have a room prepared for you in each of our homes," my mother said. "We've been eagerly awaiting the time that you would be able to use them!"