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

by Stacy Claflin

  He put his hand on my bare arm, causing a slow, warm electricity to run through my arm and along the rest of my body.

  "So, you awoke Halldor?" I asked.

  Alrekur made a face. "Don't bring that up. Or do you wish to meet him?"

  "Aren't we supposed to be a brotherhood?"

  "You know how I feel about that scoundrel. Nothing has changed, except that we've agreed to a truce." He ran his hand down my arm, giving me the chills, and took my hand.

  I drew in a shallow breath and walked with him over to Halldor.

  "Alexis, this is Halldor. Halldor, my stunning Sonnast."

  Our eyes locked and I was frozen by his beauty. Not in a romantic way. I was just taken by how unrealistically gorgeous he was. Was I going to respond to all of them like this? I noticed that he was staring at me as well.

  "I see that you're both feeling shy," Alrekur said, his lip curled down.

  Halldor blinked and then took my hand and kissed it. "It's a pleasure to meet you, lovely Sonnast. Everyone has been so curious to find you for so many years. You're every bit as breathtaking as expected." He smiled at me.

  "Thank you. It's a pleasure to meet you as well."

  Alrekur looked annoyed.

  My father called everyone to the tables to eat dinner and as I looked back and forth between the first two Fyrsturae, I could imagine how easy it would be for them to hunt. I was one of them, and I was drawn to them in a way that was beyond explanation. Humans would stand no chance. They could smile and ask to drink girls dry, and their victims would simply comply without even thinking. It was hard to think straight in their presence.

  I wanted to hate Alrekur, but every time I was near him, I found myself drawn to him and flirting back. I knew that it had something to do with the Sonnast connection, but I also felt drawn to Halldor in a similar way, even though it was different and not nearly as strong. I could imagine humans being drawn to them like flies to a light—and then zap! I wondered if they liked to hunt, as my mouth began to water at the thought. I doubted that they had been the ones to come up with the one drop at a time rule.

  Hunting with them would be a lot of fun. It wasn't something that Alrekur and I had talked about, but that was going to change. The blood at the castle was satisfying, good even, but there was nothing compared to thrill of the hunt and the taste of fresh, terrified blood.

  "What are you thinking about, my Sonnast?" asked Alrekur, looking amused.

  I looked around the table, not wanting to discuss the topic around my parents. Do you guys hunt?

  He gave me a wide smile that nearly melted my insides. Would I ever stop being taken with how seductive he was? I was supposed to hate him, and be in love with Cliff. But how could I hate him when he gave me that smile?

  Most definitely, my darling. Do you wish to join us sometime?

  My eyes lit up as I nodded. I wanted to see how the oldest and most powerful vampires in the world hunted after two thousand years of experience. I was sure that it would be like nothing I'd ever experienced before.

  We just hunted before we arrived here. In a couple of days, we'll go again and I'll be sure to bring you.

  I can't wait. Don't forget. My mouth watered.

  How could I forget about you? He gave me his beautiful smile again and I couldn't help smiling back at him.

  "Look at the way you two are looking at each other," my father said with a grin of his own.

  I looked away from Alrekur and focused on my food. I needed to get a hold of myself. If I went by my feelings, I'd probably end up throwing myself into his arms, or worse. If I was going to spend any time with him, I needed to stay focused. My objective was to win Cliff back.

  ELEVEN

  The next morning, I was sword fighting with Mattie as if I had been practicing for centuries, not weeks. Suddenly, I felt so tired that I needed to rest. I gave her a hand signal to let her know I was done and then I staggered off the field.

  "Are you okay?" she asked.

  "Yeah. I just need to rest. You and Brooke practice for a little bit."

  They both gave me a funny look as I sat down on a bench. I nodded for them to go on as I gave a forced smile to show that I was fine, but suddenly I felt like I could sleep for days. I had no idea what had just come over me, but I felt like I was in a fog. My eyelids were so heavy and my body felt like rubber. If I fell asleep, it would be a deep, heavy sleep.

  I fought my increasingly heavy eyelids as I watched my friends battle back and forth in front of me. Maybe if I just closed my eyes for a minute, I could get the rest that I needed. It might not be such a bad idea. I watched them through a shrinking line of vision until everything was black and I entered a luscious state of relaxation.

  My chin hit my chest and then my eyes opened in reaction. I looked at the bench I was sitting on. It wasn't the ideal place to rest, but it was inviting for the moment. I reclined, resting my head on my arm, and gave in once again to my sleepiness. The sounds of the swords clanging was a relaxing melody until I was no longer aware of the world around me.

  I woke up confused, in my bed. How had I gotten here? I sat up and looked around.

  Mattie looked up from dusting a shelf and smiled at me. "At last, our princess awakens. How are you feeling, dear?"

  "Confused. How did I get here?"

  "Brooke and I carried you, of course."

  "Why didn't you just wake me?"

  She laughed. "We tried! You were completely out. Besides, we're vampires. Carrying you was nothing."

  "But you're not really a vampire. You're an Asrai like my mother. When you shape shift, do you actually become what you've turned into? Do all Asrai have that ability?"

  Mattie sat down at the edge of my bed. "Such deep questions for having just awoken. No, most Asrai don't change into other creatures. Your parents found a powerful line of witches and had a spell placed upon us so that we could pose as vampires to find Ida."

  "Will you switch back after she's been found? Or is it better being a vampire?"

  "Your parents certainly prefer to be vampires. They could have remained in their old forms after they announced who they really are, but they changed back."

  "You don't think that's only to keep everyone else at ease since they're used to them as vampires?"

  "That's a definite possibility. I'm sure it's best to keep everyone going as usual. Are you hungry, dear? I can bring you some food if you're too tired to go to the hall yourself."

  My stomach turned at the thought of food. "No. I'd like to just rest a little longer."

  "You look positively green. I've never heard of a vampire getting a stomach bug. Is something going on that you haven't shared with anyone?"

  I raised an eyebrow. My stomach was still upset. "Like what?"

  "Something that—"

  Suddenly, I jumped from my bed and ran to the bathroom just in time to make it to the toilet. I threw up so much that I didn't even know how it was possible. I couldn't have eaten that much in the last week, much less the last day. I cleaned myself up before lying back down.

  "You say that a vampire can't get a stomach bug? You do know that I don't do anything by the book, right?"

  "But, you're stronger than other vampires as the Sonnast. You shouldn't be experiencing anything that would make you weaker."

  "Maybe it was something I ate."

  She laughed. "Not here. Everything goes through stringent testing before making its way to the tables."

  I pulled the covers tightly around me. "Francine has it in for me. It stands to reason that she'd find a way to get to me."

  Mattie looked like she was mulling it over. "I really doubt that because she wouldn't be able to convince enough of the servants to do something like that. There's a whole team of them in the kitchen, and even if she managed to get to a few of them, there's no way that she'd be able to make that happen."

  My eyelids had become heavy again and I let them close, unable to listen to the rest of what she had to say.

&n
bsp; When I awoke, I heard two voices talking very quietly across the room.

  "Has she said anything to you?" Mattie asked.

  "No. She hasn't said anything of the sort," Brooke replied.

  "It's the only explanation."

  "Is it Cliff or Alrekur?"

  "That's the million dollar question."

  "What is?" I asked, sitting up.

  "You're awake!"

  "Have I been asleep for a long time?"

  "We were training yesterday morning," Brooke said. "So, yes."

  "What are you guys talking about?"

  "We think you're hiding something," Brooke said, looking me in the eyes.

  My eyes widened. "What do you think I'm hiding from you?"

  "Is there anything about either Cliff or Alrekur that you haven't shared with anyone?"

  I raised an eyebrow. "Like what, exactly?"

  They both stared at me.

  "Something that you haven't told anyone that could be important," Brooke said, not taking her eyes from me.

  "What are you talking about?" I demanded.

  Mattie looked at Brooke and then walked over to me, placing a hand on my arm. She sighed slowly and then looked at me with kind eyes. "Alexis, you're with child."

  It felt like the room was spinning around me. "You're…you're saying that I'm…I'm pregnant?"

  "You mean it is a possibility?" Brooke asked, wide-eyed.

  I nodded and they looked at me expectantly.

  "Who is it?" Brooke finally asked.

  "You have to ask?" I exclaimed, furious. How could they even consider anyone other than Cliff?

  "Actually, yes," she said. "Cliff is dead-set on remaining pure, and everyone can see that there's some kind of unique—and very strong—connection between you and Alrekur. Who is it?"

  "Your father told me how the two of you reacted when you drank Alrekur's blood," Mattie said.

  I put my face into my hands. "How could this have happened after only one time?"

  "Who is it?" Mattie asked softly. "We need to help you figure out what the next steps are. Whichever one it is, he deserves to know."

  A wave of hope ran through me. "Now maybe he'll talk to me."

  "It's Cliff?" Brooke exclaimed. "Seriously? No way! No way! When? No. Wait, I don't want to know."

  I laughed, glad to see the old Brooke back. "When can we tell him?" I asked, eager to see him.

  Mattie gave me a concerned look. "Don't expect him to jump into your arms when he hears the news. You need to be prepared for him to be even angrier."

  I thought back to when I'd visited him in his room after the big announcement and he had pinned me against the wall, threatening me. I sighed, feeling a lump forming in my throat. "You're right. He's probably going to be even more pissed than he already is."

  "We're going to have to find a way to get him to talk to you," Brooke said. "He isn't going to make that easy. He's really been going out of his way to avoid you." The pain on my face must have been obvious because she added, "Sorry."

  I shook my head. "Don't be. It's true."

  "We should discuss this with your parents. They'll know what to do."

  My parents? I nearly scrambled out of bed. "No! We can't tell them. They're going to freak!"

  "You think that you'll be able to avoid telling them?" Brooke asked. "Everyone will know soon."

  "Not that soon! It hasn't even been a month, has it?"

  "It's probably been a little less than that depending on when it happened," Brooke said. "But vampire pregnancies are nothing like human ones. You're going to be showing soon and you could have the baby in the fifth month."

  "Fifth?" I exclaimed, my voice squeaking. "Are you joking?"

  "There's a lot more variance with vampires," Mattie said. "They tend to be born between five and seven months, although there have been more extreme cases. I've seen vampires born as early as three months and as late as ten, but both are extremely rare."

  "So not only I am just finding out that I'm going to have Cliff's vampire baby, but it could be born in a couple of months? I think I'm going to pass out."

  "Don't worry, the Fyrsturae usually have them around the sixth month," Mattie said, as if that was supposed to reassure me. "The extreme cases tend to involve one parent being a common vampire. You're obviously a Fyrsturae and Cliff comes from a pure line. To my knowledge, there are no common vampires in his lineage. You should make it until the sixth month without any problem."

  I sighed. "Don't forget that I'm the Sonnast, and I don't do anything by the book. My eyes are redder, I completed my transformation in only twelve minutes, my—"

  "You haven't deviated too far from the rest of the Fyrsturae most of the time from what I know," Mattie said. "It was because nobody knew about that that they thought you were extreme. As the rest of the group is awakened, I'm certain that you'll find yourself feeling right at home among them."

  "How long do we have before I have to tell everyone?"

  "Can I look at your stomach?" Mattie asked. "I've acted as a midwife more times than I care to count."

  "Is there anything that you haven't done?" I asked.

  "Not a lot," she said, smiling.

  I pushed the blankets back and lifted my shirt to see my tummy. I gasped when I saw that it was slightly round. "I swear it was flat when I got dressed this morning!"

  Mattie rubbed my belly with both of her hands. "You may well have been. You're going to progress more quickly than anything you've seen if you've only ever seen human pregnancies. Everything feels normal."

  "How can you tell?"

  "I have my ways."

  I let my shirt fall back down. "I need to tell Cliff first. He needs to hear it from me before anyone else finds out."

  Mattie looked at Brooke. "Why don't you help her get freshened up? I'll see if I can find Cliff. We've always gotten along; perhaps I can convince him to give her a moment of his time."

  Brooke laughed. "It sounds as if you've heard that Cliff and I don't always get along. Yeah, I'll help her get ready. I'll have you so beautified that he won't be able to say no to talking to you."

  Mattie left and Brooke instructed me to get into the shower while she picked out my clothes. A half an hour later, she had me looking like a whole new person. She had chosen a skirt and top that were looser than I was used to wearing, but still very elegant and pretty. They hid my belly, which I was convinced had grown since I had been sitting on the bed.

  She looked me up and down. "You are absolutely gorgeous. I don't see how he could take his eyes off of you."

  "I hope you're right," I said, doubting she was.

  "Let's find Mattie."

  We walked towards Cliff's wing, listening for their voices. "I think I hear him in the other direction," I said. "I can also smell his scent. He must have passed this way not too long ago."

  She raised an eyebrow. "You do have strong senses; I can't detect any of that. You lead the way."

  I followed the voices and noted that his scent became stronger as we got closer. I tried to push away the memories that flooded my mind, both good and bad. I wanted so badly to throw myself into his arms and hear him tell me that everything was going to be okay. But the memory of him pinning me to the wall told me how unlikely that was. He'd never looked at me with such disdain before.

  We rounded a corner and saw Cliff sitting next to Stelena on a couch, both looking out a window. I wanted to run away, but Brooke put her hand on my arm and shook her head as soon as I budged. I begged her with my eyes to turn around.

  She cleared her throat and both Cliff and Stelena turned towards us. Cliff's eyes lit up for just a moment, before fury flashed over his face. He narrowed his eyes at me and then turned to Stelena. "Let's visit the garden that I was telling you about."

  I felt like he'd stabbed me. Was he taking her to our garden?

  Brooke spoke up. "Cliff, Alexis has an important matter to discuss with you."

  He glared at her. "As you can see, I'm occu
pied now. Why don't you two go find someone else to bother?"

  Stelena giggled. Cliff turned to her and extended his hand for her. She looked at me before taking his hand and standing up. They walked away, hand in hand.

  I ran to the nearest bathroom to throw up again.

  After I had cleaned up, I walked out of the bathroom with my head held high. I looked around for Brooke, who appeared to have disappeared.

  I heard a noise to my left. "Hello, beautiful."

  Turning to my left, I saw Alrekur smiling at me. I diverted my eyes away from his alluring smile and focused on his eyes.

  "Where's Brooke?"

  "I sent her on a brief errand so that I could have you to myself."

  "Oh?"

  He nodded. "I've dug up some information on that daughter of Halldor."

  "On the daughter of…wait. Do you mean Francine?"

  "Yes, of course. Do you remember when I told you that I had suspected,"—he looked around, and then lowered his voice—"that she paid off a prophet to say that you and her son were to be married?"

  My eyes widened. "Did you find something?"

  He nodded his head and motioned for me to follow him. I took a deep breath and followed him to his wing, where he showed me a room full of paperwork. He walked to a desk and picked up a small stack of papers. "I've found what I need. Just say the word and I'll have the Montgomery's escorted off the property."

  "I—I have some business to take care of that involves them. You'll wait until I give the word?"

  He smiled at me. "Yes, my Sonnast."

  ***

  After I had missed dinner again, my mother pulled me into her bedroom.

  "What's going on?" I asked her, too tired to be irritated. "I want to take a nap."

  "Don't you find that unusual?" she asked. "You've been napping every day."

  "Not really—how would you know anyway? You haven't been back very long. Besides, do you have any idea how upset I am over Cliff not speaking to me? I haven't been able to get near him since the big announcement nearly a month ago."

  "Speaking of Cliff, is there anything about your relationship with him that you'd like to tell me?"

  My eyes widened. She couldn't possible know. "Excuse me?"