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

by Stacy Claflin

  "Okay," I said, rolling over again. I would have to make sure that I appeared to be improving by then. I didn't want to see any doctor, not even Dr. Robinson, who was a vampire and understood why I had no vitals—if he was even in town.

  I got out of bed and grabbed my phone at the base of my dresser, where it had landed the night before. The light was blinking, showing that I had missed calls or texts. Seeing that it had a low battery, I plugged it in and set the alarm for a little before noon and set it on the floor, ignoring the missed calls and texts. My mind tortured me with thoughts of how I had hurt everyone I cared about, until I finally drifted back to sleep.

  When my alarm went off, I was plenty rested and my body had waves of energy rolling throughout. I sighed, knowing that I would probably feel differently as soon as I started thinking about my life again. I remembered that my mom was going to check on me to see if she thought I needed to go to the doctor.

  I ran for my closet and threw on the first thing I grabbed. Then I sat down at my vanity and brushed my hair out and put on some bronzer and blush to make it look as though my coloring had improved. I looked myself over, pleased. So long as she didn't insist on feeling for warmth, I should be okay.

  Hearing footsteps on the stairs, I grabbed a book from my school bag, and sat down on my bed, opening to a random page, pretending to read. My door opened, and I didn't look up so as to make it look like I was so involved in my reading that I hadn't even noticed her come in.

  "Oh good, you're up. How are you feeling?"

  I looked up, feigning surprise. "I didn't hear you come in. I'm feeling better—just catching up on my studies. I don't want to be behind when I get back on Monday, so I may as well start now. We're caroling tomorrow, right?"

  "Tonight, actually. You think you'll be up for it?"

  If it would keep me from seeing a doctor, I would do nearly anything. "Sure. It's not like we'll be hiking through the mountains."

  "That's true. I don't think we'll be walking around too much. We'll probably spend most of our time in the lobby at the retirement home. They always love it when we're there."

  I nodded, smiling. "It's nice to make them happy like that."

  "Well, I'm glad that you'll be joining us. I was worried that you'd be too sick. Do you want me to bring up some food?"

  My stomach growled, as if on cue.

  She laughed. "I'll take that as a yes. Keep studying and I'll be back with some food soon." She left the room, closing the door behind her.

  I sighed, relieved that I had gotten out of going to the doctor. I hoped that caroling would help me get my mind off everything. Doing things to make others happy usually had a way of making me forget about my own problems.

  Flipping through the pages, I found where we were really studying and I began reading where I had left off the last time. I wanted to get as much studying in as I could just in case Tobias would actually be able to see me over the weekend. I didn't want anything to hold me back from seeing him.

  Time passed quickly as I studied for all of my classes, and before I knew it, it was already getting dark outside. Not that it was all that late; it was usually dark before five that time of year. I got up from my bed, showered, and got dressed for caroling. I wore a red strapless dress, trying to be festive. The more normal I looked and acted, the better chance I had of my family not trying to get in to see any kind of doctor.

  When I got downstairs, they were all eating dinner, so I joined them, brushing off a comment my mom made about how much better I looked. We all talked about our favorite carols and before I knew it, we were all in my dad's Escalade, singing Christmas songs along with the radio.

  At the center, I sat down, looking over our song sheets. Natalie sat next to me and nudged me with her elbow. I ignored her, as I flipped through the pages. She nudged me again—hard.

  "Ow. What was that for?"

  She bumped my shoulder with hers. "Look over there."

  I looked up and across the room. I had to do a double-take when I thought I saw Tobias.

  "Mr. Foley's here!" she squealed. "You little sneakster. You're going to try to see him right under Mom and Dad's noses?"

  Staring at him, I didn't respond. What was he doing there? I tried to remember if I had told him about caroling, but with my memory being so shoddy, I couldn't recall. Not that it mattered, because there he was. What was he trying to do? Get himself into trouble? What was I supposed to do?

  He turned and saw me. His entire face lit up, and then he winked at me.

  Natalie squeezed my arm. "Did you see that?"

  I nodded, not showing any emotion. I didn't want to go near him, afraid that he would start to turn again.

  Tobias flashed his Hollywood grin, and then turned back to the elderly person he was talking to.

  "You're so lucky." Natalie leaned her head against my shoulder, sighing.

  "What about Braydon?"

  "I adore him, but face it, Lexy. He's no Mr. Foley. He could be a model, you know, one of those underwear models. Ohhh, you should talk him into that."

  I shoved her. "I'm pretty sure that's one of those things that, as a teacher, he's not supposed to do. Besides, I'd like to keep him to myself."

  She turned and stared at me. "Have you seen him in his? I mean, has he modeled his underwear for you?"

  Not that I could remember, but all of my lapses, who knew? I wouldn't have told Natalie, even if he had, which I was sure he hadn't, since on our first date at the coffee shop, he had been so insistent on taking it slow. I needed to keep his reputation safe just in case we ever did get found out.

  "Well…?"

  "No. Would you stop? We barely get any alone time. I've hardly had time to give him a kiss, and he's a total gentleman."

  She sighed again. "That's so romantic, and so your style too. You like those proper, hold-your-door-open kind of guys."

  Tobias turned back and caught my eye. I smiled at him, and he gave a quick wave.

  "Let's go talk to him. Come on." Natalie pulled my arm.

  I shook my head. "No way."

  "Why not?"

  "I don't want to just talk to him. I want to hold him and hug him. It would be torture to stand next to him and pretend like nothing's going on."

  "Isn't that what you have to do at school?"

  "Well, yeah." Not that I had actually had much of an opportunity for that. We had been staying apart for most of the week since I kept triggering him turning into a werewolf. Wasn't he afraid that would happen there, in front of all those people? There were about twenty carolers, and the room quickly filling with residents.

  Natalie stood up, still pulling my arm. "Let's go. I want to say hi to my teacher."

  I groaned, but gave in. I stood, and we walked toward Tobias.

  "Mr. Foley, what are you doing here?" Natalie asked.

  He gave a slight nod. "Hello, Natalie. Alexis. It's wonderful to see students out here, doing a good deed on Friday night. I missed you today at school, Alexis. Is everything all right?"

  "I was feeling under the weather, T…Mr. Foley. Staying home and resting was exactly what I needed."

  "Good, good. Have you two tried the cookies and cider they just set out in the hall? They're going to go fast. You should get some before they're gone."

  "Thanks," I said, and grabbed Natalie's arm, walking toward the hallway, not letting go of his gaze. He started talking to someone, but kept his eyes on me.

  Some of the other carolers started talking with Natalie and me, but the whole time, I kept glancing back at Tobias. Most of the time, he seemed to know when I was looking, and he would wink or smile at me. It turned into a game, and I relaxed.

  When it was time to line up in front of the fire to begin singing, he stopped me as I walked by. "Did you drop this?" He held up a folded piece of paper.

  "I don't recognize that."

  "I'm pretty sure I saw it fall from your purse."

  I raised an eyebrow. "I don't think so."

  Natalie n
udged me. "Take it."

  "Oh," I said, taking it from him. "Thanks."

  Natalie leaned close to my ear. "What does it say? I'm dying to know. Oh and for future reference, when a hot guy wants to give you something—take it."

  I opened the paper, and saw that it had an address on it. I folded it back up and put it in my purse.

  "Well?" Natalie asked.

  "It's an address. Does that mean he wants me to meet him there after caroling?"

  "You think?"

  "Well, how am I supposed to pull that off? We all drove here in Dad's car, remember?"

  "I'll tell our parents that you saw some friends from school, and you went with them. You've gotta go."

  As we were lining up in front of the fire, Tobias caught my eye and gave me a questioning look. I nodded, assuming that he was referring to the address. His face lit up, and my stomach danced with both excitement and a bit of nervousness. Where was he taking me? I didn't recognize the address, but could tell that it was near the school.

  While we were warming our voices, some of the elderly handed us Santa hats. I smiled, happy that they matched the dress I was wearing. I tucked it on, and it fit perfectly.

  After about an hour of singing, everyone milled around the room, eating more cookies and drinking cider and hot chocolate. Natalie nudged me.

  "What's with all the nudging?"

  She rolled her eyes. "Some kids from school just left. Now's the perfect time for your escape. Mom and Dad are in the kitchen, helping with something. Go to Mr. Foley's car and wait for him. I'll deal with our parents."

  "You want me to leave now?"

  She looked toward the door to the kitchen. "Yeah. Go before they come back out. With that group of kids gone, it's the perfect excuse. Hurry."

  I looked around. "Okay. And, thanks, Natalie."

  Smiling, she said, "I want details!"

  I nodded and then dashed outside. I didn't think that Tobias saw me leave, but I thought he'd figure it out soon enough. I knew he wouldn't want me waiting by his car in such a public place, as Natalie had suggested. I decided to run to the address.

  When I got there, I found myself in front of a condo complex. There was nothing on the paper indicating which one was his, so I looked on the list by the gate, and saw Foley listed. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach.

  I sat down on a bench that was hidden by the shadows. I watched as the snow clouds formed in the sky, trying not to get my hopes set too high about seeing Tobias. I didn't want to be disappointed again if he couldn't handle being around me.

  The sound of snow crunching caught my attention and I turned to see who was coming. I did a double take as I saw Cliff walking down the road. What was he doing in Delphic Cove? Why was he walking by the condo complex at that exact time?

  As I watched him, I considered whether or not to say anything. I was in no mood to jump and give him a warm welcome. I was angry with all of the vampires. They had abandoned me, not leaving me a single clue to their whereabouts. I would actually be quite content to let him walk by, and walk out of my life forever. Who needed him?

  He walked closer, and then he saw me. Of course. Recognition washed over his face, but he didn't look particularly excited to see me either. Good.

  "You again," he said. "Are you following me?"

  "Hardly." I didn't budge from the bench.

  "You're the girl from the mall. It's odd that I'd see you again."

  "Funny. I can't recall seeing you." What was he trying to pull? Did he have some agreement with Alrekur that in order to save his life, he would act like he didn't know me?

  "You don't remember? Well, it was pretty late and crowded. I'm looking for a girl named Alexis. She's beautiful and has hair similar to yours. Have you seen anyone like that?"

  I stared at him. What was he talking about? "Don't you recognize me?"

  Cliff sighed. "Not this again. You're not her. I've got to find her and try to break that spell. I'm not supposed to be able to see her if she's close to me, but I know that if I just look into her eyes, I'll know it. How could I not? I've never stopped loving her, despite everything done to us."

  I stood up, taking everything in. "Cliff. It's me. I'm Alexis." I stood and walked right in front of him, staring into his eyes. "It's me."

  He shook his head. "I wish I'd stop running into you. You keep trying to convince me that you're her, but you're obviously not." He frowned, looking heartbroken.

  I grabbed his shoulders. "Cliff, look into my eyes again."

  He looked into my eyes, but again there was no recognition. "If you see her, tell her I'm looking for her. We're all looking for her."

  They were all searching for me? I hadn't been abandoned after all? I took a deep breath. "You say that you've seen me before?"

  "In the mall last week, and then a couple of other times over the last few months. It's as though you're trying to torment me."

  "Me? Trying to…? You've got that backwards."

  He shook his head. "I need to keep looking."

  Tears filled my eyes, and I sat back down. Everyone was searching for me, but they couldn't find me? He said something about a spell. Was that keeping them from recognizing me? I leaned against the bench, feeling dizzy. I wanted to piece everything together, but it was getting harder to think straight. My vision was getting fuzzy, and my brain tickled. Before I knew it, everything went black.

  ***

  I rolled over in bed, moaning. Something about my head didn't feel right. My nose tickled. The room smelled unfamiliar. Where was I? I opened my eyes and found myself in a room decorated in earth tones. What was going on?

  Sitting up, I saw that I was wearing the dress I had picked out for caroling. Had I already gone caroling? I hoped I hadn't had another memory lapse.

  The doorknob creaked as it turned. My fangs extended and I flew out of bed, ready to fight.

  The door opened, and Tobias walked in, looking startled. "Alexis, it's okay. We're in my condo."

  I relaxed, and felt my fangs retract. "What's going on? Why am I here? How did I get here?"

  "When I came home, I found you passed out on a bench out front. I brought you in here. You've been sleeping for a couple hours. What happened?"

  "You're asking me? I don't even know how I got here. To your building, I mean. How did I get on a bench? Did someone leave me there? I wouldn't even know how to get here. I haven't been here before. You only told me about it."

  He smiled. "Slow down. Everything's okay. You're here now and I'm taking excellent care of you. I gave you the address when we were caroling."

  "So we already went caroling? Why do I keep blocking out the holiday traditions? First Thanksgiving, then the tree cutting, now the caroling. Oh and Christmas shopping with Amanda."

  Concern washed over his face. "Are you all right? What do you remember? Do you remember us being together?"

  I looked into his eyes from across the room and smiled. "I do. You know what? That's all I need to remember." I ran into his arms, placed my lips onto his, and ran my fingers through the softest hair I'd ever felt. He wrapped his arms around me, placing his hand around the small of my back, and pulled me closer, returning the kiss.

  "You're okay?" I asked. "I'm not going to cause you to turn? I don't want to hurt you."

  "I'm perfectly fine. It'll probably be a different story in about a month, before the full moon. But don't have anything to worry about for now."

  "Good." I ran my finger across his face, lingering at his lips, and then kissed him again. "I've wanted to be alone with you for too long."

  He took my hand and kissed the end of my fingers. "You and me both. But now there's nothing in our way."

  "Wait. I probably have to call my parents."

  Tobias shook his head. "Your sister told me she has that covered. I'm all yours."

  "Perfect. You're all I want."

  He leaned over and scooped me up.

  I shrieked. "What are you doing?"

  "Wait and see I set u
p for you."

  He carried me through the condo and stopped in the dining room. The table was set up beautifully with a lace table cloth and two tall candles lighting the room. Delicious-looking food sat on the table.

  "You did all of this?"

  "Just for you. I hope you're hungry."

  "Famished." I squeezed him tight and gave him another kiss. "Falling in love with you is the best thing that's ever happened to me."

  He sat me in the chair, still kissing me. "That goes double for me."

  Moving Beyond….

  Eighty years pass before we read Ascension, book #4 in the Transformed series. Needless to say, a lot happens in that time period.

  In the following Bonus Material section, I've shared some exclusive content, giving you a look into that time period.

  But first, read this preview of Ascension to get a glimpse into what has changed:

  I stood at the side of the casket, looking down at the beautiful wrinkled face framed by white, silky hair. I reached down, stroking the hair I once used to braid, silently saying my final goodbyes. A tear slipped down my face. "I wish you would have let me turn you, Natalie."

  Cliff put his hand on my shoulder, and I sighed. We made eye contact and then walked away from the casket, allowing everyone else in line to say their goodbyes too.

  "It was what she wanted," Cliff told me, wrapping his arm around me.

  I nodded, knowing he was right. Not that it made it any easier to lose my sister, even though she had lived ninety-seven good years. She had lived the life that she wanted. She and Braydon had married as soon as she graduated high school. They had the huge, beautiful wedding that she had always dreamed about. Although the world had changed a lot over the previous eighty years, she and Braydon had done well for themselves and pretty much saved the town of Delphic Cove themselves.

  We walked to the back of the room and stood against the wall. I looked around the room, filled with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. I'd been able to spend time with her children as they grew up, but as soon as one of them noticed how young I looked, since I wasn't aging, Natalie had insisted that I stop visiting my nieces and nephews.