Tiny Bites

by Stacy Claflin

  That sound like it will be interesting! Is there anything else you'd like to share before we close?

  If you could find a way to get the crows to stop following me and chasing me, I would appreciate that! They're really creepy, and ever since I read they've been known to represent death, I've been freaking out.

  I wish I could help you with that. Maybe your blind date can help you with them. Hang in there! Thanks for joining us today.

  My pleasure. I'll see you in Deception very soon!

  Character Interview:

  Samantha Erikson, the Transformed series

  Samantha, is there any special meaning behind your name?

  Well, my last name, Erikson, does have a little story behind it. For generations upon generations, our family has taken the old Icelandic tradition of taking the father's first name and adding "sson" and making it the last name for the sons. (For daughters, the tradition is to add "sdottir".)

  My parents decided to stop the tradition. My mother isn't of the Icelandic heritage and she wanted to take my father's last name, Eriksson. But she didn't like the spelling, so my father dropped one S. He adores her and would do anything for her.

  Before your story began, what were your hopes for the future?

  I've always had my sights set on the castle. My family has visited there countless times over the years because of our relatives who live there. My dream has always been to live there, ruling from the throne. What girl hasn't dreamed of becoming a princess?

  What do you like about people?

  Mmmm… that's easy. Their blood. The more fear-soaked, the tastier it is.

  Oh, well… that's interesting. Would you care to elaborate?

  I was born into a vampire family, and I myself became a vampire after I completed my transformation when I was a teenager. That was over two hundred years ago.

  Vampires are born? Aren't they made?

  You humans have most everything wrong about vampires—especially your belief that we don't exist. Royal vampires are born, but common vampires are humans turned. I'm a mixed breed—half common vampire and half royal vampire.

  How is that possible?

  My mother is a common vampire and my father is a royal vampire. My father's choice to marry a common vampire is what removed him, and our entire line, from the castle.

  Is that where your dreams of being a princess come from?

  Yes. I should be in the castle. It's in my blood. That's why I've spent decades to win over the most feared Vampire alive, Vince Moretti. He's going to take down the king and queen, and I'm going to help him. Then we're going to rule the vampire world together.

  That's quite a plan. Good luck with that.

  Thanks. See you in Fallen.

  Character Interview:

  Amanda (Betrayal)

  How long have you been friends with Alexis?

  We've been friends for years. It feels like we've always been friends. For the longest time Emma, Alexis, and I were nearly inseparable. But now Emma isn't our friend. I was completely heartbroken about losing her as a friend at first, but seeing how much she's changed, I don't like the new her. It looked like she was having a change of heart after Alexis was abducted, but she didn't.

  It sounds like things might get interesting with Emma. How is your friendship with Alexis going?

  It was a little bit rocky for a while. I've been an emotional wreck with everything going on in my life lately. Alexis didn't give up on me, she was being a true friend even when I tried to push her away. I felt like everything in life was hopeless, and I didn't want to hear her saying that it could be better.

  Have you noticed anything strange about her?

  Strange? You mean aside from her going from going from socially clueless and invisible to being the most popular girl in school overnight? It's hard to separate any other changes from that. Everything in her life has totally changed over the last few months, too. Although now that you mention it, sometimes it's as if she can read my mind. But that's crazy, right?

  Oh, there was that odd request she had for me right before her going away party before she went to be a foreign exchange student. That was one rocking party, by the way.

  What odd request was that?

  She wanted me to tell Tanner that she'd been eaten by wolves. That was definitely weird, but she wouldn't say what that was all about. I hope she decides to tell me, because Tanner really freaked out when I told him that.

  Wow, it really sounds like we're in for an adventure in Betrayal.

  That's putting it mildly. Alexis actually manages to help me deal with everything that's going on in my life. In a way that I never would have dreamed of, too! That's definitely a wild ride for me—and what a surprise!

  That sounds exciting! I can't wait to find out what that's all about.

  Character Interview:

  Alexis Ferguson (Betrayal)

  In Betrayal, we meet up again with Alexis Ferguson who we first met in Deception. We're going to have an interview to see how things are going and find out what we can expect from Betrayal.

  Hi Alexis. How have you been doing since we last talked?

  My life has been turned upside down more times than I can count. The amount of times I've been betrayed is unreal. I thought finding out I was the Sonnast, which I had never even heard of by the way, was epic news. But the surprise in store for me about the true meaning of the Sonnast was beyond compare.

  My birth parents—that's right. I really was adopted—have been hiding a great many secrets not only from me, but from our society as a whole. Only a select few from the first line of royals even knew a piece of what was really going on. Part of that was because there is a very deadly curse attached to the true meaning of the Sonnast. Lucky me, I get to break that curse.

  You don't sound too excited about your role as the Sonnast. How do you feel about it?

  No, I'm not excited at all about the true meaning. That's one of the things that has turned my life upside down, and not to be dramatic, it has completely ruined my life and destroyed my dreams. The one thing that I wanted more than anything has been ripped from me.

  You're not one to take things lying down. Have you done anything to fight against it?

  I have, but unfortunately, I ended up reacting out of raw emotions and made things worse for myself.

  In Deception, you went from never having had a boyfriend to being in the middle of your own love triangle. How are things going now?

  I made my decision, and chose between the two that I love. It wasn't an easy decision, but the last thing that I wanted to do was to string either of them along. I won't give away who I chose, but I will say that the one I didn't isn't going to let go that easily. He said he respects my decision, but at the same time, he said he won't give up on us, either.

  That sounds like it could lead to trouble.

  More than I would have ever guessed. One of the two guys puts his life in danger and…well, I don't want to give anything away.

  No, we don't. Let's talk about your birth parents. What was it like to finally reunite with them?

  It was not what I had expected at all. I was beyond curious to know what they were like, and I could hardly wait to spend time with them. I had images of us spending days together just talking with them to have all my questions answered. But they were so focused on the situation they've been spending years on in Europe. It wasn't the grand reunion that I'd hoped for.

  That sounds pretty mysterious! I can't wait to find out what that's all about. So, I hear rumors about a new teacher at your school.

  Everyone has been talking about him. His nickname is "the hot new teacher" and he's definitely hiding something. He's too attractive to be human, but I'm not sure what he is. I intend to find out what his secret is, though, because whatever it is, it has something to do with me.

  It sounds very intriguing! We'll see you soon in Betrayal!

  See you then!

  Deleted Scene: Betrayal

  "Do you really th
ink you're ready to go back to school?" my mom asked me while we were all eating lunch at a restaurant.

  "I think so," I said. "Clara, Natalie, Cliff, and Tanner will all be there, too. So I'm sure I can handle anything—even Emma and her friends."

  "We can take them," Clara said. "But with everything you've been through, I'm sure people will be nice to you anyway."

  "You'll be back to being the most popular girl at school again," Natalie agreed. "Everyone is so curious about how you're doing after your abduction. Everyone's tone has changed about you, Alexis. The whole town came together, and everyone was so worried. You should have seen the vigils in the park every night."

  "She's right," said my dad. "The entire town supported us while you were gone, even complete strangers. We even became close to the Monroes during that time."

  "So many people brought flowers and other gifts. They even came in the mail from around the country," said my mom.

  "It's too bad it took me being abducted for people at school to come around," I said. "Before that, nobody would listen to me, and they all treated me horribly because of those stupid rumors. Now I'm supposed to just forget all of that?"

  "I'm sure that they feel badly about that," my mom told me. "Everyone was so worried about you and Tanner. I'm sure you can find it in your heart to forgive them."

  My heart—that was a joke. Would I even be capable of forgiveness after the way I had been treated?

  "Are we going straight home after this?" Natalie asked, setting her fork down.

  "We have one stop and then we can go home," my dad said.

  "Where?" Natalie asked, with a whine in her tone. I wondered why she was so eager to get back home.

  "Alexis has a doctor's appointment," he muttered, looking away.

  "What?" I exclaimed. "I told you guys I'm fine! I don't need to see a doctor!"

  "We just want to make sure you're as good as you say. You've hardly said anything about what the abductors did to you, and we want to make sure you're okay."

  "Seriously, you guys are overreacting!" I exclaimed. "Look at me, I'm fine!" I waved my hands up and down my sides, trying to show them how normal I was.

  "She's obviously healthy enough to argue with you," Natalie said. "Just cancel the appointment. She looks great to me."

  "You two aren't talking me out of this," Dad said.

  I looked at Clara for some help. She had a way of calming my parents that Natalie and I lacked.

  Clara looked in my eyes, and without moving her mouth, she told me, Use mind control.

  Okay. I turned, looked at my dad in the eyes and said slowly, "I am doing fantastic, I—"

  Clara kicked me under the table and started coughing. Use it with the doctors!

  I raised an eyebrow. The Doctors? Why? Why not my parents?

  Not here in public, wait until you have more experience. Trust me.

  I sighed. "Okay, dad. If it's that important to you, I'll just go, and then you can see I'm fine."

  He smiled. "Thank you, honey."

  Other Books

  If you enjoyed this short story sampler, you'll love Stacy Claflin's longer works. She is a USA Today bestselling author who writes about complex characters overcoming incredible odds. Whether it's her Gone saga of psychological thrillers, her various paranormal romance tales, or her sweet romance series, Stacy's three-dimensional characters shine through bringing an experience readers don't soon forget.

  The Hunters

  Seaside Surprises

  Seaside Heartbeats

  Seaside Dances

  Seaside Kisses

  Seaside Christmas

  Bayside Wishes

  Bayside Evenings

  Bayside Promises

  Bayside Destinies

  Bayside Dreams

  The Gone Saga

  The Gone Trilogy: Gone, Held, Over

  Dean's List

  No Return

  Alex Mercer Thrillers

  Girl in Trouble

  Turn Back Time

  Curse of the Moon

  Lost Wolf

  Chosen Wolf

  Hunted Wolf

  Broken Wolf

  Cursed Wolf

  Secret Jaguar

  The Transformed Series

  Main Series:

  Deception

  Betrayal

  Forgotten

  Ascension

  Duplicity

  Sacrifice

  Destroyed

  Transcend

  Entangled

  Dauntless

  Obscured

  Partition

  Standalones:

  Fallen

  Silent Bite

  Hidden Intentions

  Saved by a Vampire

  Sweet Desire

  Standalones

  Sweet Dreams

  Love's First Kiss

  Haunted

  Visit StacyClaflin.com for details.

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  Author's Note

  Thanks so much for reading Tiny Bites. I had a lot of fun filling in the blanks and exploring different scenes that never made it into the books. I've always wanted to spend time with Sophia from the Seaside Hunters and also with both Chester and Macy before the abduction in the Gone saga. I had always wanted to see the life of a human volunteer from the Transformed series.

  Also, cutting those two deleted scenes from Gone was like ripping off my own nails. Okay, it wasn't quite that bad, but I really wanted to include them. I hated removing them, but was convinced by my editor that the story would be better served without them. I'm glad to have been able to include them here.

  I hope you enjoyed this compilation as much I did!

  Feel free to let me know your thoughts. I'd love to hear from you. The easiest way to do that is to join my mailing list (link below) and reply to any of the emails.

  Anyway, if you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review wherever you purchased it. Not only will your review help me to better understand what you like—so I can give you more of it!—but it will also help other readers find my work. Reviews can be short—just share your honest thoughts. That's it.

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  I've spent many hours writing, re-writing, and editing this work. I even put together a team who helped with the editing process. As it is impossible to find every single error, if you find any, please contact me through my website and let me know. Then I can fix them for future editions.

  Thank you for your support! I really appreciate it—and you guys!

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  Did you love Tiny Bites? Then you should read Turn Back Time by Stacy Claflin!

  A dangerous cult disbanded years ago. Now they’re back, and they want revenge.

  Alex Mercer spends his spare time operating a blog for missing children—a pastime inspired by his daughter’s recent disappearance. Another relative goes missing. As he follows up on leads coming into his site, the police department is inundated with a rash of missing persons cases. The incidents seem unrelated until evidence ties the cases to a dilapidated apartment building known for its unsavory clientele. Suspicion falls on a disbanded cult. The same cult Alex’s own relatives had managed to escape from and bring down a decade earlier.

  The cult leaders, recently released or escaped from prison, reassemble their members and mandate a new mission to capture and kill all tho
se responsible for the breakdown of their community. After another loved one disappears, Alex is ready to rescue the missing people from certain death. But will he get there in time?

  Turn Back Time is the second book in a series of exciting standalone novels spun off from the USA Today bestselling Gone Trilogy. If you like heart-pounding suspense, page-turning action, and characters you’ll never forget, then you’ll love Stacy Claflin’s engrossing series.

  Also by Stacy Claflin

  An Alex Mercer Thriller

  Girl in Trouble

  Turn Back Time

  Little Lies