The Changer Complete Box Set

by A C Wilds

  At that moment, I hear a flap of wings next to me. Grey is flying next to us, keeping up with Reds speed. How the hell is he doing that. What are you doing? I told you to get inside. He tells me telepathically.

  I’m going to try to save your ass. I just have to jump on the dragon’s foot, climb up his body, and stab it between the wings. No big deal. I got this! I project back. Maybe if I say it confidently, I can believe it.

  Before I can attempt it, Grey flies over me and grabs the Changer sword. I freeze time when I see him take it, but it does nothing to the four of us. Everyone else stops around us except for my mates, and Red. I scream, he’s going to burn up! No one can touch the sword! “GREY” I shout. I can hear my pulse pounding in my ears. I look up, twisting around, trying to find him, but he’s already speeding toward the dragon, and he’s not burning up. What the fuck? I thought no one could touch the sword.

  Grey lands gracefully on the dragon’s back and stabs down with the sword. A shockwave ripples out from the impact and I lose control of the time stop. Grey is thrown off the dragon as everything starts right back up again. The dragon’s roars are so loud I feel a trickle of blood come out of my ears. Red pulls himself back and keeps us a safe distance from the dragon. He is wobbling on all four legs and trying to get the sword out of his back. The hilt of the sword is glowing its brilliant purple, and I see everyone shielding their eyes, except Grey. He’s fine, just like I am. The dragon finally falls in a heap on the grass. He’s still breathing, but you can see the pain he is in. I nudge Red to go closer. I need my sword. We get only a couple of feet before a large shimmer comes over the dragon and his huge form shrinks down to a Fae.

  I hop off of Red and run over to get my sword. The guy is naked and lying in the dirt on his stomach. His hair is matted, and the color of his skin has a grey sheen to it. He’s groaning and breathing heavily. My sword is stuck between his shoulder blades just as it was with the dragon. I approach him slowly and put my hands on the hilt of the sword. With one good tug, the sword comes out with a sickening pop. The man yells out in pain as I back away.

  “Azra, are you alright?” Shax says as he and Cass run over. He’s bloody and has a gash on his head. Cass looks like he’s about to keel over, but they are both alive, and my heart absolutely soars. I run and embrace Shax first and pull him into me. His huge arms go around me, and my soul sings. I feel Cass come up to us, and I break away from Shax to pull him into the hug. I don’t care if they don’t want to hug me together, I need this. I need to feel both of them on my skin, which makes me think of other things, so I quickly pull away.

  “I’m fine, I didn’t get hurt at all. Where is Grey?” I ask, turning my body in a circle, but I can’t find him.

  “He went into the castle to get Logan. The boy got separated from us when the dragon attacked. I told him to go find Anna, but it’s unclear if he made it to her in time,” Shax explains. There is a look of worry on his face, and it makes me very worried to think about something happening to Logan.

  The dragon man begins to stir, and that throws both guys into action. Shax lights fire in his hand, and Cass is standing next to him with his lightning. They look quite the pair, one dark, and the other light. Two sexy as sin Fae who are all mine. I put my sword in the scabbard and look down at the dragon man. He rolls over onto his back, and I hear an intake of breath. I look up and see the shocked look on Cass’s face. He knows this man, but how?

  “Cass, do you know who this is?” I ask, with a nervousness that I didn’t have before. It can’t be good if Cass knows this guy. He’s never been to Faerie. That could only mean one thing, Michael knows we are here, and he sent someone for us.

  “That’s Emanuel. He’s, my father’s assassin. I didn’t know he was a dragon shifter. I guess without the magic of Faerie he couldn’t shift. But if he’s here…” Cass trails off. We all know what this means...time has run out.

  Chapter 9

  Finding Another Friend

  The Queen is in a fit of rage, there’s fire in her eyes and the air is thick with her magic. We’re summoned to what is left of the throne room. Seeing her sitting on her throne tapping her fingers on the arm, my body fills with dread. Her hair is swept up by an imaginary breeze, and the energy that’s pulsing off of her is making me cringe. She’s going to lose it soon.

  “Azra, you have disappointed me. I don’t take kindly to Fae who hide things from me. There is only so much I will forgive Changer,” she says, with a sneer. I sense that she’s losing patience with me quickly. I need to try to talk her down from hurting one of us. I can feel the cold rush of fear creep down my body as I see the way she’s looking at Grey. Our wings are out, his white and glimmering, and mine so black they are purple. She wants to pluck them off she’s so jealous. Her energy changes from the overpowering pulse of dark, to a slick oily substance that makes my skin crawl. She needs to stop fucking looking at my mate.

  “This just happened, before the dragon attack. They burst forth after we were mated. It wasn’t planned,” I say, in my best boss voice. Just because I am quivering on the inside, doesn’t mean she needs to hear it in my tone. I can feel the shock through the bond, and then the anger. Shax and Cass are not happy I kept this from them.

  “My my, aren’t we quite the collector. Three mates and one is not so human. I wonder what else you are capable of,” she says, cold-heartedly. I feel like a science experiment. She’s analyzing the possibilities of all I can do. I realize at this moment we need to get out of here, more than ever. It’s just like in the Light. Her hunger stems from power, and right now, she’s starving. I can’t let her get anywhere near me or the guys.

  “Mother, we apologize for the lateness of us discussing this with you, but there was a dragon in front of the palace. A dragon shifter that Prince Cassiel has identified as the King’s number one assassin,” Shax says, in a tad sarcastic tone. I think he might be the only one who can get away with it.

  Or maybe not. The energy around her grows to a point where her eyes start to glow purple, and her skin starts to shine. She rises out of her chair and stalks over to us. She gets right in her son’s face. I’m so fucking petrified of what she’s going to do. My body starts to heat up, and I gather my fire right underneath my skin. She glances at me and smirks.

  “Son, just because this girl is your mate, don’t think for one second I won’t end the rest of you, and keep her imprisoned. I brought you into this world in a fury of fire and brimstone. Your life can be ended the same way. Do. Not. Test. Me,” she spits out. Her whole body is shaking. It’s taking everything inside her to keep from killing us.

  At that moment a maid enters the room, with a tray of drinks, balancing it as she walks. She looks scared as hell. I don’t blame her, the energy pulse in here would make any human run away. She makes a scuffling noise with her shoes. They squeak along the tile as she approaches us. The drinks slosh on the tray and a little spill. She curses under her breath, and before I can blink, she’s on fire and screaming. Her body ignites and the hot flames fan our faces, as we look on in horror at what just happened. I’m so stunned, that I have no words. I thought Michael was an evil dictator, but this woman, she is fucking demented.

  A shudder of relief comes over the Queen and she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She expelled her energy, and it felt good. Her joy in killing that maid is quite evident. She turns to me as she opens her eyes, and stares deeply into mine. “You will obey. I will not say this again. Gather your things, we leave in thirty minutes for the summer palace,” she says, as she dismisses us walking back to her throne and sitting down. She stares straight at us as we leave. I can’t move my feet fast enough.

  As soon as we are in the hallway, the screaming ensues. Cass and Shax are yelling at me, Grey is yelling at them. I ignore each of them and keep walking. I need to figure out how the hell we are going to get out of this. We reach the floor were our rooms are, and I walk right in. The room is a mess. Things are thrown all over, and it still smells li
ke fire in here. Since I don’t really have anything with me, I grab a few outfits that were given to me here and pack them in a bag. The guys are still arguing when I come back into the lounge. The argument is getting so heated, that I see Grey start to pulse with energy. Shax has a ball of flames, and Cass is crackling with lightning.

  “ENOUGH!” I yell, with the full force of my power. I’m trembling from my anger. I need to reign this in before I destroy something. They all stop to stare at me. I must look fierce because they shut up immediately. “You all are my mates. I don’t care if you didn’t know each other before. I don’t care if you hated each other. I do care about the future of this relationship. I didn’t choose this, but here we are, together. There’s a bond with each of you inside me that I can feel pulsing with my heartbeat. The four of us in this room, are the only ones who can stop this war. We’re the only ones who can take down Michael and squash this idea of conquest from Lucifer’s head. I need you all with me and working together. I’m leaving now. You best fix this before I get back!”

  I hike my bag around my shoulders and make my way out of the room. Going out into the garden again I head for the tree line. It’s quieter here, as everyone is working at the front of the castle. The trees are bent in weird angles and the flower beds are crushed. There is a crack in one of the fountains, and water is running everywhere. It’s going to take a lot to get this all back together again.

  I don’t know how long I walk for, but I come upon a lake, that has a tiny waterfall, flowing on the side. The trees here were not touched by the destruction. If I close my eyes, I can almost imagine this place is serene and at peace. I can imagine living here with my mates and having a home. Taking a deep breath, I look into the pool. The water is pristine, and it looks good enough to swim in. I put all my stuff down beside a rock and begin to strip out of my clothes. The air around me is chilly and my nipples pucker in response. Without too much thought, I take a running start and jump straight in. I submerge under the water and hit the bottom. It is silent and calm down here. The sand underneath my toes is soft and grainy. There are tiny fish floating around me, curious as to what I’m doing here. I take a few seconds to just relax. I have always loved being underwater. It’s like another world.

  A voice whispers to me, through the current of the pool. I turn this way and that looking for the source, but when I see none, I pay attention to the words. They sound as if they are embedded in the water, they are almost a part of it.

  There will be a fourth. Except the fourth or you will fail.

  I push up from the floor and swim up to the surface. As my head breaks the water, I take in a lungful of air while pushing my hair out of my face. I turn in a circle looking for the source of the voice, but I see nothing. There’s nothing out of the ordinary. I don’t feel threatened in anyway, so I lean back and float. My breasts peak out of the water, as well as my toes as my body is pushed by an invisible current around the lake. With my ears submerged, I can only hear the silence of the water and the whooshing of my heartbeat -- no trace of the voice. The silence allows me to take a minute to reflect on all that has happened since we got here. I gained two mates, created a fae, and helped defeat a dragon assassin. The Queen is on a whole other level of crazy, and I need to get us out of here once again, but where will we go? What are we going to do? And how the hell am I going to convince thousands of Fae to follow me, and be okay with closing the portals? I let out a sigh and turn upright. I might as well collect those idiots and find a way to start a plan.

  Stepping out of the water, I shake off. I don’t have a towel, so I will have to do my best air dry. I wrap my hair up in a bun and start to twirl around in circles to get the water off of me. I’m about three twirls in when I notice a white blur come across my vision. I stop where I am and cast out some energy. There’s a large something past the trees in the distance. My heart begins to race because there could be anything out there. I’m all alone, naked, and have no idea how to really defend myself. I have the sword and my powers, but I have never done hand to hand combat, and we all saw what a fucking mess I made out of trying to kill that dragon. I grab clean clothes from my bag and put them on at lightning speed. I’m so nervous, that my wings bust out of my back, tearing the shirt I just put on. I look around and wait for the energy source to come out. Nothing.

  “Whoever or whatever you are, you need to come out and stop dicking around. I’ve had a shit day, and I’m not in the mood for another surprise,” I yell, into the trees. A few birds fly up, and some smaller animals scuffle along the ground. I feel my soul-bond with Red, and put out a distress emotion, so he’ll know where to find me. Drawing my sword from its scabbard, I wait to see what will happen.

  A few bushes rustle in the wind, and I can feel excitement in the air. Someone is getting off on making me nervous. I feel a pulse of energy, and a man walks out from behind the tree. He is tall with tan skin, almost like he spends too much time in the sun. His brown shaggy hair is loosely draped to his shoulders. He has a brilliant set of emerald eyes, and cheekbones that would make any girl swoon. His energy is pulsing in time with the earth. It’s almost like he is connected to it.

  He stares at me for a bit, and a smile spreads across his face. I have three mates and shouldn’t be thinking about this, but holy hot damn this man is beautiful. “What do you want?” I yell over to him. He stalks closer toward me, and I grip my sword tighter. I have no idea how to use it, but I figure if it touches him, he’ll turn to ash. Right?

  “I saw you swimming, and wanted to say hello,” he counters. His voice is like a soothing balm on a sunburn. It instantly makes me think of a quite forest and gentle breezes.

  “Why? Is it weird for a girl to swim in a lake, in the middle of a forest, naked?” I ask him, and instantly regret it, because it’s probably the stupidest thing I have ever said.

  He laughs, the way a laugh should sound, full of joy and hope. His shoulders vibrate, and I can see a dimple in his right cheek. The scruff of his beard hid it in his smile, but this laugh brought it out. I’ve always been a sucker for dimples.

  “Yes, it is extremely weird to see a naked Changer in a scrying pool,” he tells me. This just makes me more confused because one, what is a scrying pool, and two how the hell does he know that I’m the Changer.

  “Who are you? I want to know your intentions right now. I’m extremely volatile and don’t have the best control over my powers. In any moment if I get too excited, I could blow you up or maybe electrocute you. It all depends on which one comes out of my hands first. I killed a dragon today, so you should be like super scared,” I say, with not that much confidence.

  “I mean you…” he says, just before he goes flying into a tree and is knocked to the ground by my Arion. Red advances on him looking murderous. I see Ash in the distance waiting to see if she needs to back us up. I’m starting to really like my Arion’s mate.

  “What is your purpose here halfling? Do not lie to me,” Red growls out. His voice is much angrier than I’ve heard before. Does he know this guy? He’s in his human form. I still can’t get over the fact that my soul-bonded Arion is a damn man. I miss my horse.

  The man sits up against the tree and spits out a little blood. His hair is disheveled, and he is holding his side. He doesn’t look too hurt, but one look at Red’s eyes and his tan skin turns a milky white. He’s scared of Red, and if I’m being honest, so am I. I know he won’t hurt me, but he has some major intimidation skills.

  “I stumbled upon her bathing in my scrying pool. I was interested in what she was doing, nothing more,” the man tells Red. Red stares at him for a couple of beats and then looks over at me.

  Are you ok? he projects into my head.

  I nod and tell him I am. Ash comes out of the trees and stands over with me. Red leaves the man on the ground. There’s something about him that I just can’t place. It’s like a need in my gut telling me this guy is a piece that I’m missing. I need to find out his purpose here. Why did Red call him a ha
lfling? With a bit more courage, because now I have two badass Arions with me, I walk over to where Red is standing.

  “What’s your name?” I ask the man. His eyes glow a little in the light as he gets up from his seated position. He’s still clutching his side, but I can see him stand taller as he speaks.

  “Gunner Lokison,” he says, with a slight head bow. He looks back up at me, and I swear there is something here. Something important. I’m just not catching it.

  “What were you doing at the pool?” My curiosity is getting the better of me. I evaluate him again and notice that he has tattoos on his forearms and peeking out from his collar. Some of them look like tribal marks, but the others are intricately detailed pictures. They’re insanely beautiful.

  “I was walking back to the castle when I noticed you stomping through the forest. You’re very loud, and so I wanted to see where you were off to. I figured I’d watch over you until you were done, doing whatever you came here to do. Then you got naked, and well I couldn’t miss that now could I,” he responds with a sly smile.

  “Watch your tone, halfling,” Red growls at him. I can feel the waves of anger rolling off of him, and I have no idea why. This man hasn’t hurt me or said anything threatening to me. Why would Red hate him so much?

  “What’s a halfling?” I ask, no one in particular. Red shifts on his feet, and Gunner, he looks like he is going to blow a gasket. I guess the term isn’t a polite one.

  “A halfling is a Fae born from two different species. Gunner is a demigod. Half Norse god and half Earth Fae. His father is the God of Mischief, Loki,” Red tells me. So, they have met before.

  “And you know him?” I ask Red. He gives me a somber head shake yes and takes a quick glance at Ash. She steps up to us and grabs Red’s hand. This causes Gunner to flare up in anger. You can see the grass around his feet get thicker and more luscious. I can feel his magic pulsing, it’s like crushed green things, and dirt. It’s intoxicating. My energy jumps to his, and before I can help it, there is an energy merge in front of us. His energy is pure green, the color of shamrocks and grassy knolls. Mine comes out in a vibrate yellow this time pulsing with the light of the sun, and together they make a beautiful chartreuse. I pull my energy back as quickly as it went out. I don’t think he noticed, but my energy wants some of his. We have too many fucking problems to deal with another potential mate right now. I glare over at Red because I know he saw the shift.