The Changer Complete Box Set

by A C Wilds

  “It seems that way,” Cass surmises. “It must be another condition of the mating. When we all accepted each other, another bond was formed with us all.”

  I look at them, really look at my mates. They are all so powerful, and dominant in their own right. How did I get so lucky to have these amazing men? The fact that we are connected and can feel each other, is making all the feelings come front and center.

  “I want this, more than I have wanted anything. I have been hurt in the past and being with you all together like this gives me hope that our bond will last the ages,” I croak out, tears dripping down my face.

  Cass walks up to me and wraps me up in one of his fantastic hugs. His ability to soothe me is uncanny. He’s like a big blanket. I can feel love and joy coming from each of them. This is where I am supposed to be.

  The door to the barn crashes open, and Red is standing in his human form staring at us. I am so shocked for a moment, I don’t know what to do. This can’t be good. “Another invasion is taking place on the oceanfront. There is a fleet of soldiers trying to get into the harbor. I had to shift to protect the children, and now everyone has seen,” he rushes out. He is furious that he had to break his secret. I can feel how unsure he is. It was one of the only advantages we had.

  I run to grab my sword from the table, as the guys grab their weapons. Grey takes his bow, Shax his short swords, and Cass his metal-tipped staff that’s made from some form of Fae material that conducts his lightning. They all look like warriors. Running down along the side of the castle toward the water, I can see the chaos that is taking place on the beach. Fae are battling others with swords and fists. There are so many of them, a feeling of dread comes over me. I’ve never been in battle before, and the odds are overwhelming.

  “Stay behind us Azra. We’ll take care of it. Grey, you watch her since you have the least experience,” Shax says, pushing his alpha powers out a bit. Grey answers with a wicked smirk and launches off the ground into the air. His brilliant white wings fan out, and he looks like a real angel — one that protects.

  “Damn it, fucking stubborn mate!” Shax yells, in his direction. Grey throws the middle finger over his shoulder and takes off into the fray. He immediately has his bow drawn and his arrow notched. Releasing it, he hits two Fae at once. The arrow shot so powerful, it goes through both. I see Cass to the left of me with his arm outstretched. He helped to move the arrow with his air magic.

  I pull the Changer sword from its scabbard and look over at Shax. “Let’s go, I’m not going to promise to stay behind you the whole time, but I will be cautious. If I am being honest, I’m scared to all fuck right now,” I confess, to my alpha. His protection instincts go into hyperdrive, and I see his fire come to the surface.

  Since I have a little bit of everyone’s magic, I pull my magic from my core into my fingertips. My blade ignites with fire and lightning. “Holy shit, that’s amazing! On second thought, I think I got this,” I say, with a little more confidence. What can go wrong when you have an electrocuted fire blade?

  We run right into the thick of the action. The Fae who came off the boats seems fish like. They all have a bluish-green skin which looks viscose in nature. There are scales, and fins doting their bodies. The outfits they wear are torn, and old. They look like something out of a bad animated pirate movie. Their skills, however, are top notch. They swing their blades with precision, attacking like professional killers. This is why Michael hired them.

  Shax is amazing, cutting down the fish Fae with both of his short swords. Swinging them in arches and decapitating them as he goes. Cass’s staff is lit up with his electricity, and Fae are falling at his feet as he strikes them, stopping their hearts. I look up into the sky and see Grey firing arrow after arrow at the crowd. He hits his mark every time.

  A Fae dressed in ripped pants and a torn white shirt slung over one shoulder comes running at me. His war cry is loud and intimidating. I freeze for a moment in fascination. A creature like this is something I have never seen before. My magic though has a different instinct. The ground around us starts to shake, and the Fae loses his footing. He recovers quickly, but by then I’m ready. I raise my sword and prepare myself for the collision. It never comes. My fire and lightning jump from my sword and swings right into his chest. A yell rips from his mouth as blood and sinew can be seen through the gash.

  As I think I’m safe, another pirate comes from my left knocking me to the floor. My sword flies out of my hand and lands on the ground a few feet away. I’m so shocked, I can’t figure out what to do. Nothing comes over me except panic. My magic tries to get out, but there’s something squashing it down. The Fae on top of me is big and smells like low-tide. It makes me gag. He has a bright silver stone hanging from his throat, and it’s glowing like a star. It reminds me of Michael’s eyes. I try to push him off, but he won’t budge. I see him lift off of me and swing down a knife. I turn at the last minute, and he slashes my arm, just below my shoulder. I scream out in pain. The wound feels like fire in my veins.

  That’s when I feel it. The energy I have been fighting for these days. My magic reaches onto it like a life raft, and they crash together like the tide. This mating is different, the full force of the earth is packed into it, and my body explodes with light. I can see nothing except for the glow of my completed bond. All four of the guys are connected to me, and the feeling of rightness is so powerful, that a roar is ripped from my lips and my eyes squeeze shut. When the power ebbs, and my eyes open I look around. All the Fae around me are unmoving. They are all dead. The only ones standing are my guys and some of the Queen’s men that were not in the direct line of the blast. It looks like a bomb when off, and I’m responsible for all of it.

  Red comes rushing up to me with Ash fast on his heels. He drops down and picks me up from the blood-soaked floor. Checking me over, and shouting in my face, but I can’t hear him. I feel only my connected men and my soul-bonded. It’s like they are a million miles away. I slip into the darkness and let it wash over me, feeling safe and protected in the arms of my Arion.

  Chapter 16

  An Unwanted Ally

  I awake to hushed tones, speaking on the other side of the room. My head is pounding, and I’m achy all over. My muscles are screaming at me with overuse. It’s like I was riding for three days straight. I blink a few times to try and adjust to the light, but it’s too bright. My arms feel like lead, and I can’t bring them up to my face to shield my sight. I’m so exhausted, that I might as well be paralyzed.

  “Can someone please close the curtain?” I croak. My voice sounds harsh and deep like I smoked a full pack of cigarettes before speaking.

  I hear a scuffle, and feet fast approaching. The swish of the drapes being pulled, and the darkness that comes over me, allow me to attempt to open them again. My eyelids slowly open, and my mates come into focus — all four of them, and none look happy.

  “Is there water?” I ask, clearing my throat. It feels like the desert has taken up residence in there. Shax goes to the table and grabs the glass for me. He puts a straw in and holds it for me to sip. The cool liquid rushes down my throat, breathing new life into me. I greedily finish the whole glass before looking up at him. “Thank you.”

  “What you did was stupid. I told you to stay behind me, and not to directly engage. You did neither of those things. When that blast rang out, and you collapsed I thought you were gone. Azra, I can’t lose you,” Shax says, with panic in his voice. He’s thinking of his sister, but I’m not her.

  “I explained this before, I will not hide behind any of you while you fight this battle. This is a war we must all win together. If we separate, we’ll lose. I can feel it in my gut. Now that we are complete, I feel stronger and whole. Do you all feel different?” I ask. I hope they decided while I was asleep to like each other; would that be too much to ask?

  “Different? Yes, I can feel each of you now, our powers are greater. I can also feel Red and Ash a bit, although not as strongly as you four.
You all taste different, like each of the elements, but Azra you taste like magic, pure raw magic. I don’t like being connected to the assassin, but he was right we are stronger together,” Cass confesses. I can see it took a lot for him to say that.

  “I feel out of it. I think I used too much power causing that wave. I could sleep for a week,” Grey says. He’s slumped in one of the chairs by the fire. His eyes look tired, and his skin paler than normal. He’s dressed in pajama bottoms, and his wings are gone. Boy, I miss the sight of them.

  “What wave? Was that after I passed out?” I ask.

  “Just before. A pulse of energy shot through me, and on instinct, I pushed a tidal wave over the ships. They’re all sunk,” he replies.

  “Now that we are all connected, we’ll have to get used to the power boost, what you did out on the oceanfront Azra was nothing short of amazing, but it took a lot out of us,” Gunner says. He’s leaning in the entryway of the bedroom, neither in nor out.

  “What did I do?” I ask. I’m confused as to how they are all exhausted when I’m the one who set an Azra bomb off.

  “You siphoned our magic to make an energy bomb. Now that we’re all connected, you have the ability to use all of our magics at will. I didn’t know it would come so easily to you. I thought we’d have to practice it, but all it took was the final mating. This is a far greater power than anyone anticipated,” Gunner replies. He looks over at Shax who seems to be vibrating with anger. The rest of them are as well.

  “Anticipated? Who anticipated? You or my mother? Which one of you is the concoctor of this fucking scenario? Explain to us what my mother has sent you to do. Tell us now once and for all, mate, what she wants done. This way when you slit one of our throats like you did my sisters we’ll know why,” Shax spits out. The anger is rolling off of him in waves, and it is beginning to heat the room. The temperature starts to shift, and if I don’t stop it, the room will light up.

  “Shax, calm down. I already set one room on fire, I don’t need you to do the same,” I say while grasping at his hand. He looks down at me, and the pain and hurt in his eyes is evident. He doesn’t want to be here in this situation, but he would do anything for me. “Why don’t you start from the beginning and explain to us why you're really here. I don’t buy for a second that the Queen sent for you. Since we’re all mates and will all need to get along to defeat Michael lets get this all out in the open.”

  I move up on my hands to pull myself up to a sitting position as Cass comes behind me and adjusts the pillows to make me comfortable. I smile up at him, and he places a soft kiss on my forehead. Gunner comes into the room then, accepting his role and takes a seat opposite Grey.

  “I’m here for you, Azra. I got the mating call as soon as you stepped into Faerie. I’m an Earth Fae. My powers aren’t only about earthquakes and plants. I have a vast connection with Faerie. I can see every life force on it, and when you came through the portal, yours shot right to me, calling me to it. We’re made for each other Azra, even if you hate me,” Gunner says, with a bit of longing in his eyes. He is speaking the truth now, but why lie before.

  “Is that’s how you’re a good assassin? You can see life forces like pegs on a map? All the people and beings around you. Can you pick out individual ones or is it just all random?” I ask, curious to know the extent of his power. I’d love to be able to use this against Michael somehow. If we could know where he is at all times, it would mean everything to winning this war.

  “Yes, and no,” he replies while running a hand through his dark hair. His arm flexes at the movement, and the tattoos on his forearm dance. I can’t wait to see them all. “I can look for people if I have a connection to them, or if I have something they desire. What makes me a good assassin, is that I’m good at killing things. My powers just help that.”

  Again, the truth. He’s trying to lay it all out for me. “Why lie to me at our first meeting? You felt my energy jump toward yours. Why make up a story about the Queen?”

  “Red and Ash were with you, and I froze. If he knew you were my potential mate he would have killed me right there, and I needed to make you see me first before everyone started showing you who they think I am.”

  “Are you trying to tell us that you’re not the assassin that killed the cat's sister?” Grey asks, in a condescending tone.

  “Alright Grey, stop being an ass. He’s trying to explain to us what this all means. So far he’s the only one out of the five of us that has a fucking clue as to what is going on,” I say, holding up my hand. It drops down of its own accord a second later, but at least it paused his rant. “Continue, Gunner.”

  “It’s not easy being the Dark Assassin. I’m not expecting pity or even understanding, but I’ve been ostracized and, on the outside, looking in for centuries. No one will even be friends with me, let alone mate with me, so when I found you and you were real and strong and beautiful, I lied,” he says, wiping his hand across his face in a shy gesture. I’m getting nothing but nervous energy from him right now.

  “I’m not like those Fae. I’m different. If you would have explained, I would have heard you out,” I say, gently.

  “That’s the first lie I have heard you tell Azra,” Gunn says, shaking his head in disbelief. “You didn’t know who I was until later, and the first thing you did was reject me because someone else told you not to like me. You acted like the rest, and that’s why I didn’t confide in you about anything. That’s why I am having a hard time trusting you now.”

  “I…um…I don’t know what to say. You’re right I did judge you, and it’s mainly because I trust my mates and my soul-bonded with my life. I followed them blindly when I should have made my own choice. For that, I am sorry,” I say, with pleading eyes. If I could go to him I would, but instead, I send out a desire for him to be near me through the bond. He moves from the doorframe and takes a seat on the bed with me. I place my hand on his, and I just stare into his face for a moment. He has hurt there, in his heart. He’s looking for his place in this world, and the only person who can understand that is me. As his mate, I need to be able to make him feel at home. I open my arms as wide and as far as I can before they tire, and he slips into the space between them. This hug is awkward and uncomfortable but it’s a start. A sigh of relief washes over him, and I extend that feeling to all the guys. They need to know his pain and recognize we should never feel alone if any of us is around.

  He gets up from the bed and gives me a small smile. Just before he leaves the room he turns back to me and says, “You called me Gunn.”

  “Yeah, everyone gets a nickname,” I say, with a smirk. He nods his head and leaves.

  It takes me four days to recover from the Azra bomb. Four long lazy days of being in bed, eating, and reading. If I pushed everything to the side for a moment, I feel like I’m on the best beach vacation ever. Then reality smacked me in the face, and it becomes apparent we’re fighting a war.

  “What’s all that shouting?” I ask, putting my book down and hopping off the bed. I go to the window and see the commotion in the courtyard below. There are guards everywhere, and there seems to be a small brigade dressed in the color of the Light. Fuck this can’t be good.

  I go back in my bedroom and get dressed. Clothes in Faerie are weird, but I find something like leggings and a long tunic. I put up my long inky hair into a messy bun and throw on some riding boots. The guys are all sitting in the lounge watching some sort of Faerie TV. It’s like regular TV, but it’s all in a 3-D holographic. It creeped me out the first time they showed it to me, so I choose to read instead.

  “Did you all not hear the noise outside?” I ask, waiting by the front door. They all turn to look at me like they are being ripped from a dream. I see what they are watching and quickly understand why. It’s some crazy action movie, with dragons and war, and other boy things.

  “Where are you going?” Shax asks.

  “It seems we have visitors because there’s a bunch of army men in the courtyard wearing Mi
chael’s colors. I’m going to check it out. I don’t want to be the last to know if it’s something important,” I say.

  Shax rises from his chair, and makes his way over to me, pulling his shoes on as he goes. Grey, Gunn, and Cass do the same. We make our way down to the courtyard, where everyone is still congregating. The Queen hasn’t shown up yet, but the crowd all parts for Shax, and we come face to face with all the commotion.

  “What the fuck are you doing here?” I ask, in astonishment. On top of a beautiful gray mare, is Daniel, Cass’s brother. He’s dressed in full armor like he is prepared for battle. There are at least twenty men with him, and they all look like they are ready to attack at a moment’s notice. My magic instantly goes on alert, and I pull some toward my chest. I hear a hiss behind me, that reminds me not too much energy or I will hurt the guys.

  “Azra, easy,” Gunn says, in my ear. He grabs my arm in a light gesture, and it calms me down a bit. I shrug out of his grip, not wanting Daniel to know all our secrets.

  “Daniel, what are you doing here?” Cass says as he steps in front of me in a protective gesture. His energy is pulsing, and I can feel the uneasy feelings rolling off of him. Daniel gives his brother the biggest smirk, adding fuel to the fire.

  “Brother, how good to see you! I’ve come to help. Offer my services. To give the Changer a chance to beat our father,” he says, with a smile. His eyes roam over me, running up and down my length. I hear a growl, and anger flare through the bond. Grey walks up and stands beside Cass blocking my view from Daniel.

  “Ah, the human. We wondered where you went!” Daniel exclaims, with glee like he found his special toy again. His sinister grin makes me want to punch him.

  The air charges with magic, and before I could say anything, Grey has the water from the fountain around the prince’s head suffocating him in a bubble. Everyone around us watches in astonishment as Daniel tries to pull the water away from his face.