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

by Stacy Claflin

  Mattie and my mother began discussing something that had nothing to do with me and I drifted back to sleep. When I awoke, Cliff was standing at the window, rocking Larus.

  "There's nothing I love more than that sight," I said.

  Cliff turned around, smiling. "You're awake. I think he's ready for you." He sat down on the bed and handed Larus to me. I fed him and then got myself ready while Cliff held him again. Mattie brought us breakfast and then we walked through the gardens, taking turns holding our baby.

  I took a deep breath. "I love the gardens. The air is so pure here on the grounds, making everything just come to life. I've never experienced anything like it."

  He put his arm around me. "I couldn't agree more. This is the one place where I truly appreciate our heightened sense of smell. It's a real paradise."

  "With you here, it is," I said. He squeezed my shoulder. "I couldn't be happier. I hate to say it, but what's going to happen to break this all up?"

  He looked at me and frowned. "Don't think like that. We have everything that we've ever dreamed of right now. Let's enjoy it."

  "I am. Don't get me wrong—like I said, I couldn't be happier. It just seems that every time that happens, something snatches you away from me. I don't want that to happen again."

  "Alrekur is leaving us alone and your parents want us to keep building the line. It sounds as if we have at least a century to figure out a way to make this last forever."

  I smiled. "You're right. I don't know what I'm worried about. Nobody's bothering us; the only thing that really seems to be going against us is the war that your mother's plotting."

  "And like I've told you, she's nowhere near ready for that. It may be a couple of years or more before she gets everyone on board that she needs to. Believe it or not, she's actually having an easier time getting the werewolves to comply with her scheme than the common vampires. They're more difficult to find, because they tend to live in small groups and they go into hiding too. That seems to be the only thing that they have in common with royal vampires."

  "Shouldn't we start training soon? I'm back to normal. There's no reason for me to refrain anymore. Mattie can watch Larus while we practice."

  Cliff nodded. "You're right. It's time that we begin. I've spent my whole life training here. Do you want me to teach you, or would you prefer that we bring another vampire with us to work with the both of us?"

  "I've actually come a long way in the short time that I've been here. While you were away, I was training with Mattie and Brooke until I became too tired for it. Then after that, no one would let me continue. They said I was a fast learner, though, just like the other Fyrsturae."

  "All right. Why don't we find Mattie and then we'll go to the grounds and you can show me what you've got?" he asked with a sparkle in his eye.

  "Is that a challenge?" I asked, grinning.

  "It sure is."

  Less than half an hour later, we were standing on the dirt field, swords in hand, staring each other down. The sparkle hadn't left either of our eyes.

  "Do you want me to go easy on you?" he asked. "Since you're out of practice?"

  "Not a chance! Give me all you've got."

  "You asked for it!" he said with a grin and then flew at me. Our swords hit with a loud clang. At first, I was surprised at his strength. He was nearly as strong as Mattie, who was thousands of years older than him. I stepped back and took a swing at him. He blocked it, our swords reverberating again. "I'm impressed!" he said.

  As we danced through the field, swords swinging, they seemed to play a melody rather than making the usual sounds of battle.

  When we stopped to take a break, a vampire stepped out of the woods and onto the field.

  "Kelvan, you're back!" Cliff exclaimed.

  "Yes. The king and queen have called for me to come back here. It's good to see you, sir."

  "Oh, stop with the sir stuff. How have you been?"

  "Very well. It looks as though you've been doing well, too."

  "It's been a very rough road," Cliff said. "But now Alexis and I are finally together again. We have a baby! Have you heard?"

  He looked at our hands, presumably for rings. "I heard rumors about a tenth line. Is it true? She's actually a Fyrsturae?"

  "I'm being rude," Cliff said. "Alexis, this is Kelvan. He was my servant and very good friend while you were growing up with the humans. He was sent away when I went to reunite with you. Kelvan, this is our Marguerite. She's grown into her role quite well, hasn't she?"

  Kelvan bowed. "Good to meet you, my lady. She certainly has, sir."

  Cliff sighed. "He was my best friend for years, yet he still insists on calling me sir."

  "Are you done with your session?" Kelvan asked. "I can help you put everything away."

  I shrugged my shoulders. "That was enough for today. Unless you want more."

  Cliff grinned. "No. I don't want to strain you. You haven't trained in months."

  "Were you going easy on me?" I asked, suddenly suspicious.

  He laughed. "Only at first. You proved yourself to be a worthy opponent. Not that I was surprised, after seeing you in action against the Moretti's. And with virtually no training."

  "Yeah, but I also had the strength of having just transformed."

  "That's true. There's nothing like that initial burst of energy that stays with you for a few days. But I've heard that after a century or so, that strength returns and keeps growing from there."

  We spent the next few months relishing days just like that one. Starting off each morning, as a family, enjoying life on the grounds. Everything at the castle really came to life in the summertime. We spent the afternoons training, both challenging each other and growing in our strength and skills.

  Every so often, my mother and father would try to get me to give up what I knew about Hella. I purposefully stayed away from the faeries so that at least I didn't know anything about her location. I didn't want to be forced into giving the information away. Only if my parents would agree to let me marry Cliff.

  My father was clearly still trying to stay on Alrekur's good side. He was even worse to talk to about it than my mother was. They wouldn't budge, and neither would I. We were at a stalemate.

  Luckily for me, they were heavily involved in communication between the Fyrsturae, working to find Asdis' location, so they weren't as focused on me as they could have been. They were close to finding her resting place, but there were still more clues to uncover. As with Alrekur, they believed an ancient line of witches to be involved with hiding the body.

  One day while I was sitting with Cliff and Larus in a courtyard, Mattie found us and told me that my parents had an urgent message for me. Suddenly, I had a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.

  I looked at Cliff. "Come with me," I begged.

  Mattie shook her head. "I'm sorry, dear. They wish to speak to you alone."

  "No," I said, shaking my head. "No."

  Cliff placed his hand on my arm, calming me slightly. "I'll be here with Larus. We'll wait for you as long as you need."

  I looked into Mattie's eyes. "What's going on? I can tell something isn't right."

  "My dear, I know nothing except that I believe that they're leaving soon to find Asdis."

  I grabbed Cliff's arm with both of my hands. He had to readjust Larus in his arms. "Go with me. Please. I have a horrible feeling."

  He looked at me with concern in his eyes. "Why?"

  "I don't know! I just do," I said, tears welling up in my eyes. "I feel like I'm heading toward a death sentence. Something isn't right!" My lips were trembling and the tears started spilling onto my face.

  Cliff stood up and looked at Mattie. "I should go with her. Look at her!"

  Mattie shook her head. "I've been give strict orders. I'm sorry, Cliff. You and Larus are to stay here. If you go inside, you're not to leave your wing."

  "No!" I cried. "I'm never going to see you again!"

  Cliff glared at Mattie. "How can you
make me remain here when she's so upset?"

  "It's not me," Mattie said, looking at the ground. "It's by order of the king and queen."

  "Damn them!" Cliff exploded. I'd never heard such language from his mouth. He looked into my eyes; I was still clinging to his arm. "Alexis, I love you and I'll never leave you. I don't know what's going on, but no matter what, I will find a way to protect you. I'll never stop fighting for you."

  "Alexis, I need to take you to your parents," Mattie said with tears gleaming in her own eyes.

  I wrapped my arms around Cliff and Larus. I was sobbing and Larus started to cry. "I'm sorry I've upset him," I told Cliff.

  "Don't worry about it. I'll calm him down. You be strong, my princess."

  "Come with me, dear," Mattie whispered, tugging gently at my arm.

  "Wait!" I exclaimed. I kissed the two loves of my life and then kept my eyes on Cliff and Larus as she dragged me away. Cliff and I didn't break eye contact until Mattie and I rounded the corner. "Can't you just tell my parents that I'm busy?"

  "Sorry. I wish I could."

  "Do you know what's going on?"

  "I don't. I told you the truth. I'm sorry. I wish I knew more."

  We walked the rest of the way in silence. What did my parents have planned and why did I have such a strong feeling about it being so terrible? I wished that I were imagining it, but I knew that something life-changing was about to happen.

  "What do you want?" I demanded as soon as we were in the room with them.

  They nodded at Mattie and she left.

  "I know something's up. I can feel it. Just tell me!"

  "Do you still refuse to tell us what you know about Hella's resting place?" my mother asked.

  "What?" I asked, confused. "What does that have to do with anything?"

  "Answer your mother."

  I glared at both of them. "All I want is the freedom to make my own choice. If you're so sure that I have a destiny, you should trust that it will happen."

  "Right," my father said. "That would really go over well with Alrekur, don't you think?"

  "Why are you always sucking up to him?" I demanded.

  "You won't help us with Hella?" my mother asked.

  "What does it matter? You still haven't even found Asdis yet!"

  My parents looked at each other. My mother said, "We need to do this, Geoffrey."

  He nodded and a familiar lady entered the room. I stared at her, trying to place where I'd seen her before.

  "Sit down, daughter," my mother ordered.

  "What are you going to do to me?"

  "We're going to fix your memory."

  "Which means what, exactly?"

  My father looked at me. "We're going to send you back to your human family until we need the information. You'll tell us what we need then. Unless we find her location on our own, then we'll bring you back for the war. Either way, you will have no memory of being here at the castle after we introduced Alrekur to the world leaders and Cliff left, angry with you. If you start to remember anything, the spell will give you another memory loss. You'll be able to recover memories beginning from the time that you're placed back in Delphic Cove, but not before."

  I looked at them both in horror. "You can't do this! Don't rip me away from Cliff and Larus; he's barely three months old!" I ran to the door, but before I could get through, two very large servants blocked my way.

  That didn't deter me. I ran toward a wall on the other end of the room. The unknown lady in the room started speaking a foreign language. That's when I remembered where I'd seen her before. She was the witch who had been in the caves when I'd awoken Alrekur. She was said to be one of the most powerful witches in the world, from an ancient line.

  I slammed into the wall, unable to go through. "What did she do?" I screamed.

  "She took away your ability to go through walls, dear," my mother said.

  "Don't call me dear! How can you two do this to me? You're cruel and heartless!"

  "It's for the best," my father said, sitting down.

  "The best? Are you kidding me? The best for whom? It's not the best for me or my son—your grandson! How could you do this to him? Don't you know how much babies need their mothers?"

  "He's well attached to Cliff and Mattie," my mother said, "and they will take very good care of him. You don't have to worry about him. They both love him as much as you do. It's not like you'll never see him again. You'll have centuries upon centuries to spend with him after this is over."

  "These months are important for bonding! How dare you do this!"

  "Sit, dear."

  "No! How can you do this to me? You call yourselves parents—you're nothing of the sort! Just because you sent me away because you were more concerned about finding Alrekur, it doesn't mean that I want to be that kind of a parent too! Let me go and let me make my own decisions!"

  "Only if you agree to marry Alrekur after your line is sufficiently established. We can't agree to your marrying anyone else. You can have about a century with Cliff; even Alrekur is in agreement with that."

  "I'm a princess, not a slave! You can't do this to me!"

  "Daughter, you know history. Even human royalty have had arranged marriages since the beginning of time. You can't blame us for this one. We had nothing to do with the prophecy."

  "How do I know that one isn't a fake, too?" I demanded. "You were willing to let me marry him when you thought there was a prophecy for us to marry!"

  "We thought that the two prophecies would somehow work together. Then we found out that the second one was a fake, but we couldn't just kick the Montgomery's out. They'd grown too powerful by then and we would have had a civil war on our hands that we weren't prepared for."

  "Enough discussion," my mother said. "You need to sit, Alexis."

  "What are you going to do to my memory?"

  "We're not going to erase it, if that's what you're worried about. It's only a temporary spell. We've warned her to make sure you're able to recall everything later."

  "When?"

  "Either when we come to get you, or at the time when you hear news of the war being declared, everything will come back to you. You'll remember where the castle is and how to get back. When that day comes, we need you to return here as soon as possible. You'll be able to see Cliff and Larus immediately. You have our word."

  "For what that's worth," I muttered.

  "We'll ignore that," my father said.

  "When I get to my human family, I'm going to find a way to get in touch with other vampires!"

  "You can try, but we've already taken care of that too. Everything in that regard has been wiped from your phone and computer."

  "What?" I exclaimed.

  "Not only that," my mother said, "but there will also be a spell cast upon you to prevent vampires from finding you. If anyone goes to Delphic Cove in search of you, they won't succeed. Even if they're standing ten feet away from you."

  "You're horrible people."

  "One day, you'll understand. Sit, daughter."

  My mouth dropped open. I looked around the room, beginning to feel dizzy. I sat down, but not because I'd been told to.

  The witch walked up to me, speaking in a foreign language again. My eyes became heavy and I couldn't keep them open.

  SEVENTEEN

  Present Day

  I opened my eyes. I was sitting on some grass with Toby holding me. He must have pulled me from the car. I looked at him in confusion. My mind had just been flooded with memories of my time at the castle. Cliff with Stelena. Alrekur. Svana. Baldur. Halldor. Training. Fatigue. Pregnancy! Finding Cliff in the cottage. Having our baby. Three blissful months together. Mattie telling me that I needed to see my parents. The amnesia spell. And lastly, orders to return to the castle after war had been declared.

  "Are you okay? What just happened?" Toby asked, looking scared. I'd never seen him scared before.

  "I remember everything now. I was put under a spell to make me forget everything until I
heard about the war being declared. I'm supposed to go to the castle now."

  "What? Who did this to you?"

  "My parents—my vampire parents. I was withholding information that they needed, so they did this to me."

  He shook his head and squeezed me tight. "Are you all right? Do you need me to do anything for you?"

  "I need to tell you something."

  He looked at me, concerned.

  "I have a baby with Cliff. Well, he'd be a toddler now."

  "What? That's not possible. You were only gone nine months and you came back supermodel-thin."

  "Vampires have shorter pregnancies and I did recover my shape quickly. But I need to get back to the castle and see my son. It's been too long already. I've been gone for eighteen months. He's probably forgotten all about me."

  He nodded. "I understand. I hate to be selfish, but what does this mean for us?"

  I looked him in the eye, pained. "I don't know. I'm sorry. We need to get ready for battle. I need to get to the castle, you need to get your pack ready, and then we'll get in touch and bring you to the castle—or whatever the plans may be."

  Toby looked into my eyes. "Alexis, I love you. Nothing has changed, and if this means the end of our relationship, I understand. I wish we could have had more time though. I was really looking forward to going to college with you."

  I ran my fingers through his hair. "I'm not saying goodbye. I love you and wouldn't just cast you aside. Not after all you've done for me."

  His phone rang. "It's Jonathan. I need to get to my pack. They're gathering at my house."

  Nodding, I asked, "Can you take me back to my car? I'd run, but I'm still feeling a bit dizzy."

  "Anything you need, beautiful."

  We weren't far away. It took less than ten minutes to get back to where my car was parked. When I got out of the car, Toby ran around to the other side, giving me a long, passionate kiss. "I'll always love you." He got back into his car and drove off before I could respond.