by Arizona Tape
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Epilogue
TWIN SOULS #3
Arizona Tape & Laura Greenwood
Contents
Soultrade
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Epilogue
More in the Twin Soul Universe
About Laura Greenwood
About Arizona Tape
About The Flock
Copyright © 2017 by Laura Greenwood & Arizona Tape
All rights reserved. No part of this publication or cover may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to Laura Greenwood or Arizona Tape.
Just don't steal stuff. Seriously. It's mean.
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Chapter 1
I studied my reflection in the mirror and groaned. Ever since Ayra and Devon’s mating, our swapping had become irregular again. Ayra was no longer in control of the swaps and with her body going through the usual stages of pregnancy, we were constantly pulled into each other’s lives.
I inspected the dark circles in my eyes and wondered if they’d always been this blue. I ran my hands carefully over my stomach and winced. The skin was taut around my belly button and marbled with blue veins. If I were a proper dragon, I’d spend the beginning of my pregnancy in dragon form and lay my egg after a couple of weeks. But with this swapperoo, I was stuck with an egg in human form.
“Stupid dragons,” I muttered, cursing Ayra and Devon for jumping each other. Well, it wasn’t Ayra’s fault, she didn’t know how the mating between dragons worked. But Devon, now he knew very well that right after the wedding ceremony the females were most fertile. Sleeping with Ayra, or in this case, my body, was pretty much a guaranteed pregnancy.
Something pulsated through my stomach and I winced in pain.
Yep, I was definitely pregnant. Well. Not me. Ayra. I wasn’t having this baby with Devon, she was. I just wanted my life with Sian. My beautiful, pregnant-less life.
“You okay?”
I turned to Devon’s concerned face and shook my head. “No, I’m not okay. I’ve got a dragon egg inside of me, you idiot,” I cursed, angrily waving my fist at him. If I didn’t know any better, I’d have thought he did it on purpose.
Maybe he did. The sneaky bastard. He always did want to start a family and from what I heard from Sian, Ayra loved children.
“I said I was sorry,” he muttered, but I could tell from the glimmer in his eyes that he wasn’t. He was loving pregnant me. Well, he loved pregnant Ayra. They had lots of fun together in their dragon form. But I was just grumpy me. Extra grumpy me.
“When do you think you and Ayra will swap back?” he inquired, trying to look concerned for me, but I knew he missed his woman. Hell, I missed my woman.
“Not sure. It’s been two days now since we swapped, it’s never been this long.”
“Hmm, that is quite long. Are you sure you’re okay with me going to work? I can stay home from the hospital?”
I shook my head and pushed him towards the exit. “No, go to work. Keep your days off for when Ayra is here,” I smiled, touched that even if we weren’t together anymore, he still cared for me.
“You sure? I could take some time off, see if we can find ways to get you to shift into a dragon?
“It hasn’t worked in twenty-five years, it’s not going to miraculously happen now.”
“You sure? With Ayra shifting, it might be easier?”
Exasperated, I sighed. “Believe me, I tried. Now go, Devon. I’ll be fine on my own.”
“If you’re sure...”
“I’m pregnant, not helpless,” I snorted sarcastically, pushing him out of the bathroom. “Go, go. They need you down at the hospital. You know that your attending doesn’t like you being late.”
He sighed and straightened out his tie. “True. I’ll try to get back early tonight.”
“Yes, yes, sounds good. See you later.” I waved, closing the bathroom door in his face. Even when we were together, he was always rather protective, but now with the egg, he was a nightmare. Always hovering over me, trying to touch my stomach, asking how I felt... I was sure Ayra loved it, but I didn’t care too much for it. I loved my independence, although being with Sian opened my eyes to that. I thoroughly enjoyed being around her and now that Ayra and I were no longer in control of our swaps, I found myself to be rather... Clingy.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I heard through the bathroom door. I shook my head in amusement and pulled on the knob.
“I’m fine, I promise. If Ayra swaps back, she’ll message you immediately and you two can meet at the lake to relieve some of the stress.”
Concern glinted in his sapphire eyes as he studied me intently. “Yes, okay. But if there’s something, you call me. Immediately.”
“Yes, yes. I will.”
“I know Sian is only two hours away, but if it’s a real emergency, I’m closer and I will come. Okay?”
I grinned and ushered him towards our front door. “I know, I know. I appreciate it, Dev. But please, just go to work. I’ve been in my own body for two full days now. A couple of hours won’t kill me.”
“Fine, fine.”
“But—”
“Bye, Dev,” I smiled sweetly, pushing him out into the hallway. I loved that man dearly, but he was as protective as could be. Luckily, Ayra seemed to like that.
“Finally,” I muttered to myself, stretching my arms and allowing myself to let my smile falter. With every hour, my stomach was swelling to accommodate the egg inside of me and it was extremely painful. But if I told Devin, he wouldn’t leave my side for one more second.
I rubbed my stomach gently and smiled. “Don’t worry, little one. I’ll keep you safe until your real mum returns,” I mused, talking to the egg. Even if it wasn’t mine, I still felt connected to it. I’d go as far as to think about it as my little niece or nephew.
Huh, that was an odd thought. I hadn’t met Ayra, but yet, I’d started to see her as a sister. Maybe because we looked exactly alike and were constantly writing to each other. We really needed the constant stream of messages to properly coordinate our lives and the people in it so we wouldn’t give away our big secret.
Another pang of pain shot through me and I groaned. I checked my watch and wondered if Lola would still be awake over on her side of the world. If I logged on to the server, I could team up with her and battle some monsters. Killing goblins always helped manage my pain, even though both Devon and Sian insisted it wasn’t very good for me.
Tate114: _You online?
I stared at my message in the chat box and quite happily saw the three dancing dots appear as Lola typed her reply.
Lola24: _Just finishing a quest, what’s up?
Tate114: _Wondering if you wanted to team up and raid?
> Lola24: _Sounds good. Give me five.
The familiar melody of the Mystical Forest hummed through my speakers as I entered my homebase. I always loved playing Realms & Rebels, especially with all the expansions they had. And it was my preferred way of socialising with people, without actually having to go out and do it.
The people in the dragon community sucked anyway. I’d always been teased and pestered by the others for not being able to shift. After Ayra completed the mating ritual and showed the Elders what a beautiful blue dragon she was, everyone treated me kinder. But that didn’t erase the memories of the taunts and terror I went through as a kid. No wonder I much preferred the anonymous internet over the cruel community.
Lola24: _Ready to raid?
Tate114: _Just teleported to Mystical.
Lola24: _Realm 3?
Tate114: _As usual!
Lola24: _Teleporting now.
Lola’s redheaded avatar appeared next to me and I waved at her. She twirled her mage staff and sprayed a dust of red sparks over me.
Tate114: _New staff?
Lola24: _Yup! Got it after killing a rogue yesterday.
Tate114: _Nice. Want to check out the new expansion? They say it has an Expert Rogue in it?
Lola24: _Sounds wicked.
Tate114: _Let’s party up. Is JJ online?
Lola24: _No, he had an appointment with the Elders.
Tate114: _Are they bugging him again about the Earth Dance?
Lola’s avatar motioned to follow me and we jogged towards the newest green portal. The new expansion added a whole new Realm that supposedly held a Rogue of the highest class. If he was killed, I’d get the silver Tiara of Regeneration and I’d been looking for that since my rebel avatar hit level fifty.
Lola24: _His father banned him from playing until he completed his ritual.
Tate114: _I thought our ceremonies were ridiculous, but the Earth Dragons are even more rigid.
Lola24: _They are. If only I was born an Air Dragon. Supposedly they had lots of fun.
Tate114: _I don’t know any. But you’re lucky you’re not a Water Dragon, our customs are ridiculous. They screwed me over big this time.
Lola24: _Oh yeah? What now this time?
I paused as I stared at my screen. Lola was my best friend, and I didn’t like keeping my pregnancy from her. But then again, how was I supposed to tell her that I’d been body swapping and was now pregnant, even though it wasn’t really my child. That was just crazy talk.
Tate114: _Oh you know, just my parents.
A little white lie, but I didn’t want to get into it. No, R&R was to escape this miserable ordeal I found myself in.
Tate114: _I’m ready to kill stuff.
Lola24: _Right back at you.
The portal transported us to a whole new Realm and I shivered from the beautiful music. Whoever created it, really knew how to create powerful pieces. Before I had time to explore the place, a horde of critters attacked us. Lola swung her staff up, sparking fire in a defensive move. Even in her avatar, she couldn’t step away from her fire nature. But it suited her.
The first critter shrieked in defeat as I swung up my silver rapier up and dealt extra critical damage. That would teach them to sneak up on us. I brought down a rapid barrage of swashes, beheading another pair of vermin. Lola spewed a fireball, scattering them apart. Quickly, I targeted the critters on my left-hand and destroyed them with a couple of well-aimed combos. If only I could solve my real life problems with a flick of my rapier. That would be much more pleasant than dealing with this big-ass egg in my stomach.
A pulse of pain shot through me and I buckled in my chair.
“Shit.”
I hugged myself and ground my teeth down. Another convulsion brought tears to my eyes and a tremor of invisible needles shot through my belly. Something moved and the excruciating sensation of skin being stretched too far apart had me screaming in pain. Black and white spots danced in front of my eyes as I felt myself tear. But it wasn’t my skin. It was my soul. Escaping from the seething misery by tearing away from my body.
A swap. And this time, I was the one forcing it.
Thank fuck for that.
Chapter 2
A scream ripped from my throat.
Pain.
So. Much. Pain.
My vision began to swim, and I wasn’t sure whether I should be happy or not. On the one hand, Tate and I were switching bodies again. On the other, this wasn’t going to solve any of our problems.
She wasn’t telling me, but I knew our egg was hurting her. Why, oh why, had I jumped Devon like that? If we’d used protection, then we wouldn’t be in this mess. I’d be safe in his arms when I wanted to be, rather than sick all the time.
I rested my hand on my stomach, and closed my eyes tightly. I was pretty sure Tate was forcing this one, which was odd enough. I didn’t want to be mean, but I was definitely better at forcing swaps than Tate.
Or at least, I was. Now, not so much.
I squeezed my eyes shut even harder, wanting this to be over. Tate must be in excruciating pain right now. It was getting worse every time we switched.
“Ayra!” Sian called, dropping whatever she was carrying, and rushing to my side. She must have just gotten in from work.
I envied her. I hadn’t been able to go in since getting back to my own body. The sick feeling hadn’t subsided, and it was a miracle I’d even managed to stand at some points.
I batted Sian away, and she hissed.
Oops.
Probably best if I didn’t piss off any vampires. Especially when said vampire was my ex-girlfriend and waiting for her real girlfriend to return to my body.
Wow. When did my life become so fucked up?
The darkness took over, and if I’d been standing, I’d likely have fainted. Damn. That hadn’t happened since the first time.
Even so, I couldn’t let it get to me too much. I was going to see Devon now. I was going to see our baby.
Feel our baby even.
The dizziness faded away, and so did the pain, though my body could still feel it.
Slowly, I opened my eyes.
The computer, Tate? Really? Couldn’t it have been somewhere different this time?
My body ached, and the urge to shift battered at my skin.
Despite it all, I jumped to my feet, grabbing Tate’s phone from where she’d dropped it next to her...our...my body.
Lake, I text Devon, already out of the bathroom and grabbing his car keys from the bowl by the door, grateful he’d left it for me again. While I didn’t personally own a car, I could drive, and the first time this had happened, I’d been very glad of that.
I threw the car into gear and sped down the road, probably a little too fast, but there was nothing for it. I had to get to the lake before the urge became too much. If it did, I’d be fine, but the car definitely wouldn’t be.
Getting to the lake seemed to take less and less time with every journey I made there. Then again, that could just be because I was on autopilot. Or because I was more focused on the slight stretching sensation that having an egg inside me caused.
Yeah, so that seemed more likely.
If I wasn’t so excited about becoming a mother, and so exhausted from not being able to care for my egg, then I’d be laying into Devon for putting me through this. Then again, he probably hadn’t had any clue how things would go with the body swapping in the mix.
I was careful to lock the car doors this time. I hadn’t last time, and Devon had to wrestle with a rather angry stray cat as a result.
Hopefully, he’d get here soon. I’d missed him, and I never felt as refreshed when I shifted without him.
At least there was no one else here, that was something. I stripped off my clothing. Well, Tate’s clothing. She still wasn’t wearing my kind of thing. Though I was pretty sure the floaty dress I’d left her in wasn’t her style either. If I’d known when we’d switch, then I could have changed so she’d be more comfortable.
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Oh well, nothing I could do about that anymore.
The cold air caressed my skin. Maybe it was weird of me, but I enjoyed the feel. I was pretty sure it was just because of what it signaled to me.
I pulled forth the shift, my body expanding to at least ten times my normal size. It was kind of difficult to tell, it wasn’t like I could measure my human self against my dragon one. I stretched my wings wide, and flapped them a few times. It felt kind of odd to be back in my dragon body after forty-eight hours away. I wouldn’t have thought that was long enough to miss it, but then again, Tate had written several notes to me about dragon pregnancy, and one of them had said I should be in constant dragon form right now.
I guessed that did kind of make sense why I missed this form then...maybe.
My stomach was still heavy, but less so than when I was human. The advantage of being a lot bigger. The egg was the same size, no matter which body I was in. I suspected we wouldn’t be having half the problems we were if it would just shrink or grow with our bodies.
Oh well, there wasn’t a lot any of the four of us could do about that until we figured out a way to make the swapping permanent.
Should that thought scare me?
Probably.
I was wishing for my own body to not be mine anymore. Never thought my life would go that way.
The wind whistled past me as I launched into the air, though I was well aware that it wasn’t the wind, but more how fast I was flying.
At times like these, I completely understood why I’d been so uncomfortable in the vampire body I’d been born in. Or maybe I enjoyed this so much because of how uncomfortable I’d felt in that body. All the body swapping confused me.
I dived into the lake, letting the water lap against my scales. This was the life. It couldn’t be permanent, I knew that. I needed to work, and soon, I’d need to look after my baby. But for now, it was the life.