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

  Contents

  Title Page

  DECEPTION

  Dedication

  ONE

  TWO

  THREE

  FOUR

  FIVE

  SIX

  SEVEN

  EIGHT

  NINE

  TEN

  ELEVEN

  TWELVE

  THIRTEEN

  FOURTEEN

  FIFTEEN

  SIXTEEN

  SEVENTEEN

  EIGHTEEN

  NINETEEN

  TWENTY

  TWENTY ONE

  TWENTY TWO

  TWENTY THREE

  TWENTY FOUR

  TWENTY FIVE

  TWENTY SIX

  TWENTY SEVEN

  TWENTY EIGHT

  TWENTY NINE

  BETRAYAL

  ONE

  TWO

  THREE

  FOUR

  FIVE

  SIX

  SEVEN

  EIGHT

  NINE

  TEN

  ELEVEN

  TWELVE

  THIRTEEN

  FOURTEEN

  FIFTEEN

  SIXTEEN

  SEVENTEEN

  EIGHTEEN

  NINETEEN

  TWENTY

  TWENTY ONE

  TWENTY TWO

  TWENTY THREE

  TWENTY FOUR

  TWENTY FIVE

  TWENTY SIX

  TWENTY SEVEN

  TWENTY EIGHT

  TWENTY NINE

  Glossary

  FORGOTTEN

  ONE

  TWO

  THREE

  FOUR

  FIVE

  SIX

  SEVEN

  EIGHT

  NINE

  TEN

  ELEVEN

  TWELVE

  THIRTEEN

  FOURTEEN

  FIFTEEN

  SIXTEEN

  SEVENTEEN

  EIGHTEEN

  NINETEEN

  TWENTY

  TWENTY ONE

  TWENTY TWO

  TWENTY THREE

  TWENTY FOUR

  Glossary

  SILENT BITE

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Eighteen

  Nineteen

  Moving Beyond

  BONUS MATERIAL

  Hidden Intentions

  Other books

  Author’s Note

  About the Author

  THE TRANSFORMED BOXED SET

  Books 1, 2, 3, and 3.5

  Deception, Betrayal, Forgotten, and Silent Bite

  and bonus short story, The Fielding

  by Stacy Claflin

  http://www.stacyclaflin.com

  Copyright ©2014 Stacy Claflin. All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, businesses, events, or locales is purely coincidental. The author has taken great liberties with locales including the creation of fictional towns.

  Reproduction in whole or part of this publication without express written consent is strictly prohibited.

  This ebook version of Deception is for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be resold or given away to others. If you would like to share this book with others please either purchase it for them or direct them to StacyClaflin.com. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.

  DECEPTION

  For Delia,

  Though we never had the chance to meet in person

  Your friendship was a true treasure.

  I will never forget you and I wish you weren't taken so young.

  ONE

  My little sister screamed. She threw open the driver's side door of the shiny, red BMW. Natalie moved aside the red ribbon from the giant bow to get inside the car. The new-car scent wafted over to where I stood with my parents.

  I looked over at my used, hard-earned Ford. It languished next to the glistening BMW.

  POP!

  POP!

  POP!

  Three of the six driveway lights exploded into tiny pieces and fell onto the cement not far from us. The shock form the lights didn't last long. My oblivious sprinted back to our parents as her blonde ponytail swayed back and forth. She gave them each a big hug and a perfect smile.

  "Daddy, can I take it to practice and show my friends?" Natalie pleaded with her big doe eyes. "Please?"

  "Sure, sweetheart. Let's get a picture first." My dad turned to me. "Alexis, will you take a picture of us in front of Natalie's new car?"

  I narrowed my eyes and then counted backwards from ten.

  POP!

  POP!

  POP!

  The other three driveway lights exploded into a glassy mess.

  "What's going on?" my mom exclaimed.

  I grabbed the camera from my dad's hand. "Just pose already."

  They stood in front of the car. My parents and sister looked like a picture-perfect family straight from a magazine. Without me.

  I handed the camera back to my dad and stormed into my room. Soon there was a knock on my door. I ignored it.

  The door opened anyway. My mom walked in. "We're leaving to watch Natalie's practice."

  "Have fun." I didn't hide my disdain.

  She glared at me. "Stop being selfish for one day and do something nice. Did you even get her a present?"

  I took several deep breaths. "What do you think? All my money goes toward car insurance."

  POP!

  POP!

  A light on my desk and one on the ceiling shattered. Broken glass showered onto my bed and desk.

  My mom didn't even bat an eye. "Be ready to leave in 15 minutes." She left the room.

  I glanced at the calendar. College never looked so far away. One day I would attend an Ivy League school, as far away as possible.

  Soon I was in my dad's Escalade with my parents on our way to the high school.

  "Jack, two bulbs in Lexi's room exploded before we left," my mom complained.

  I could almost hear him raise an eyebrow. "Those ones too? I'll have to give Roger a call. Maybe he can help us figure it out."

  "Don't you think it's odd that the lights keep bursting?" It was more of a demand than a question.

  "Yes of course, beautiful. But there's not much we can do now, so we may as well just enjoy Natalie's game."

  "Practice," I muttered.

  "Why can't you ever be happy for your sister?" asked Mom.

  "Oh look, we're here." I opened the door before the car came to a full stop and ran for the gym. Things went by in a blur as I ran. It was strange, but I was too anxious to get away from my parents to question it. When I stopped at the doors, a group of kids stared at me. I was used to being the butt of jokes, so I opened the gym door to get away.

  The stands were nearly full. At least half of our small town was there for nearly every game and practice. The girls' varsity team was Delphic Cove's pride and joy. They'd been the undefeated Washington state champions for years.

  This year appeared to be no exception, and my sister was one of the team all-stars. She was not only the favorite of our family, but of the school too—and she was only a sophomore.

  My two best friends sat in the bleachers near the middle. I joined them.

  Emma looked up from texting a
nd smiled. "You avoid Natalie's games like the plague. What gives?"

  "It's Natalie's birthday and our family's here to give her a special birthday cheer."

  Emma laughed.

  Amanda rolled her eyes at Emma, and then turned to me. "So what did they get her this year, another Louis Vuitton purse?"

  "No. A thousand dollar purse is nothing. They got her a new BMW."

  Emma and Amanda stared at me.

  "They got her a beamer?" Emma shouted. "No way. I chose the wrong sister."

  Amanda shoved her and Emma nearly fell off the bleacher, which was pretty impressive since Emma wasn't small.

  Emma and Amanda stared at me. It reminded me of the kids outside the gym.

  "What?" I felt my nose to make sure nothing was hanging down.

  "There's something different about you," Amanda said.

  Emma nodded her head. "Sure is."

  "Like what?" I asked.

  "I don't know exactly," Amanda said.

  Emma shrugged her shoulders.

  My parents sat down next to us and I groaned.

  "Hello girls," my mom said to Emma and Amanda. "We're here to watch Natalie's practice. Did you know that it's her birthday today? Her sweet sixteen." My mom beamed.

  "Is she having a big party?" Emma asked. "I didn't get an invite!" She was always obnoxious, but I enjoyed it when she aimed it at my parents.

  My mom scowled. "No party this year. We got her a large present instead."

  "Yeah, I saw that shiny, new BMW in the parking lot," Emma lied. "What'd you get Alexis for her sweet sixteen last year? Wasn't it an iPod?"

  My mom's face turned red and she turned away from us. We scooted away and whispered.

  At the half time break, my mom turned to me. "Since you didn't buy your sister anything for her birthday, get her a watermelon smoothie. That's her favorite."

  "I'll go with you," said Amanda. She grabbed my arm and dragged me to the concession stand.

  "Can you believe them?" I exclaimed.

  "Just think about it this way," Amanda said, "after next year we graduate. Then you can go to any college as far away as you want: Princeton, Harvard, Stanford, Yale, or whatever. You'll get a full ride scholarship anywhere. You know I'm right."

  "Don't try to talk me down. I just want to pour the watermelon smoothie all over them—inside that stupid BMW."

  "I'd love to see that." Amanda giggled.

  I ordered the watermelon smoothie using the last $5 from my clearance-rack purse. Then I walked toward the player's bench in the sight of everyone in the stands.

  My rage had a companion for the moment: humiliation.

  I walked to my sister and faked a sweet smile. "Happy birthday." I handed her the smoothie. "It's watermelon, your favorite."

  She gave me a sweet smile in return. "You didn't have to. Thanks, Lexi." She gave me a hug and we both looked up at our parents and waved to them. Our dad took a picture.

  I headed back to my seat with Amanda.

  Before I even sat down, my mom said, "See? That wasn't so bad, was it?"

  As I watched Natalie sip the smoothie, I felt the rage tear at me like a wild, cornered animal.

  I was only half-listening to my parents talk about how great Natalie was. As I watched her drink the smoothie and laugh with her friends, I imagined pouring it on her head. I grabbed the bench, afraid I might jump up and actually do it.

  Suddenly, the bright red smoothie burst straight up out of the cup onto Natalie's face, hair, and jersey. It was as if someone had hit the cup from the bottom to make the smoothie leap up against the forces of gravity—exactly when I thought of throwing it on her.

  POP! POP! POP!

  POP! POP! POP!

  POP! POP! POP!

  Rows of fluorescent lights burst all over the gym. People screamed and shrieked, while others ran for cover.

  The drive home was a blur as my mom yelled and whined. Too bad I didn't have my iPod so I could've tuned her out.

  When we finally got home, I ran to my room and found my light bulb mess to clean up. It was dark by then and I couldn't ignore it.

  I used a flashlight to make sure I got all of the pieces picked up before heading for the garage to get new bulbs. I groaned when I saw my parents and sister sitting at the kitchen table. I managed to cover a smile when I saw the red covering Natalie's bleached blonde hair and jersey.

  "Are the light bulbs still in the garage?" I asked.

  "On the third shelf," my dad said, not even looking up.

  I went to the garage. I squeezed between my dad's Escalade and my mom's Mercedes to get to the shelf. It was an ordeal to get the stool so I could reach the shelf. I finally got the bulbs and marched inside, trying to ignore everyone as I went through the kitchen.

  Natalie asked where the batteries were for her foot spa.

  Dad said, "They're on the top shelf in the garage. I'll get them for you. I don't want you to have to deal with that."

  As I had earlier.

  POP!

  POP!

  Two more shattered light bulbs.

  "You'd better get some lights while you're at it." I stormed to my bedroom.

  Later, Natalie came into my room.

  "What do you want?"

  "You know, it wasn't my idea for them to get me the car. I know they always buy me nice stuff, but it's not my fault. Maybe they're trying to help me not feel bad about never being able to live up to you."

  I laughed. "You, not living up to me? You're the volleyball star, you're on the sophomore homecoming court, and you're the stylish, popular one. How exactly do you not live up to boring, plain me?"

  "You're smart and confident, Alexis. You've got the best grades in the whole school. You're the first junior to be president of the Honor's Club. Don't forget about your trip to the White House after you won that national science contest. Can we at least have a truce? I don't like all of the competition. Sisters are supposed to have a special bond. It's not supposed to be like this."

  "I don't want something fake," I said. "I'm not going to pretend that everything is fine when it's not. You're the favorite, and they always throw it in my face. You don't do anything to discourage it."

  "Discourage it? What am I supposed to do to?" she asked. "They're our parents. It's not my job to tell them what to do."

  "You could tell them to not act like I'm a peasant."

  "You're crazy. No wonder they like me better."

  I jumped off the bed. "Excuse me?"

  She looked at me with innocent eyes. "What?"

  "I said, 'excuse me?'"

  "What? That it's not my job to tell our parents what to do?"

  "No. What you said after that." I glared at her.

  "I didn't say anything after that, Alexis." She narrowed her eyes.

  "You didn't call me crazy and say it was no wonder they like you better?"

  Her face went white. "I never said that."

  "I heard you loud and clear. You can't deny it."

  She stood up too. "I don't know what's going on here, but I didn't say that."

  "Are you kidding me?"

  "What a freak," she said—but her mouth didn't move.

  "Did you just call me a freak?" I asked, before I could stop myself.

  "What? You were looking right at me. If you don't want to be friends that's fine. Just leave me alone." She stormed out of the room.

  POP!

  POP!

  TWO

  I woke up to the sun shining on my face. I couldn't remember falling asleep or having had any dreams. At least it was still early, not even 9:00 yet. Perhaps I could sneak out of the house unnoticed.

  I wanted to enjoy the sunny morning before I had to work the lunch shift, so I got ready as fast as I could and jumped in my rusty Ford. With weather like this, I headed straight for the lake. It wasn't huge, but it was peaceful. I sat on a bench, soaking in the warm sun and enjoying the sights and sounds. It was so relaxing, and it never lasted long enough.

  T
his was no exception.

  "Alexis! What are you doing here?"

  I turned around to see Brooke, my childhood friend who had moved to the other side of town. Since we didn't go to the same schools, we had drifted apart. Had we been old enough to drive when she moved, we might have remained close.

  "Brooke! I haven't seen you in so long."

  She sat next to me. "It's great to see you. How's everything?"

  "I'm not doing much. I work and study most of the time."

  Brooke sat. "That's how I feel too. I'm taking fashion courses outside of school."

  I looked her up and down. She was dressed as if she'd just stepped out of the pages of a magazine. For the first time in my life, I felt self-conscious about my boring clothes and no makeup. "You'll do great. Just look at you."

  She leaned back. "Thanks. I'll never be as pretty as you, though."

  My eyes nearly popped out of my head. "Yeah, right."

  "No joke. You're gorgeous, but you've never seen it," she said.

  I couldn't hold in the laughter. "I don't know what you're on, but I appreciate it. Especially after yesterday."

  "What happened then?" she asked.

  "The short story is that it was Natalie's birthday and once again my parents threw their favoritism in my face."

  Brooke frowned. "That's not surprising."

  "They completely outdid themselves this time."

  "Why don't you spend the night tonight? You can get away from them and we can catch up. It'll be fun. We could bake cookies, like we used to."

  The corners of my lips curved upward. "That does sound like fun. My shift at the deli is over at four, so that gives me plenty of time."

  "Perfect." She gave me her new address. "I'll see you then."

  As she walked away, I closed my eyes and enjoyed the warm sun and the sounds of the lake lapping up on the shore. I wasn't sure how much time had passed when I heard a strange whirring noise. I tried to ignore it, hoping that it would go away.

  It only got louder and chills ran through me, so I opened my eyes.

  Over a hundred crows flew in a massive circle directly above. I jumped off the bench, gasping for air.

  As soon as one crow made eye contact with me, it cawed. The rest followed suit and dozens of crows orbited around over me, and all of them shrieked at me.

  I grabbed my purse and inched away from the bench without breathing. I couldn't take my eyes off of them, and I noticed that as I inched along, the whole circle inched right along with me in the air above me. I stopped for a moment and finally took a breath.