Silent Bite: A Transformed Christmas: The Transformed

By Stacy Claflin

She can't remember the last eighteen months… or why her loved ones have abandoned her.

Alexis Ferguson is having the worst Christmas of her life — and that's saying something. She's a vampire who has lost almost everything. Not only does she have a significant memory gap, but she keeps experiencing more lapses. Every time she gets close to the answer, she forgets everything again.

She knows the last year and a half has been spent with the other vampires. However, she finds herself with the human family who raised her. She has nobody to help with her bloodthirsty cravings, and she almost takes everyone out at a family dinner.

Something has to give before she does something she'll regret. Unable to cope on her own, she falls into a depression until another supernatural steps in, concerned for her well-being. He's gorgeous and knows what Alexis needs before she does. The only problem is that he's a werewolf… and her teacher. What could possibly go wrong?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stacy Claflin
• Release date: Nov 27, 2013
• ISBN: 9781498981347

Stacy Claflin

Stacy Claflin is a two-time USA Today bestselling author who writes about flawed characters that overcome unsurmountable odds. No matter how dark situations seem, there is always a sliver of hope--even if you have to search far and wide to find it. That message is weaved throughout all of her stories. Decades after she wrote her first tales on construction paper and years after typing on an inherited green screen computer, Stacy realized her dream of becoming a full-time bestselling author.  When she's not busy writing or educating her kids from home, Stacy enjoys time in nature, reading, and watching a wide variety of shows in many genres. Her favorite pastime activity is spending time with her family. Join Stacy's newsletter to get three free novels: https://stacyclaflin.com/newsletter/

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SILENT BITE

A TRANSFORMED NOVEL

by Stacy Claflin

www.stacyclaflin.com

Copyright ©2013 Stacy Claflin. All rights reserved.

©Cover Design: Cormar Covers

Edited by Staci Troilo

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. Do not upload or distribute anywhere.

This ebook is for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be resold or given away to others. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.

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One

I tip-toed into the classroom. I didn't feel like talking to anyone, much less Mr. Foley, because he used that concerned, adult tone every time he talked to me, as did my parents and every other grown-up in my life. It didn't help that he was barely older than me, which made his tone feel condescending.

With his back to me, I quietly grabbed the stack of papers in the bin marked T.A. and sat down at the back of the class.

When the bell rang, he turned around and jumped when he saw me. I didn't hear you come in, Alexis. You can say something if my back is turned.

Nodding, I got to work on the first paper. It was a Geometry quiz that I could have graded in my sleep. I was glad for that, because I was tired from thinking in my Honors classes all morning. Not that they were even difficult, but I had a headache that wouldn't leave me alone, and that was what was really bugging me.

The dull pain was my constant companion. I couldn't get rid of it, even with the strongest of pills. I had tried everything, but finally gave up and just lived with it. The weather was depressing that time of year, so I pretended the headache was part of my gloomy late fall routine.

Not that there was anything routine about my life anymore. Not since I'd woken up in my bed nearly three months earlier with no memories of the previous nine months. I had been away with my birth family, but the story around school was that I had been on a student exchange program.

Kids being as they are, I was teased relentlessly about my nine month absence. I wore skimpy clothes as long as the weather allowed, trying to shut them up, and it worked to some degree. The nice ones moved on, but there are some kids who just like to torture people, and it didn't matter what I did. Even the fact that I had gone to a pool party right before school started wearing a bikini, making it obvious there was no way I had been gone to have a baby.

I sighed, thinking about it all.

You okay? asked Mr. Foley, bringing me back to the present.

Fine, I said, and put my attention back to the quizzes in front of me.

I'll be right back, he said, standing. You're okay with those? Don't need the answer key?

Never do, I said, not looking up. I hated being rude, but talking to anyone, much less an adult, was the last thing I wanted. Not that Mr. Foley even seemed like a typical adult. First, he was actually a werewolf. Second, he was so young, that sometimes he felt more like a peer than a grown up. It was actually rumored that he had graduated from high school a couple of years early and wasn't even old enough to go to a bar.

I was grateful for him letting me be his TA again after I returned from my trip, but I didn't owe him anything other than grading papers. He didn't need to know why I was depressed. Why did he care, anyway? He knew I was a vampire—and not just any vampire. I was destined to rule the vampire kingdom someday. But that looked pretty bleak at the moment, given the fact that all the other vampires had abandoned me without explanation.

The smell of coffee surrounded me and I looked up. Mr. Foley was walking through the door, carrying two white cups with brown sleeves, obviously from the cafeteria. He flashed his Hollywood grin that made every girl in the school melt, the very grin that had given him the nickname 'the hot new teacher' the previous year. I got myself a coffee, and thought you could use one too.

Oh, I said, surprised. Uh, thanks.

White flashed through the windows, immediately followed by a loud clap of thunder. Then rain started pouring, the wind causing drops of rain to hit the windows.

It's the perfect weather for a warm drink if you want one.

I shrugged my shoulders. Sure.

He walked to my desk. I hope you don't mind coffee. I had them make yours a mocha.

That's cool. Thanks for thinking of me.

You seem a little tired. Just thought I'd help. He set the cup next to the quizzes and went back to his desk.

Going back to the papers, I ignored the drink. I could feel his eyes on me without looking up. He was waiting to see me drink the coffee. I sighed again. Why did he even care?

Hoping that he'd leave me alone if I took a drink, I grabbed the cup and took a sip through the gap in the lid. It tasted like bad coffee from a high school cafeteria. Feeling the burn of his gaze, I looked up and gave a weak smile. It's good, I lied, holding the cup in the air.

He smiled, his eyes sparkling. Good. Drink it up.

I sighed and then took another sip, holding it up as though to say 'cheers' and then set it down, getting back to work. His stare disturbed my work several more times, and each time I took a drink to appease him. When the bell finally rang, I put the graded papers on his desk. Thanks for the coffee.

No problem. Thanks for the great work. You always save me so much time.

I nodded again and then left the room. Before I reached my locker, my best friend Amanda was by my side. She looked at the cup. Since when do you drink coffee?

Since Mr. Foley bought me a mocha, I said, spinning my locker combination.

She gasped. He bought you something? she gushed. Ohmigosh. You would be so lucky. Maybe a little sweet, chocolate goodness and some attention from an even yummier teacher will pull you out of your slump.

Don't count on it, I said, shoving my books around in the locker. How had I let it get so messy?

Amanda groaned. What's with you, Lex? Seriously. You know that if you keep acting like this Hailey's going to start a rumor that you've got that post-something depression. You know what I'm talking about? That thing some people get after they have a baby.

Yeah. I know.

She sighed. So, you gonna eat lunch today?

I wasn't planning on it.

Oh come on. You're already super skinny. You're totally going to waste away.

Do you know how many calories are in this? I asked, holding the coffee cup. Enough to meet half of my daily needs. I'm not going to waste away today.

She gave me an exasperated look. At least have an apple or something healthy.

Okay—if you grab me something. I'll meet you down there in a few minutes and I'll eat what you pick out.

Her face lit up. That's what I'm talking about. See ya in a few.

I nodded, and then slammed my locker shut as she walked away. I went to the nearest bathroom, dropping the coffee cup in the garbage. I looked in the mirror and knew why I was getting so much grief from everyone in my life, including my best friend. My eyes had dark circles under them, and my cheeks were starting to look sunk-in with the weight loss. Underneath my stylish clothes, I was getting to the point of being too skinny, my bones becoming visible.

Pulling some concealer from my purse, I brightened up my eyes. Then I dabbed on some bronzer to give myself a bit more color. There. No one had any room to complain about how I looked anymore.

Down in the cafeteria, Amanda smiled at me while rolling her eyes. Nice makeup. You still have to eat the food I got you. She shoved an apple and a yogurt in front of me.

Yogurt too?

You said you'd eat whatever I got you. You know, protein is good for you, especially when you're wasting away to pretty much nothing.

You do realize this is fat free, don't you?

She glared at me. Just eat. It still has protein.

I ate the food and tried to ignore everything going on around me. Everyone was excited because we were about to have a long weekend for Thanksgiving.

Promise me you'll eat a big meal tomorrow, Amanda said.

I'll try.

We still on for the Black Friday sales? she asked, begging me with her eyes.

Standing in long lines at midnight—what could be better? I asked, trying to keep the sarcasm out of my voice. I wanted nothing more than to climb into bed and stay there until Monday morning.

That's the spirit. Where do you want to go? Should we stick around Delphic Cove or hit the freeway?

Why don't we go to Seattle? I'll bet they have some great sales.

Her eyes widened. Are you kidding? That's like a whole day trip.

I shrugged my shoulders. I don't care where we go.

Two

It's time to get up, Alexis.

I rolled over and pulled the pillow over my face. It was promptly removed and I glared at my adoptive, human mom. She opened my blinds, casting sunlight onto my face. I closed my eyes, ever grateful to have the sun blessing, allowing me to walk around freely during the day.

We need to get everything ready before everyone gets here. You know it's our year for hosting Thanksgiving, and that means we all have to work together to get everything ready.

Do I have to?

Yes! I don't know what we were thinking, letting you go on that foreign exchange trip. It was too close after your kidnapping. Now look at you—you're a depressed wreck.

You can't blame that on the trip. I was the same way before my abduction. Worse, in fact. You couldn't even pull me out of bed, right? This time I've been going to school and keeping my grades up.

I'm glad for that much. Really, I am. But it's not good enough and you know it. You need to eat more, you need to get together with your friends and have fun, you—

Today's Thanksgiving. I'm sure I'll eat plenty. Then tonight Amanda and I are going shopping. How's that for fun?

She raised an eyebrow. You're going shopping at the late night sales? I thought they were too—

Yeah, well, I changed my mind. If you'll move aside, I'll get a shower now so I can help get the house ready for the relatives.

Really? Okay, she said, backing up.

In the shower, I held my daily pity party. Ever since I had woken up at home that one day the week before school started, my whole life had been turned upside down. Not only was I mysteriously away from my birth parents, but I had no memories beyond the horrible day when Cliff, the love of my life, had essentially declared his hate for me.

Well, that was actually a stretch. He hadn't said that he hated me, but the look on his face said it all when he told me that I'd signed his death warrant. I couldn't even blame him if he did loathe my very existence. In trying to protect him, I'd lied to him about some serious stuff. I had hated lying to him, but that didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was that I had lied to him after we had promised each other no more secrets.

It didn't matter how hard I tried. I couldn't remember anything that happened after that, not for nine months until I woke up back at home with my human family. If it hadn't been strange enough to have such a long gap in my memory, everything had changed too. All of the vampires were out of my life—not only Cliff. They were all gone without a trace. When I had been going through my transformation, none of them would leave me alone. Now they were so far away that I had no way of reaching them.

Between my memory lapses, not knowing if Cliff hated me, and the other vampires being gone, I was a mess. At first, I thought it was some kind of test, so I went out of my way to have fun without my vampire friends. I went to several parties before school started, living it up and having a blast.

The memory lapses were especially difficult because my parents were so worried about them. I hid many from them, whenever I could. What I could remember from each lapse varied. Sometimes I only forgot a few hours, while other times I forgot days. The longest was the nine months before I woke up at home. I couldn't figure out why that was, but I had a strong feeling that if I knew what was causing them, I would have my answer.

After I returned, my mom wanted to take me school clothes shopping with my sister Natalie and I knew that my memory and lack of vampires weren't the only things that had changed. After finding out that I'd been adopted, my parents had always denied the adoption because their minds had been controlled to think that I was their daughter. But now, they talked about it openly, as though it had been something we had always talked about before. Aside from that, they didn't favor Natalie anymore. They treated us equally well and bought me all kinds of nice things.

My parents seemed to think that should be enough to keep me happy. I couldn't explain that I was upset about my vampire friends and family being out of my life. Believe me, I tried talking about vampires with them, just to test the waters and see how open they were to the idea, and that didn't go over well on any level. I nearly found myself facing the local mental hospital.

I had barely been holding it together, spending as much time as possible in bed, sleeping. When I was awake, I kept myself distracted with studying even though most of the time I really didn't care. I should have been at the castle. I was, after all, the long-awaited vampire Sonnast. What a mess that was: having been told all my vampire life that I was meant to marry Cliff. But one minor detail was left out. I was actually destined to marry Alrekur, the first vampire ever born—3,000 years before me. Even though I had gone through an unbreakable engagement ceremony with Cliff when I was three, it didn't matter.

Not after I was forced to awaken Alrekur from his thousand year death, anyway. That was the big secret that I had been keeping from Cliff which angered him so much. I had wanted to tell him about it, but how do you bring that up in conversation? Then there was the matter of Alrekur using mind control on me, which wasn't supposed to be possible. It was all such a mess, and it all happened when I was spending time with my vampire parents for the first time since I was three, and I was trying to learn everything I could about the vampire culture.

I hadn't even been given the chance to talk to Cliff and explain everything. Not that I could remember anyway. He had told me that I'd signed his death warrant, because I'd gone to him out of anger after Alrekur killed my friend Tanner,