Carson's POV

I screamed just as the clock struck twelve, stunning all of the guests and servants as my body was on fire. "It hurts," I bellowed, my muscles beginning to feel like they were on fire.

"What the hell?!" Fianna exclaimed as she and Bianca came to my side while the Moon Goddess was in front of me. "Wait, is it time that-"

"It is," Mom intoned, running her fingers through my hair before spiriting me outside to the backyard. "My son, it is time for your shifts. Relax."

I moaned just as I felt my bones starting to crack and pop, my body going into overdrive. "Mom... don't leave," I whimpered.

"I won't. Take deep breaths and close your eyes. Let my light from the moon calm you, Carson."

I shut my eyes and slowly took deep breaths, shuddering as the transformation soon began to drown me into darkness. The last thing I heard was a cry of excitement from Eurydice before everything went dark...

"Carson?"

I snapped open my eyes to find that I was still in the backyard, but I looked down to see my hands and feet being replaced by wolf paws. "Hello?" I said, looking around to see all of my friends and family smiling down at me.

"Carson, it's me- your wolf. My name is Anais, your wolf side," the voice- now sounding like it was from my head- replied in a Greek accent. "And I'm here to guide you through your first time."

"It's nice to meet you, Anais," I replied. "Where are my clothes?"

"Oh, they vanished into your fur," he replied. "Yeah, a wolf can easily shift without losing or tearing one's clothes. Same as for the angels, demons, and werecats. Can't say much for dragons, hellhounds, or the merman- though the merman and mermaids can easily take off their clothes before going into the water."

"That makes sense. So, what now?"

Anais chuckled. "We run," he said.

He didn't have to tell me twice. I lunged into a sprint, letting the moonlight and the howling wind caress my fur while taking into the sights and sounds of nature. "Hey, Anais? What's the color of my fur?"

"It's all white, with a hint of all the colors of the rainbow," he replied before we took a break by an oak tree. "And this is where you'll shift into your werecat- a cougar."

Then came another voice. "Hola, Carson. My name's Neo, your werecat," he said in a Portuguese accent. "And while you can shift into any cat you can think of, the cougar is your main form."

At the last sentence, I instantly shifted into a large cougar with fur the color of cream. And unlike my wolf (which was as large as a minivan), my cougar was slender like a roadster. "Nice to meet you, Neo. Shall we run?"

"Yes, let's," Neo said as I roared out into the night before continuing my run. It turns out that Neo was as twice as fast as Anais and he was talented in stealth. Note the fact that we hunted and killed our first deer before we stopped at a nearby clearing.

I felt myself turning back into a human, but my skin was now a light caramel color and my closely-cropped hair was now a dirty blonde. I turned to a nearby brook and saw that my eyes were glowing red and I had fangs.

"Vampire," I deduced, looking down to see that I was still wearing my tuxedo.

"Correct," I heard a Slavic voice. "I'm your vampire half known as Nikolai. And this is where you and I need to catch our breath while taking in the sounds of the night, Carson."

Right. I slowed my pace down to a leisurely walk, calmly stopping to appreciate the music of the night while keeping sharp for any threats. I never even realized that shifting can be so... freeing. And even when I was a runt back at the Four Aces, I thought that I would remain a human without a side, to begin with. At least, that's what Keith told me as he'd beat me with a hot iron once or twice- or even a hundred.

We stopped at a large lake. I suddenly felt the urge to jump into the lake. Taking off my suit (and folding them carefully and placing them on a rock so Eurydice and Topaz wouldn't freak out, I dove into the clear waters and felt a long stretch in my lower areas and legs. I came up for air to see that my legs were replaced by a long tail in the color of my wolf's fur with rainbow scales. My hair was slightly cut shorter than the vampire blonde and I was now paler.

"Salut, Carson. My name is Francois, your merman side," said a French male's voice in my head. "Alain my be Irish, but you and I are both French in this form. Let's swim, yes?"

"All right," I said aloud and took the next several minutes to swim my heart out. It helped that I was gifted in swimming (Thanks to Ciara, whose bedroom had an adjoining bathroom with a large tub). I was able to see the other creatures of the sea (who bowed at the sight of me, which was uncanny) while making small talk with Francois. But all too soon, my legs returned and I felt a searing pain in my back. I swam up to air...

And I was soaring into the sky in my new form: tanned skin the color of peanut butter with wavy black hair and...white wings.

"Howdy, Carson," another voice said in a country accent. "Seraphiel's my name and being your angel side is my game. I reckon that you put on your clothes before we fly around for a spell or two."

I laughed as I flew back down. After putting on my clothes, my wings (which could be seen through my shirt and jacket) led me back into the skies as I took in the sights of the world underneath me. Everything looked so small yet so realistic. I mean, the old and reserved Carson would never experience moments like this while being locked away in the basement.

"Believe it, Carson," Seraphiel replied softly as we soared over a farmhouse. "You may not have had a chance to be free in the past, but you're getting it now and then some."

"Agreed," came another voice, sharp and stoic.

"Who's that?" I said aloud, watching my white wings turn midnight black as my head began to hurt.

"It's me, your demon side known as Apollyon," came the voice. "And yeah, I may sound like a total douchebag compared to my saintly identical twin of an angel, but I'm here for you as well."

"And my head hurting is when I'm growing-"

"Yup," Apollyon replied, popping on the "p." "You got horns."

I just sighed while continuing to fly in the sky. My angel and demon are twins? That's a feat that I only heard when it comes to identical twins and that was a rare sight.

I came to a landing near a field of wheat. At this point, I was still near the palace grounds, but I was still far away from everyone. My wings vanished as I burst into flames briefly before noticing that I was now a new person: sable-brown hair at ear-length, a large build, and skin the color of cream.

"Hello, hello. Name's Viktor, your hellhound side, Carson," said a friendly Australian voice. "And while we hellhounds are chill and laid-back, we can be very vicious and fiery when wronged. Think of me as a badass Thor."

"Cool," I commented. "But let's head on back because everyone is still waiting for us. And mind the wheat field."

"Noted."

So, here's a recap of my sides: Anais was my werewolf, Neo was my werecat side (cougar), Nikolai equals vampire, Francois was my merman, Seraphiel was my angel and his twin Apollyon was my demon. Now I have Viktor as my hellhound and I still have my dragon-shifter half and my phoenix left to go.

Oh. Wow.

This night was something else.

A few minutes later, we finally head back to the wooded area where I was my wolf, cougar, and vampire. And just in time because I was suddenly in pain again... but it was like I was being hit by a fleet of tractor-trailers all at once. I remembered to breathe and focused on the light of the moon while I kept on growing bigger and bigger, my body changing shape and adding muscle.

In the place of me as a walking hellhound was a giant dragon with bright orange scales and a mane in the color of the night. "No way," I breathed. "I'm a dragon."

"That you are, Carson love," came a crisp British voice straight out of prep school. "And I am your dragon known as Gareth. Close your eyes and picture me as a human version- short, blonde hair; deep blue eyes; masculine build- you know the gist."

I did so, taking deep breaths while counting back to ten. And just like that, I was indeed the description of what Gareth said, but I was in the buff with my clothes torn to shreds.

"Eurydice is going to freak," I groaned.

"No need to worry," I heard Gareth reply curtly. "Snap your fingers, please."

I did so, amazed to see that I was dressed in my tuxedo once again before we began our journey back. "Thanks for-"

"No need, love," Gareth replied smoothly. "As your dragon, I have to make sure that you remain calm in any situation. I'm also balancing out your arriving phoenix form right now."

"Huh?" I said. "Wait, is my phoenix-"

"Let's PARTY!" came an excited voice that sounded a bit like Eurydice's but more masculine. I only blinked once to see that I was dark-skinned with my black hair similar to Gareth's but with frosted tips. My body was still muscular but toned down to look like a total party boy. "Carson, you can call my Cairo as I am your phoenix. And pay no attention to Gareth the grump. I'm not that wild. I am a royal-like you, but I like to put on airs and have a little fun."

"Hardly," I heard the voice Gareth in my head scoff.

"Anyway, Carson. I'm like the other phoenixes around here- your friends Eurydice and Topaz, too. And I'm here to make sure that you have a little fun while making sure to be proper when it's time to be proper."

"Right," I replied as I reached the trimmed backyard of the palace where everyone- the guests included- were waiting for me. I turned back to normal and ran into the arms of Iain and Archer. "I'm back."

"Did you enjoy yourself?" Mom asked me.

I nodded. "And my sides were... very interesting to say the least," I replied before turning my attention to a tall and masculine man who was the male version of my mom. "And you are?"

The well-dressed walked up to me and took my hands into his, smiling brightly. "I am Anis the Sun God," he said in a smooth accent. "I am the second heavenly protector sworn to keep you safe... as well as your ninth and final mate. And I want to meet your demigod side."

Cue the spit take from Eurydice, the Albritton women, Fianna and her mom, and the now-stunned Topaz, who exclaimed "What?"

"That's right, Carson," Aunt Medusa replied as she came to my right as Mom came to my left. "You also have a demigod side as well."

Instantly, I was now a perfect clone of Anis himself and everyone gasped in shock and excitement with Bianca and Ciara taking pictures from a distance. "Call me Hyperion," said a male's voice that sounded like Anis himself.

Well, if tonight wasn't any more shook, I don't know what was. I suddenly turned back to normal. "Wow," I said.

"Wow, indeed," Anis chuckled. "So, what do you say? Care to give this demigod a chance? I got the blessing from Iain and Archer as well as our other mates. But what about you?"

I turned to the others, all of them cheering and agreeing that I should accept him. "Why not?" I said. "I accept you as my mate, Anis the Sun God."

The crowd cheered as photographers came around to take pictures. And I had only had one thing in my mind: I was definitely going to be the hot topic of Denver with more parties and celebrations this week.

Oh. Boy.
 
Oh boy is right! Here's a recap of who Carson's supernatural halves alter-egos are alongside their names.

Anais: werewolf.
Neo: Feline shifter (main form: cougar)
Nikolai: Vampire
Francois: Merman
Seraphiel: Angel
Apollyon: Demon
Viktor: Hellhound
Gareth: Dragon
Cairo: Phoenix
Hyperion: Demigod

Ladies and gentlemen, Carson's supernatural halves and their identities!

And the next four chapters are when things start getting serious as Carson  prepares himself for what's ahead while Ryan is anxious for Carson's love! So you already know that this is when things start getting serious!

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