He began pacing and then glanced at me, stopping abruptly. “Sorry,” he said, I guess realizing what that reminded me of. He seemed to hesitate, like he didn’t want to tell me the rest.
“So then what, Mack?” I probed.
He sighed. “Well, then Sammy showed me that picture.”
I glanced down, realizing I was still holding the photo of the girl I still was. In all my shock over Mack being my monster in the cabin, I’d forgotten to change back.
“She told me that if she could ever find a way to be herself, she was going to look like her,” he said. Then he pointed at me, “Like you.”
“So that’s how you knew it was me in the caves? And why you thought when you came in today that I was really Sammy? And you kissed me? Because I looked like her?”
“Yeah. I thought she’d done it. But let me explain the rest. As much as I don’t want to tell you what I did, I have to. I tried to ignore the fact that Sammy seemed like she had plans. I wasn’t going to give her the serum and I knew Blake would never… so I figured you were safe. Then a few days before you were abducted, Blake discovered Sammy’s existence. We’d been so careful. I knew I should’ve told Blake from the start, but I loved Sammy. And she begged me not to tell him. Why, I’m not really sure. Well, Blake came when I wasn’t expecting him. He’d been camping with Jaxon. Anyway, when he saw you as Sammy, he knew something wasn’t right.”
Mack clasped his hands together. “He always knew you struggled. He knew about the therapy. He knew you didn’t fit in socially, but he only ever saw Samantha. And he’d tell me how much it hurt him to see you that way. I suggested once he changed you, that maybe you’d be happier, and he went crazy on me. He said you deserved to have kids, a family.”
There was that question again, the one I’d never dared to ask. “Can’t damsels and dragons have kids?”
Mack shook his head slowly. “It hasn’t turned out too pretty when they’ve tried. So Tonbo banned it.”
I tried to swallow the sobering news down. No wonder Blake was adamant about not changing me.
“Oh, I see,” I said simply, when, really, my heart had broken. But what about the young dragons and damsels I’d seen at the island? I guess they must’ve been changed just like Blake and Kory were. Or maybe as babies like Mack. No kids? I couldn’t think about that right now. Later, not now.
“I tried to explain to Blake that Sammy was a part of Samantha. He was pretty upset I didn’t tell him sooner. I sort of downplayed how long Sammy had been around. Anyway, he left and went back to Jaxon.”
“Jaxon said he’d thought Blake had done it because right before I was discovered missing, Blake had left for a bit and came back upset. Guess I know why now.”
“Yeah, well, let’s just say when you disappeared, it shocked Blake and me both. I knew you’d gone jogging that morning, like you always did. I thought nothing of it until your mom called me around ten, asking me if you’d come over to my house. That’s when I feared what had happened. I rushed to where Blake and Jaxon were, determined to tell him everything. But when I saw the rage he had for Kory, I chickened out. I couldn’t tell him until I was sure it was Kate. Honestly, I was afraid of what he’d do to her. So we began searching. I did contact Kate, but she denied everything at the beginning.”
“So Kate did it? But I know you were there… your pacing…”
“Let me explain. Blake and I searched nonstop for two weeks. I told him I had to keep up appearances in Durango, check in with your parents and stuff. So we parted ways. Blake kept looking for you. When I got back to my room that night, Kate was there.”
Mack’s face paled. “I almost killed her myself at that point, before I let her speak. She told me it how unfair it was that Sammy and I couldn’t be together. We loved each other and deserved to be happy. Kate went on and on, asking why it was up to Blake anyway? Why was he the one who got to choose? He never planned to change Samantha so he could be with her, or even planned to meet her in person. She felt Sammy and I should have a chance at love. Kate told me Sammy begged her to help, and she felt for her. Honestly, I wonder how much of it was because Blake never wanted Kate. Either way, they were the ones to orchestrate the break-in. Sammy’s mad computer skills made it easy for her to override the system. Kate got the serum, and they altered it together. In all her reading, Sammy had done a lot of research on genes. She’d found DNA that would make it so she could be Sammy, look like herself, not Samantha, and would never fear water again.”
“So that’s why I can hold my breath… the whale DNA. What makes me change like this? I didn’t think it was possible?”
“Kate told me Sammy read about the Mimic Octopus. It can change its shape, form, and even mimic other sea creatures to protect itself. Think about what you’ve done. You changed into this girl to trick Jaxon. And then you used your instinct to change into Jaxon’s son to protect us all.”
Everything worked, except the part where Mack fit in. I met his eyes. “So is that when you agreed to help them?”
Mack groaned. “Samantha, I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to do. Kate said that Sammy had come up with the idea of attacking Samantha, tying her up, and making her scared. She was convinced that Samantha had to experience terror the entire time she was injected. It was the only way Sammy felt sure she’d be the one there.”
He grunted. “But Kate said it wasn’t working exactly as planned. Every time Kate went to inject you, it was you, not Sammy. Kate kept waiting for Sammy to emerge so they could finish the process, ditch the theatrics.”
I waited when his words faded.
“Kate told me she needed my help. She was scared if we didn’t finish this that maybe neither Samantha nor Sammy would prevail. You never know how the dragonfly DNA will affect someone. Kate told me I needed to be the one to force Sammy to come out, since Sammy listened to me most of the time. Kate said Sammy told her she wanted me to be the one to give her, or you, the last injection.”
“So you were the one, that last time? Now it makes sense. The way you jumped at me… you did it to scare me. But you were different. You gave me water when I asked for it and you didn’t shove it into my teeth, like before. You were gentler.”
Mack’s expression twisted up. “I’m such a monster! I should’ve untied you right then and there! I wanted to! It horrified me to see you like that!” He collapsed to his knees and covered his face with his hands. Through his fingers, I heard a muffled, “I’m so sorry.”
“Just tell me the rest,” I said softly.
He lowered his fingers. “As much as I wanted to end your hell, I knew Kate was right. So I finished it, made horrible promises, and tried to make you think I was Jeremy. I gave you your last injection and told you it was special. I hoped my words would trigger Sammy to come out, but they didn’t. I went home sick to my stomach at what I’d done. I decided I didn’t care what happened; I was going back the next day to let you go and tell you everything. But when I returned, you were gone. I didn’t know then that Jaxon had freed you; I didn’t even know about Jaxon being a bug. So I searched for you and caught up with you about the same time the rescue party did.”
His eyebrows bent low, he frowned. “I came to see you the first night you were home from the hospital. I snuck into your room in my camo. When I saw you… I knew we’d destroyed you. You were no longer Sammy or Samantha. It was so hard to come back and visit you. I could hardly bear to see what I’d done to you.” His voice cracked, and tears welled in his eyes.
He remained on his knees; we gazed at each other in silence. I was sure he waited for me to say hateful words. As much as I wanted to be furious for what he’d done and especially what he’d kept from me for so long, I couldn’t muster any words. Instead, I watched his tears fall silently from his face, taking with them pieces of my heart. Whether it was Sammy or just me, I didn’t know or care. I had feelings for Mack and, on some level, I loved him.
I cleared my throat. “Don’t feel bad anymore, okay? You should’ve told me about Sammy, but
so should have my parents. I can’t be mad at you for listening to Sammy. You were in love. I understand. If anyone’s to blame for all this, it’s me. I’m my own monster.”