Beautifully Unnatural: A Young Adult Paranormal Boxed Set (23 page)

She drops her gaze. Blood seeps from her face, retracted to her frantically pumping heart. Warmth drains from her body as a disturbing chill attacks her. He knows! “No one will believe you.”

“You think that’s what this is about?” he growls, anger coloring his voice. “I don’t care about exposing you, Rose. I just want to know what is happening to me.”

Her fingers clench into fists by her side. She shifts her weight to her other foot. Her first impulse is to run, to flee Gabriel and his questions, to embrace self-preservation. She is a warrior, taught to rely on her instincts, and right now there is an epic battle taking place in her mind that she’s sure she can lose.

Flee. Remain. Survive. Take a risk.

A finger pulls her chin up to look at Gabriel. His skin is pale and unnaturally drawn. “Please…”

Roseline shakes her head and clamps her eyes shut. She can’t. It is forbidden to tell a human about the existence of immortals. If she allows herself to be weak, both of their lives are forfeit, but he needs to know something. Anything. She can smell his fear.

“I felt you pull me out of my seat. You held me in your arms as the truck…” he gulps, dropping his head. “I saw the truck hit you.”

Roseline looks up at him. Tears swim in his eyes as he pulls her close. “When the doctors told me they didn’t find you I was sure I had lost you. Sure that they thought I was too fragile to accept your death, but after nearly a week in that place I began to realize that they weren’t lying to me. I could see it. I could feel it.”

She winces at the awe and frustration mingled in his voice. His gaze trails over her face. “You don’t have a scratch on you.”

“I heal quickly,” she whispers. The feeling of his fingers lightly tracing her cheek makes her weak in the knees.

“How? Why? Please, tell me something.”

A shadow passes the entrance to the hall. Roseline stiffens as two brilliant green eyes meet hers for the briefest of moments before moving on. Drat. Nicolae is watching. “We can’t talk about this here. It’s not safe.”

“What the heck does that mean?”

She leans in close, lowering her voice. “It means that I’m asking you to trust me. Give me some time to figure things out.”

“Can you? Figure things out, I mean.”

Roseline shrugs. “I honestly don’t know. Just please don’t get your hopes up. You’re…different.”

Chips of concrete flutter to the floor as Gabriel’s fist slams into the wall. His hand buries up to his wrists. Gabriel grunts as he yanks his hand free. No blood. No broken bones. “You see? This is what I’m talking about. It’s not normal. I’m not normal.”

“I know,” Roseline sighs.

“No, you don’t,” he cries, shoving his hands through his tousled hair. Concrete dust clings to his sandy strands. “You have no clue.”

Roseline’s chest puffs with indignation. “I’ve been around a heck of a lot longer than you have.”

“Fine. Then tell me what these are.” Gabriel wrenches back his sleeves and shoves his forearms into her face.

Instead of the recognition he hoped for, Roseline’s brow knits with confusion. “When did you get these tattoos?”

“I didn’t.” He grits his teeth. “I woke up with them.”

She leaps back, bracing against the wall. Her teeth gnash subconsciously. Gabriel flinches, shocked by her reaction. “What is it? Do you know these symbols?”

Unable to take her eyes from the markings, Roseline slowly nods. “It’s part of an ancient language, from before man existed.”

“Whoa, that’s deep,” Gabriel blows out a breath. “So what’s with this one?” He holds his arms close together, forming the cross.

Roseline blanches. “It’s not possible.”

Gabriel drops his sleeves. “Rose, tell me what you know.”

She shakes. A trembling begins in her feet and travels up her body. “I don’t know anything,” she insists, struggling to tear her eyes away from his arms.

“Rose…it’s me.”

Gulping hard, Roseline looks up into his troubled face. “I honestly don’t know anything. These markings are sacred. I’ve seen them before, but I can’t read them.”

“Then why are you so frightened?” he asks, ducking his head to meet her eyes.

“Because they are forbidden. There are some things that are not meant to be known. That marking is one of them.” She closes her eyes, fighting through her memory for a time when she saw this cross. It was in the Bran castle library. During her many years of study, she stumbled across a hidden panel in one of the walls. Inside was a torn page, aged and yellowed with time. Strange markings bordered the page. In the center was Gabriel’s cross.

She had never dared to look at it again. When Vladimir discovered her, the punishment was both swift and severe. It was the closest she had ever come to death. That day she learned that some things are better left alone and now it has been thrust back into her life again.

Terror weakens her as she leans back against the wall. What can this mean? How is Gabriel tied to that paper? And why? Is this the reason for his changes? Why his blood calls to her?

Gabriel gently pulls her close. She nestles into his chest, wrapping her arms around his back. Strength and love radiates from him and her trembling slowly abates. “Shh,” he soothes, rubbing his hand up and down her spine. “It’s okay. We just need to figure out what’s going on.”

She places her hand on his chest and leans back. “I promise we will try but I can’t promise answers.”

He nods, raising his hand to cup her cheek. “Can I ask something else?

Her throat closes up. What if he asks her a direct question about her past? Can she really risk answering him?

“Why aren’t you afraid of me?”

“I am,” she whispers, leaning up on her toes. “But not for the reason you think.”

“No?” Gabriel questions softly. He lowers his head to meet her halfway. “Why then?”

Roseline allows him to pull her close, molding his body around hers. “Because I need you too much.”

Gabriel’s throaty chuckle sends electric shockwaves down her spine. “Good.”

The instant his lips touch hers, Roseline’s legs go weak. She slumps against the wall, grateful for its solid embrace. His lips move smoothly over hers, his tongue flicking over her lower lip. A contented sigh escapes her lips as Gabriel’s fiery kisses trail her jaw line, drifting down to her throat. He pauses over her artery, grinning against the fluttering of her heart just under the thin veil of skin.

“You smell amazing,” he coos, nuzzling her neck. “Like cinnamon and vanilla.”

Roseline presses up into him as his hands splay across her back, dipping just under the edge of her sweater to touch her bare skin. Her leg curls around his hip as she lifts up on her tiptoes, fighting to get closer. Every touch feels like living fire on her skin, searing the hidden identity from her body, leaving only her essence laid bare for Gabriel to see.

A wolf whistle draws them back to reality. Her cheeks flame brightly as she notices the crowd that has formed at the hall entrance. Guys hoot and holler, cheering Gabriel on. Oliver stands in the back, grinding his teeth as Claire digs her manicured nails into his arm.

“I guess we just confirmed the rumors,” Gabriel chuckles deeply, setting Roseline back on her feet. She straightens her top and readjusts the hem of her plaid skirt. Her skin is flushed, leaking hormones at an alarming rate.

“Can we get out of here now?”

Gabriel nods, clearing his throat as he takes her hand in his and leads them through the gawking crowd. As they emerge, Gabriel leans in close. “Oh, there’s something else I wanted to say back there.”

From the corner of her eye, she notices a fuming Mrs. Smithton closing in on them.

“I love you,” he whispers in her ear.

Twenty-Seven

“This is a waste of time,” Gabriel grunts, shoving a dusty book across the table. It teeters on the edge before spilling to the floor, crumpling the pages of the ancient text.

“Easy,” Roseline hisses as she leaps to the book’s rescue. She unfolds the pages and gently sets the book on the pile beside her. “These are really rare.”

It has been nearly a week since Gabriel’s confession of love and Roseline has yet to acknowledge it. Thankfully, Gabriel’s mystery tattoos have kept them busy with research. However, coming across century-old books on spells and myths is not the easiest thing to do in secret. There are only so many antique bookstores in Chicago and Gabriel’s anxiety is mounting.

“I don’t know,” Roseline sighs, rubbing the bridge of her nose. The changes she sees in Gabriel not only worries her, they downright frighten her. She is almost getting desperate enough to try calling Fane again, but logically she knows that will only end up with him swooping in to save the day. Seeing him is the last thing she needs right now. “I told you not to get your hopes up. I wasn’t exactly joking around when I said those markings are forbidden. Apparently I’m not the only one who isn’t allowed to know about it.”

She stretches her arms high over her head, working out the kinks in her lower back. They have been at this far too long.

“We are looking through spell books, mythology, and ancient histories. I’m sorry, but I find this a bit hard to swallow. I think it’s time you start coughing up the truth, Rose. What do these books have in common with you?”

Roseline bites her tongue until she can taste blood. “You know I can’t say.”

“Oh, come on!” He throws up his hands in the air. His voice rises high enough to attract attention from other students in the school library. Roseline glares at him and he has the decency to lower his voice. “Obviously you’ve seen some pretty wacky stuff while in Romania and I want to know about it.”

“Those things are not meant to be known,” she snaps. She sucks in a steadying breath as she fights against her anger. Her fingernails dig deep into the flesh of the wooden table. She smudges the indents out with the palm of her hand while Gabriel isn’t looking. “Trust me. There are some things you really don’t want to know about.”

“You know,” he presses. His eyes are cold as he turns to look at her again.

“Yes and there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t wish I could forget it all,” she says, reaching out to pull his hand into hers. He flinches but allows her to twine her fingers through his. “I just can’t do that to you. There is too much at risk…” she trails off. “I don’t want that for you. You deserve a normal life.”

She is beginning to wonder if that is even possible for him anymore. How can he hope to live the life he is leading when he is so obviously more than human?

“Whatever,” Gabriel huffs, pulling his hand away.

Roseline sinks back into her chair. Fear whispers to her mind. Something is wrong. “What is with you today? You seem really on edge.”

She sees the flicker of emotion cross his face before he clamps down on it. “It’s nothing,” he grunts as he leaps to his feet. His chair flies backward into a bookcase—it rocks, unsettling books. He scowls at the scattered pile and snatches his bag from the table. “I’ll see you around.”

“But…” Roseline begins but Gabriel flees through the front door of the library. “Great.”

She grabs an armful of books and stashes them behind a row of outdated textbooks with an inch of dust coating them like a second skin. No one will ever find them there. As she slips out of the library and heads to class, she can feel eyes watching her every movement. No doubt, she has just birthed another rumor. Lovely.

A few hours later, Roseline slides into her seat next to Sadie. Her friend’s welcome falls flat in sight of Roseline’s somber expression. “Wow, don’t you look glum. What’s up?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugs, letting her bag fall to the floor. She stares at her empty tray, only now realizing that she failed to enter the food line. “Gabriel’s been acting really off with me the past couple days.”

Sadie frowns. “Is it about the dance?”

“He hasn’t even asked me.” She knows it’s a silly thing to care about a school dance, but Roseline can’t help it. Going anywhere with Gabriel should have been a treat, but with his increasing mood swings, she’s not so sure now.

“Are you kidding?” Sadie cries. “It’s this Saturday night and that scumbag hasn’t even asked you?

“Hey,” Roseline says, whirling on her friend. “I thought after the State finals you would have started to cut the guy some slack.”

Sadie shifts in her chair. “A girl’s got a right to be jealous, doesn’t she?”

“Jealous?” Roseline snorts. “I didn’t peg you for the sort.”

“Oh, please! I’m the one that’s lived next to the guy most of my life, remember? I was pining over him long before you ever showed up.”

“Do I hear a small amount of bitterness in there somewhere?” Roseline asks, leaning in to poke her friend in the side.

“Maybe.” Sadie shrugs. “But I don’t hold it against you. I’m just ticked that I got stuck taking the loser to the dance.”

Oh yeah, she had forgotten about that. Sadie and Nicolae together at a dance? That is a nightmare in the making! “I get that you’re bummed, I really do, but you can’t let your mom or Nicolae ruin your night. Besides the dance will be the least of your worries. Just think about all of the pictures.”

“Oh, gee, thanks,” Sadie grumbles, puckering her lips into a pout. “That makes me feel so much better.”

“Are things any better between you two?”

Sadie snorts. “Are you kidding? The guy still follows me around all the time. Last night he even tried to sit next to me on the couch while I watched some old re-runs of Friends. He popped a whole bag of popcorn and doused it in my favorite cheese sauce to share. The guy is totally lactose intolerant so what was up with that?” She ducks in low. “You know, if the guy wasn’t such a dweeb he’d actually be really sweet, in an annoyingly idiotic way, of course.”

Roseline laughs. “So there’s still hope for you two.”

“Whatever.”

Silence falls between them as Sadie attacks the lid of her strawberry yogurt, which seems to be getting the best of her at the moment. The weight of Gabriel’s clipped words hangs heavily over her once again. “Maybe I should just assume we are going to the dance together. Isn’t that what couples do?”