Beautifully Unnatural: A Young Adult Paranormal Boxed Set (30 page)

“Whatever.”

Nicolae holds up the photo in his hand. “What do you see?”

Gabriel stares at the image. “I see you standing in front of a painting. I’m assuming you took this on our field trip to the art museum.” Nicolae nods and waits for him to continue. “It’s a girl who looks like she could be Rose’s twin.

“Not a twin. Take a look at the bottom of the painting.”

Gabriel’s gaze drifts again to the photograph. Even though the wording is small it is still legible. “Roseline Enescue.” His blood runs cold.

“Name ring a bell?”

“Oh, god,” Gabriel gasps, holding his stomach as the contents churn violently. “She’s my step-mother?”

“What?” Nicolae exclaims, rushing to Gabriel’s side, weaving with him. “What did you just say?”

“Enescue. Lucien Enescue. He’s my biological father. Oh God, that’s why she passed out yesterday.”

Nicolae’s fingers clamp down on Gabriel’s arm but he barely notices as Nicolae’s next words bring sweet relief to his tortured soul. “She isn’t your step-mother, Gabriel. Lucien is her brother-in-law.”

The relief vanishes only to be followed by crippling grief. Gabriel falls to his knees, choking on the sobs that rise in his throat. “She really is married?”

“Yes. To the man you would call Dracula. He has gone by many names in many cultures but his real name is Vladimir Enescue.”

“This isn’t possible,” Gabriel groans as he rolls onto his back. He shoves his fists into his eyes and fights for control. “She can’t be married.”

“It gets better,” Nicolae whispers next to his ear. “She’s over three hundred years old.”

Gabriel’s howl shakes the rafters, sending nesting birds into the sky. Nicolae sits next to Gabriel, confused by his grief. “You honestly didn’t know?”

“No,” he gasps, fighting for breath.

“But you’re one of them…” Nicolae trails off. His brow furrows deeply as he leans in close, sniffing the air around Gabriel. “Your scent is human…so that must mean Lucien is your father and your mother is a human?”

“You say that as if it’s an odd thing,” Gabriel snorts. He rises to his knees and run his hands through his hair. This is too much to take in. His brain feels as if it will explode. Heat burrows into his chest as sweat clings to his body. He pushes up his sleeves to release the sauna within.

“What the heck is happening to me?” he asks, dropping his arms with exasperation. They slam into his knees, like stone against stone.

Nicolae’s eyes widen with shock as he leaps toward Gabriel. His shoves Gabriel’s forearms together and blanches. “It can’t be,” he whispers, backing away. His gaze is riveted to the jagged cross before it rises to meet Gabriel’s. “You’ve got to be kidding.
You’re
the one?”

Gabriel frowns. “What are you talking about?”

“The prophecy.” He slaps his forehead. “How could I have been so stupid?”

Nicolae flips open his phone. His fingers blur over the buttons and then he waits. The instant someone picks up the line, a strange, beautiful language rolls off Nicolae’s tongue. Gabriel stares down at his arms, shocked to find the tattoo symbols glowing bright blue.

“What the heck is going on?” he demands, rising to his feet. “What is happening to me, Nicolae?”

Waving him off, Nicolae speaks a few more unintelligible sentences before snapping his phone shut. “I need you to come with me.”

“Not until you tell me what you know,” Gabriel growls, unconsciously baring his teeth.

Nicolae doesn’t back away from Gabriel’s threat. “I promise you will get your answers, but I need you to come with me, now.”

“Where?” he asks, forcing steel into his wobbly legs. He feels like every ounce of the amazing strength he has been gifted with has been sucked from the marrow in his bones.

“Romania.”

Thirty-Six

Gabriel holds the phone away from his ear as he and Nicolae march rapidly down the deserted street. His boots punch through the ice with ease. Nicolae only shows slight signs of difficulty, causing Gabriel to once again question who he really is.

“Have you completely lost your mind?” Sadie screams at him down the line. “You’re actually going to get on a plane with that lunatic?”

“What choice do I have?” he says back, fighting to keep the anger from his voice. He has to remember that she cares about Rose too. “He knows where Rose is. I have to go after her, Sadie.”

There is an extended pause. Gabriel can hear the clacking of fingernails on a wooden surface. “Sadie?”

“I’m thinking,” she snaps. Gabriel sighs as they cross the road. They are getting close to his home and he needs to be planning out what to pack, not fighting with Sadie.

“Fine,” she finally says, “but I’m coming with you.”

Nicolae blows up when Gabriel relays the message. Sadie’s screechy voice mingles with the ringing in his ears. Nicolae snatches the phone from Gabriel’s hand and immediately leaps into the fray. “Out of the question. I will not allow you to put your life in danger.”

“It’s my life and you have no right to tell me what I can and cannot do with it,” Sadie explodes.

Gabriel grimaces, almost feeling sorry for the guy. “Bad move, man,” he mutters in Nicolae’s ear.

After five more minutes of fighting, standing one block from Gabriel’s house, Nicolae finally concedes to not only allowing Sadie to join in, but William as well.

“Fools. They have no idea what they’re walking into.” Nicolae hands the phone back to Gabriel.

“We good, Sadie?” Gabriel asks.

“Yeah, the idiot actually thought he could use not having a passport against me. I’ve got that baby sitting in my top drawer from our summer vacation to Jamaica.”

“That figures,” Gabriel mutters, unwilling to start another brawl over his own concerns. Going with Nicolae is one thing but bringing along Sadie and William will slow them down. “Meet us at my car in twenty minutes. You still got my keys?”

“Duh.” She hangs up on him.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” Gabriel sighs. “Look, I’ve gotta grab some stuff and try to avoid Steve. Pack a bag and sneak out with Sadie. I’ll meet you there.”

“Fine, but make it quick,” Nicolae growls, obviously in a bad mood.

Nicolae’s scowl falters as Gabriel’s hand catches his. “You’re wrong about her. I know Rose. She would never hurt anyone.”

Nicolae’s eyes frost over. “When I was a little boy, I saw her for the first time. My parents had gone to a party that night and made me stay home with my nanny. I was angry they wouldn’t let me go, so I snuck out and ran across the town square to the main hall.” Nicolae closes his eyes against the tears that threaten to spill over. “By the time I arrived, the doors were locked. Their screams still haunt me.”

“What happened?” Gabriel asks, letting his hand drop away.

“Every single person inside was slaughtered. It took weeks to clean the blood from the floors,” he chokes out. “My mother, father, and two sisters were found among the carnage…in pieces.”

“Oh, god.” Gabriel grimaces at his loss. “I’m so sorry.”

Nicolae straightens his shoulders and pushes away the memories. “Vladimir is a sadistic monster, Gabriel, but he doesn’t even come close to comparing to your father.”

“And Rose was with them?”

Nicolae nods. “She was.”

“And you think she was a part of this massacre?” Gabriel’s mind refuses to accept it. Rose is gentle and kind. She could never be a killer.

“I know she was.” Nicolae takes a few steps but turns back. “She’s not who you think she is, Gabriel. Or maybe you already know that. Maybe you’re keeping a few secrets of your own.”

Gabriel is shocked by the urge to rip out Nicolae’s throat for speaking such things. Unsettled by the sudden desire, he stands his ground. “I don’t know who, or what, I am. All I know is that I love Rose and I’m going to save her.”

“Even if she’s a blood-sucking monster?”

Gabriel nods. “Even then…but I know you’re wrong. Can you honestly tell me that she’s the same person today that you think she was then?”

Nicolae thinks for a moment, considering his words. “She is different than my Uncle Sorin has led me to believe. I have not seen her kill or maim anyone during my time here.”

“Then maybe she isn’t as evil as you think she is,” Gabriel says.

“No. I think she is exactly as evil as I have been told.” He meets Gabriel’s gaze. “She plays on people’s emotions. Look at how she has captured your heart and those of William and Sadie. No,” he shakes his head, “she is a master at deception. Nothing more.”

“Make no mistake, Roseline is evil in its purest form. She’s far more dangerous than you can ever imagine, especially since this evil is masked behind such exquisite beauty.”

Struggling to breathe, Gabriel forces his shoulders to rise in a shrug. “It changes nothing. I am still going after her. I won’t let Vladimir kill her.”

A faint gleam flashes across Nicolae’s eye. “Trust me, there are things far worse than death for a vampire.”

Thirty-Seven

Two hours later, Gabriel sits impatiently in the first class lounge. He rubs his temples as he tries in vain to block out the loud voices next to him. Sadie and William are still arguing with Nicolae over the tickets.

“Look, it’s no big deal. The tickets weren’t that unreasonable,” Nicolae insists, obviously wishing they would just drop it.

“You just bought four first class tickets to Romania and you want us to believe that they are cheap?” Sadie cries. “Do I have LOSER written across my forehead?”

Nicolae sighs. “Fine. The tickets were seven thousand apiece. Happy now?”

William jerks upright, spilling his fancy espresso. “Good night! Where did you come up with that kind of cash?”

“My parents. Just trust me, the money will never be missed.” Nicolae folds his hands over his lap and leans back to get some rest. Gabriel hopes Sadie will take the hint, but that just isn’t in her nature.

“So your family is, like, rich or something?”

Nicolae groans as he opens his eyes. “I’m a foreign exchange student. Do you think that’s cheap?”

“Huh,” William mutters, scratching his jaw. “You know, I never really thought about that.”

“Well, there you go,” Nicolae says. “End of story.”

Gabriel frowns at his answer. “What about your visa? Are you allowed to come back?”

Nicolae sighs, resigned to playing twenty questions. “No. It’s a one-time deal. I hop on that plane and goodbye America. At least that should make
one
of you very happy,” he says, staring pointedly at Sadie.

She squirms. It’s no secret that she has spent the past couple months loathing the guy but now, as Gabriel watches the emotions shifting over her features, he realizes she might actually miss Nicolae. Girls! They are all screwed up.

“I feel weird sitting here,” William says, sinking lower in his seat as gawking travelers pass by, peering in at the four teenagers who must have found a way to sneak into the private lounge.

“Don’t worry about it. Your ticket says you’re first class and that’s all the flight attendant’s care about.”

“I’m still jumpy,” Sadie says, rubbing her arms as she darts a glance around the empty space. “Mom and Dad are going to flip when they figure out we aren’t coming home tonight.”

William waves her off. “It’s couples dancing at the country club. You know Mom. She’ll have a few too many drinks and come home tipsy. Dad will carry her up to bed and probably pass out too. They won’t even know we are gone until morning.”

“Maybe,” Sadie frowns, “but Mom was pretty ticked about Gabriel sleeping over. She’s probably pacing the kitchen right now waiting to tear me a new one.”

“At least you’ll still be alive when she gets done with you. I was supposed to be heading to Notre Dame this week to view the school,” Gabriel mutters, fingering his ticket. “There won’t be anything left of me when Steve’s done.”

Nicolae gives him a curious stare but says nothing.

“Now boarding: Flight forty-six to London Heathrow. All first class passengers are welcome to board at this time,” a robotic voice calls over the loud speaker.

“London?” Sadie questions, looking down at her boarding pass. “I thought we were going to Romania.”

Nicolae smirks as he offers to help her to her feet. “That’s just the first stop, love.”

Thirty-Eight

The flight into London was eventless, apart from William’s loud snoring. Even the flight attendants were annoyed by all of the racket. After a lengthy visit with Heathrow’s immigration, the four friends made it to their connecting flight with five hours to spare. Not exactly ideal when you’re facing another long flight.

William and Nicolae passed the time shopping. Sadie tried to sneakily browse the teen magazine rack while Gabriel paced around their pile of carry-ons. The closer he got to Rose, the more anxious he became. Is she okay? Will she confirm Nicolae’s crazy story? Will she be happy to see him?

Now that their flight into Romania is nearly complete, he is bursting with anticipation. Sadie stretches her arms high overhead, working out the kinks in her sore body. “What time is it?”

“It’s nearly four. We’re about to land,” Nicolae answers her as William yawns, waking from another catnap. Gabriel hasn’t slept. He is sure that will come back to bite him later.

He glances over at Nicolae and instantly notes the shift in his appearance. His glasses met their untimely end with the on-flight bathroom not long after the seat belt sign went off. Sometime during Gabriel’s obsessive musings, Nicolae discarded his baggy clothes for a designer sweater that hugs his muscular frame, faded jeans, and expensive leather slip-ons. His hair is waxed and styled in a messy look. All evidence of his former façade has been erased.

“What’s with the new look?” Gabriel whispers across the aisle.

“I’m home.” Although that is all he says, those two words feel like the answer to a million questions.

Gabriel leans back, smirking at the cautious glances Sadie shoots toward Nicolae. He appears to be completely oblivious, too tormented by his own demons, but Gabriel has no doubt that when he finally does notice he will be intrigued by her budding interest.