Cursed Hearts (A Crossroads Novel) (21 page)

“So,” Jesse drawled, rolling up onto the balls of
his feet. “You ever get all that hair caught in a door or something?”

Chapter 21

Rome sat in his window, one leg draped over the
edge. The sun was setting over the trees, giving way to a magnificent orange
sky. He wondered just how far he’d have to run to find something else beyond
those trees – something other than Redwood Bay.
His entire life felt like it had changed the instant he’d walked into this
school. It had felt like an entirely different world then, and it felt like one
now. What he couldn’t figure out was if this world
was any better than
the one he’d unknowingly left behind. He couldn’t simply forget about the
existence of magic and vampires, or even the
reality
that there was someone else out there like him. A soft knock came at the door
and Rome knew instantly by his scent that it was Kaleb.

“Come in,” he whispered.

Kaleb slipped into the room without further
preempting. Rome was sitting with his knee bent and his spine pressed to the
window frame, staring
out at the restless
sky. “What’s on your mind?” he asked.

“Is it that obvious?”

Kaleb shrugged.

“I used to think my life was complicated, and
then I got that
damn
acceptance letter…”

“Is that what you wanted to talk about?”

“No,” he replied. “Not exactly. I’ve just got a
lot on my mind.”

Kaleb ventured farther into the room, sitting
down on the edge of Rome’s mattress. “If you’re looking to find a way to lift
that curse, I don’t know anything. I told you, magic is forbidden where I come
from.”

“No,” he said. “I wouldn’t ask for your help on
that.”

“Why not?”

“It would be a little cruel, don’t you think?”

Kaleb wasn’t following. “How would that be
cruel?”

“I wouldn’t ask you that because, you know…”

“No, I don’t know,” he said. “Hence the reason
I’m asking. You’re the one who said you wanted to talk, so if you don’t start
talking, I’m going to dangle you out the window by your ankles.”

“No you wouldn’t,” Rome smirked. “You like me too
much.”

“Oh, is that what you think? You think I’ve got
some stupid little crush on you?” Kaleb smoothed his tongue over the roof of
his mouth. “Well, you’re wrong.
There is a
distinct difference between wanting to fuck you, and wanting to keep you like a
pet
.”

“Is that what you wanted this morning? Because it
seemed a little more personal than that,” he growled, unsure why he was so upset.

“You don’t understand how hungry I get just being
around you, do you?” Kaleb knelt down beside him, curling his fingers around
Rome’s tie. “You make my skin crawl, and my blood boil.”

“…You don’t give me pleasant feelings, either.”

They stared intently at each
other as silence
crept back into the room.

“You can feel it, can’t you?” Kaleb said.

Rome narrowed his eyes.

“That neither of us belongs here. Not at this school,
and not around each other. We weren’t meant to have magic.”

“If that’s how you feel, then why are you here?”
Rome asked.

Kaleb
scoffed, turning hard eyes to him. “Usually it’s the matters of most importance
which are beyond our control. Try answering that question for yourself before
you expect someone else to do the same.”

Somehow
the two of them found their way onto the floor. They were sitting beside one
another with the window sill pressing into their backs. Neither of them had
spoken in minutes.

Kaleb
traced the cracks in the floorboards with his fingers. How odd, he thought,
that a person who made him so uneasy still made for such good
company. Rome was quiet and unobtrusive
,
even adding in the fact that
he set
his teeth on edge and filled his gut with a gnawing ache.
It always seemed like
they were at the
precipice of a fight, yet Kaleb had never felt so free around another soul.
Stranger still was the fact that he was lying. He liked Rome, more than he was letting
himself believe.

“This
is what I’d be doing if I was alone,” he mumbled.

“Is
that your way of saying you want to leave?” Rome asked.

“Is
that your way of saying you don’t want me to?”

Rome sighed, mulling over the consequences of telling him
about Christian. “What’s the likelihood that there’s someone else like me in
this school?”

“Slim
to none,” Kaleb said, turning to look at him. “Why?”

“…Because
there is.”

“I
find that hard to believe.”

“I
saw his eyes flash, and I knew there was something off about his scent the
moment I met him.”

“You
mean Christian,” Kaleb said.

Rome
nodded.

“He’s
not a werewolf. I don’t react to him the same way I do to you. Sure, he smells
a little funny, but that’s where the
similarities
end
.”

“Are
you saying I smell funny? You know what, don’t even answer that question. He hasn’t
changed yet,” Rome argued. “I know what he is. I saw how scared he was, and
he’s been experiencing the exact same stuff I did a year ago. And the crazy
thing is, he wasn’t bitten.”

“If
it’s hereditary, he should know about it by now.”

“That’s
the thing, I told him to talk to his parents and he said that he doesn’t have
any. I got the impression that he never knew them.”

Kaleb
tilted his head, narrowing his eyes in thought.

“Is
he an alpha?”

“I
don’t know yet. All I know is that he’s an orphan.” Something occurred to Rome
just then. “Fuck,” he muttered. “How would an orphan afford a school like this?”

Kaleb
shrugged. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Someone’s
blackmailing him,” Rome said.

“That’s
nice. Why do you care?”

“Because
someone has to.”

“Why
does that someone have to be you? I’d think that would be a conflict of
interest, given that he wants to get with that redhead you like.”

Rome
let out a slow breath. “He’s scared, and alone. And I think he actually likes
her. I don’t know. How can I just stand by and do nothing while someone takes
advantage of him like that?”

Kaleb
laughed softly. “You’re taking him in, like a lost puppy.”

“He
is lost. He’s lost, and he’s freaking out, and I’ve been there.”

“That
doesn’t make him your responsibility.”

“I
know that. I don’t understand it, but it’s like I have this need to protect
him. I hated his guts at first. But after this morning, after everything I
know… Maybe it’s a pack mentality thing? Maybe it’s just my wolf.”

“Wolves
are territorial.”

“I
know. It doesn’t make sense.”

“If
he is an alpha,” Kaleb said, “then I think I know what you’re missing. It explains
your need to protect him. It’s an instinct, of sorts.”

“What?”
Rome asked, turning a hopeful face to him.

“Oh,
I’m not going to tell you,” Kaleb grinned. “Not for free.”

“I’m
pretty sure friendships don’t work that way.”

“I’m
unconventional.”

Rome
laughed, shaking his head. “What do you want?”

Kaleb
pretended to think about it for a minute before tapping a finger against his
lips. Rome squinted at him, obviously not getting it. “A kiss.”

An
awkward moment passed between them.

“I’m
not… kissing you,” Rome said.

“Then
I guess I’m not telling.”

“Isn’t
there something
else
you want?”

“I’m bored of this conversation,” Kaleb decided, standing
and making
for the door. He could feel Rome’s inner turmoil
burning at his back.

“Wait,”
he called. Rome climbed slowly to his feet, gritting his teeth the entire time.
Kaleb had turned to face him with an expectant smile. “If you tell anyone that
I did this—”

“My
lips are sealed,” he smirked.

Rome’s
face went red. He inched towards him, cupping a hand over his mouth and pulling
it away as his face twitched into a grimace. He was inches from Kaleb’s lips
when he pulled back.

Kaleb
was fighting the urge to laugh.

“I
can’t do this,” he said, circling back around to the window.

“Fine,”
he sighed, rolling his eyes. “Let’s go find Christian and I’ll tell you once I
know I’m right. Finding out will be a reward in itself.”

It didn’t take long for Rome and Kaleb to pinpoint his
room by
scent.

Christian
grinned as a
knock came at his door. He
sauntered over after
checking himself in the mirror. When he opened the
door to find Rome and Kaleb standing on the other side, the smile melted away. “I’m
sorry, I think you have my room confused with a bathroom stall.”

Rome
was two seconds away from punching Christian’s teeth down his throat. “Don’t
push it,” he growled.

“Whatever.
What do you want? And how did you even know where to find me?” he asked. Kaleb
was staring at him like he had x-ray vision. He was either trying to size him
up, or he was pretending he was naked – Christian couldn’t be sure which.

“You
smell,” Kaleb said. Christian looked offended by the comment. “This whole corridor
smells like you, actually; especially the girls’ wing.”

Christian
shrugged. You can’t outrun your reputation, after all. Or your smell,
apparently. “What do I smell like?” he asked curiously. “Do I smell good? I
smell damn good, right?”

“Downright
edible,” Kaleb purred.

“Whoa,
let’s back this conversation up a bit. This isn’t a blood bank.”

“Can
we come in or what?” Rome said. “I need to talk to you.”

Christian
squinted over Rome’s shoulder at Kaleb.
“Does
he actually
need to be invited into my room?” he wondered aloud. Kaleb
shoved past Rome and pushed Christian out of the way, effectively answering his
question. Rome closed the door behind them. “Did anyone see you outside of my
room?” he asked. “I don’t need any colorful rumors flying around about me too.
Not that they wouldn’t be true…”

“Wow, too much information,” Rome said, closing his eyes
and holding up a hand. “Keep it to yourself. I don’t want to hear about it.”
His eyes snapped open. “Unless that means you’re backing off Ariahna?”

“Not
a chance,” he smiled. “So what’s this all about?”

“Uh…”
he fumbled, looking to Kaleb. “He wouldn’t tell me.”

“I’m
answering a question for both of you,” Kaleb said slyly.

“I
already know I’m bisexual,” Christian said.

“Seriously,
just stop it,” Rome pleaded.

Kaleb took a seat on Christian’s bed, patting the space on
either side of him and grinning like a devil. “Come,” he said. “Sit.”

Rome’s
suspicion was at an all-time high. “You said you’d tell me what you figured out
if we came here, so spill it,” he insisted.

“Oh,
I’m about to,” Kaleb laughed.

“This sounds like the beginning of a bad porno,”
Christian breathed.

“You
want to know if he’s an alpha, and what that means. I can tell you. We just
have to do a little… experiment,” Kaleb said happily.

“You
told him?” Christian accused, turning fearful eyes to Rome.

Rome
shrugged. “Who’s he gonna tell? I’m the only person he
knows. Besides, who would believe the vampire who cried wolf?” he
laughed.
Christian didn’t seem amused. He cleared his throat. “He
already knew about me, and that something was off about you. He would have
figured
it out, probably as soon as you
shifted for the first time.”

“Alright,”
Christian said. “So… what are we doing?”

“I’m
going to bite both of you and compare your blood.”

“Aha,
no,” Christian said. “This drive-thru is closed.”