Beautifully Unnatural: A Young Adult Paranormal Boxed Set by Susan Hatler, Amy Miles, Veronica Blade, Ciara Knight Page A

William’s bare chest, but it is smooth and toned, far more appealing than she would have guessed under the ratty t-shirts he loves to wear.
    What amazes Roseline the most is Sadie’s transformation. Without her dark eye shadow, rocker shirts, and cutoff jeans, she actually looks lovely. “Wow, Sadie, look at you.”
    Sadie rolls her eyes. “I know. I look terrible without makeup.”
    “No.” She shakes her head. “You look amazing.”
    “See, told you so. No one likes your Goth look.” Mrs. Hughes grins as she pokes her head into the room.
    “Mom,” Sadie hisses, shooing her mother away. Mrs. Hughes takes the hint and disappears, but not before she plants a kiss on Sadie’s forehead. “She’s so embarrassing.”
    Roseline smiles, wishing she could’ve had that kind of relationship with her mother. “I apologize for the early hour. I couldn’t sleep and decided to take a walk.”
    William throws himself onto a leather couch. Reaching for the remote, he switches on the massive flat screen over the fireplace. He flips through several channels before settling on an animated children’s show. Roseline raises an eyebrow but Sadie just waves it off. “He’s still into cartoons. Loser.”
    “I heard that,” he calls from the other side of the couch. He has sunk so low Roseline can’t see anything more than his leg slung over the end.
    Sadie heads back toward the stairs. “Come on up. I gotta get dressed anyways.”
    Roseline follows Sadie up to her room. Glancing toward William’s partially open door she stiffens when she realizes the room is occupied. Nicolae has his back turned toward the door. She spies a mass of scars along his back before he rushes to pull his shirt down over his head.
    When he turns toward her, his gaze is harsh. Roseline gets the “mind your own business” message loud and clear before Nicolae shuts the door in her face. She frowns and follows Sadie into her room, closing the door behind her.
    “What’s with Nicolae?” she asks, watching her friend belly flop onto her bed. Roseline settles for an oversized neon pink beanbag by the window.
    “What do you mean?” Sadie asks, instantly bored with the topic.
    “The scars. Haven’t you noticed them before?”
    Sadie sits up. “What scars?”
    “On his back.” She begins to question what she saw when Sadie’s brow knits together. “You’ve never seen them?”
    “Nope, but I’m not exactly trying to see him with his shirt off either.” Roseline can’t help but think that if Sadie had seen him back in Brasov she might have a different opinion of meek little Nicolae. “That guy gives me the creeps.”
    Roseline nods in agreement, but she knows her reasons are much different from Sadie’s. “So is he still stalking you?”
    “Night and day. The guy won’t leave me alone for a second. He’s always watching me.”
    “I think he likes you.”
    Sadie grits her teeth at the thought. “Yeah, well I’m off the market. I am officially done with boys. Besides, he’s kinda freaky, ya know? Like how he is always offering to help me out of the car or get my lunch tray? It’s almost like he’s trying to be the perfect guy.”
    “Maybe I should talk to him,” Roseline offers, rising from her seat.
    Sadie laughs, rolling out of bed. She grabs a rumpled towel off her computer chair, giving it a quick sniff test before shrugging and tossing it over her shoulder. “What could you possibly do to scare him off?”
    Roseline grins. “You never know.”
    She slips out into the hallway as soon as Sadie disappears into her bathroom. She turns and bumps straight into Nicolae.
    “Do you mind?” he mutters as he bounces back against the wall. He tries to move away but Roseline’s hand lashes out, clamping tightly around his forearm. Nicolae flinches at her warm touch but says nothing. Roseline can feel his anger radiating off him.
    “I thought I made myself clear the other night,” she growls in her native tongue as she pulls him