RowenaI awoke to the feeling of water exiting my lungs and a burning pain in my chest—the sort of pain that I had never experienced before. But there was another experience too, just as new, and maybe even more shocking.Bright blue eyes stared down at me, and our lips were touching. Maybe my lips burned even more than my chest now that I came to my senses.Eric pulled back, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He let out a deep breath, clearly relieved.“Rowena.”I kept coughing, but the sensation of his lips remained. I knew it was just mouth to mouth resuscitation, but… it was my first kiss, technically.While I continued to cough and sputter, Eric stood up and faced the crowd. The other warriors had gathered around us, looking on with confusion, shock, and discomfort written across their faces.“Who did this?” Eric bellowed, his voice booming across the now-quiet pool.No one answered. I wanted to say that it was Emma, but I couldn’t. The water in my throat wouldn’t let me
RowenaHeather White.She was a real beauty here at the school, and popular to boot. After all, she was tall and slender, with a delicate neck, prominent jawline, and fierce gray almond-shaped eyes that made her look like a winter fox.Her hair was so blonde that it seemed to absorb all of the light of the sun, making her look ethereal whenever she flipped it over her shoulder while walking down the hall.But she wasn’t just pretty; she was also the cheerleading team captain, and her father was the school’s biggest sponsor. She looked every bit the part of the daughter of an Alpha.She was everything that I wasn’t, at least on the surface.And she was my competition for today, or so it seemed.“Oh my gosh, Heather, your hair looks perfect,” one of the girls cooed, stroking Heather’s long blonde locks.“And that baby blue dress looks sooo good on you,” another girl purred.“Aww, you guys!” Heather replied in that sweet, sing-song voice of hers. “You’re all so sweet.”The other girls ti
Rowena“They’ll pay for this mistake.”Eric and I stopped in our tracks upon hearing the shrill voice coming from behind the row of lockers. It wasn’t just the words that left me dumbfounded, though; it was the fact that I could hear it clearly even from here.Must be the acoustics in here, I thought.Exchanging wary glances, Eric and I silently decided to follow the source of the voice.“I blame you!” she exclaimed with a huff. “It’s you who took the bribe. I mean, seriously.”“I would never—”“Oh, please. I know you must have taken a bribe to let the likes of her into the camp. How much were you paid, anyway? And now Emma is kicked off of the cheerleading team, too? Do you people have it out for our family, or something? After all my father has done for this school?”“Heather…”Eric and I glanced at each other again. So it was her; I thought I recognized her voice. Although, Eric’s face betrayed nothing as we rounded the corner.And there she was: Heather, fuming in front of the loc
RowenaHer?“N-No…” I stammered, still in shock. “I didn’t know. No one told me.”Seeing Adrian with Heather made my stomach feel heavy. Of course I knew about her father being one of the school’s biggest sponsors. Of course I knew about her entourage of followers, too, and her beautiful features—not to mention the fact that she was Emma’s sister.But it was only now that I really began to make the connection. Heather wasn’t just the beautiful, seductive cheerleading captain who had a fling with my brother.She was Adrian’s girlfriend.I couldn’t believe it. Adrian liked girls like that? It didn’t seem like his type. No, I couldn’t believe it.“There has to be a mistake,” I said softly. “Adrian doesn’t… He’s not like that. He doesn’t like girls like that.”Eric chuckled. “Can’t you see it?” he asked, nodding his head toward the two of them. I hated to say it, but Eric was right. It was unmistakable; Adrian had his arm securely wrapped around Heather’s waist. Her slender hip was bumpin
RowenaIf I was being honest, I was a little curious about what sort of flirting techniques Eric was going to share with me.But why did he lock the door? And why was he so close?With his body pressed against me, I could practically smell the pheromones coming off of him. He was squeezing me a little too tightly again as well. It seemed as though he had a habit of that lately.Maybe he didn’t know his own strength; after all, he had gotten so much more muscular during his warrior training. Maybe his brain hadn’t caught up with it yet.Gently pressing my hands against his chest, I pushed him away just enough so I could breathe and get a better look at him.“What’s all this about?” I asked, cocking my head to the side. “You’re crushing me, Eric.”“Can’t you tell? I’m trying to teach you how to flirt, Rowena.” As he spoke, his hands slid down my waist. His fingers pressed into the soft skin there, and an inexplicable shiver ran down my spine. “You’ve always been a little stiff in that r
Rowena“Rowena? Honey, is everything alright in there? I thought I heard shouting—”The door handle continued to jiggle, and I quickly shoved Eric away and scrambled to my feet. Running over to the door, I quickly unlocked it and flung it open.My mother stood in the doorway, holding a plate of fresh cookies. Her blonde hair was pulled back in its usual neat bun, and her eyes looked a little bewildered as she looked back and forth between me and Eric.“Sorry,” I said, stepping aside to let her in.She shot me a quizzical look as she walked into the room. “Why did you lock the door?” she asked. “I got a little worried.”I fell silent, unsure of how to explain. How was I supposed to tell my mother that Eric was teaching me how to flirt? She’d find it strange, to say the least, and maybe even a little inappropriate given how close we had gotten at the end.Suddenly, Eric stood behind me and cleared his throat. “I was just giving Rowena some combat manager lessons,” he said coolly. “Locke
RowenaI let out a soft sigh and pushed my glasses up on my nose, then tucked a stray curl behind my ear as I bent over the notebook in front of me.“I’m going to lunch, Rowena.” The head manager stood from his desk and grabbed his jacket off of his chair. “You’ll be okay in here on your own for an hour, right?”I nodded and looked up, meeting his gaze with a polite smile. “Yes. Enjoy your lunch.”With a curt nod, the head manager strode out of the office and left me alone. I watched his form fade away through the glass door, mingling with the other students who were walking past. I could see how they were chattering excitedly, pointing at the new posters that were practically lining every wall.“Come to the Homecoming Honeys dance this Saturday!” the sign read. Then, underneath: “Bring your ‘homecoming honey’ for free drinks!”I glowered a bit at the sign and shook my head. The atmosphere around the camp had changed so much this week since the dance had been announced; everyone seeme
RowenaI stepped up to the front door of Eric’s dorm; more of a cottage, really. All of the highest-ranked warriors, like Eric, had their own cottages in a small village on the east side of the camp. Some of them shared the space with two or maybe even three roommates, but not him.No, Eric had his own cottage.He rarely stayed the night here, though; why would he, when he had our parents’ mansion to stay in? His cottage was pretty much reserved for date nights with random girls and parties.I let out a small huff of annoyance as I raised my hand to knock on the door. Eric had insisted that I come here after class today, wearing something I could move around in easily.A moment later, the door swung open. Eric puffed his chest out a bit as he drank me in with his eyes. “You brought heels, too?” he asked, his gaze sweeping over my comfortable sweatshirt and leggings.I nodded and held up the bag where my high heels for the homecoming dance were waiting. “Yep. Got them here.”“Good. Com