Chapter 14: A Date
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. “Locked the door out of habit.”
“Oh. Okay.” Our mother smiled, none the wiser to what we had actually been up to, and set the cookies down in the middle of the coffee table. “You two should eat up, then. Sounds like you were studying hard, so you should get your energy back up.”
I couldn’t help but smile at my mom’s generosity. She had always been a good mom, the type to bring after–school snacks, give a shoulder to cry on, and was always supportive. Eric and I were both lucky to have her. Despite Eric’s differences with our father, he had always been extra close with our mom.
“Thanks, Mom,” Eric and I said in unison.
She turned toward me then. “Rowena, a little birdy told me that you were accepted for that internship today,” she said. She quickly stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me, pulling me in for a tight hug. I relaxed into her almost immediately and hugged her back.
When she pulled away, her eyes were sparkling with unshed tears.
“Mom-”
“Sorry, sorry,” she said, dabbing at her tears. “I’m just so proud of you, that’s all. My little girl, a combat management intern. I think you really found your calling.”
1/3
#Chapter 14: A Date
+25 BONOS
Eric and I exchanged glances behind our mother’s back while she turned and walked back toward the door. Truthfully, I felt as if she was being a little too generous with her praise; after all, my internship had barely even started. For all I knew, I might fail.
But, then again, Eric had been right earlier in front of Heather; I had earned this. I had worked damn hard for it, especially as a wolfless student. I wasn’t going to let myself fail.
Not to mention the fact that thinking of his supportive words from earlier that day made my cheeks heat up a little, too. Although I didn’t entirely know why.
Our mother stopped in the doorway and turned to look at us one last time. “Oh, by the way,” she said, “you’ve got a homecoming dance coming up, right?”
Eric and I glanced at each other. “Yes,” I said cautiously. “I wasn’t planning on going.”
My mother’s eyes widened. “Rowena, honey, you really should go!” she said. “You don’t want to miss out on these sorts of experiences, especially during your freshman year.”
Eric smirked a bit and winked at me. “Yeah, Rowena. You never know what might happen at the homecoming dance…”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I wasn’t so sure about Eric’s angle here, but I knew what my mom was getting at: she was hoping that both of us would find our fated mates. She and our dad had met in college, so to her, it seemed so simple that we’d find someone now.
But I had no wolf, so there was no knowing who my mate was. He could be sitting right under my nose and I could have no idea. My mom seemed to forget that quite regularly–or maybe she just tried to ignore it.
“You should start thinking about who to invite,” Mom said as she began to close the door. ” You never know…”
With that, she clicked the door shut and disappeared. I let out a soft sigh as I flopped back onto the couch. Yeah, right. I could invite Adrian, but I didn’t even know if he’d say yes; especially not if he was really with Heather, which I still didn’t want to believe.
Eric watched me in silence for a moment while I sulked, before he grabbed a cookie off of the plate and took a big bite. “You don’t have to go to the homecoming dance, you know,” he said. “But you could have fun.”
I scoffed a bit. “What, a nerd like me?”
He simply shrugged and took another bite of his cookie. “Just remember what I taught you, and you’ll do just fine. You’re a natural, Rowena.”
2/3
#Chapter 14: A Date
+25 BONOS
I leaned against the row of lockers, periodically checking my phone. Classes should be out any minute, and I wanted to get a glimpse at Adrian. I still wanted to invite him to the homecoming dance, but I wasn’t sure; I wanted to see if he was still with Heather first.
Suddenly, I felt a warm hand clamp over my eyes. My breath caught in my throat, and I smacked the hand away, whirling around to see Eric grinning behind me.
“Oh. It’s you.”
Eric smirked. “Don’t get too excited at my presence or anything,” he teased, resting his elbow on my shoulder.
I rolled my eyes and checked my phone again. Just a couple more minutes.
“What are you waiting for?” Eric asked.
“I want to talk to Adrian,” I admitted, keeping my voice low so as not to be overheard. “I wanna see if he has a date to the dance
yet.”
Eric pursed his lips. “You’re still on him?” he asked. “Rowena, he’s dating the cheerleading captain. I think he’s already got a date.”
“We still don’t know if they’re official,” I insisted.
Eric fell silent for a few moments longer, but his bright blue eyes remained on me. I glanced over at him, instantly feeling my cheeks heat under his gaze. “What?” I whispered.
He shrugged. “I just think you should… keep your options open,” he said. “You don’t need an official date to the homecoming dance. You could always go as a single girl.”
His words made me furrow my brow. “Oh, yeah, then I’d be a total loser.”
“What?” Eric chuckled. “You could run into your fated mate at the dance. Do you really want to be on someone else’s arm if that happens?”
Suddenly, the bell rang. The classroom doors opened, and students began flooding out. I stood up on my tiptoes to look up ahead, and that was when I spotted him: Adrian. I felt my heart leap just at seeing his shiny black hair.
But then my heart sank when I saw Heather skip across the hall, meeting him halfway. They turned and walked down the hallway together, away from me.
I let out a small sigh, feeling utterly helpless in that moment.
“You forget that I’m wolfless, Eric,” I said, turning to face my brother. “Trust me, if I could have found my mate, I would have invited him already.”
3/3
