Chapter 10: Chosen
Rowena
Heather 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 tittered with excitement. That was another thing about Heather; on the outside, she was beautifully, utterly, sweet. She was unlike her sister, Emma, in that regard. Unlike Emma, I couldn’t even bring myself to dislike Heather because she had never said or done anything to hurt me.
But for some reason, I had always had a hunch that there was something always simmering just below the surface with her. After all, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Not wanting to draw attention to myself, I moved to the corner and leaned against the wall while I waited for the try–outs to begin. I slipped my phone out of my pocket and typed out a message to Eric.
“Heading in to my try–out soon,” I said. “You busy after school?”
A few moments later, he replied: “Not really. Why?”
“Just wondering if you’re seeing Adrian later. Maybe you could put in a good word for me.
He replied with an angry emoji, and nothing else. He had been strange when it came to Adrian
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ever since the night of the party, but I figured that maybe he was just unwilling to see his younger sister get involved with a man, so I brushed it off.
A moment later, Heather came back out of the testing room with a smile on her face.
“How was it, Heather?” one of the other girls called out.
Heather flipped her hair over her shoulder, beaming. “It was easy. Good luck, ladies!”
Suddenly, the interviewer called out, “Rowena Griffith.”
Taking a deep breath, I quickly gathered myself and walked over to the door, walking past Heather on my way in. Her gray eyes met mine, and her shoulder bumped into me. Hard. So hard, in fact, that I winced and opened my mouth to say something, but she was already gone, walking away with her friends.
Rubbing my shoulder, I followed the interviewer into the testing room with my heart pounding in my chest. And that was when I saw it: three or four warriors were there, Eric among them. He hadn’t told me that he would be in attendance today, and I couldn’t decide if it was a relief or if it just added to my anxiety.
The interviewer, calling me forward, ordered me to place my bag down and step up to the platform where Eric and the others were waiting. Eric shot me an almost imperceptible wink, and in that moment, I was reminded of our lips touching on the poolside.
It made me blush.
The interviewer then pointed at a random warrior. “Your task is to tell me what’s wrong with him,” he said sternly. “You have one minute. Go.”
Swallowing, I stepped forward and eyed the young werewolf. I didn’t recognize him, although I could tell by his cheeky smirk that he didn’t respect me in the slightest.
“Spread your arms,” I commanded sternly.
The werewolf shot me a confused look. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” I said. “Spread your arms.”
He looked at me for a moment longer, but I didn’t waver. I was here to perform the test, not to be an eye candy. All the while, I felt Eric’s cool blue gaze on me, but I ignored him.
Focus, Rowena.
Finally, the young werewolf spread his arms obediently. I looked over him for a moment, taking in his posture, the angle of his arms, the length of his wingspan. That was when I saw it; his right shoulder was higher than the other. The trapezius muscle was overdeveloped. In the other arm,
he was hyperextending his elbow. He was hyperextending his knees, too.
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My hands moved of their own accord, tapping the points skillfully.
“Overdeveloped trapezius, hyperextended elbow, hyperextended knees,” I said.
The interviewer quirked an eyebrow and jotted something down on his notepad. “Anything else?”
I paused for a moment, thinking as I looked over him again, then nodded. “He’s got varying degrees of muscle strain in his right wrist and left ankle,” I pointed out flatly. “But that shouldn’t be a major issue. I’d focus more on that trapezius muscle and taking care not to lock your knees, lest you fall victim to knee pain early on.”
There was a stunned silence as I finished speaking. The interviewer, previously jotting furiously on his clipboard, stared unblinkingly at me. Even Eric looked stunned, staring at me with wide eyes.
“Well then,” the interviewer said a moment later, snapping his notebook shut, “I’ve never met a girl quite like you. Warriors, what do you think of Miss Griffith?”
Suddenly, Eric stepped forward. “Warrior camp needs a girl like Rowena,” he said, his blue eyes leveled with mine. “Not a decoration, like the others.”
I was stunned. The interviewer nodded, clearly agreeing with Eric.
“Very well. Rowena, you’re in.”
Eric and I pushed through the front doors of the central hall to the warrior training camp, walking side–by–side.
“I still can’t believe it,” I murmured, my heart pounding with excitement. “I was chosen.”
“Well, believe it,” Eric replied. “You were the best out of the bunch, skill–wise. They need someone like you.”
I swallowed; I hoped Eric was right. He was showing me around the warrior training camp that day, helping me get acquainted with the various facilities. I felt like I was walking in a dream, but I was also proud of myself.
“This is the central hall,” Eric said, gesturing around at the high ceilings and long tables. “It’s where the meals are served and a lot of announcements are made. It’s also just a place to hang out.”
I nodded as I looked around. This place made the main school feel so small and meaningless. I could already imagine lunches spent here, studying beneath the skylights and maybe even making some friends. Warrior camp trainees were supposed to be more mature, or so I had
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heard. But maybe that was just a rumor.
But then, I heard a sharp female voice exclaim from around a corner: “I just can’t believe I didn’t get in!” she growled. “And to think my father is the camp’s biggest sponsor! They’ll pay for this mistake.”
I paused, blinking curiously. It wasn’t just the voice that caught my attention…
It was the fact that she was quite far away, and yet I could hear her clearly. What was this newfound acute hearing of mine?
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