Chapter 8: Beneath the Surface
Rowena & Eric
Rowena
my world
When the unseen hand wrapped around my ankle and pulled me into the water, I felt tilting around me. Before I knew it, I was completely submerged, my eyes squeezed shut and shock taking over my system.
But then, just as I had slipped below the surface of the water, my eyes shot open again and I saw the face of the person who had pulled me under.
Emma.
She quickly swam away, leaving me there as I struggled. I swore I saw a smirk on her face, too.
I choked on the water, fighting as hard as I could to get to the surface, but it was no use. The more I struggled, the more disoriented I came, sinking even deeper into the pool. My dress floated up around me, tangling around my limbs and dragging me down with its weight.
My hands reached up toward the surface as I continued to go down. Cold water rushed into my throat, and my calves started to cramp in agony, my muscles useless against the struggle.
I didn’t know how to swim, my dress was too heavy, and I was going to die down here. I shut my eyes, waiting for it to come.
“Princess… Where are you, Princess?”
The sound of an unknown voice made my eyes snap wide open once more, my contact lenses burning against the chlorine, but there was no one there–just the distant noise of the party, the sound of heavy bass music pounding through the speakers, and laughter.
“Princess…”
I felt my vision begin to fade then, my muscles finally giving in to the sensation of heaviness. And that was when I saw them: the people.
”
Dozens of faceless forms surrounded me, murmuring in my ears as if they knew me. Except, none of it made sense. I wasn’t a princess, I didn’t know any of these people, I didn’t recognize any of these voices.
Surely it was just my mind playing tricks on me as death came closer. That had to be it.
“Princess… Princess, where are you?”
“Don’t run too far, Princess…”
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Chapter 8: Beneath the Surface
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“Princess… Rowena…”
I sank further down, and everything went still and dark.
Eric
I resurfaced with a gasp, and was met with the sound of cheers mingling with the pounding music. One of the cheerleaders swam up to me, her breasts pale white in the water.
She was pretty, with long blonde hair that was pulled up into a bun on top of her head and beautiful gray eyes, but I wasn’t really interested. Just another one to add to my list, maybe, but something had changed tonight that had made me question what–or rather, who–I really wanted.
And maybe I didn’t want to add another name to my list. Maybe I only wanted to add one, and let it be the end of the list.
But it didn’t make any sense. I couldn’t. I shouldn’t.
“That was so cool, Eric!” the cheerleader said, oblivious to my turmoil. “I didn’t know you knew how to flip like that.”
I managed a stiff smile and brushed my wet hair out of my face. “I learned how to do it during training,” I said nonchalantly. “I can do plenty of other tricks, too.”
The cheerleader’s face turned a delicate shade of pink at my words. “Wow, that’s so cool,” she echoed. “You should show me how flexible you are later.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but then my eyes drifted over to the edge of the pool where Rowena had been sitting just a few moments ago. She wasn’t there anymore; in fact, when I looked around, I couldn’t see her anywhere.
“Hey,” I said, “have you seen my sister? Rowena?”
The cheerleader paused, narrowing her eyes for a moment before she shrugged and shook her head. “No. Why?”
I swallowed, remembering how my wolf had claimed she was our fated mate just a little while ago. I still didn’t want to believe it, but something in me couldn’t let her leave my sight tonight, not after the way I had felt when I saw her almost kissing that Adrian
“I’ll be back,” I said, making my way over to the edge of the pool.
As I swam, I reached out to my wolf. “Where did she go?”
guy earlier.
“She shouldn’t have gone far,” Leo replied. “She was nearby only a moment ago… Although now, I can’t sense her at all.”
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Chapter 8: Beneath the Surface
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I paused, furrowing my brow. My wolf should have been able to sense her unless she had suddenly gone far away, and she had been right here just a few moments ago. Unless…
That was when I finally saw it, and just in time, too: a puff of bubbles floating to the surface of the pool.
My eyes widened as I put two and two together; the bubbles, the missing spot where she had been before. Did she fall in? My eyes scanned the surface of the water, and then I finally caught a glimpse of something dark blue shimmering at the bottom of the pool. Fabric.
Without a moment of hesitation, I took a big gulp of breath and dove beneath the water.
My body moved like a shark seeking its prey as I dove down, down into the deep end of the pool. God, why did my father have to make this pool so deep, anyway? I swam as fast as I could, and that was when I finally caught a glimpse of her through the chlorine that was burning into my eyes.
She was floating near the bottom, unmoving, her face still and pale with her dress billowing up around her.
And for the first time, I realized that the pool water was so, so cold.
With my heart pounding in my chest, I dove down and finally reached her. Her body felt so small and limp as I wrapped my arms around her. I pulled, but her stupid dress was caught on one of the grates at the bottom of the pool, hindering me from pulling her up.
Thinking quickly, I slipped the straps of her dress down. It slid off of her completely, revealing her bra and underwear, and finally I was able to pull her up to the surface.
When I resurfaced, with Rowena in my arms, the confused gasps and mutters of the other warriors sounded all around me. But I wasn’t listening to them. I quickly swam over to the edge of the pool and pulled her to safety, breathing heavily with my heart pounding.
“What happened?” I heard voices say.
“Did she fall?”
“Is she breathing?”
It was true; she wasn’t breathing. Cursing under my breath, I put my ear to her mouth and heard nothing.
“Eric, what happened?” a voice called out above the rest. “Should we call an ambulance?”
I didn’t respond; there was no time to waste. Without a moment of hesitation, I pinched her nose and tilted her chin back, preparing myself for what needed to be done. I needed to get her breathing again; that was all that mattered right now.
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Chapter 8: Beneath the Surface
I lowered my face to hers, and I pressed our lips together.
