RowenaI stood in the hallway just outside the parlor, my heart pounding in my ears. The voices behind the door were hushed, but I could still make out every word through the thick wood.“Your Majesty, we can’t thank you enough for making this journey,” my father’s voice echoed softly. “I can assure you that, had circumstances been different, we would have liked to have met you much sooner.”There was a pause, and then a deeper, richer voice responded—one I didn’t recognize yet. “Please, call me Stefan. And the honor is all mine—you protected my daughter despite everything. Although a part of me still can’t believe my little girl is actually alive after all these years.”My heart leapt into my throat. My father—King Stefan from the Northern kingdom. I knew he was coming to visit, but to finally hear his voice… It was unreal.A trembling hand came up to rest against the door as I tried to conjure up any memory of my father, of my past life. But there was nothing, of course; I had been
RowenaThe sun cast golden rays on the carpet as I stood in the middle of my bedroom, surveying the half-packed bag on my bed with a frown. Would this be enough for three months of training?Finally, after deciding that I wasn’t quite ready yet and stuffing in a few more shirts, I zipped it closed and slung the strap over my shoulder. A soft sniffle made me turn toward the doorway, and I felt my face drop slightly when I saw the sad faces staring back at me.My parents lingered there, my mom’s eyes red-rimmed and glistening with tears. She attempted a watery smile when she saw me looking, but I could see right through it. She didn’t want me to leave.“You’re really going, huh?” she murmured.Crossing the room with a sigh, I pulled my mom into a tight hug and shot my dad an apologetic look over her slender shoulder. “It’s only for a few months, Mom,” I reassured her. “I’ll be back before you know it.”“I know, I know.” She squeezed me tighter, her fingers digging into my back. “It’s ju
Rowena Alpha's daughter? I can vividly imagine them: powerful, beautiful, flawless. And as for me? I'm the outlier in the family, the odd one out. My father was a serious and upstanding alpha who ran the New Moon Pack; a pack that was revered as one of the most powerful ever known. My mother was a gentle and graceful luna, a woman who was as elegant and beautiful as she was intelligent and wise. And my brother, Eric Griffith? Well, he was a natural leader—a strong lion of the Griffith family. Among our peers, he was always considered to be the most likely person to become the Warrior King. Aside from their achievements, my entire family was utterly beautiful with dazzling platinum blonde hair, ocean blue eyes, tall and slender with the perfect muscles. Their wolves were unmatched beauties, fast and strong and perfect in every way. But not me. With a petite frame and dull brown hair, I stood from my family like a sore thumb. It wasn’t just my appearance, either; I was wolf
Rowena“I guess I should be considered the strongest warrior in the camp now, shouldn’t I?”Emma and I blinked up at the tall, handsome form as he sauntered down the stairs. He took each step slowly, his footsteps echoing through the quiet hallway.I couldn’t believe it; my brother, Eric, had returned after three long years.“Eric?” I murmured, taking a step forward. His hair was longer now, and he was more muscular, but it was certainly him. “What are you doing here?”Eric stepped down off the last stair and walked up to me with his hands in his pockets. There was a casual air about him as he approached me, and yet my heart was pounding in my chest.“Miss me?” he asked.I opened my mouth to respond, but before any words could come, Emma’s sharp voice sliced through the air.“Eric Griffith?” she called out. “As in… the Alpha’s son from New Moon?”“In the flesh,” Eric said, sweeping his blue-eyed gaze across the cheerleader. “Future warrior king, too. Don’t forget that part.”As Eric s
Rowena“She’s my most beloved one.”My brother’s hand was wide and warm; too warm, actually, and the feeling of it being wrapped around my waist almost felt as if I had been burned.While Eric was distracted, I took the opportunity to grab my glasses out of his hand. I shoved him away immediately and put my glasses back on, and that was when I saw who had bumped into me.Adrian Almond.His black hair seemed to shine in the sunlight that was streaming through the large windows, and his eyes were the most striking shade of emerald green. The sight of him made my face heat up like it was on fire.“Oh,” Adrian said, glancing at me with a surprised look on his face. “I didn’t know you were Eric Griffith’s girlfriend.”“I’m not.” I adjusted my bag on my shoulder and looked away with embarrassment. “I’m Eric’s sister. We’re brother and sister. He’s just messing around.”Adrian seemed a bit taken aback, just as everyone always was when I told them that Eric and I were brother and sister. He s
RowenaI rolled over in bed with a sigh.My eyes were tired from staring at my phone screen in the dark room, but I couldn’t seem to pull my gaze away from the post that my brother had made.“Birthday party at the Griffith family villa, and everyone’s invited!” the post read. “This Saturday, bring one guest! (P.S. Girls can bring TWO friends.)”I couldn’t help but roll my eyes as I read the post over and over again. Of course, everyone was freaking out. A party at the Griffith family villa, the most powerful family in the New Moon pack? It was like a dream come true for pretty much everyone.My parents were bound to be annoyed. After all, my brother had thousands of followers, and he was inviting everyone to this party. We never shared our address, and we weren’t the flashy sort of family.It was probably going to be a disaster.Eric himself was too flashy for his own good, in my opinion. I was never the type to post on social media; I had a private account with no profile picture, an
RowenaMy eyes were wide as I stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror, drinking in my reflection.I couldn’t believe it. The gown that I was wearing, which had been picked out by one of the stylists my brother had paid, fit perfectly. It was elegant and slimming, a soft silk texture in a dark blue color to match my eyes.I hadn’t ever really noticed it before because I usually wore clothes that were a little too big, but maybe my figure wasn’t so bad after all; thanks to the way that the dress hugged me in all the right places, at least.It wasn’t just the dress, though, that made the transformation. My hair was pulled back to reveal my pale face and clear blue eyes, which seemed even clearer behind the slightly shimmery golden eyeshadow that the makeup artist had picked out.I looked like a real celebrity.Everything was perfect—everything except the zipper, which I couldn’t reach to zip up all of the way.“Dammit,” I whispered as I danced around, twisting my arms in an attempt
Rowena“You look completely different.”I blinked at Adrian’s sudden compliment, if I could even call it that. He was standing in front of me with a wine glass in his hand, his eyes slowly scanning over my dress, and something about it made me oddly… uncomfortable.But I maintained a polite smile. “Thank you,” I said.Adrian nodded. “You had a makeover, then? You look so much better now.”Better now. I hated that phrase. I had always dressed ordinarily, usually opting for practical and comfortable outfits rather than tight dresses and mini skirts, and I rarely put too much thought into my hair or makeup.On a good day, maybe I would put my hair into a braid and wear a little mascara, but nothing too crazy.And honestly, I never found that side of myself to be particularly disgraceful; if anything, I was proud of the way I looked, even if I looked like a ‘nerd’.“Oh, um… it’s just a temporary makeover,” I said with a chuckle. “I’m still me.”Adrian hummed to himself and shrugged. “You