#Chapter 5: Foundling

Rowena

My 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 to zip the damn thing up. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t do it. How did people even get dressed in these things all by themselves?

 

“Rowena?”

 

The sound of my brother’s voice caught my attention. I stopped my fooling around to see him standing in the doorway, and I felt my heart stop.

 

He was wearing a black suit that hugged his own frame incredibly well, outlining his defined musculature and long legs. He, too, looked like a celebrity.

 

But his hair was mostly the same as usual. Lazy white-blonde curls that fell down to his shoulders, a few stray strands falling into his face.

 

I quickly looked away, my face turning red. He was my brother. I shouldn’t be looking at him like this.

 

“Can you help me zip this up?” I asked, my voice stiff.

 

Eric crossed the room without speaking. I felt his fingers press against my spine, and a moment later, the zipper closed. There was a slight tickle on my bare shoulder as he exhaled.

 

“Ready?” he asked, meeting my gaze in the mirror. His cheeks were a little red, and I wondered if he may have been drinking already. But when I met his eyes, he quickly looked away, and his cheeks reddened just a little bit more.

 

I nodded. “Ready.”

 

“Nerd.”

 

I rolled my eyes at his foolishness. There was my brother again; not a handsome warrior, but an annoying brat. Together, we left the room and descended the grand spiral staircase into the main room, where the party had already begun.

 

The sound of music boomed through the large speakers, and the room was full of other college students—people who, just a couple of days ago, would have spit in my face if they saw me here.

 

But now, as I descended the staircase with Eric beside me, they stared at both of us with wide eyes.

 

Almost immediately, Eric was surrounded by girls. They fawned over him, squeezing his biceps through his suit jacket and playing with his hair. He liked it, or at least, it seemed like he did.

 

I left him there and took a deep breath before continuing on into the party, looking around to see if there was anything to do. It wasn’t like I had any friends here, so I just wandered around and fidgeted with the end of my hair.

 

As I passed through, people stared at me, dumbfounded. I heard them murmur amongst themselves.

 

“Who is that?”

 

“Maybe she’s new.”

 

“She’s kind of pretty. I wonder what her name is.”

 

“No, I think that’s Eric Griffith’s little sister.”

 

“The birthday girl?”

 

I felt my face redden as I overheard the snippets of conversation, and decided to occupy myself with finding Adrian; he was, after all, the whole reason why I was here, why Eric had thrown this party for me to begin with.

 

There were so many people here, though, that it was impossible to find him. I wandered around for a while to no avail, finally stopping in the middle of the dancefloor with a sigh.

 

Maybe he didn’t come after all.

 

“Rowena? Is that you?”

 

Suddenly, I felt a hot breath hit the back of my neck. I turned quickly, my eyes widening as I saw him standing behind me with a glass of wine in his hand.

 

“Adrian.”

 

…

 

Eric

The music pounded through the speakers as I swam with the girls in the sprawling pool that belonged to my parents. I let out a deep sigh and leaned against the side of the pool, resting my elbows on the cement.

 

When the cheerleaders had told me that they were throwing a pool party on the same day as my sister’s birthday, I knew I couldn’t pass it up. So I had invited them here, instead.

 

“This pool is sooo nice, Eric,” one of the girls said, running her fingers through my hair as I leaned against the side of the pool. I didn’t know her name, but she had long blonde hair and a curvy body.

 

“Yeah, thanks for inviting us, Eric.” I didn’t know that girl’s name, either. She was a redhead, though. I liked redheads, especially if they had freckles.

 

“Enjoy it all you want, ladies,” I said, raising my glass before taking a sip. “It’s all yours, all night.”

 

The girls around me cooed and giggled. They always fawned over me like this at parties, and the attention was nice; it made it easy to get any girl I wanted, too. Usually, it was my favorite part of any party.

 

But I wasn’t enthused tonight, although I didn’t know why.

 

The clock struck midnight then; officially Rowena’s birthday. She was eighteen now, technically an adult, although I still saw her as a little kid.

 

I had, after all, left when she was still only fifteen. So when I looked at her now, even though she looked all grown up in her designer dress with her hair and makeup done, I still saw my little sister.

 

“Eric,” one of the girls said, refilling my glass, “it’s midnight. That means you have to drink.”

 

“Oh, do I?” I asked, snapping out of my reverie. “Darn.”

 

The girls giggled, and I smiled. This was how it always went; within an hour or two, I’d probably be walking back to my room with one or maybe two of them on my arm.

 

But then something happened. Something that never happened.

 

“Eric, I smell our mate.” My wolf, Leo, suddenly howled in the back of my mind. His words startled me so much that I almost spilled my drink. My eyes swept over the pool like an arrow searching for its target.

 

“Where?”

“Not far from here,” my wolf replied. “You should find her.”

My wolf didn’t need to tell me twice. Quickly excusing myself, I hopped out of the pool and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around myself as I let my wolf’s instructions guide me.

 

And then I saw her.

 

I couldn’t make out her face, but I could see her hair: caramel brown and silky smooth. She was surrounded by a group of girls, and that Adrian Almond guy from the school. As I approached, the girls parted, and now I could see her even clearer.

 

“Rowena?” I whispered, stopping in my tracks. “No.”

 

“It is,” Leo replied. “It’s her.”

No. No, it couldn’t be.

 

Rowena, my sister, the girl who I had watched grow up… The girl who I had found in a blizzard and picked up from the snow with my own hands sixteen years ago. The girl who I had seen as my sister ever since, even though she really wasn’t.

 

She was my mate?