There was no doubt that he was ever going to pass this test, although it was a close call. If that vampire hadn't intervened, he would have been seen as a failure for real; he wouldn't have just been banished for failing, but he would have been killed.
But it's a relief that he's passed; he's going to go home feeling victorious now, but he's just not going to tell his family and his friends that a vampire helped him. He doubts that anyone sent a vampire his way; Damien is new to town, and he looks like trouble. Rowan just hopes that he doesn't see him again.
Although he highly doubts he won't see the enthusiastic, upbeat vampire again.
He leaves the VIP section; he's happy those wendigos hadn't hurt anyone yet; everyone at The Velvet is safe.
Happy peers, happy queers.
Rowan still walks past people who want him to dance, not just people but men who want to dance with him. he doesn't want to stay because not only can he not dance, but he's not even supposed to be here. He is seventeen after all, and the bouncer only allowed him here to have his first kill, which he's already passed.
So he has to go.
But there is one last thing he has to do first.
"Hey Justin!" he says to the bartender, and the cute guy immediately has his attention.
"You need something?" he asks Rowan in a flirty, deep voice.
"Yeah, it'll be quick." Rowan pulls Justin forward and then starts kissing him. The people around them cheer; Rowan hopes they don't think this is like some declaration of love because it isn't. Rowan just feels celebratory, and he wants to share that celebration by kissing a cute guy.
Rowan lets go of Justin; a smiling Justin looks at Rowan with so much admiration.
"That was hot."
"Thanks," Rowan says and then he walks away with Justin and others at the bar still staring at him.
He walks out through the back and then crosses the road for his motorcycle. He got that motorcycle on his sixteenth birthday, a well-deserved gift for a werewolf who ranks number one in combat class.
Rowan treats his motorcycle like his dog; he even gave her a name.
"Okay, Khaleesi, let's go home." His love for Game of Thrones is too strong.
He hops onto his black motorcycle, puts on his helmet (not like he needs it) and then zooms off, driving on the clear streets of Cupid's Hollow into the woods where he lives, where the other werewolves live.
While riding his motorcycle, he doesn't stop thinking about the cute vampire boy who helped him. But he wouldn't call him cute; he's a vampire. And vampires are not cute, not the morois and not the strigois. He doesn't care if morois aren't supposed to be killed as long as they drink blood; it's still gross, so it makes the cute guy who helped him look less cute in his mind.
Rowan has studied other monsters to know that fairies are evil and are nothing like Tinkerbell, and ogres are definitely not as funny as Shrek.
He'd like to laugh by killing one, though.
But he's studied vampires the most; people would say it's an obsession. It was a vampire witch hybrid that killed his parents after all.
He knows the very difference between a strigoi vampire and a moroi vampire.
Moroi vampires are born; strigoi vampires are made.
Moroi vampires are mortal, but they age slowly; strigoi vampires are immortal.
Moroi vampires don't burn under the sun, but being under the sun too long makes them weak; strigoi vampires can't be under the sun because it will set them on fire immediately.
Moroi vampires have silver colored eyes, while the strigoi vampires have red-blood eyes.
Gold kills a moroi vampire instantly, while wood kills a strigoi vampire.
Moroi vampires are each gifted with one of the four elements; strigoi vampires aren't, but they're strong and super fast.
Which is why Rowan is confused as hell; he's never heard of a fifth element. Maybe there is, and that kind of element is very rare to find in vampires, but still, he should have known about it.
He thought of telling his aunt and uncle about it, but he immediately ruled it out because that would be suspicious; they'd probably find out that a vampire with the power of spirit helped him to pass his test, and he doesn't want to tell anyone, not even Violet, his best friend.
He's in the woods where his house is.
A luxurious modern home with sleek black and wood finishes, large floor-to-ceiling windows, clean geometric lines and a minimalist design surrounded by nature.
He parks his motorcycle and walks to the door, and he walks into the house; he's immediately welcomed by a loud: "CONGRATULATIONS!"
It's his aunt, uncle, best friend and her parents who have the whole room decorated and a large cake in his aunt's hand.
Another cake- they haven't even finished the cake they got for Rowan for his seventeenth birthday.
"Wow, you guys are so sure that I passed," says Rowan, looking at his family like they're insane. "What if I didn't pass?"
His uncle and aunt laugh, and the laughter is joined by Violet and her parents.
"Of course you passed." Uncle Chris walks over to him with a smile on his face, and then his smile disappears. "You did pass, didn't you?"
Rowan scoffs, and then he rolls his eyes. He takes off his leather jacket, and as soon as he does, everyone walks closer to look at the mark. Of course they all know what a witch and werewolf mark looks like, but they've never seen a mix of both.
It's a crimson werewolf paw print emblazoned over a dark pentagram, glowing with eerie red energy.
Witches get a pentagram; werewolves get a paw print. Rowan gets both.
"Wow," Violet says, staring at the mark magically inked on Rowan's skin.
"Fascinating." Mr Martinez, Violet's dad, says.
Rowan raises his brows, waiting for them to give him personal space. Rowan doesn't like to be touched; he hates hugs, and he values his personal space. And right now, they're all invading it; he's this close to having his eyes flash before them out of anger.
"Well, we knew it our boy passed!" Uncle Chris says in a celebratory voice.
"We're so proud of you, honey." Aunt Megan says, and Rowan just smiles. This is what he's been training for years for, so he could say that he's proud of himself. His aunt and uncle keep saying they saw potential in him the minute they saw him on the night his parents were killed.
That alone motivated him to do even more, to not be mediocre and also Lockwood and mediocrity don't mix.
"I'll go cut the cake, okay, Chris, come help me."
"Alright, darling." Rowan grimaces when he sees his uncle grab Aunt Megan's butt. Those two are so romantic it disgusts him.
Uncle Chris may look exactly like his father, but they're very different. They're so different that sometimes Rowan forgets that they're twins.
Rowan doesn't know what it must be like to lose a twin, the other part of you.
But well, Uncle Chris and Aunt Megan have taken care of him since he arrived here. With Aria, his cousin serving as a big sister.
He's never going to say this, but he does miss Aria; she's in the city living her adult life, and he's extremely proud of her.
"Sooo how does it feel?" Violet asks him.
"How does what feel?"
"You know, passing the test. You must be so excited. Oh wait, you're Rowan Lockwood; you probably expected this."
Rowan snaps his fingers and points at her. "You got that right." The two giggle, with Violet shaking her head.
Violet Martinez is one of Rowan's best friends. But people wonder why they're best friends since both of them are completely different.
While Rowan is cool, reserved and chill, Violet is bubbly, fun and upbeat.
Violet stands at five feet nine; she has light brown skin, jet black hair with pink highlights, a heart-shaped face, and cupid's bow lips that turn into a bright smile.
Violet is a romantic at heart who loves all things love. She's always covered in dresses, lace or ruffled blouses, loves Valentine's Day and loves listening to artists like Taylor Swift.
People always wondered how she and Rowan could possibly be friends, but at the same time they know for a fact that Violet is the one who approached him, and their suspicions are right.
They were little when they met. It was Rowan's first day at magic lessons that take place every evening. No one wanted to be Rowan's friend because they were scared of him. He wasn't just a witch, but he was a werewolf, and because kids saw other children were afraid, they were afraid as well.
Except for one girl.
Violet introduced herself to Rowan and talked about how cool his long afro hair was, and she kept talking and talking while Rowan kept listening.
Even when they walked back home, Violet followed him and Aria and talked some more. And ever since then, Rowan's guardians and Violet's parents would take them both to each other's houses, and they've been close since then.
"I just hope that I pass my test," Violet says, as she nervously plays with her fingers. Violet's birthday is next month, which is October, and she's been both nervous and excited about it, but mostly nervous.
"Yo, you have nothing to be scared about; you're going to ace that test. You're one of the most skilled witches I know."
"You think so."
"Of course I do; you're more skilled than me. You taught me magic."
"Ha, I guess I did, didn't I?" she blushes, and Rowan scoffs. "So tell me everything that happened. How was the experience? How did you fight those bloody wendigos?"
Rowan was about to open his mouth until he remembered that he was helped by a vampire, and he doesn't want to hide anything from Violet because he has to tell her, but just not where people are.
"Cake time!" Aunt Megan shouts.
"I'll tell you later; right now I'm super hungry."
"OMG same, finally some cake!" And Violet does love cake, so she's not going to be asking about Rowan's experience any time soon.
Rowan and Violet had just finished eating their cake, and Rowan takes his and her plate to the kitchen, but he stops when he hears the adults whispering.
"What do you mean the Ivanovs are in Cupid Hollow?" Uncle Chris says.
"Yep, Leslie Miller told me she saw them standing next to a big truck at Rose Hill neighbourhood." Mrs Martinez says.
"But why are they here, especially after their family's history with yours?" Mr Martinez asks.
"No one knows; all we know is that history should not repeat itself if we don't want this town to sink." Mrs Martinez says.
Rowan has been trying to place the name Ivanov since he heard it, and then it hits him where he heard it from.
The moroi boy who helped him. Damien Ivanov. It's his family they're whispering about.
And what do the Ivanovs have to do with his family?