Casey was dead. Bobby was dead. Flint was still alive—waiting to kill Rowena. Sitting in the corner of the alpha's reading nook because it was away from any windows, Rowena stroked the calico fur of her cat, Kitty. Her phone was dinging from text messages. She ignored them. Reed, Abby, Matt, and Liam were sitting across from her.

"Here. It's hot and probably disgusting because the Alpha made it, but it'll give you a jolt of energy," Maybelle said, placing a mug of black coffee in front of her.

Wyatt, Darlene, and Cross walked in after Maybelle pulled up a chair to sit down.

"With Bobby dead, things have escalated," Cross said, taking a seat next to Rowena. "I think I need to talk to Greg, the Nightshade Alpha. He needs to step in and stop Flint before he tries to kill you again."

"He won't stop, Cross. Not unless he's convinced he has Casey's real murderer," Rowena said. "Honestly, I'm not sure why you want to try to talk to their alpha. What good would it do?"

Wyatt nodded. "Greg adores Flint. Always has. He thought of him as a second son. He was one of his enforcers and pretty much got away with anything."

Darlene and Maybelle nodded.

"How do you know that?" Rowena asked.

Wyatt cleared his throat. "We were part of the Nightshade pack before switching over to the Howler pack."

"You were?" Rowena looked over at Cross. "Did you know Casey and her brother well?"

Maybelle shrugged. "We knew them as well as anybody. The Nightshade pack isn't the same as the Howler pack. They're not as friendly or as neighborly. Everyone seemed out to get one another. Am I right, Wyatt?"

He lifted one shoulder. "I guess not. We certainly wouldn't have rushed over this morning to check on Rowena after Reed told us what happened last night."

"We were surprised to see you four," Abby said, gesturing to Reed and the former members of the Nightshade pack. "I mean...I guess we could expect Reed to be here but you all don't really know her too well."

"She's the Alpha's consort," Maybelle argued. "Of course we would want to check on her."

"She's not his consort," Reed muttered.

"Are we not getting breakfast?" Darlene asked. "I only came because I thought we were going to get breakfast. I need meat!"

Matt coughed loudly before turning to Maybelle. "About Casey. What was she like at the Nightshade pack?"

"Casey's always had a bad reputation. Men fell for her but not enough to claim her." Maybelle glared at Reed who blushed. "I felt kind of bad for her. Imagine always being used the way she was. I left the pack shortly after my husband died."

"Casey and I had an understanding. She knew we weren't serious," Reed protested. "It was just a fling."

Cross placed an arm across the top of Rowena's chair. Reed's eyes flashed in pain before he looked away. Rowena refused to feel bad for him. She wasn't in an official relationship with Cross and even if she was, she still wouldn't feel bad because Reed cheated on her.

Darlene sat up at Reed's words. "You bought her a ring?"

Maybelle rolled her eyes. "He said it was a fling! A fling."

Darlene shook her head. "I could've sworn the boy in the elephant shirt said he bought her a ring."

"You need hearing aids," Maybelle shouted.

"I've been seeing elephants a lot lately," Rowena mumbled. "I saw them at Maybelle's, at Bobby's, and now Reed is wearing an elephant shirt. Maybe the universe is telling me I need to travel to Africa and do one of those safari expeditions so I can ride an elephant like Maybelle wants to do."

"Elephants are lucky," Reed shared. "If you're seeing elephants, maybe something good is going to happen to you."

Rowena gave a bitter laugh. "I don't feel very lucky these days."

"We're going to put a stop to Flint, Rowena. You have my word." Cross leaned over and sniffed her hair before exhaling deeply.

Maybelle gave them a warm smile. "Even if you're not his consort yet, I hope you will be, Rowena. You look like me and my husband before he passed away. We were so in love. I'm just grateful Casey never made a play for him while he was alive. Not too many men were strong enough to reject her. Still, I think my husband would have. He used to tell me he was lucky to have found me and would've done anything for me after losing his first wife."

"He was married before?" Rowena asked. "I thought you all died when your mates died!"

Wyatt choked on his coffee.

Abby chuckled. "Is that something else you read in a romance shifter book?"

Rowena nodded.

"I've been married six times!" Darlene shouted. "I'll find Mr. Seven just as soon as my granddaughter here lets me live on my own again. She's a widow with stepsons but instead of focusing on them, she's dragging me around all of Howler. Where's my meat?"

"I'll rustle something up for her," Liam volunteered, getting up to go to the kitchen.

"I'll help," Abby said, jumping up to follow Liam. He looked back at her and scowled but she just winked at him.

Interesting. Rowena wondered if something was going on between them. Abby had once been a victim of Casey's maneater ways as well.

"The full moon is tonight," Reed said softly. He looked toward Cross but didn't quite meet his eyes. "I'll take you up on your offer."

"What offer?" Rowena asked.

"Instead of combating the moon, Reed is going to spend the night in the local jail cell," Cross answered. "It'll keep him safe from himself and others."

"That's an option?" Rowena couldn't help but ask.

"Not usually," Cross answered. "With Casey gone, Reed doesn't have anyone to spend the evening with. This is his best solution unless he wants the moon to send him over the edge."

"What about you?" Rowena asked. "What will you do?"

"I'm the alpha. I'm strong enough to battle the moon. It doesn't impact me at all anymore."

"I have a caged area in my basement that I go to," Wyatt shared. "I plan to lock myself in as well. Maybe listen to some old records or something."

Reed rolled his eyes. "You and your oldies music."

"Before we prepare for the full moon tonight, I plan to talk with Greg at Nightshade territory," Cross shared.

"Are you sure that's wise?" Maybelle asked. She immediately lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry, Alpha. I just know how that pack works. They won't help with Flint."

Cross stood up. "I'll take my chances."

"I'll go too," Rowena said, slowly standing.

Cross shook his head. "No."

"It's cute how you think you can control me," Rowena said, smiling. She thanked the others for coming by before taking her cat and her phone to follow behind Cross as he entered her guest room. She was wearing an oversized shirt and sweatpants. As soon as she walked in the room he grabbed her uninjured arm and guided her to sit on the bed.

"What are you doing, Cross?"

"You fainted from the pain of your gunshot wound. You said that to the medic after you talked to the police officer."

"So?"

"So, it's time we healed your shoulder. Stop being stubborn about it." Before she could protest, he pulled down the shoulder of her shirt and leaned forward.

"Cross!"

He tugged off the bandage and gently pressed his lips to the red skin of her arm. "Quiet," he snarled before lightly pressing his tongue to the damaged flesh. "Do you know how worried I was when I found out you were taken? This never should have happened. It wouldn't have happened if I had been protecting you. This is my fault."

Rowena's eyes widened. "Cross, how is this your fault? It wasn't your idea to start the fire. It was mine. Well, it was Abby's but I've always wanted to burn down a building. No one was hurt, right?"

"Besides you? No. I ended up buying the lot and what was left of the warehouse. The owner was arrested last night too. Apparently, he was the one running the illegal races."

"Karma," Rowena whispered.

"Should I be worried about your desire to commit arson?"

"Nah, it wasn't fun at all." Rowena watched as Cross lifted her shirt to cover her shoulder. "Cross, I want to go with you to the Nightshade territory. If Flint is there, I want to tell him he was wrong and I didn't deserve to be terrorized by him."

"It'll be dangerous."

"Isn't that what you're here for?"

He groaned. "I don't want you in harm's way. Tonight is the full moon so we're all a little edgy as it is. I don't think it's safe to put this off otherwise I would."

"I'm pretty sure it's in the constitution that I'm allowed to face my attacker in person."

"I'm pretty sure you're wrong," he grunted.

She placed a hand on his cheek. "Please?"

His forehead pressed against hers. "Sometimes, I wish you hadn't come into my life. You complicate things."

His words stung. She forced herself to smile. "You don't have to be stuck with me. Once we get things cleared up with Flint and everyone knows I'm not a real witch, I'll be out of your hair."

"I think you are a witch. A hexing witch. We're going to have to deal with that eventually but not now. And you didn't let me finish. Those times I wish you weren't in my life are fleeting. Despite all the worry and pain you cause, you make things exciting. I can't imagine going back to not having you to drive me crazy. Your grandmother was right. We're soulmates, Rowena. Why else would I have been so attracted to you the first day I laid eyes on you? I tried my best to fight it and I think I did a fairly good job but it was a fight I lost. Gladly."

She pursed her lips in thought. "Maybe it was the fact that you kidnapped and tied me up in my nightie? That was kind of kinky."

He chuckled. "Baby, you could've been wearing Liam's Pennywise costume and I would've been attracted to you."

"If that's true, I'd be worried for you." She grinned. "I'm going with you to see the Nightshade alpha."

He sighed again. "Fine, but you have to listen to everything I say while we're there. And no, it's not because I'm pulling some sort of power trip. It's because I want to keep you safe. Agreed?"

"Sure. Whatever you say."

An hour later, they were driving into Nightshade territory. They weren't alone. Matt and some of his enforcers along with Liam had joined them in a black van. As they exited the van, Rowena couldn't help but notice the enforcers from Nightshade had a black ribbon tied around their upper left arm.

A stout man with red hair and brown eyes greeted them. "We meet again," he told Rowena.

She frowned and he grinned. "I was there the night Flint first abducted you. My name is Stuart. I'm the beta of the pack."

"We're here to see Greg." Cross didn't bother greeting the beta. His eyes were gazing past Stuart as if the man wasn't worth his time.

"Now isn't the best time, Alpha of the Howler pack." Stuart's eyes were staring at the ground. "Alpha Greg isn't taking guests at the moment."

"And why is that?" Cross barked.

A door to the waiting room opened. Greg was tall, thin, and tired based on the dark circles under his eyes.

"Greg, we came here to talk to you about Flint," Cross said.

The Nightshade alpha was dressed in black from head to toe. His shoulders slumped. "So, you've heard the news?"

Cross stole a glance at Rowena before looking back at Greg. "What news?"

"Someone shot Flint three days ago. Flint Sloane is dead."