Rowena couldn't move her arms. She opened her eyes and stretched her legs out, curling her toes. She tried moving her arms to her side. They didn't budge. She sighed. Her arms were raised above her head tied to the slats of her bed's headboard.

Wait a minute. Her bed didn't have a headboard.

Her eyes scanned the walls surrounding her. Instead of the usual dark blue paint that adorned her bedroom, the walls were a soft eggshell white. She tugged her wrists and looked down at herself. She was still in her silk purple nightie.

"Am I having some kind of kinky sex dream?" Rowena wondered aloud. It wouldn't have been the first time.

A door to her right opened and the sexiest man Rowena had ever laid eyes on walked through the door. He had to be over six feet tall. His light grey eyes narrowed on her in an overly serious way, making Rowena want to ruffle the dark hair curling at his neck.

He stomped towards her and stopped at the edge of the bed, those grey eyes flickering down her body in a way that made Rowena blush.

He leaned forward and growled, "Are you a good witch or a bad witch?"

Rowena blinked.

"Whoa. Are you seriously quoting The Wizard of Oz to me in my kinky sex dream?"

One of his brows lifted as he leaned back and crossed his arms over his broad chest. "The Wizard of Oz?" His deep voice had a note of confusion. "Do you have ties to some sort of wizard, Witch?"

Rowena frowned. "Two questions. One, did you just seriously call me a witch? Because I don't think that's supposed to happen in a kinky sex dream. Unless we're role-playing. Are we role-playing? Two, how do you not know The Wizard of Oz? You literally just quoted it."

He stared at her, a blank expression on his face.

"You know...when Glinda the Good Witch pops in front of Dorothy? She asks her, 'Are you a good witch or a bad witch?' and Dorothy is like, 'I'm not a witch at all.' You have to remember Glinda. She wore this freaking amazing pink dress with huge sleeves, sparkles, and a matching crown. Even if you hate the film, you could never forget Glinda-she's the best dressed character in the whole movie! I would've killed for her dress when I was a kid. It's a classic movie with Judy Garland. Have you never seen it?"

When he didn't respond, Rowena sighed. "This dream sucks. I can't trust a man who doesn't know who The Wizard of Oz is. I really need to stop eating spicy food before bed. It gives me bad dreams and heartburn. Can I wake up now?" She was tugging on the restraints holding her wrists in place, her heartrate rising. This dream felt a little too real for her liking.

"You are awake," the handsome stranger said, his brow puckered in confusion.

Rowena's breath hitched before she gave a nervous laugh. "Th-this isn't a dream?"

"No."

"That's not possible. Bad things like this don't happen to boring people like me."

He exhaled deeply. "You just talked about kinky sex dreams to a total stranger. I believe that rules you out as boring."

"What's happening? Did you kidnap me to sell my organs? Trust me, you don't want them. They're probably all unhealthy because I have a sweet tooth and eat way too much Mexican food."

"I'm not going to sell your organs," he said, his voice thick with annoyance.

Rowena's eyes widened. "Are you trying to human traffic me? I'm too old to be human-trafficked. I've seen that movie Taken with Liam Neeson. They only want young girls going on vacation in foreign countries not women pushing thirty who can't keep a man from cheating on her."

"Cease speaking! You don't know why you were brought here?"

She shook her head.

Before he could speak again, the door opened. A young woman with light blue eyes and curly pink hair strolled in. She smiled at Rowena before turning to the handsome man. "Did you get the witch to speak yet?"

Witch?

The handsome man rolled his eyes. "Who allowed you in here?"

"I'm your sister. No one would dare block my way. Now, has she admitted what she's done yet?"

He grunted. "She refused to admit anything so far."

"She doesn't look like a witch," the woman said thoughtfully, once again staring at Rowena. "Are you sure you're right about this, Cross?"

He was Cross? Rowena remembered Reed and Casey mention someone named Cross. They made him seem like he was an important person. Seeing the handsome man dressed in jeans, boots, and a maroon Henley, he didn't seem overly powerful.

Cross sighed, placing his hands on Abby's shoulders and directing her back towards the door. "Abby, I need to do this investigation on my own. I'll find out what happened. I promise."

"You better, Cross. Her death was supposed to be caused by me!"

He grunted before pushing her out the door. "Yes, I know. You're a bloodthirsty Howler."

Whose death were they talking about? Rowena tried flipping her body over to no avail. She heard his footsteps approaching again before turning herself to face him.

"Okay, I've come to realize this isn't a kinky sex dream," Rowena said. "I've also come to the conclusion that this is very illegal. I won't tell anyone you abducted me if you just let me go. The cops don't have to know. I know you're probably thinking I'm just saying that but I'm not. I really won't say anything if you let me go."

His mouth twisted into a cynical smile. "The cops will never know. Do you know why?"

"I don't think I want to know why," Rowena whispered.

"Because we take care of our own," he said, answering his own question.

The bedroom door opened again and three men wearing cargo pants and tight black shirts stepped forward. They all gave a slight bow to Cross before standing slightly behind him to his right.

Cross turned back to Rowena. "Alright, Witch. Two days ago, you cursed Reed Condren, did you not?"

"Stop calling me witch. That's just rude. Is this about Reed?" Rowena asked.

"Answer the question," Cross demanded.

Rowena sighed. "He had been cheating on me for months, so yeah, I cursed him. It's not like it meant anything."

"According to his neighbors, she cursed his hair fell out, his plants died, and his house caught on fire," one of the men in cargos said.

Rowena cringed. Maybe cursing the plants to die was a bit overboard.

Cross nodded. "I've heard this." He turned back to Rowena. "Where were you last night?"

"Home."

"Do you have an alibi?"

Rowena groaned. "No, I was alone eating ice cream and Oreos like a heifer because I just broke up with my cheating boyfriend."

"Reed Condren claimed you were a witch."

Rowena's eyes widened. "He said what?"

"He said he met you while you were telling fortunes at the weekend fair in Clarkton. Do you deny this?"

A bubble of anger popped in Rowena's chest. "You've got to be kidding me right now. I can't believe that jerk. First, he cheats on me. Then, he gets me tangled up with human traffickers! Oh my gosh! Are you witch traffickers? Is that why I'm here? Is that even a thing?"

"Answer the question!" Cross hissed.

"No, I don't deny we met at the fair because it's true. I do deny being a witch or being able to tell fortunes. I mean...I have a crystal ball and I pretend to tell fortunes but it's just a gig. I literally make stuff up as I go. I tell women they're eventually going to fall in love and I tell men they're going meet the person of their dreams."

"So, you lie to people for a living?"

Rowena released a huff of annoyance. "I'd like to think I give people hope. People who come to me for a reading asking if they are ever going to fall in love are usually closed off to meeting someone. Once I tell them love is right around the corner, they open up to the possibility of it again and eventually find a person to connect with. It's like when someone tells you, 'Everything is going to be alright,' in the middle of a crap-storm. We know it's a load of bull but we need to hear it to feel better. My real job is a cashier at a home goods store. If I was a witch, wouldn't I have a better job? Reed is very superstitious so if he honestly believed I was a real fortune teller, then not only is he a jerk and a cheat but he's totally naïve."

"You were angry he was cheating on you with Casey Sloane."

It was Rowena's turn to narrow her eyes. "Duh. Of course I was. Anyone would be upset to find out their boyfriend was cheating on them. I cursed him as I left but it's not like I meant anything by it. I just wanted to have the last word."

"So, you didn't set Reed's house on fire?"

Rowena's breath hitched. "W-what? His house caught on fire? Is Reed okay?"

"Last night, Reed Condren's house was set on fire. We believe you are responsible due to your witchcraft."

"I hate to break it to you but witches don't really exist. All I did was throw some angry words at Reed. Is he okay? How bad was the fire?"

He continued talking, ignoring Rowena's words. "Had it just been Reed's home that was destroyed, I could've let this go as a lesson to Reed. I had warned him bringing you to Howler wasn't smart."

"Are his neighbors okay?" Rowena asked. They all seemed nice enough. They were nosy but the fact that none of them called the cops on her made them kind people as far as she was concerned.

"Casey Sloane is dead."

Rowena flinched at his words. She shook her head. Casey was the woman Reed had been cheating on her with. Sure, she didn't like her but she didn't want her dead.

"Admit it." Cross demanded of her.

"Admit what?"

"That you wanted Casey dead and used your witchcraft to burn down Reed's house while Casey was in it."

Now, he was going too far. Rowena rolled her eyes. "Are you insane? You cannot abduct me and tie me to this bed and accuse me of murder. I'm pretty sure it's in the constitution!" Again, Rowena had no idea what she was talking about. Still, she persevered. "I've watched Law and Order. Where's your proof? Okay, so I said some dumb things to Reed before I left his house but it's not like I really wanted his house to burn down or for Casey to die! Also, stop calling me a witch. I am not a witch! Witches don't exist! Next, you're probably going to say fairies, vampires, and werewolves exist too."

"I'll never admit to personally meeting a fairy but vampires and werewolves do exist."

Rowena sighed. "It's a shame you're so handsome. All those good looks are a total waste if you're this crazy."

The men in cargo pants stared to growl. Cross tilted his head to them and gave a slight nod. The sound of bones popping filled the air and instead of three men, there were three grey wolves standing in a pile of cargo pants, boots, and black shirts.

Rowena's mouth fell open.

"Reed knew not to bring you to Howler because it would expose our kind. He was addicted to your scent. I admit it's very alluring but that's not a good reason to expose us. I'm not crazy. We're wolf shifters and since we exist and I've proven this to you, you can no longer deny you're a witch."

"This is a pack of wolf shifters?" The words tumbled out of Rowena's mouth.

"Yes."

She shook her head. "I thought they only existed in print. I've read tons of shifter books. Never in my wildest dreams did I think they were real. Wait? Am I dreaming? Maybe this isn't a kinky sex dream but a regular run-of-the-mill weird dream?"

"Can you please stop saying kinky sex dream?" Cross sighed. He rolled his eyes and gripped her upper arm with his left hand before pinching her skin with his right hand. Rowena yelped in pain.

Cross released her. "See? You felt that pinch. This isn't a dream. Now, do you have anything to say, Witch?"

Rowena's eyes jumped from Cross to the three wolves standing sentry behind him. "This really isn't a dream? You all really are wolf shifters and you seriously think I'm a witch?"

Cross nodded.

Her mouth opened then closed a few times before she blurted the only thing she could think of.

"Oh shift."