Being hand-fed by a handsome stranger while laying on high-thread Egyptian sheets wasn't as romantic as movies made it out to be. Especially when the food you're being fed consists of stale muffins and orange juice with extra pulp.

Rowena's arms were numb after being tied up for hours. They'd given her a quick bathroom break but growled when she asked to at least have the rope around her wrists untied. When she complained about being hungry, Cross ordered his beta, Liam, to get her something to eat. Liam didn't seem happy about that task which probably explained the stale muffins.

Rowena learned a few things while waiting on the wolf pack to decide her fate. To the human-world, Cross Howler was the mayor of the town named after his family. To the pack, Cross was the alpha. If he said, "Jump," his packmates asked, "How high?" If he said, "Capture that woman because I think she's a witch who set someone's house on fire which also killed the skank her jerk boyfriend was cheating on her with," they said, "No problem and we'll feed her stale muffins while we're at it."

Despite spending most of her time working at Sweet Homes, a home goods store, Rowena was an avid reader. She even formed a book club with her co-workers. Sure, they only chose books with half-naked men on the covers, but it was still a fun group and luckily for Rowena, she was introduced to shifter romances. She was a firm believer in knowing the enemy.

She made a huffing sound as she thought of all the romance authors who lied to her about werewolves being sexy and romanticizing werewolves capturing humans when it wasn't romantic at all. Not one bit. One, she hadn't been given a toothbrush that morning, so her mouth felt icky. Why does no one ever talk about that in romance novels when the heroine is captured? An icky mouth is not romantic! Two, the male wolves kept sniffing at her and it was giving her a complex. It's not like she could put on extra deodorant while she was tied. They said she smelled good, but still...it was weird. Finally, the romance novels always made it seem like the heroine and the alpha were fated mates. There was no way she and Cross were destined to be together.

It was during one of his visits, that Rowena decided enough was enough. She had a to-do list waiting for her at home. That list consisted of things like mowing the lawn, buying a new toothbrush, and possibly exercising. Nowhere on that to-do list did it have anything about getting kidnapped. She glared at Cross who was about to take a swig of water, before shouting, "My Kitty needs attention!"

He spat out his water and jerked his head to her with wide eyes. "What did you say?"

"I said my Kitty needs attention! It's been hours! You can't just leave me tied up like this. I have needs! It's in the constitution!"

"What is with you and the constitution?" Matt, the head enforcer for the pack, asked.

Liam turned his head and coughed to cover a laugh while Cross stared down at her in her nightie, the bottle of water halfway to his lips. Rowena's eyes narrowed. "What are you staring at, pervert?"

"Pervert? Me? You're the one talking about your kitty," he accused, pointing at her crotch.

Rowena almost choked on her indignation. "I was talking about my cat. Her name is Kitty and she hasn't eaten all day! Why? Because I haven't fed her. Why? Because you kidnapped me!"

A chuckle escaped one of his enforcers and Rowena cursed under her breath. They thought this was a joke. She barreled through. "I also need to get to work. Not all of us can be so free as to spend our day kidnapping people. I have to work to pay my bills and have a roof over my head. Me being here means I'm not at work. If I don't call in, I'm a no-call, no-show. That's not good. I cannot afford to lose my job!"

"Who cares about a job when you're about to lose your life?" Liam asked. The beta for the Howler pack was dark blonde with yellow-green eyes. He was almost as tall as Cross and just as muscular.

"L-lose my life?" Rowena choked on her words. She turned to Cross. "Listen, I know you think I started the fire that killed Casey, but I swear I didn't! I'm totally innocent and I am not a witch!"

"Alpha, don't listen to her. She isn't going to change her story," Liam said.

Cross bent at the waist until his eyes were level with Rowena's. "Are you sure you don't want to admit the truth? I may be more lenient if you told the truth."

"Are you falling in love with me?" Rowena asked, her brows pursed together in confusion.

Cross jerked back. "What?"

"I'll admit, I didn't believe in werewolves before today, but I've read a ton of werewolf romance stories."

"Werewolf romance stories?" Cross sounded disgusted.

Rowena nodded. "Fun fact. People sometimes think I'm dumb, but I read a lot. Reading can really expand a person's knowledge."

"You think you're expanding your knowledge by reading shifter romance novels?" Cross asked. He moved forward to stand next to her bed. He took a deep breath and grinned.

Rowena nodded. "I've read enough books to know what you're thinking."

He was still grinning. "And what am I thinking?"

Rowena lowered her voice to a whisper, forcing him to get closer. "You think I'm your true mate."

He stared at her, his nostrils flaring, before quickly standing up. He turned to a balking Liam and said, "Go feed her cat."

Liam made a low-pitched sputtering noise before shouting, "What? You want me to feed a cat?"

Rowena smirked. "Her cat food is on the shelf."

"Go," Cross ordered.

Liam looked at the other enforcers in the room and jerked his head, ordering them to follow him.

"Feed her the catfood! She doesn't like stale muffins!" Rowena called after him.

"I want you to know that I do not think you are my true mate," Cross said after the men left the room.

"This kind of thing happens in all the shifter romances. We're probably in one of those enemies to lovers situations."

"Are you on meds?" Cross asked. "You're tied up and accused of arson and murder and you're cracking jokes about muffins and cheesy romance novels."

"If I start crying, will you let me go?"

"No."

Rowena raised her brows. "Then why bother? Listen, Cross, I've been through a lot of things in life. I've also been arrested a few times and one thing I learned quick is that crying never helped anything. I could lay here feeling sorry for myself but what good is it going to do me?"

Cross shook his head. "You're not normal."

"Never said I was." Rowena released a deep breath. "I want a lawyer. That's what happens in the cop shows. I'm innocent until proven guilty."

"We aren't in a cop show, and we aren't following human laws. This is pack law. You don't get a lawyer."

"That's not fair!" Rowena cried. "I deserve a judge or jury and the ability to plead my case."

"I'm alpha," Cross reminded her. "I'm the judge and the jury, and you've been found guilty. Feel free to plead your case."

"You don't know this about me, but I also watch a lot of true crime and trial shows. Let's say I really am a witch, which I'm not. Sure, people heard me curse Reed but did anyone see me light a fire to his house?"

Cross gave a shake of his head.

"Probably because I was eating a gallon of ice cream. Next, are you sure the home being set on fire was arson? How do you know it wasn't faulty wiring or an accident or something? Reed is very superstitious. He liked to light candles to remove bad energy from his home."

"The fire marshal of our town inspected the home. The pattern the fire grew and ate up at the home meant someone did this on purpose. The theory is someone doused the living area with gasoline."

"Where is the fire marshal? I'd like to talk to him...or her."

Cross grinned.

Rowena rolled her eyes and made a frustrated sound in the back of her throat. "Let me guess. You're the fire marshal?"

"That's right."

"Fine, then let's get back to the curse. Did Reed lose his hair? Are his plants all dead?"

Cross frowned. "Well, no."

"See? That's proof it wasn't my curse or all three would've happened. What I don't understand is how was Reed fine, but Casey ended up dead? Don't you think that's suspicious? Why is Reed not tied up right now?"

"Reed was on a run with some of the other enforcers. They keep this town safe. He has an alibi with witnesses. Everyone saw him get the call that his house was on fire, and he was genuinely surprised and shocked. You can't fake that scent. He didn't even know Casey was at his house when the fire hit."

"How could he not know?"

"According to his neighbors, he and Casey had a big row about you. He blamed her for you dumping him."

Rowena was genuinely surprised. Why would Reed be upset about their break-up? He'd been cheating on her the whole time.

"Typical cheater behavior," Rowena muttered. "He was blaming her when he should have been blaming himself. I hate cheaters."

"If you go around cursing them, I can believe it. Anyway, they broke it off. He said he'd find someone else to help him combat the moon."

That wasn't the first time she had heard that phrase. "What does that mean exactly? Reed said he was only seeing Casey to combat the moon."

Cross chuckled. "Nice try, but I'm not sharing our secrets with you. Some wolves need another wolf for specific reasons, and for Reed, Casey was that wolf. Now, imagine his surprise when he finds his ex-lover tied to a chair in a house that was set on fire. She died of smoke inhalation."

Rowena gasped. Someone had murdered Casey. "I swear I didn't murder her."

"I know you didn't."

"What?" She leaned back in shock. "Then why am I tied up like this?"

"Casey had a lot of enemies and someone wants you framed."

A memory of Cross's sister being upset with Casey flashed through her mind. "Are you trying to get your sister off the hook by sacrificing me?"

Cross shook his head. "Abby didn't kill Casey. I know you didn't kill her because you aren't strong enough to get her in a situation where she'd be tied up and helpless. Shifter women are much stronger than humans. Also, I would've smelled the lie on you." He took a deep breath. "You smell like red velvet cupcakes, sun dried linens, and burnt vanilla."

Rowena blushed. One of Reed's neighbors had said that.

"That still doesn't explain why you have me tied up like this!"

"Believe it or not, but it's also to keep you safe. As long as I have you as my number one suspect, the real killer won't know I'm on to him or her and Casey's family won't come after you in the name of justice."

"If you're the alpha, can't you order Casey's family to leave me alone?"

Cross winced. "Casey doesn't belong to my pack. She asked to join but I never allowed it."

"What do you mean? Is she a lone shifter? I've read books about those kinds of wolves. They usually get into a life-threatening situation and then a handsome alpha has to save them."

"Where do you find these crazy stories?" Cross asked, chuckling.

"Amazon. Wattpad. The library. I could go on."

"No need. Back to the topic at hand, Casey was not a lone shifter. She's part of the Nightshade pack. Her brother's an enforcer for them so there's a strong chance we're going to have some sort of blowback from them about her death. So far, their alpha has been pretty understanding about her death, but Rowena, the Nightshade pack can be brutal. You couldn't stand against them alone even if you are a witch."

"I'm not a witch," Rowena muttered. She yanked her arms side to side. "I can't stay like this forever. What's the plan going to be?"

Cross looked up at the ceiling, his hands on his hips. "We're going to have to work together on this."

Rowena's head tilted to the side. "Like fated mates?"

He frowned. "Like partners."

"Potato. Tomato. Call it what you want as long as you untie me."

"I can untie you but it's going to come at a price," Cross warned. "You may not like it."

"What's the price?" Rowena asked. "If you say it's to become your fated mate—I'm not doing that. You probably have a Casey of your very own to combat the moon with."

"As alpha, I don't need to combat the moon." He pulled out a small knife. "Now, I can cut those ties but you're going to have to let me do something to you to prove you'll stay loyal to me. It's the only way the others will think you're under my control while I figure out who really killed Casey."

"We," Rowena corrected.

"We what?"

"While we figure out who really killed Casey. It's personal now. Whoever did this framed me and knowing my luck, I probably already have Casey's brother on my tail. We need to figure out who killed her."

"You're not experienced in this sort of thing."

"I told you I watch a lot of crime shows. I can do this."

He gave her a wary glance before shrugging. "Fine, but you still have to agree to my condition before I let you free."

"And that condition is?"

Cross gave her a full smile. "You become my consort."