Cross Howler, the alpha of the Howler pack, waited for Rowena to reply. She blinked before tilting her head to one side as if she were thinking his suggestion over.

"You want me to be your concert?" The look of confusion painted on her face almost made him laugh. She was annoying but adorable.

"No, I want you to be my consort."

"That's what I said," she argued. "Concert. Are you trying to get us to role-play again?"

Cross took a deep breath, catching a whiff of her intoxicating scent. He swore this woman was sent to him to test his patience. "No, we are not role-playing and I'm not saying concert, Rowena. I want you to be my consort. Con-sort!"

Her mouth twisted in confusion. "What's a consort?"

Cross wasn't sure how to explain this without having her run off on him. He cleared his throat, hoping to make it sound like the title wasn't a big deal. "You know...it's just a person who is like a companion. Like my right-hand man. Well, in your case it would be my right-hand woman."

"That's it? I thought you said concert at first and I wasn't sure how I could be a concert. Fun fact-I've only ever been to a Lady Gaga concert although my cousin did try making me go to a Ramon Ayala show once. I can't really sing so you'd be totally out of luck if you wanted a concert. I can't play any instruments either unless you count my ability to play Three Blind Mice on a recorder."

"A recorder?"

"You don't know what a recorder is? It's like a flute but not. I think it's part of the woodwind family. Most elementary kids learn to play them."

Cross had no idea why they were talking about musical instruments. "No, I don't expect you to sing or play an instrument. You'd just be like a very close companion. A consort."

Her eyes narrowed. "How close?"

He purposely lowered his voice to below a whisper. "People would think you're my lover."

"I can't hear you."

A growling sound escaped his throat. He forced a cough and repeated himself. "People would think you're my lover."

Her eyes widened and she laughed. "So, this is like a contract relationship shifter romance? I once read a book about that for my book club. I think the title was My Fake Marriage to the Alpha and his Beta. My friend Gina picked it out. It was kind of lame. I'm not a big fan of threesomes."

It was at that moment that Liam, the pack's Beta, entered the room.

"Did she just ask you for a threesome?" Liam growled, pointing a finger at Rowena.

Rowena scowled at him. "What is your problem? I thought werewolves had super hearing. Surely, you heard me tell him I'm not a fan of threesomes!"

"Why are you even talking about threesomes at all?" Liam snarled. "Stop trying to seduce our alpha with your delicious scent!"

"Whoa! Way to make a conversation awkward," Rowena muttered. "I'm not trying to seduce anyone. How can I when you freaks have me tied up? If you think you're going to Stockholm me into falling for you all, you're sorely mistaken."

"Could you stop rambling for one minute?" Cross glared at her as she kicked a leg out at Liam.

"Fine, but he started it." Rowena turned to Liam. "Did you already feed my cat? That was incredibly quick."

"We're wolves. We do everything incredibly quick."

Rowena shook her head making a tutting sound while giving an expression of pure pity. "I wouldn't brag about that if I were you. I imagine shifter women are like human women and don't always like it quick."

Matt's shoulders shook with laughter.

"Will you get your mind out of the gutter?" Liam hissed.

"Seems like you're the one with the mind in the gutter,"

"Yes, we fed the evil beast," Matt, the head enforcer for the pack, grunted while carrying Kitty in a hot pink carrying case.

"Kitty!" Rowena cried. She wanted to grab her cat, but her wrists were still tied. "You brought her!"

"We were going to dump her at your neighbor's house but the couple living next door to you seemed to be in the middle of a domestic dispute," Matt explained. "We didn't want to interrupt."

"So, you thought bringing a feline to a wolf pack was smart?" Cross asked.

"She's the best cat ever," Rowena said, defending the ball of calico fluff. "She can totally catch mice when she feels like it. She also likes to swat at roaches and spiders but I'd rather she not associate with them."

Matt placed the carrying case with a meowing Kitty next to Rowena on the bed. A bag filled with her feeding supplies, cat litter, and a litter box was dropped on the floor.

"One you burn her at the stake, maybe we can flip a coin to see who gets to eat the cat," Liam suggested.

Rowena gasped and Matt chuckled. Cross pointed to the door. "Out! I need to talk to Rowena alone."

"Before we go, you need to know some members of the Nightshade pack are here," Matt said. "They're wanting retribution."

Cross cursed under his breath. "How dare they step in our town."

"Shall we deal with them?" Matt asked, an evil grin on his face. He was rubbing his hands together.

Cross shook his head. "No, delay them. We'll be right there."

"Alpha, be careful," Liam warned. "You can't trust her. She's a witch so for all you know, she manipulated her scent."

"Out!" Cross repeated.

Once both men left the room, Cross turned back to Rowena. "Well, what will it be? Are you going to be my consort?"

"I'm still not sure why I need to be your consort. If the pack thinks I'm a murdering witch, won't they be upset I was made a consort?"

"No, the alpha can always take a consort at his discretion. The status isn't high enough to make a difference. If you were a fated mate or a mate at all, it would be different. As a consort, you'd be under my protection, and everyone would know your loyalty lies with me. It would be okay to have you walk around outside of this room."

"Couldn't we just lie about it so you could set me free?"

"No, because they'd know we were lying."

"How?" She almost shrieked this single word.

Cross sat down on the bed next to her. "To become a consort, I would need to bite you. It isn't as deep or prevalent as a claiming bite but it's still visible to other shifters. They'd know you were under my protection."

"So, it's like a branding? I'd be like a cow getting a hot poker to its flesh?"

Cross gritted his teeth. He swore she purposely goaded him. "No. I'd bite you and you'd become my consort." He wouldn't tell her all the details until after she agreed.

"Once I become your consort, you'll let me help you investigate Casey's death?"

He wanted to reject her offer and remind her to stay safe in his mansion. Instead, he spread his lips into a tight smile. "Of course."

"And this is the only way to set me loose while also keeping the Nightshade pack off my back?" She was eyeing him suspiciously.

"Yes."

"I'm not sure how I feel about you biting me," Rowena admitted. "We hardly know one another."

"It won't hurt," Cross said. "If that's what you're afraid of. You'll probably enjoy it."

She sighed. "Yeah, I read about that in shifter books. Your bites can be like an aphrodisiac."

Cross smirked. He leaned over her. "Do you want me to untie you? Will you be my consort?"

Rowena rolled her eyes. "Sure. Why not? Once I'm clear, I'm out of here."

He didn't respond to that but bent over to remove the ties. His claws came out from one hand, and he removed the ties. Rowena cried out in pain.

"It hurts. It hurts. It hurts!" Rowena gasped. Cross grabbed her arms and began massaging them.

"The tingling will stop in a bit," Cross murmured.

After a few minutes, the tingling stopped. Rowena sat up and Cross helped her off the bed. He picked her up and held her close. She smelled delicious. "You okay?"

She looked up at him and smiled and stepped a bit closer. "Are you going to bite me on my neck? My wrist?"

He grinned. "Where would you like me to bite you?"

She bared her neck for him and Cross had to stop himself from flashing his fangs. He didn't want to scare her. She placed her hands on his shoulders. "You ready?" Cross asked.

He bent closer and that's when a jolt of pain ran through him. She'd kneed him in the nuts! The breath rushed out of him and he groaned, bent over in pain.

"As if I'd trust you," Rowena cried, grabbing the carrier with her cat. She looked to her right and saw an open window. She pushed it open and jumped out. He heard her scream, but they were on the first level so she wouldn't get far.

Moments later, Liam rushed through the door. "We heard a scream."

Cross pointed to the window. "She went that way! Get her."

Without wasting a second, Liam ran and then dove out the window. Cross was finally able to stand up when Matt came rushing through the door a grim expression on his face.

"Where is she?" Cross asked.

Matt shook his head. "We couldn't find her. We think the Nightshade pack took her."