There was nothing like being face-to-face with your cheating ex-boyfriend to make you feel a little uncomfortable. They were seated around a small table, teacups set in front of them. An older woman Maybelle introduced as her grandmother, Darlene, sat with them.
In all the romance shifter books Rowena had read, she'd never heard of a shifter losing their hearing. Darlene had short gray hair, wore thick glasses, and would slam her palms on the table, rattling the dishes, each time she became frustrated because she couldn't hear.
"I told you to speak up!" Darlene grumbled. "I can't hear a blasted word you all are saying. Did you call the alpha's girlfriend a bitâ"
"Darlene," Reed said, shock in his voice. "I told you twice already. Rowena is not the alpha's girlfriend. She's my ex-girlfriend."
Darlene harumphed. "I may wear glasses but I'm not blind, boy."
"So," Maybelle said, her voice attempting to cut through the awkward silence like a butterknife through a tough steak. "You two haven't talked since the break-up?"
Maybelle was smiling at her as she poured more tea from a teapot shaped like an elephant's head. Rowena had never tried tea in her life. She sipped the bitter brew and grimaced. Her drink tasted like sweat and grass. She hadn't realized she'd spoken aloud until Darlene stared at her.
Darlene leaned forward, adjusting her glasses. "Did you just say your tea tasted like sweaty asâ"
"Grandma Darlene!" Maybelle interrupted.
"So, you have a thing for elephants?" Rowena asked Maybelle, trying to ignore the laughing alpha next to her. Her shoulder was still in pain but she refused to let Cross use his saliva to heal her. At least her face was no longer bruised and swollen. Her oversized shirt covered the gunshot's bandages.
Maybelle shrugged. "I love elephants. My dream is to someday ride an elephant in the wilds of Africa. Maybe one day."
Darlene shook her head. "As old as you are, you should've gone on your honeymoon when you were married."
Maybelle was married? Rowena hadn't met her husband. She gave the older shifter a questioning look.
"My husband, Roger, passed away years ago. Shifters live a long time but he was shot by a hunter," Maybelle explained.
"I'm sorry for your loss," Rowena said softly.
Darlene made a grunting sound. "I told you not to marry that one, Maybelle. He was old enough to be your father and it wasn't his first marriage. He was always too busy working. He didn't even get youâ"
"That's enough, Darlene," Cross said, using his alpha voice.
The older woman muttered something about young alphas not respecting their elders.
Cross sighed. He had been glaring at Reed the moment they walked into Maybelle's home, where Reed was temporarily staying.
"I'm sorry to hear your house burned down," Rowena mumbled to Reed.
Maybelle chuckled. "Who would have thought that would happen right after you cursed it to burn down?"
Rowena's eyes narrowed. She cleared her throat and glanced back at Reed. "At least your hair didn't fall out."
"For now," Maybelle muttered. "Honestly, we all thought Reed was lying when he said he was dating a witch. Who knew you truly were a witch?"
"Maybelle," Darlene said, slamming her hands on the table. "Did you just call the alpha's girlfriend a bitâ"
"Can Rowena and I talk alone, please?" Reed asked, his eyes flashing between Cross and Maybelle.
"This is my house," Maybelle reminded him.
"No," Cross answered.
Rowena leaned toward him. "You promised," she hissed.
"That was before," Cross said cryptically.
Rowena frowned, not understanding. "Before what?"
Cross smirked. "Before your abuela said we were soulmates."
"What did you just say?" Reed jerked back at the alpha's words.
Cross gave him a smug smile. "Oh, you didn't know?" He placed an arm around Rowena's shoulders. "Rowena and I are soulmates."
She was giving him the stink-eye but Cross was having some sort of stare-down with Reed. She rolled her eyes. "Can we please not get into that right now? I told you I needed to ask Reed some questions."
"Go ahead and ask," Cross ordered.
"Alone," Rowena argued.
"Not, going to happen, baby. You have no idea how much it bothers me that we are still in the same room with your ex. If I wasn't his alpha, he'd be dead right now."
"Cross!" Rowena's voice was a chastisement. "You and I aren't evenâ"
"We are," Cross insisted. "I know this is hard for you to understand but Reed already answered our questions. There probably isn't anything you can ask him that I don't already know."
"You two are together now?" Reed asked in disbelief.
"See? All you're going to do is upset him and then he won't answer my questions." Rowena pointed at Reed.
Cross lowered his voice. "If he doesn't answer you, I can always beat it out of him."
"Cross!" Rowena gasped.
"Can you both not talk about me like I'm not sitting in front of you?" Reed asked, dryly.
"Is this some sort of love triangle?" Darlene asked her granddaughter. "The alpha is strong enough to kill everyone. It wouldn't be wise of this pup to try and threaten him."
"I'm not a pup!" Reed cried.
"I bet he can't combat the moon alone," Darlene muttered.
Maybelle shoved Darlene's cup of tea closer to her. "Just drink your tea."
"No, this is impossible," Reed said, shaking his head. "Our alpha can't be dating her. Rowena is destined for me. A witch at the fair told me so."
"A witch at the fair said you and I were destined?" Rowena repeated. "And you believed her?"
"Yeah. She said she knew you and that I would be your perfect match. I guess she noticed me staring at you while you were telling fortunes. I couldn't believe my luck!"
"That makes no sense," Rowena said. "I'm not a witch. How did you know she was a witch?"
Reed looked confused. Rowena gave a frustrated groan. "You said a witch told you I was a witch. Why did you call her a witch? Or do you just assume everyone's a witch since you told your pack I was one too?"
"She didn't claim to be a witch but she knew things about you," Reed confessed. "She told me she could tell the future and I was destined with the fortune-teller. She had to be a witch to know that. She even described what you looked like. She said the woman I'd end up with told fortunes and worked as a cashier. She said I'd know her when I found her."
"Would you recognize her if you saw her?" Cross asked. "This witch who told you Rowena was a witch."
Reed shook his head. "I don't really remember her."
"It's odd that anyone would tell someone your destiny was with a witch," Maybelle said.
"Well, she didn't outright say it. She kind of muttered it under her breath about Rowena being a witch."
Darlene gasped and looked at Maybelle. "He keeps calling the alpha's girlfriend a biâ"
"What if that's what the woman muttered under her breath?" Rowena asked. "Maybe you thought she said witch when she was really just calling me a curse word?"
"Was she tall or short?" Cross asked. "What color was her hair?"
"I don't remember too much about her," Reed confessed. "Wait! She wore bright red lipstick. I remember that much because it was smeared on her teeth!"
"Carmen," Rowena and Cross both growled at the same time.
Reed frowned. "I don't understand. You know her?"
"And she's not a witch. She's my evil cousin Carmen. She probably sent you to me as some sort of joke."
"Why would she do that?" Reed asked.
"I don't know, Reed. Probably the same reason people drown puppiesâshe's evil!" Rowena screeched. "I cannot believe you asked me out because of my cousin Carmen. That's just gross."
"I take it you and your cousin don't get along?" Maybelle said.
"She's what I would consider my mortal enemy," Rowena answered.
"Rowena has a few interesting members but her cousin Carmen is cruel," Cross added.
"You met her family?" Reed's mouth was slightly open. He looked at Rowena with accusation in his eyes. "You never wanted me to meet them."
"This isn't why we're here," Cross said. He gave Rowena a pointed look.
"No, it isn't," Rowena said. "Reed, I wanted to ask you about Casey."
"I told you she was a mistake."
"That's not what I wanted to ask you. The truth is, her brother Flint has been trying to kill me," Rowena explained.
"What!" Reed jumped up from his seat. "Someone is trying to kill you?"
"Let's just say I've been shot at several times already. Apparently, Casey was involved in some sort of illegal gambling ring. Do you know anything about that?"
Reed paled. "I-illegal gambling?"
"Yes, do you know anything about it?" Cross asked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"N-no." Reed shook his head. He was staring at Rowena. "You know, after you cursed me, and my house burned down I really thought you were a hex witch."
Darlene whispered loudly. "Did he just call her a sex biâ"
"I'm not a witch. I may have cursed you but I didn't think any of that stuff would come true. I may not have liked Casey on principle but I would never have wanted her dead. The truth is, we know she was involved in some illegal gambling and we know she had a lot of enemies because she constantly hooked up with taken men."
Maybelle gasped.
"Did she have any close friends?" Rowena asked.
"Not that I know of," Reed admitted. "I never heard of her going around with married men. I never really considered what she and I had as cheating. We had an arrangement. I love you, Rowena."
Cross growled.
Rowena placed a hand on his knee and squeezed. The alpha stopped growling and stared at her hand.
"I don't want to argue with you, Reed. I just want more information on Casey. Who were her friends? Do you know any of the men she used to date?"
Reed huffed a breath out. "You don't care what I have to say, do you? Now that you have the alpha, what do you need me for?"
Cross growled again.
"Is there nothing you can share about Casey?" Rowena asked, ignoring Reed's betrayed look.
"Answer the question," Cross demanded.
Reed shook his head. "The only friend I remember her mention was someone named King."
Darlene slapped her hands on the table. "I have to use the bathroom! Maybelle, hurry up, girl. Unless you want me to have an accident all of your nice chair here."
"Let's go!" Maybelle cried before jumping up to help her grandmother to the bathroom.
"King?" Rowena repeated. "Did she use a last name?"
"No. I only know that because I saw the name saved on her phone once," Reed admitted. "I didn't know about her past relationships. We didn't exactly talk when we were together. I didn't care about getting to know her the way I wanted to get to know you."
"You took her to Sweeter Homes," Rowena said before she could stop herself. "Why would you invite her to my place of work? My boss saw you together. My friends could have seen you as well."
"I'm sorry, Rowena." Reed whispered, his head down. "I wish I could undo what I did and not cause you any hurt. I'd do anything for you to forgive me."
"Anything?" Rowena asked.
"Rowena," Cross said her name in warning.
"I know what I'm doing," she insisted to Cross. Rowena's smile widened. "I'll believe you're being sincere if you do one thing for us."
"A-anything!" Reed insisted.
"Cross and I have to go to the illegal dog race Casey participated in."
"Okay," Reed said, wariness in his voice. "What do you need from me?"
"We don't have a dog."
"You want me to pretend to be a dog?" Reed scowled.
Rowena shrugged and then immediately groaned in pain.
"What's wrong?" Reed asked, leaning forward as if he were going to grab Rowena.
"Gunshot wound," Cross answered. "We believe Casey's brother, Flint Sloane, has been trying to kill Rowena. It's why we're trying to find the real killers. To get Flint to back off."
"You want to be friends?" Rowena asked. "Then help me with this. I just need to find out if it was the illegal gambling ring that got her killed or something else."
"I'm not sure how I feel about Reed joining us," Cross said to Rowena.
"If we're going to an illegal dog race, we need a dog."
"Yes, butâ"
"Don't you want me safe, Cross?" Rowena asked, her eyes wide.
"More than anything."
"So, let Reed help. Other than being a cheater and weak guy, he's really nice. I think he can help us. He can eavesdrop for us at the race."
Cross muttered a few things under his breath before finally glaring at Reed. "Fine. We'll let him help for now."
Maybelle sauntered into the room without Darlene. "What did I miss?"
Rowena smiled at the older she-shifter. "Not much. Reed is going out with Cross and me. Before that happens, do you happen to have the DVD for the Wizard of Oz?"