The nurses were giving her dirty looks. Rowena couldn't figure out if it was because she was the sole focus of the handsome Cross Howler or if it was because Little Mikey and Gina had shown up at the hospital five minutes after her cousin Lorena and her ex-husband Donnie.

Add in Abby, Liam, Matt, and two of Little Mikey's men and the room was cramped enough to be a fire hazard. Plus, someone had forgotten to put on deodorant. Rowena discreetly rubbed her nose to her shoulder, hoping it wasn't her. Everyone was too distracted in conversation to notice her.

"It's not you," Cross whispered. He was holding her hand in his, palm up, next to his other palm. He was studying them as if they were one of those Eye-Spy puzzles from decades ago.

"Are you sure?" Rowena asked. "It's pretty potent. I feel like I'm choking on freshly cut onions over here."

"I'm positive. You smell lovely as always. It's one of Little Mikey's henchmen. The one he calls Sal."

Rowena's eyes widened. "Did you just use the word henchmen?"

He gave her a small grin. "It seemed appropriate. They're dressed like old-time gangsters from the twenties." He wasn't wrong. It was too hot to be in striped suits complete with vests and fedora hats. No wonder one of them smelled like a teenage locker room.

"Are you done with that?" Cross pointed to a handheld mirror that her cousin Lorena had pulled out of the large velvet tote bag she was carrying. Rowena swore her cousin's bag could rival that of Mary Poppins. She once saw her pull out a humidifier from that tote bag.

"I can't believe my face looks normal. No black eyes or swollen nose," Rowena whispered. "Your saliva is like magic sauce. I wonder what else I can do with it. Wait--that was kind of gross. Pretend I didn't say that."

Cross chuckled. "I can fix your shoulder if you let me but you know what you have to do first."

Her eyes narrowed. "One, I'm not getting naked for you. And two, it would be too obvious if my gunshot wound suddenly disappeared."

He huffed out a breath before glancing down at her palm again. "I hate to see you in pain."

"It's not too bad with all the pain pills I'm taking. Also, they make me see things. I swore I saw Elvis Presley walking down the hallway a minute ago."

"I think that was an impersonator here to visit the elderly," Gina said, clearly eavesdropping. She was wearing a red mini-dress with sequins. Little Mikey stood next to her wearing a matching red suit minus the sequins. He was holding a wilted bouquet of daisies.

"We brought you some flowers," Little Mikey said. "Gina said you were shot at a family barbecue. Been there, done that. Twice."

Sal and the man next to him nodded as if being shot was a normal occurrence for them.

Gina stepped closer and handed her three books. "I also got you more paranormal shifter romance books. Maybe we can pick one for book club?"

"I strongly recommend The Alpha and the Ballerina. It was poignant and really went into depth about becoming a prima ballerina," Little Mikey shared.

"You read shifter romance novels?" Abby couldn't help but ask, staring at the large man notorious for his criminal activity in Clarkton.

Little Mikey cleared his throat. "There's no shame in reading about werewolves and ballerinas falling in love!"

His two men looked away, shaking their heads.

Matt and Liam both smiled as Abby giggled.

Sal winked at Abby. "It's lovely to see you again, beautiful. You got a boyfriend?"

"You stink," Abby said with a deadpan expression on her face.

"Are you finally done staring at your reflection, Ms. Trouble?" Lorena asked, cutting through the awkward tension that was starting to fill the room.

"Lorena, you shouldn't call your cousin that," Donnie chastised.

"I can call her whatever I want. You shouldn't even be here. It's not like Rowena wants to see you."

"Rowena is family!" Donnie protested.

"We divorced, Donnie. That means she's no longer family to you. Besides, you were the one who threw her in a jail cell with a murderer and a prostitute."

"Escort," Rowena corrected. "Besides, Reba and Jeremiah were fun. I hope they're both okay."

"The escort made bail. The murderer is still sitting in lock-up," Donnie admitted.

"Alleged murderer," Rowena said. "Reba is innocent until proven guilty."

Donnie shook his head. "They found the murder weapon with her fingerprints and she had blood on her clothes. The district attorney has it in the bag with her case."

"That's too bad. It's not her fault her husband had an affair with her best friend," Rowena said. "That isn't an excuse for murder, but she lost her mind. People do crazy things when they lose their mind."

"Like attack a person's car with a baseball bat?" Matt asked, innocently.

Cross growled.

"Can we not talk about murders?" Lorena asked. "My cousin was almost murdered last night and the cops have found nothing."

Donnie gasped. "Did you really just throw me under the bus like that?"

Lorena rolled her eyes. "You're not a homicide detective, so no. Seriously, Donnie, why are you here? If you don't leave, I'm going to get a restraining order."

"Your cousin was shot at your family barbecue and you have a criminal standing in her hospital room. Don't you feel safer with me in the room?" Donnie asked.

"Can we not make this about you two?" Gina asked, stepping between the two. "Rowena, Little Mikey needs to have a word."

"Okay," Rowena said, confusion in her voice.

"Without all the extras around," Gina continued, her eyes flashing towards Lorena and Donnie.

"Are you trying to get rid of us?" Lorena asked with her hands on her hips. "I'm not an extra, I'm her family. If anyone should leave it should be you!"

"I'm her co-worker and we have a book club together!" Gina shouted.

"I'm her best friend!" Lorena argued.

Gina stomped her red-heeled foot. "No, I am!"

"Stop!" Cross said the word in a low tone that immediately had everyone quiet. "I want everyone to leave the room except Little Mikey."

Gina and Lorena both turned to him, mouths open, protests ready to spill forth.

"Now," Cross demanded.

Matt and Liam gave him a nod before waiting for everyone to exit the room. Gina said she was going to go to the gift shop to find her some more books. Abby stepped closer to Rowena's bed. "I'll go get you some candy bars or something."

Rowena smiled. "Are you trying to be my best friend too?"

Abby shook her head. She glanced at her brother who was still holding Rowena's hand. "Nah, I have a feeling we'll be closer than best friends."

Rowena's smile fell under the weight of her confusion, but she gave a slight nod. When everyone but Little Mikey had left, Cross released Rowena's hand and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "What do you know?"

A corner of Little Mikey's mouth tipped up. "You wanted to know info on Casey Sloane's bets, didn't you?"

"We do," Cross answered.

"Someone found out you were snooping around. The dog races have been moved up," Little Mikey shared. "You know what that means, don't you?"

"That I have hours to find a dress to wear tonight when I go to the races?" Rowena asked.

"No," Little Mikey said, chuckling. "You don't have to dress to impress at these types of events, but the women do like to wear short and tight dresses."

"If not the dress, then what am I missing?" Rowena asked.

"We have a rat," Cross answered, glaring at Little Mikey. "Or you do."

Little Mikey shrugged. "Anything is possible. Sal has a loose tongue when he's had a few too many drinks. My other man, Silvio is a vault. He's my main bookie. He was notified of the change even though we don't touch that event."

"What if it's a trap," Rowena asked. "It isn't normal for people to change the night of an illegal dog race, is it?"

Little Mikey shrugged. "Poker dens change nights quickly too. No one wants to get arrested so you have to be flexible. I'm not surprised the dog race has been rescheduled...especially since it's really a dog fight."

"So, you don't think it's a trap?" Cross asked.

Little Mikey ran his hand down his abdomen, his thick fingers almost petting the red material. "Anything is possible. Gina will send you the time and place. If you decide to go, be careful."

"That's all you've got?" Rowena asked, disappointed.

"All I've got?" Little Mikey repeated. "Woman, I'm not some sort of wizard hiding behind a curtain who can give you sage advice. I'm telling you how it is. If you go to that dog fight tonight, you may be walking into a trap. You may be walking into nothing. Illegal activity is a risk. You gotta ask yourself if you're willing to take a risk. But let me remind you, Rowena Flores, life is nothing but risks."

He didn't wait for her to reply. He turned and made his way out of the hospital room.

Rowena glanced up at Cross who was staring at the door, deep in thought. She lifted her uninjured arm and pinched his side.

He looked down. "What?"

"You do realize that Little Mikey, a well-known criminal in Clarkton, made a Wizard of Oz reference just now when he said he wasn't a wizard hiding behind a curtain."

Cross stared at her blankly. "So?"

"You don't even know who Glinda is! When we first met, you had no clue."

"I'm still not following you. What does this have to do with anything?"

"It means you're going to have to watch The Wizard of Oz. Maybe after we talk to Reed but before we go to the dog race."

Cross sighed. "You really still want to talk to Reed?"

"Of course I do! I didn't change my mind, Cross. And I want to talk to him alone. Where has he been living this entire time?"

"I thought I told you. He's been staying with his neighbors."

"As in more than one?" Rowena asked.

Cross nodded. "He stayed with Wyatt first but complained about Wyatt watching too many old movies and singing too many old songs. He swore if Wyatt sang about hound dogs another time, he was going to bite him."

Rowena rolled her eyes.

"Now, he's staying with Maybelle. I'm surprised she hasn't kicked him out yet."

"Why is that?" Rowena asked.

"Maybelle likes to give unsolicited advice. I can't imagine Reed enjoys her constantly interfering with his life. I'd normally allow any of my wolves to stay at my house."

"House?" Rowena balked. "Don't you mean mansion?"

"It's not a mansion."

"Okay, Mr. Millionaire. If you say so. It's so big my cat has her own room there. It's a mansion."

"As I was saying, I can't have him staying with me because of you."

"What about me?"

Cross gave her an impatient look. "I don't want you two living under the same roof. Knowing you two used to date doesn't sit well with me."

"We dated for six months but none of it was real. He was cheating on me with Casey the whole time. My boss, Rolando, said he saw them together at Sweeter Homes. That's downright disrespectful."

"Rowena, he said he was using her to combat the moon. Those types of relationships are superficial."

"Tell me what it means to combat the moon."

He shook his head. "No, if you were my consort, I could tell you. Are you willing to be my consort?"

"That's a big fat no."

He grabbed her hand and turned it over to stare at her palm, His finger traced her heart line. "What does almas gemelas mean? Your grandmother said that when she read our palms."

Rowena tried snatching her hand out of his grasp. "Why should I tell you? You won't even tell me what combating the moon is."

Cross made a frustrated sound in the back of his throat. He ran a hand through his hair before turning back to her. "We're wolves. You get that, right?"

"Yes."

"No, I mean...our souls, our very nature is to be like the wolf. We're territorial. We like to hunt and fight. The moon brings it out in all of us."

"Even you?" Rowena asked.

"Even me. As alpha, I have more control over my baser needs but most wolves don't. When the moon calls, their humanity takes a back seat. We can become violent."

"Okay..." Rowena said, not quite understanding his words.

"When there's a full moon, we have to run as a pack. After the run, the moon makes us a little wild. Some wolves choose to fight and others choose to mate. It's how they burn off all that excess energy."

Rowena's eyes narrowed. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

The alpha's adam's apple bobbed. "What do you think I'm saying?"

"That your wolves either fight or," her voice lowered to a whisper, "have orgies."

Cross flinched. "What? That's not what I'm saying! We don't have orgies. It's not like that. Listen, the wolves who have a mate are safe. They go home and burn that energy off. The wolves who aren't mated become violent. We've had wolves kill one another before if they're not careful. I had to create a law that anyone who kills another wolf would be exiled from the pack. No one wants to be exiled so they find a mate or, like Reed and Casey, make arrangements."

"So, what you're saying is...Reed cheated on me because the moon made him do it?"

Cross shrugged. "Essentially. It wouldn't have meant that he loved Casey. It meant he needed someone to help him not get hurt or exiled. He couldn't have used you during the moon because wolves are known to shift back and forth during a full moon. It would've exposed our kind to you. I imagine Casey was an easy choice because she wanted to join my pack. Most of the women in Howler pack are already taken."

Rowena placed her hands over her face and circled her fingers around her eyes. "This is the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

"It's not dumb! We must combat the moon. There are packs that thrive on killing one another to achieve dominance. Howler pack isn't like that."

"So, all this time you kept asking me to be your consort, it was knowing you'd have to get a wolf-shifter to help you combat the moon?" Rowena asked, her voice tight. She looked like she needed a baseball bat.

"Of course not. I told you, I'm alpha. I can control any urges my wolf demands during a full moon. When I was younger, it was different but now that I'm alpha, I have total control. I don't need to fight or fu—"

"Don't say it!" Rowena screeched. "I cannot believe this wolf thing gets weirder and weirder."

"It's not weird. It's just our way," Cross said softly. "You wanted to know. I told you. You can't be mad at me for that. I told you the truth."

Rowena turned away from him and grunted at the pain in her shoulder. She groaned in frustration. "Fine. So, Reed had a reason to cheat on me during full moons. What about all the other times when it wasn't a full moon?"

"Are you asking me to explain my competition's actions?" Cross asked.

"He is not your competition!"

"As long as you admitted it, then I won't hold back in fear that you'll reconcile with Reed. Casey probably knew she was being used so she took advantage of his need for her. Maybelle and Wyatt were both adamant Reed wanted you over Casey."

Rowena shook her head. "It doesn't make it okay. He used me and he used Casey. If I could, I'd curse the superstitious jerk all over again."

Cross smiled. "Glad to hear it. Now, will you tell me what almas gemelas means?"

"I don't know why you want to know. My abuela is old. She probably needs glasses."

"What does it mean?" Cross asked in his alpha voice.

Rowena sighed. "We've always been taught if you find the person with a matching heartline, you have some sort of destiny together. The literal translation of almas gemelas is soul twins."

"Soul twins?"

Rowena nodded. "Essentially it means we're—" her last word was mumbled and difficult to understand. Cross leaned closer.

"Repeat that. I didn't hear you. It means what?"

Her brown eyes gazed up at him and she scowled. "Soulmates! It means soulmates."