Rowena couldn't say her life flashed before her eyes when Angelina aimed a gun at her. Instead, she felt a tidal wave of red hot anger.

"You want to shoot me, Angelina?" Rowena asked, stepping forward, throwing her shoulders back.

"Baby," Cross said in a cautious tone.

"Don't worry, Cross. This isn't my first rodeo. I've had gang members, cops, and even my cousin Felix aim a gun at me. I won't even talk about what I went through when my ex-boyfriend cheated on me."

"Stop talking," Angelina roared. Her hand shook. "You ruined everything! You stupid human!"

"Put the gun down, Angelina," not-Sylvia ordered in an even tone. "I know what you did."

"You know nothing!"

"You were involved in Karen's death. I know that much," not-Sylvia said.

"You killed Karen?" Rowena screeched.

Raven laughed. Bubbled sobbed.

"They were going to kill her." Angelina pointed to the two fairies. "I tried stopping them."

"You're lying!" Bubbles argued. "That human, Karen, overheard Queen Daisy giving us orders to reveal who we were to the humans. She tried to blackmail us."

"So you drowned her in a toilet?" Rowena asked. "None of us liked her, but no one deserves to die in dirty toilet water."

Cross shook his head.

"We were just trying to scare her," Bubbles insisted. She pointed a finger at Angelina. "But she came into the bathroom and heard Karen mention the Queen's secret mission to us. She finished the job but said she'd report us to PUN. She held our hands over Karen's head."

"You let a shifter boss you around?" King Giles asked.

All the shifters growled at his tone.

Bubbles wiped her tears with the back of her hand. "She said she would help us cover up the crime. That the next person who came in would take the fall for Karen's death."

"Shut up!" Angelina yelled. "You two are so annoying. I helped you by framing that idiotic human. I even planted the anesthesia in her home. All I asked in return was a love potion. You fairies are worthless!"

"She forced us to make her pretty," Raven admitted. "She said she'd tell King Giles our plan if we didn't help her."

"You wanted a love potion?" Abby asked.

"To make Cross fall in love with you?" Liam wondered aloud.

"Cross should've always been mine," Angelina insisted. "My tarot cards told me so."

Rowena leaned back into Cross and whispered, "You dodged a bullet. She's craaaazy."

"I am not crazy! Cross and I were meant to be until you came into the picture. The fairies lied and said they couldn't give me a love potion. I just wanted things to go back to how they were. I wanted Cross to love me again."

"Angelina, we broke up a long time ago. There was never a chance of me loving you." Cross sighed. "We only dated because it seemed logical. You were beautiful and I was going to be alpha. I never loved you. It's why I broke things off."

"But I'm beautiful!" Angelina wailed.

Rowena turned to Abby. "Did she really just say that? Like, conceited much? Am I right?"

Abby nodded.

"Hello? I have a gun pointed at you!" Angelina shook the gun at Rowena.

Rowena yawned. "Listen, Crazy. I'm tired. If you're going to shoot me, then do it. But be sure you aim to kill or you're going down like the last donut surrounded by a group of overweight cops."

"Rowena," Abby chastised. "That's a stereotype. Not all cops like donuts."

Angelina shot a round into the air, causing King Giles to yelp in fear.

"Is that supposed to scare me?" Rowena scoffed.

Angelina's eyes narrowed. "You're not afraid of getting shot?"

"It wouldn't be the first time and with the way my life is going, it won't be the last."

Angelina aimed the gun at Rowena and pulled the trigger. Cross jumped in front of her, getting hit in the shoulder.

Rowena cursed and sprang towards a stunned Angelina.

"Why would you risk your life for her?" Angelina gasped as Abby ran to help her brother.

Rowena kicked Angelina in the stomach. Angelina growled, fur popping up across her arms.

"You're no match for my wolf," Angelina threatened before quickly shifting.

"No, probably not. But you're no match for my hexing. Angelina, I hex you to become a penguin!"

In the blink of an eye, the growling wolf transformed into a waddling penguin. Rowena bent over in pain.

A group of people dressed in gray with PUN logos came rushing inside. Not-Sylvia pointed at Bubbles and Raven. "Take them and Queen Daisy into custody. Our intel on them exposing the fairies was correct. Also, take the penguin. She's guilty in murdering a human."

The PUN agents arrested the guilty paranormal beings. Not-Sylvia was about to follow them when Rowena stopped her. Her face twisted in pain, she asked, "How did Gina's case get resolved? I know there's no Carlos Cabrera. The fairies and Angelina killed her."

"I don't normally share but I pulled some strings. I needed your friend Gina to look guilty so the fairies continued their plan." Not-Sylvia looked up and sighed. "I wanted Angelina in the pageant so I could keep an eye on her. I knew she and the fairies had something to do with Karen death. If PUN failed to keep the fairies identity a secret, PUN would be in big trouble."

Cross walked over to Rowena, clutching his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Rowena asked, staring at the blood. She was gripping her stomach.

He nodded. "I'm a shifter. This bullet is like a mosquito bite."

"Don't ever risk your life for mine," Rowena ordered.

"I can't make that promise. You're hurt?"

She shook her head. "No, I just suddenly don't feel well."

A puff of red smoke appeared along with Poppy, the only other hexing witch in existance.

"Poppy? What are you doing here?" Rowena asked.

Not-Sylvia shook her head in annoyance. She yelled at the other PUN agents, "Let's get out of here before the vampires show up."

"Are you afraid of the vampires?" Abby asked.

Not-Sylvia laughed. "No, they just annoy me. Besides, I owe Banks, the vampire king a hundred bucks." The PUN agents marched out of the auditorium as Poppy bent over Rowena. Selig made his way to stand next to the vampire queen.

"You just hexed someone, didn't you?" Poppy asked Rowena.

Another puff of smoke and Banks, the vampire king and Poppy's husband, appeared. He flashed his fangs at Selig. "Stay away from my wife, Howler."

"How did you know?" Rowena grunted, taking shallow breaths.

"I told you not to hex anyone!" Poppy reminded her.

"It was a life or death situation. I really didn't have a choice."

Poppy frowned. "No, Rowena. This is a life and death situation." She pointed to Rowena. "Haven't you figured it out yet?"

Cross wrapped an arm around Rowena. "Figured out what?"

"Every time you hex someone, it takes magic. You're human so you don't have any. The only powerful thing about you is your soul."

"Speak English," Rowena snapped. "I don't understand what you're saying."

"Every time you use your hexing ability, you're using the power of your soul."

Rowena frowned. "Maybe try explaining this to me in Spanish. I'm still not understanding."

"Every time you hex someone, you're slowly killing yourself. Do you get it now?"

"So, it's not just gas I'm feeling right now?" Rowena asked.

Poppy growled in frustration. "You're dying, Rowena!"

"No, I refuse to accept that!" Cross snarled.

"Down, boy" Banks said, sauntering closer to Rowena. "I have an easy solution to keep your future mate alive."

"And what's that?" Cross asked, suspiciously.

Banks gave him a wide smile, baring his fangs again, before answering. "I'll turn her into a vampire."

~THE END~

THANK YOU so much for reading! Below is a pic of Rowena and Cross (he is obviously in his wolf form). Thank you to Monrosey for creating this picture for me. 

Below is a cover of Book III.

PS: Eventually, I also want to write stories for all our side characters and Poppy and Banks. Let me know if there's any that you want to read first.

BOOK III BLURB

Is a hexing witch who can't use her powers, really a witch?

Rowena Flores has issues... and we're not just talking about her disconnected wifi. Sentenced to community service after an unfortunate incident with a drunken clown and a hotdog weiner,  Rowena is forced to volunteer at a nursing home for the elderly. When the activities director ends up dead, Rowena's grandmother is the number one suspect.

Will Rowena uncover the real murderer and prove her grandmother innocent? Will she learn to play Pinochle? More importantly, will she finally take the vampire king up on his offer to turn her into a vampire?

Book I: Good Witch, Bad Alpha
Book II: Never Cheat a Witch
Book III: Oh, Shift!