Good Witch, Bad Alpha (A Not so Cozy Mystery)

Chapter 6: Don't You Dare Fall in Love With Me!

"I left a shirt and some sweatpants in there for you too in case you want to change," Abby called out. "I can't imagine you want to stay in that nightie."

Rowena nodded her thanks and closed herself into the bathroom. There were a few personal toiletries like deodorant, soaps, and shampoos on the counter. There was also a new pack of underwear and bras next to the clothing Abby said was waiting for her. Rowena forced herself to look in the mirror and gasped.

She had dark circles under her eyes, her cheeks were sunken in, and her eyes and hair appeared dull and listless. She looked a mess. She shuffled over to the shower and turned on the water, thinking she'd at least get herself clean before the nightmare that was her life continued.

Rowena had just finished showering, changing, and brushing her teeth when she heard bangs coming from the other side of the bathroom door.

"Rowena? Are you okay? Open the door!" It was Cross and he sounded worried. Did he think she was going to run away again? There wasn't a window in the bathroom. She rolled her eyes upward and noticed a vent in the ceiling. She filed that knowledge away to possibly use later if she needed to make another escape attempt.

She pulled the door open to see Cross standing on the other side, his fist up as though he were about to knock again. He lowered his hand when he saw her and leaned forward to pull her into his arms.

"Whoa! What do you think you're doing?" Rowena scowled. "Put me down this minute!"

Liam, his beta, and Matt, his head enforcer, were standing by the bed next to Abby. They all watched with wide eyes as Cross carefully placed Rowena back into bed and tossed the covers over her. "You need to rest," he said as if that explained his actions.

Rowena turned her head to the others to see if they thought he was being over-the-top but none of them dared to look at her.

"What in the world is going on?" Rowena asked.

"We found you in Nightshade territory," Cross answered. "You were almost dead!"

"Poisoned," Matt confirmed. "We didn't think you were going to make it."

Rowena closed her eyes as she tried to concentrate. "Well, I was trying to escape when a stranger grabbed me from outside the window." Rowena pointed to the window she had escaped from. "He was too strong so I couldn't get away."

"She said it was Casey's brother," Abby offered, her worried eyes on her brother.

"The entire Sloane family is a nuisance," Matt muttered. "Always have been. Always will be."

"Casey was a handful but Flint never usually did anything crazy. Maybe it's his grief causing him to act this way," Liam suggested. He glanced at Cross.

"Tell us what happened. All of it," Cross demanded. His voice was demanding and caused Rowena to break out into goosebumps.

"Go ahead," Abby said, stepping closer to the bed. "Don't leave anything out."

Rowena sighed. She didn't see any reason not to share what she learned from Casey's brother. "Well, Flint Sloane, abducted me. I didn't see much of what happened because he hit me and I passed out. When I came to, I was tied to a chair in some sort of cement storage room."

A growling sound came from Cross but Rowena ignored it.

"He was kind of handsome in a serial killer kind of way," Rowena said. "For a second, I thought I was having another kinky sex dream."

"Rowena!" Cross snapped. "Can you spare us the nonsensical description of Flint being handsome?"

Abby stifled a giggle.