Rowena watched as Banks, the vampire king, stood over her body, a serious expression of concentration on his face.
In complete contrast, his wife Poppy looked as though she wanted to vomit.
"Don't throw up on me," Rowena warned Poppy, who couldn't hear her. She had kicked Selig and flipping the lights but eventually her ability to do so stopped.
Rowena growled in frustration. No one could hear her and she couldn't convey her feelings with flickering lights and kicks to the shin. Being on the brink of death definitely took the fun out of being invisible.
"Do you know why you're here?" Cross asked the handsome vampire.
Banks lifted a finely manicured brow. "Are you sure you want me to do this? I can't undo it once it's been done."
"Can someone please explain what's going on?" Rowena shouted flapping her arms in the air. "Like, helloooo, I'm dying! This is not the time to have a paranormal party I can't enjoy!"
"What if this is a mistake?" Liam asked. "Cross, you can't mate a vampire."
Rowena stuttered mid-rant. "Vampire?"
Her eyes narrowed as she glared at Cross. "Please tell me I'm wrong and you're not making a life-changing decision on my behalf while I'm invisible and almost dying? Tell me I'm wrong, Cross!"
"I want her to live but taking the choice from her isn't right," Poppy said.
"As a leader, you sometimes have to make difficult decisions, darling," Banks explained. "Rest assured, I'd do anything to keep you alive."
"Even if it was something I was against?" Poppy asked.
"I love you, my queen. If I made a choice for you, I'd simply seek forgiveness later before asking for permission. I must admit, I do look forward to watching the wolf grovel in the future."
Poppy scowled at her husband. "That's not as romantic as you think it is. You're talking about turning Rowena into a vampire without her permission!"
"You want to turn me into a vampire?" Rowena screeched.
"Rowena," Abby cried out. "If you don't want us to do this, will you give us a sign?"
Rowena howled in frustration, attempting to flip the light switch without success. "Why did you stop working for me?"
Abby looked around the room, her brows rising. "I don't see anything happening. Does that mean she agrees?"
"It seems so," Selig said cautiously.
"There will be no groveling!" Cross said pointedly at Banks. "Rowena is my future mate. Once she's a vampire, I'll find a witch or someone to turn her back. I just need time."
"You cannot undo what I'm about to do, wolf," Banks warned. "Once Rowena is turned, she will become part of my coven."
"No!" Multiple voices shouted at once.
Banks smirked. "Changed your mind? My queen and I can leave but the human will die."
"Rowena is important to our pack. She can't be part of your coven," Abby cried. "What does that even entail?"
"Good question," Rowena said, nodding and clapping.
Banks sighed. "I hate explaining myself to outsiders."
Poppy rolled her eyes and shoved him aside. "I'll explain. If Banks turns her, she'll essentially be one of his followers. He'll be able to send her messages psychicly."
Banks smirked. "She'll be my minion."
"No, she won't," Poopy hissed. "Stop trying to scare them."
"Vampires have a hard time resisting their master," Banks argued. "He's lucky I already have a beautiful queen or I could steal her away if I wanted to."
"Eww," Rowena grimaced.
Poppy kicked her mate. "Stop saying stupid things."
"Will she need to drink blood?" Selig asked. "She can have my blood. It's the least I can do since she sacrificed her life for me."
He stared at Rowena with a look Rowena couldn't quite name.
"Oh no," Rowena groaned, placing a hand on her forehead. "Please tell me you aren't falling in love with me too, Selig. I hate harem love stories. Gina likes them, not me."
"If anyone is giving her their blood, it's going to be me!" Cross said, shoving Selig back.
"I don't want to drink anyone's blood!" Rowena screamed.
"Rowena has an uncle who pretends to be a vampire," Cross shared. "He wears a cape and everything. He even talks in a horrible Russian accent to tell people, 'I vant to suck your blooood.' Rowena won't do that, will she?"
Poppy scoffed. "Of course not."
"I don't want to be a vampire," Rowena repeated.
"What if being a vampire changes who she is?" Abby asked.
"Abby," Winona chastised her daughter.
"No, I'm serious," Abby said, shaking her head. "What if we make her a vampire and her whole personality changes? What if she's not the Rowena we all know and love?"
"I'd still love her," Cross insisted.
"Even if she became like a zombie?" Matt asked.
Liam's eyes widened. "Zombies and vampires aren't the same!"
"They're both undead," Matt explained.
"Zombies eat brains. Vampires drink blood," Liam explained, as though Matt was a child.
"It doesn't matter. I'll always love Rowena," Cross insisted. "Whether she eats brains or drinks blood."
"Such a stupidly bold statement," Banks smirked. "It's making me hope she does change. Then, I could watch you suffer."
"Banks," Poppy said, shaking her head.
"Helloooo....doesn't what I want matter?" Rowena asked the room. When they all ignored her, she cursed. "Being a ghost is horrible!"
"I just think this may not be a wise decision," Matt said. "If she becomes violent--"
"She won't," Cross insisted.
"She already was violent," Winona muttered to her husband, Bruce. "How much more violent could she get?"
"Now, now, dear," Bruce said, patting her shoulder. "Some things are better left as thoughts than words."
"After she turns into a vampire, she'll have to stay with us for a bit," Poppy said. "I'll need to watch over her and show her the ropes. Normally, her master would do that."
Banks chuckled. "Yes, normally that would be my role. A master and new vampire must cultivate their bond."
"You won't have that bond with Rowena," Cross snarled.
"Watch it, wolf," Banks' voice hardened. "I'm only here because my queen insisted."
"Why can't you turn her, Poppy?" Abby asked.
Poppy sighed. "I have to wait a century before I can turn someone into a vampire. I'll be the one to teach Rowena how to be a vampire. You won't have to worry about Banks doing anything inappropriate."
"Darling, you're taking all the fun out of this for me," Banks huffed.
"I still need to lose ten pounds. If you turn me into a vampire, I won't ever lose that weight!" Rowena cried. She shrugged her shoulders. "I mean, sure. I probably wouldn't have lost it anyway, but I like to pretend I'm working on it!"
"It'll be okay," Poppy assured Cross. "But I have to ask, are you sure this is a good idea?"
"I can't believe my son will be dating a bloodsucker," Winona whispered to her husband.
Banks smiled, showing his fangs, "We can hear you."
"It's rude to eavesdrop," Winona replied, a blush in her cheeks.
"It's rude to call us bloodsuckers," Poppy argued. "I'm also a hexing witch. Besides, we don't make fun of you for howling at the moon and trying to fight it's call."
"Speak for yourself," Banks murmured. "I make fun of them all the time."
"Can we get on with this?" Cross asked.
"No, I do not want to be a vampire!" Rowena stood next to Cross, trying to get his attention.
"Don't blame me if anything strange happens to her or her personality changes," Banks warned.
He lifted her wrist ignoring the growls in the room.
He's going to take some of her blood," Poppy explained. "Once she is almost drained, he'll give her his blood.
"I can't watch." Abby turned around, giving her back to Rowena.
"Stop! This is not what I want!" Rowena tried pulling her wrist away from Banks. A prick of pain jolted her to silence and she watched as something tugged her back to her body.
The room watched as Banks nipped at his own wrist and carried it over Rowena's mouth. He used one hand to gently pry her mouth open as a few drops fell on her tongue.
Seconds later, her body shook.
"What's happening?" Cross asked in a panic.
"This is normal, don't worry," Banks assured him, before squeezing a few more drops in her mouth."
The room gasped as Rowena's eyes opened and she jolted to a sitting position.
She sat on her haunches and hissed.
"It worked!" Banks grinned.
"Why is she acting like a wild animal?" Abby asked, apprehension in her voice.
"I thought you wolves would like that," Banks said dryly.
"Baby." Cross moved forward with open arms.
Rowena slashed her hand in the air and hissed. She stared at cross with vacant eyes.
"Baby, it's me, Cross. I love you and you love me. We had Banks save you. Don't you have anything you want to say?"
Rowena's eyes darted around the room before landing back on Cross. She opened her mouth, and in a horrible Russian accent, said, "I vant to suck you blooood."