The wind rustled through the tree branches as Nova stared out at the field ahead of her, seeing the beginnings of the spring season emerging in Virginia. Tiny green buds had already started sprouting on the trees although it seemed the long winter had barely ended.

Nova leaned back in her chair and rested her feet on the table before her. She casually placed her hands behind her head and gazed over to the winery grounds, which was located a viewable distance from her cabin. Her family had proudly built the winery from the ground up, and over the years, it became one of the most successful wineries in the world. People traveled far and wide just to get a taste of their product, which was always produced from the freshest grapes in the country. The winery’s success had provided a well-cushioned life for the Windego family, permitting them to live comfortably in beautiful dwellings along the beachside—that is, with the exception of the family’s patriarch, Marcus Windego. He had fallen ill and consequently, life for him was no longer as comfortable as it had once been.

And then there was Nova Windego, one-half of the Windego twins. She was stuck in Crescent Valley, of all places. Each day the sun rose and set, she was reminded of her childhood in the town of Crescent Valley. The happy times with the pack had been plentiful, but so were the bad times, particularly with the devastating loss of her beloved mother. Since losing her mother, Crescent Valley no longer felt like home for Nova. It had merely become a place for business in terms of dealing with the Bradwick clan, a powerful bear dynasty and the Windego Winery’s manager—a human by the name of Cannon.

Nova found Cannon boring, to say the least. Yet, that was no surprise; she felt that way about the majority of the human species and therefore kept her distance from them as much as possible. This was just another of numerous reasons Crescent Valley had lost its appeal for her. At the Windego family’s oceanside residence, Nova had enjoyed the constant companionship of their pack members. Crescent Valley, on the other hand, was crawling with humans. And for the residents who weren’t human—they were Bradwicks, which was even worse.

Tired of contemplating her dissatisfaction, Nova zipped her sweatshirt against the chill that remained in the air despite the sun beaming on her and the deceptive Spring-like appearance of her surroundings. She then closed her eyes, attempting to meditate with deep breaths for a moment to soothe her racing mind.

Her moment of relaxation was brief though. Footsteps sounded from a distance behind her, gradually drawing nearer. Not before long, there was a pressure in the air that let her know a visitor was hovering over her.

She opened her eyes, unsurprised to find Cannon peering down at her. With his shaggy blond hair and bright blue eyes, if Nova didn’t know any better, she would have guessed that he was a wolf himself. There was something about him that she sensed as dark and mysterious, and also bit wild—much like herself. But then she remembered he was just a mundane human.

“Do you need something?” she asked crossly.

“Your father called. Since you’re here, he wants you to learn the ropes of the winery. He wants you to come with me tomorrow to do some irrigation tests on the lower fields.”

“He wants me to do what?” Nova sat up. Although this wasn’t a vacation for her, she hadn’t planned on doing any work. She already had more than enough work to do back home.

“I usually start around seven o’clock in the morning,” Cannon said. He raised an eyebrow. “Is that okay with you?”

Nova stared at Cannon for a moment. She wasn’t sure her father was well enough to make a phone call, let alone direct someone to give her instructions. She furrowed her brow. “He actually wants me to help you work? I don’t know. Are you sure that’s what he said?”

Cannon blinked several times and pressed his lips together before he answered. “Yes, I’m sure. I know what I heard. I’ve talked your father many times over the years, and I always follow his orders. It’s how I keep my job—which I need to get back to, by the way,” he said. He turned around, preparing to leave.

“Hey wait!” Nova said. “Where exactly am I supposed to meet you at the butt-crack of dawn tomorrow morning?”

“Down near the four-wheelers. We’ll ride out there and collect some samples. Do you know where we keep the four-wheelers?”

Nova rolled her eyes. “Of course I do,” she lied, figuring she could just ask one of the other employees. There was something in Cannon’s demeanor that revealed he didn’t think the greatest of her, so she wasn’t keen on letting him know just how clueless she was.

He nodded. “Great. See you tomorrow morning then, Nova. Oh—and I hope you have some boots with you.”

Nova looked down at her feet. All she’d brought with her were her canvas slip-on shoes and a couple pairs of heels because she hadn’t anticipated a long stay in Crescent Valley. She waved her hand dismissively at Cannon, while making a mental note to stop into town to buy a pair of work boots, and maybe even some gloves as well to make it seem like she had planned for the possibility of doing work.

It was embarrassing enough that when she first arrived, she’d had to ask Cannon where to find a place to stay. She had played it off well enough though, making it seem that her father had sent her to watch over Cannon at the winery. Consequently, for the first couple of days, Cannon had been very friendly and accommodating towards her. However, as time wore on, he steadily became more annoying and slightly broody, giving Nova the feeling that they were equally getting on each other’s nerves. Hence, each passing second, it became a struggle for Nova to not pull her hair out. It was bad enough that she was stuck in such a hellhole of a town, but having to deal with irate humans felt like more than she could bear.

This particular day, however, she would finally get some time with another supernatural—one that hopefully would have some answers for her.

* * *

Nova had intentionally picked a time in which she knew the winery wouldn’t have many customers—that awkward time when it was too late for lunch, but too early for dinner and therefore, not yet acceptable to drink wine. Only a few lonely customers were scattered here and there, which provided Nova the privacy she would need with her guest.

However, as she kept checking the time, Nova worried that she had been stood up. Glancing toward the winery’s entrance for the umpteenth time, her worries were finally put to rest when the young witch walked in.

“Thanks for coming, Juliette,” Nova said as the young woman settled into the seat beside her. Hearing shuffling behind her, Nova turned around and cast a curious gaze at the elderly woman toddling after Juliette. She recognized the woman as Juliette’s aunt, and didn’t need to be told that she was the reason for Juliette’s tardiness. “Uhm…What's with grandma?”

Juliette shrugged. “I can’t really leave her alone in the house right now. She thinks there’re bad spirits around because of Maxine. I think it’s total crap and she just wants to be included, but here we are.”

Aunt Irma sat down in the chair opposite of Nova. “Whew! What does it take for a girl to get a drink around here?” she said, her voice unnecessarily loud.

Nova refrained from rolling her eyes and snapped her fingers. Moments later, a waiter appeared. “Is there something I can get you Ms. Windego?” he asked courteously.

“Yes. Grab me a bottle of that peach wine, please—Blushing Beauty, or whatever the hell you all call it. With three glasses.”

“Will that be all?”

“That’s all I said, isn’t it? Now up to it, thank you.”

“Yes, yes,” the waiter said. “Right away.” He then took off, shaking slightly as he went.

Juliette raised an eyebrow. “What was that all about? Is he afraid of you or something?”

“I guess. I’m the boss’s daughter, after all. Who cares though,” Nova said, thinking of how rudeness was the least of her problems.

Juliette shook her head and then tossed her hair behind her shoulders. “What do you need, Nova? Why did you ask me to come here?”

Aunt Irma leaned in and clapped her hands together. “Let’s hope it’s for wine tasting—preferably of whole bottles!”

Nova cleared her throat and fixed her gaze on Aunt Irma. “I requested Juliette’s company this afternoon, and I’m quite pleased to see her. But I’m not sure as to why you are here. Can you help me out with that?”

“Honey, I knew you when you were just a little white wolf,” Aunt Irma said, not bothering to lower her voice at all. “I can come whether you invite me or not. If you don’t know by now, I do as I please.”

Nova sat up straighter, looking around to make sure no one was listening. “You knew me as a child?”

Aunt Irma leaned forward again. “Most certainly did. I knew you before your family’s whole little empire even existed! Now, did I hear you’ve got new hot tubs installed around here? I brought my bathing suit just in case.”

Juliette rolled her eyes. “All right, Aunt Irma. Enough about you, your bathing suit, the hot tub, and the wine. Now Nova—tell me, why am I here? Not to mention, why are you still here?”

Nova chewed her bottom lip. One of few people who knew she was staying in Crescent Valley was her buddy with benefits—Dax. Although he was a member of the Bradwick family, he thankfully hadn’t told anyone her whereabouts. When she called to invite Juliette out for a glass of wine, she had practically felt Juliette’s shock, which confirmed that Dax had been keeping his mouth shut. Nevertheless, Nova needed Juliette, for she was the only person who could break the stupid curse Maxine had placed on her to trap her in this wretched town. So, Juliette had to be the next person to be let-in on the secret.

Juliette was the current leader of the Crescent Valley coven. Chosen by her ancestors to fulfill the duty, she now had and wore a fancy amulet with a ton of power to show for it. If anyone could break Maxine’s curse, it had to be Juliette. Nova just had to convince her to do it first, which would be difficult, considering she and Juliette weren’t exactly friends.

Nova had waited nearly a week before contacting Juliette. Before then, she’d had her sights set on convincing her twin brother, Julius, to come to Crescent Valley to help her. However, Julius’s presence could potentially cause further problems because the Bradwicks held a serious grudge against him, which he probably deserved, if Nova was being honest. If Julius showed up in town, the Bradwick family would know sooner or later, and then trouble was sure to follow, especially since the last time Nova and Julius had been in town, there had been more than trouble. Death.

Then there was the additional problem of Julius being quite a hot-head, to say the least, just like Nova was a spitfire. Together, the twins were like oil and water; they just didn’t mix well. This was one of the reasons their father hadn’t and wouldn’t let either of them take over the pack. But now that his health was failing thanks to Maxine’s wretched curse, questions arose regarding whether one of the twins would ultimately have to take over the pack on his behalf, and Julius had demonstrated on several occasions being open to the possibility.

Nova, on the other hand, knew how unfit her brother was for the job, and consequently wanted to get him away from the pack—even if just a few days—so that he could remember what freedom was like and realize he didn’t want such a huge responsibility on his hands. And if he happened to be able to help her out of her current predicament, it would be a welcomed bonus.

Nova sighed. “I'm stuck here.” She bit her lower lip and momentarily averted her gaze from Juliette, not sure she wanted to give her any more details than that.

“Honey, are you having one of those quarter-life-crises?” Irma asked. “I mean, I don't really think you’re old enough for that kind of thing, but you millennials are a strange bunch.”

Nova raised an eyebrow at Irma just as the waiter returned with the wine she had requested. He set three glasses on the table before them and proceeded to pour wine into each one.

“No,” Nova said once the waiter left. “I’ve been cursed. Maxine has trapped me here. When I try to go over the town’s borders, I get sick. It feels like my skin is crawling off my body. It’s disgusting!” She shuddered and then looked back toward Juliette. “That’s why I need your help. I need you to help me get back home. Hanging around with a bunch of humans that work for me is not really my idea of a good time. If I have to stay here any longer, I might go insane.” Nova frowned just slightly, almost regretting her choice of words. She didn’t necessarily think humans were beneath her. The real problem was that she couldn’t be herself around them. After so many years as a white wolf, it simply wasn’t practical to start wandering around the winery. She needed to keep a low profile, and that wasn’t something she was good at doing while humans were nearby.

“You’re stuck here? But Maxine is gone,” Juliette said, perplexed.

“I know that. That’s why I called you, smarty-pants.” Juliette flinched, offended. Normally, Nova wouldn’t care about offending Juliette, but this time, it gave her pause. Things were different now that she needed her help, so she couldn’t risk upsetting her. “Fine. Sorry,” Nova said. “You’re right. With Maxine is gone though, you’re the only other Phantom I know. So can you help me or not?”

Juliette pursed her lips. “Honestly, I don't know,” she said after a moment’s hesitation. “I’d have to look up what type of magic Maxine did. She had the amulet at the time, which means she was a lot more powerful than normal. Plus, she knows a lot more spells than I do, so that’s going to make things harder.”

“You mean she knew more spells than you. She’s dead, isn’t she?”

Juliette’s eyes shifted to her aunt, who had begun drinking her wine a little too quickly.

Nova looked back and forth between the two of them, her heart starting to race. “Juliette—is Maxine really dead?”

Juliette lowered her head and then shook it. “I don’t think so. I think she’s with our ancestors, stuck in the phantom world. But that doesn’t mean she’s dead.”

“The phantom world? What the hell is that?!”

Irma set her glass down. “Kind of like limbo, without the music and the fun part. It’s as close to Hell as you can get without seeing the devil himself.”

Nova leaned back in her seat, dumbfounded. “So, you’re telling she’s not dead?”

Irma and Juliette both slowly shook their heads.

“Unbelievable.” Exasperated, Nova threw her hands into the air before allowing them to come crashing down onto the table. “Well, that’s just wonderful. You don’t know how to help me, and the one person who does is stuck in some sort of phantom limbo because you people with magic are crazy!” Several patrons glanced at Nova from the corners of their eyes. When she spoke again, she lowered her voice to an agitated whisper. “So what the hell am I going to do now?”

Juliette leaned forward in her seat. “I will do everything I can to send you home, if for no other reason than I’m certain Cole doesn’t want you here. Does he even know you stayed?”

Nova drummed her fingers on the table, thinking about the current leader of the Bradwick clan and his cold eyes. “I guess that depends on if Dax told him or not.”

“Wait—Dax knows you’re still here?” Juliet said with raised with eyebrows.

“Yeah. He’s actually the one who dropped me off here, believe it or not. I mean, I guess he assumed I stayed. It’s not like I wrote him a thank you note or anything afterwards.”

Juliette rubbed her temples, undoubtedly thinking of how her boyfriend, Cole, would react if he knew his own brother had helped hide a Windego in Crescent Valley. “You know Cole isn’t going to like any of this, Nova. I’ll do my best to get you out of here, but I don’t want to get caught up lying and covering for you. I’m not Dax. So you’re going to have to tell the Bradwicks that you’re here in town. Preferably sooner than later.”

Nova looked down and started picking with her fingernails. “Yeah, about that…”

She reached for her wine glass, took a slow sip, and then cleared her throat. “I’d really rather not alert the Bradwick clan until I have some sort of solid plan on how to get the hell out of here.”

“Well, your plan just got busted because I’m not lying to my boyfriend for you,” Juliette said. “So you’re going to have to figure it out, quickly.”

“Boyfriend?” Aunt Irma chirped in. “Is that what we’re calling the stud on the mountain now?”

Juliette wrapped her hands around her glass and downed the rest of her drink at once.

Nova laughed, although matters were far from funny.