Page 55 of Possessive Mate

Still holding him, Elena frowned. “I’m quite sure I don’t need to tell you how babies are made.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it!” Eddie snapped at her. He looked at her with such a venomous expression that for a second, she thought he might actually hit her to get her to let go of him. “How could you let Hanson touch you? He has all the she-wolves in the pack lining up at his door. He is a womanizer, a flirt. He even had Carly wrapped around his little finger!”

Elena rolled her eyes, unsure how her brother could possibly have come up with all of that. The few times she had noticed Hanson with another she-wolf, he seemed to keep a careful distance, showing no sign whatsoever that he was interested in any of them. When he looked at her, however, she had seen the desire burning in his eyes. She had never admitted it to herself at the time, but she certainly saw it now.

Still, there was another pressing matter on her mind now. “Who is Carly?”

Sensing her brother calming at the mention of her, his anger and aggression turning to something akin to embarrassment, Elena released his hand. When he shrugged, averting his gaze, she began to put two and two together.

“Nobody,” he grumbled, looking toward the floor. Hell, it was like they were teenagers again.

“A woman, then?” Elena said, reaching over to shove him hard in the shoulder. “So that’s what your shitty attitude has been about all this time!”

“I have not had a shitty attitude!” Eddie protested. Leaning back in his chair, he crossed his arms over his chest.

“What would you call it, then?” Elena demanded, leaning back against her pillows. She barely managed to refrain from crossing her own arms. Eddie was being defensive enough for the both of them.

“Like I said, it’s nothing.”

Elena watched her brother closely for a moment. It definitely wasn’t nothing. She knew him all too well to believe any of the bullshit coming out of his mouth.

“If you like this Carly, you should know, you have nothing to fear from Hanson,” she said, watching closely for his reaction, “He has absolutely no interest in any she-wolf in the pack.”

Eddie’s head darted up. His expression was suspicious. “How could you possibly know that?”

Here it comes, Elena thought, realizing she was not only about to tell her brother the truth, but also utter the words to herself for the first time, too.

“I’m not just carrying his babies, Eddie,” she said, her heart hammering at the words.

“What…what do you mean?” Eddie demanded. He lunged forward then, “Wait, did you say babies?”

Elena chuckled at that, giddy with the realization that was exactly what she had said. Finally, the truth was beginning to sink in, and it, in all honesty, felt amazing.

“It's twins, Ed,” she said, smiling from ear to ear.

Her happiness faded as Eddie threw himself back in his seat once more like a grumpy teenager. “That’s no proof. Hanson wouldn’t be the first werewolf daddy to shirk his duties and run off.”

Elena growled low in her throat. If it weren’t for the fact she was still healing, she might have thrown herself out of the bed at him. In her anger, she yelled, “He’s my fated mate, Eddie!”

His mouth fell agape. Elena’s heart raced. She felt the truth of it right deep down in her gut. Before her brother could offer any kind of protest, she added, “I didn’t think I would ever get a second chance at a pregnancy. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would ever get another chance at a fated mate, but I have. I can feel it deep down in my soul, Eddie. He’s mine, and I hope that as my brother, you will be happy for me.”

Eddie let out one of the most exasperated sighs she had ever heard. When he ran his fingers through his hair and leaned forward again, she braced herself for whatever ridiculousness was going to fall from his lips next.

“Elena, I’d love to be happy for you, but I’m not sure I’ll ever entirely like Hanson. I’m not sure I could ever fully trust him,” he admitted, meeting her gaze with a look of sympathy. “The truth is, he has a dark history with the pack.”

Here we go, Elena thought. It was just like Eddie to try and talk her off things, but she wasn’t going to be talked away from this. She knew the truth with her whole being.

“Everybody has a past, Eddie,” she pointed out. This time, it was she who crossed her arms. “Besides, you never really liked Jason either, remember?”

They laughed together at that, but before Elena knew it, she was crying. All the pent-up emotions of the last few months came to a head, and she could no longer hold them back. Knowing that her brother knew the truth now only made matters worse.

But just like only her brother could, he somehow started to make things better. Slipping onto the bed beside her, he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. Whispering gently that all was going to be okay, that he was there for her, he simply let her cry. And for the first time since she arrived in Nightstar, she finally felt like she had her brother back.

It was only when she had stopped her crying and heard someone hovering in the doorway of the room that she looked up.

“Mind if I come in?” a voice called, and the sound of it sent a thrill throughout Elena’s entire body. Then dread took its place in an instant as her brother released her and hopped off the bed.

“Eddie, no!” Elena warned harshly before she called a little more softly to Hanson, “Come in!”

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