Page 35 of Plus-Size Mate

He had let himself be ruled by searching for those things for far too long. If this was where his story led, then he was sureas hell going to accomplish what he had set out to do. Whether Winter liked it or not.

Side-tracking off the beaten path, Eddie headed deeper into the woods. What he really needed in order to clear his mind right now was a shift.

His wolf was still clawing at his insides, making it near impossible to think straight. Maybe once he let him run for a while, things would be better.

Chapter 12 - Winter

Fear gripped Winter like a vice. How she had gotten here, she had no idea.

The last she remembered, she had been sitting at the dining table in the apartment above the shop, and the next thing she knew, she was running through the woods.

More than that, she was being chased through the woods. What was chasing her, she had no idea. At least, not at first. But the terror inside her told her she couldn't let herself be caught.

If they caught her, she was dead. That much she knew without a single doubt in her mind.

The shadows behind her were fast, animalistic, snarling and growling as they snapped at her heels with strong jaws that dripped with saliva.

In the darkness of the woods, she saw their eyes glow, red and menacing, filled with hatred and the desire to tear her apart.

Every time she dared to glance over her shoulder, they were a little nearer. If she didn't keep up her pace, they would be on her for sure.

In the back of her mind, she knew this had to be a dream, and yet it didn't matter. All that mattered was the fact she couldn't breathe past the lump in her throat, and she had to stay out of the clutches of who or what was after her.

There might have been only one or two of them or even a hundred. She couldn't be sure. But she knew that whatever pain they meant for her to feel, she would feel as if it were physical. She knew her mind would be scarred the moment she awoke from such a horrendous dream.

Being torn to shreds by animals was not the kind of thing your mind simply got up and walked away from. Every dream had meaning, she was certain of that, but what this one meant she had no clue.

She could worry about that once she was awake. There was just one problem; she couldn't seem to wake herself, no matter how hard she begged and pleaded her mind to let her just sit up and open her eyes.

The animals—no, the wolves—chasing her weren't the only things that seemed to want to get her in this godforsaken dream world. The roots of the trees all around her seemed to move like snakes, trying to trip her with every step, snapping at her with whipping force like predators.

The sky above her head, barely seen through the canopy of jet-black leaves, grew darker and darker, making it increasingly difficult to see. And just when she was close to giving up, one of those striking roots caught her in the shin, sending her headlong into a pile of dead leaves.

The pain that lanced through her forearms as she threw her hands out to brace herself was excruciating, but she knew it was nothing compared to what she would feel once those wolves were on top of her. And so she instantly tried to regain her footing, scrambling through the dead leaves and mud in a frantic and vain attempt to save herself once more.

The panic truly setting in, Winter scrambled, fell and scrambled again, feeling the wolves growing closer with every breath.

“No! No! Please!” she screamed as she felt one of them coming down on top of her.

Then, just when she thought it was all over, a flash of golden fur caught her eye.

For one horrified moment, she thought that maybe one of the attacking wolves had managed to come around from the front, cornering her in on all sides.

Then, the sounds of snarling began, and no pain came.

Crouched in the mud and leaf mulch, Winter watched in disbelief as a huge golden wolf began to attack the others. He lunged at the neck of one, biting down hard enough to kill it instantly before turning on another.

Winter watched in open-mouthed astonishment as he bit, clawed and tore at one after the other, fighting them off with practiced ease.

Her savior was a glorious beast. His muscles rippled beneath a silky golden pelt, and when she caught a glimpse of those eyes, there was no doubt in her mind of who he was.

Shock thrilled through her as she exclaimed, “Eddie! Look out. Behind you!”

The golden wolf, hearing his name, whipped around just in time to counterattack the wolf that had tried to creep up from behind.

Winter watched as Eddie's wolf dispatched him easily.

And as one after another fell, bodies piling up all around Eddie, the woods grew silent. Not even the sound of insects could be heard over the rhythmic drumming of Winter's heart.

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