Page 62 of Plus-Size Mate

Why was I ever a fool enough to believe this could actually be real?Winter thought, imagining how she had actually allowed herself to begin to believe that Eddie was truly her fated mate. As if there was any such thing for a half-breed like her.

She was almost in the seclusion of the walled rose garden that Layla had lovingly built with her own bare hands when she heard someone calling after her.

“Winter, wait! Please!”

She quickened her pace. The last thing she wanted right now was to be anywhere near him, even if her heart skipped a beat at the sound of his voice.

“Hell, woman! For a witch, you sure are fast!” Eddie exclaimed, reaching her all too quickly with his werewolf speed.

He grabbed her wrist and yanked her around to face him, his eyes blazing cold fire.

“Get your hands off me!” she screamed, shoving him hard in the chest. “You have no right to touch—”

“Winter, stop!”

Eddie growled the words, grabbing her with her arms pinned to her sides in order to pull her close, too close for her to lash out at him again.

It was only then, as her panic subsided and gave way to forced relief, that she realized she was actually crying.

She went into Eddie's chest, so powerfully that the sobs hurt her throat.

What am I doing?she thought suddenly, yanking herself free of his grip.

“No. You don't get to do this!” she insisted, turning her back on him. “You don't get to brush me off as a means to an end and then come and give me a hug and magically make it all better.”

Her spine shivered.

She felt his closeness, her body responding with a betraying heat that made her want to turn back and throw herself into his arms once more.

“Winter, it isn't like that,” Eddie insisted. “What you saw back there was—”

“She’s right, isn't she?” Winter demanded, turning on him again. Her hands tightened into fists as the anger took hold of her once more. “You wish I was a werewolf, a proper mate.”

That's when Eddie grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her as if trying to wake her from some terrible nightmare. “You are a proper mate!”

Winter couldn't bring herself to believe him. She wouldn't fall into this trap again.

“Stop it with the bullshit. We both know you'd be happier with one of your own kind,” she insisted, her heart sinking even as she said the words. “We both know you only did this for Jack and your pack.”

“You're wrong, Winter.”

The clear determination in his tone made Winter stop. She grew still, the fight going out of her body.

“How?”

Eddie reached up and cupped her face in both his hands. Looking deep in her eye, he stated, “I thought that at first. I allowed myself to believe this was only for the pack and the town.”

Winter's insides twisted, her jaw clenching painfully.

“But then I allowed myself to see the truth,” Eddie continued, seemingly sensing the tension in her. His grip on her face tightened as if he feared she might try to pull away. “From the moment I first met you, I thought you were the most beautiful woman I have ever met. And as I got to know you, I realized you weren't just attractive on the outside, but on the inside, too. You're gorgeous, smart, independent. Everything about you drives me wild, even your damn stubbornness, and even before we cast the spell, I began to realize that this thing between us is real. It's as real as it gets.”

Winter's bottom lip trembled, and she felt herself tearing up all over again. “What…what about what you said in there?”

“What would be the point in trying to explain any of this to Carly?” Eddie demanded, baring his teeth. “She could never understand.”

Winter blinked, fighting back the tears. The question on her lips was painful. “Is…is there something between the two of you?”

Eddie grimaced at that, and Winter's heart sank. So there was something between them.

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