Page 77 of Plus-Size Mate

“I'm no witch, but that's a little odd, isn't it?” Will asked, crossing his arms over his chest. He almost looked suspicious, as if he thought she was hiding something.

“You're right. It is,” Winter admitted, meeting his eyes unwaveringly. “But there isn't much I can do about it.”

“Maybe it’s something to do with the protection spell?” Eddie suggested, looking sympathetic, as if he knew how hard failure was on her. “Maybe because his wolf is being suppressed it's not strong enough to locate him?”

Winter thought for a moment. “It is possible.”

“What do we do now, then?” Will asked, sighing deeply, as if utterly defeated.

Eddie rose to his full height and offered Winter his hand. “We do things the old-fashioned way.”

Will rolled his eyes. “And here I was thinking having a witch on the team might make things easier.”

At that, Eddie darted a warning glare at his packmate. “We've done this a million times before. Let's not put the failure entirely on Winter's shoulders. We never should have allowed him to escape in the first place.”

Will grimaced, grumbling something under his breath that Winter couldn't quite make out.

“We should head back out and see if we can find the others,” Eddie suggested, “Maybe another group has located him already.”

Will shrugged and shook his head. “I doubt it. We'd have heard something by now.”

Looking hopeful, Eddie plucked his phone from his pocket. When his face fell, Winter knew there was no news, yet she asked anyway. “Anything?”

Eddie shook his head.

“The longer it takes to find him, the more chance there is he'll escape town,” Will pointed out.

“If that is his plan,” Eddie countered. “If I were him, I’d want to know why the hell I couldn't shift.”

“And if he figures that out, he'll be even more dangerous,” Winter added. “He might try to find a way to break the spell.”

“Then it's a good job he and your father didn't manage to capture you when they came for you,” Eddie said, moving close to pull her into his arms. Brushing a strand of hair back behind her ear, he added, “I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you.”

“Alright, alright. Before you two go getting all lovey-dovey, let's get back out there,” Will insisted, turning on his heels to leave.

Glancing after him, Eddie turned back to Winter and gripped her chin in his hand. Turning her face up to his, he whispered, “Don't take his words to heart. You tried your best.”

Winter offered a grateful yet defeated half-smile and accepted a gentle kiss before slipping her hand into his.

“Come on. We can't let him go running off on his own.”

Chapter 25 - Eddie

They searched all night. Up and down the streets, through the houses, in the parks, down the back alleys, through the woods.

And yet, they came up with nothing. Every time they tried to pick up Christopher's scent, the trail seemed to go cold. And soon it began to rain.

With mother nature washing everything clean, it made everything even more difficult.

And by the time dawn arrived, Eddie wanted nothing more than to get Winter inside and warm. The way she was shivering set his teeth on edge, and yet no matter how hard he tried to convince her to go home, she wouldn't go.

As the pack regrouped on the lawn of the manor, wet and defeated, Eddie pulled Winter close and wrapped his arms around her.

“You really should be inside,” he whispered, nuzzling his nose against her neck. Her flesh was cold against his face, and he nuzzled in harder, hoping to be like a hot water bottle.

As if he were just that, Winter snuggled in closer, burying her face in his chest. “I'm not leaving you,” she insisted. “We have no way of knowing how bad this is.”

“It's bad,” Eddie said. “With Christopher on the run and the rest of his pack out there, an attack could happen any time.”

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