Page 25 of Plus-Size Mate

Winter's insides twisted painfully. She knew he was right. The murmurs from Eddie and Kane, standing behind Jack, made it apparent that they knew well enough, too.

“It's all well and good strongarming the witches into your little plan, Jack,” Kane said, his tone making Winter shiver. “But what about the werewolf part in this? I don't know any werewolf mad enough to take a witch to mate.”

Anger flared in Winter, and she was about to bite a retort when Eddie moved, adjusting her in his grip as he came to look her in the eye.

He seemed to search her gaze for a moment, looking for something she couldn't quite understand, before he turned to Jack and Kane and said, “I'll do it.”

Winter's heart skipped a beat, and her knees threatened to buckle all over again as he looked at her with a smile and said, “What do you say to being my mate?”

The world around Winter began to spin out of control.

She had imagined a million times what it would be like to find her mate, to have someone ask her to spend the rest of her very long life with them, but never had she pictured it being like this.

Stunned into silence, her mouth practically fell open. Was he serious?

From the look on his face, from the hope shining in his eyes, she was pretty certain that he was.

And if he was, how could she reject him? He had been so kind to her just now. He had wiped away her blood and helped her up from the floor. He had supported her when she needed support, just as any mate should. More than that, he and the others may well have just saved her life. Hell, they had at least saved her sorry ass from being kidnapped.

How was there any way of rejecting him now?

This might be the last hope for the town,Winter thought. For a second, her mother's words rang in her ears.Don't do anything drastic.

Could accepting Eddie’s offer of mateship be the kind of drastic thing her mother had warned her to avoid?

Chapter 7 - Eddie

Holding Winter in his arms, Eddie’s mind reeled at the words that had just slipped right out of his mouth.

He had been joking. Surely, he had to have been joking? Yet, the feeling in his gut felt like far more than any joke he had ever uttered before.

There was something about the way the witch felt in his arms, the way her body perfectly melded against his own.

It was actually painful when she pulled herself from his grip and turned to look at Jack.

Was this where she rejected him?

I was joking,he thought, trying to steel himself for what was to come.It was just a joke. It doesn't matter if she denies me. One of the other witches will do.

He had thought hard about what Jack had said a few days ago. In fact, it had been the only thing on his mind of late.

Jack had been right. He was the perfect fit for the job. He had always longed for a mate, someone to share his life with, someone he could grow old with just as he saw all of his old comrades doing with their mates.

And yet, the thought of it being anyone buthermade him feel quite sick indeed.

“I think that's as close as we're ever going to get to someone volunteering,” Kane scoffed, his face a mix of amusement and sheer surprise.

Though Jack remained silent, it was clear he thought so, too. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Winter, as if waiting to see what her next move would be.

Eddie held his breath, not daring to hope for what she might say.

And when her response finally left her lips, Eddie's mind and heart flared to life as if he had only just this second really begun to breathe.

“I'll do it.”

The determination in Winter's voice set his blood aflame and a part of him wanted to drag her back into his arms and never let her go.

He refrained, barely, when Winter said, “But I'll only do it only one condition.”

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