Page 53 of Plus-Size Mate

“Well then, tell me.”

“You aren't going to let this one go, are you?”

Winter pulled back just enough to look him dead in the eye and say, “I think you have seen enough of my stubbornness to know I never let anything go.”

At that, Eddie smiled, leaned down and nuzzled his nose against the tip of hers.

“I guess I'm going to have to get used to it, then,” he said, pressing his lips to her forehead before he admitted, “Kane's sister has come to town.”

“And that's bad because…”

Is she a monster?Winter thought, almost laughing. Once, she might have been worried that another werewolf was visiting town, but not since she had met the new werewolves of Nightstar, the ones who had utterly changed her perspective on their species.

“She's human.”

Winter blinked in surprise. Pulling back, she asked, “But Kane is werewolf, right?”

Eddie nodded.

“And they’re full-blooded siblings?” Winter asked, cocking her brow.

Eddie nodded again, this time smaller. “As far as we are aware.”

“Then that means…” Winter cut herself off.

“That means that if they are full-blooded siblings and she is a human, then at some point Kane had to have been human, too.”

Winter gulped. A full-blooded werewolf was one thing. But a bitten werewolf was quite another.

The balance between human and wolf in a bitten werewolf was usually so off-kilter that it made a heap of problems, not just for the werewolf itself, but also for those around it.

For a second, Winter panicked a little. Then, her rational mind began to take over once more. “Wait a minute. This is Kaneyou're talking about. Hasn't he been a member of your pack since before Nightstar?”

“He's been a member of the pack longer than even I have,” Eddie admitted, and Winter thought she saw a hint of embarrassment on his face.

“Then what exactly is all the worry about? Has Kane ever done anything to make any of you question his loyalty, or even his ability to control his wolf?” Winter asked, already suspecting she knew the answer.

A young werewolf who showed difficulty controlling their wolf was usually given the benefit of the doubt so long as nothing drastic occurred. But a fully grown werewolf who had been showing problems would likely have been banished from the pack or worse. Winter had never heard anything like that whispered about when it came to Kane. And people in a small town like Nightstar liked to talk.

“No. Never. He's always the first to show loyalty whenever something goes wrong.”

Winter breathed a sigh of relief. “Then what the hell is all the worry about? You've known Kane long enough to know there's no harm in his not being a born wolf.”

“That's not the big worry,” Eddie said, shrugging. “The worry is, he didn't tell us.”

Winter sighed and pulled Eddie closer. “Ever thought that maybe it wasn't that he didn't want to tell you, but that he couldn't? You know how discriminative werewolves are when it comes to the bitten. He's likely lucky to be alive.”

At that, Eddie smiled and brushed her hair back once more. Cupping her cheeks in his hands, he kissed her delicately before he asked, “How did I ever get so lucky?”

“Lucky?” Winter whispered the word against his lips.

“To have you as a mate,” Eddie said in return. “Always seeing reason, always determined, always beautiful.”

Before she could say anything, he kissed her again, this time much more passionately.

This shouldn't be happening right now. Winter knew that. But she also knew she wanted it to be.

Since the night before, since she had climbed out of bed leaving Eddie to sleep, all she had been able to think about was him.

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