Page 69 of Plus-Size Mate

“No, but the longer we wait to get this potion into her, the more we risk her figuring something out.”

Again, Eddie rolled his eyes. “All work and no play.”

“There will be plenty of time for playing later,” Winter assured him, pecking him on the cheek. “For now, let's get this over with, and then we can enjoy the rest of the evening.”

She slipped from his arms, causing them to feel empty, and he had to fight the urge to pull her back in again. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to keep his hands off her.

“How exactly do you plan to get it into her drink, anyway?” Eddie asked as Winter slipped up to the open door, glancing around the dining room as if searching for her target.

“You might be ex-black ops, but your mate knows a thing or two about being sneaky when she needs to be,” Winter assured him.

Eddie was about to warn her to be careful when a voice inside the room called, “Well, there they are! It’s about damn time!”

Eddie gritted his teeth. Now that their alpha had announced their presence, there was no way of turning back.

Winter looked over her shoulder, smiled and held out her hand. “Are you ready?”

Eddie looked her up and down. With her in that revealing gown, the emerald silk bringing out the color of her eyes and the slit down the skirt showing off her curvaceous thighs, all he was ready for was taking her right upstairs to bed.

In fact, for a second, he considered doing just that. In bed, beneath him, she was safe. She would be the safest she ever could be now.

But only his loyalty to the pack stopped him from doing so.

With a deep sigh, he took hold of Winter's hand and said, “As ready as I'll ever be.”

He was surprised when Winter squeezed his fingers reassuringly. “Don't worry. It'll all be over in the blink of an eye.”

Her confidence caused Eddie to smile, and yet somehow, it also worried him.

Things had been going well, finally going his way. He couldn't help but feel that sometime soon his luck was going to run out. And what then?

“If it isn't the newlyweds!” Jack said as they entered, appearing from the side to grab them both by the shoulders and shove them into the center of the room. “Can I get a round of applause for the little love birds?”

In an instant, the room was filled with applause, with the clinking of champagne glasses and cries of appreciation for both of them.

For a second, Eddie was stunned. Then, he became concerned. Werewolves weren't ones to celebrate without a good howling.

It was odd not to hear those wolf voices being raised in celebration of the union they had made. In a way, it made his heart ache. And yet, the absence of that sound also gave him relief.

Maybe their plan actually would work.

Before he knew it, he was being dragged away from Winter into the sea of people, all desperate to congratulate him, all making a show for the one person in the room who really mattered.

And as Eddie was forced to go through the charade of thanking his packmates, he peeped over their shoulders, searching out his mate.

She moved with purpose, with a sleekness to her stride that left Eddie wondering if she was actually more wolf than even she realized.

And as he watched her go, he couldn't help but admire her; that dress, her tanned skin, the confidence with which she moved through a room bursting with werewolves young and old.

She was an absolute marvel to behold. And Eddie's heart swelled as he realized,she's mine.

He had known it for a while now, and yet it was in this moment he felt the proudest. Perhaps it was all the words of congratulations in his ear, or maybe it was the knowledge that after this party was said and done, he and Winter would be in each other's arms once more as if nothing had ever happened.

At the end of the day, every day, from now on he would go home to her, wherever that might be.

Wherever she was, that was home.

“Hey man, are you alright?”

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