Page 81 of Plus-Size Mate

“My t-shirt looks good on you,” Eddie said, running his hand up and down her ribs, feeling the warmth of her through the cotton of his black T-shirt.

Winter shrugged and nuzzled her nose against his. “I had nothing else to wear.”

“I'm glad,” Eddie said, kissing her again. “I like you in this.”

He kissed her more passionately now, grinding his hips against her with a need to take her all over again.

“Eddie, as much as I would love to stay right here in bed with you all day,” she said, sighing deeply, “we can't. Jack has called a pack meeting.”

Eddie blinked in surprise. “Why didn't anyone wake me?”

“I was just coming to,” Winter said.

Eddie cocked a brow. “Then what was the sneaking about?”

Winter scowled back at him. “Have you ever startled a werewolf awake before? I didn't fancy getting a clawing.”

Eddie pulled her closer, rubbing himself against her with a need for her to know the truth. “I wouldneverhurt you, Winter.”

Smiling up at him, Winter's eyes sparkled as she said, “That's good to know.”

Epilogue - Winter

Pack meetings were the same, time after time, three days after Christopher's escape. Nothing to report save for a lack of finding him.

Winter's heart sank every time. Having tried the locator spell again more times than she could count, searching for other things in the basement she might be able to use to get even an inkling of where he might be, she felt hopeless.

But seeing the looks of failure on those around her, she didn't feel quite so alone.

If a pack full of werewolves couldn't locate even one man, how was she ever supposed to compete?

“What are we supposed to do?” Kane asked as they sat around the dining table, Jack at the head looking just as defeated as the rest of them.

“There isn't much we can do,” he admitted, shaking his head, his eyes low to the table as if he couldn't bring himself to meet anybody’s gaze.

Eddie squeezed Winter’s hand as they awaited the orders of their leader.

It still felt odd to Winter. To be allowed into a werewolf pack's private meetings was an honor, yet she still felt a little out of place. Only Eddie’s grip on her was reassuring, as she still felt the eyes of several members watching her warily.

After all she had done for them, she knew it was still going to take some time for them to totally trust her, but it was still pretty damn painful.

“All we can do is stay alert,” Jack said, and Winter noticed the tension in his jaw. The stress this had to be putting onthe alpha was immeasurable. She could only imagine how her mother might be responding if this were something to do with the coven.

“Maybe we should widen the search?” Will suggested. “If he's gone back to his pack, we still need to find him. At least then we'll know he isn't still in town.”

“It's too great a risk,” Jack said, rubbing his chin. “His pack lies outside the protection spell. We raised it for a reason. I won't put my pack in danger any more than we need to be.”

“Then what are we supposed to do?” Zander asked. The beta looked just as stressed as the alpha. Both of them had dark circles beneath their eyes, as if they hadn't slept for days.

“We can't go on like this,” Bonnie announced, reaching out from where she sat beside her mate to lay a hand on his shoulder. The alpha looked at her with gratitude at the supportive touch.

“Bonnie is right. There is too much to be done in town to give up all our resources to this search any longer,” Jack said, sighing deeply. “For now, all we can do is go back to normal, or at least as much as possible. Only time will tell exactly what Christopher’s plan is, if he even has one.”

“Christopher always has a plan. That pack is always out to make trouble.” The grumbling words came from Hanson, who sat across the table, his own hand clasping Elena's in a way that almost looked painful. His anger and frustration were clear.

Winter sighed, feeling sorry for him above all others. He, out of all the senior members of the pack, had once been a packmate of Christopher’s, back when Karl Ryker had been in charge. He knew better than all the rest of them put together how dangerous Christopher and his followers could be.

Winter knew from her own experience, but Hanson had been on the inside. He knew the ways these wolves worked.

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