Page 27 of Forced Plus-Size Mate

“Amanda?” Lucy’s voice calls from the front of the shop. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, sure,” I answer. “Sorry, I was just thinking.”

“The others are here. Are you coming?”

Almost.

“Yes, on my way.”

I turn back to the bakery where Lucy is waiting. She beckons me inside, and we go through into the warm shop. All twelve of the others are seated at a corner table, with plates of baked goodies as well as coffee and milkshakes.

“I’ll be out in a sec,” Lucy says. “Without Peter, it’s been a busy morning, but Fiona’s on her way.”

She disappears out back, and I sit down next to Nell. The others are watching me with wide eyes and an almost creepy stillness.

“Okay, I feel like I’ve wandered into a budget horror flick,” I say, chuckling. “Why are all of you staring at me like that?”

“How was your wedding night?”

“Are wolves really animals in the sack?”

“Did your magic come back?”

“Is he under a spell?”

“Are we all getting married, too?”

“Girls!” Nell shouts. “Enough. Give Amanda a few minutes to settle in.”

Lucy returns with a cup of coffee. I take it gratefully, staring into it so I don’t have to meet the eyes of the other witches. I don’t have any clue how I’m supposed to answer their questions.

“Come on, Amanda,” Zoe urges. “Tell us.”

“It’s only been one night,” I answer. “There really isn’t much to tell.”

“But you had a relationship with him before, didn’t you?” Jeanette says in a challenging tone. “There’s a lot of rumors around town, but I think we should hear it from you.”

“Did you trick us?” Georgia asks bluntly. “Did you make us move away, just because of Body?”

“I didn’t make you do anything!” I snap. “I said I wanted to leave, and you chose to come with me!”

“You’re our high priestess!” Hildy protests. “Of course we’d want to follow you.”

I let out a long sigh. “I made it very clear that I was going far away and that the conditions would be hard. I also told you I wasn’t coming back. All of you understood. There was no force involved.”

“No more about this subject,” Nell announces, taking my hand. “It’s up to Amanda what she does with her life, just like it is with all of us. You made your choices.”

There are a few moments of silence, and I see the girls sharing looks. There’s obviously some anger about the situation, but I think it’s more about me hiding something from them and less about going out into the wilderness.

“Okay, so how’s your magic?” Hildy asks. “I’ve felt an improvement today, but not much.”

“Yes, I did, too,” I agree. “First thing this morning, I was able to connect with nature around me, to the point I could feel and hear all the living things.”

“Could you influence anything?” Nell asks, and I shake my head.

“I didn’t really try, but there was definitely an improvement in my sensitivity. There was an incident with a broken vase, but I’m not sure it was related.”

“Was there anything else?” Zoe asks. “Anything you can remember that made it stronger?”

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