Page 85 of Forced Plus-Size Mate

“Oh, my silly, sweet girl,” Nell mumbles. “I should never have encouraged you to leave.”

“We can beat ourselves—and each other—up later,” Amanda says. “For now, help me heal the others.”

I get out of the way, watching from the doorway as the two women move through the bus, spreading the yellow glowacross the injuries of the other girls. They wake up with surprise and fear, but every single one of them is alive and well.

Amanda comes down the steps, taking my hand as we walk out into the clearing. I can’t stop checking her out for injuries, and she grins when she sees me staring.

“I’m alright,” she says.

“I just—I don’t know. You’ve been through so much. Aren’t you even tired?”

“No,” she says, smiling. “I feel like I could run a marathon, actually, especially if you were by my side.”

“Ah, I’ll pass on a marathon, thanks,” I laugh. “I’d like a nice laydown and a cold beer.”

“That sounds like heaven.”

Her words are almost drowned out by the engines of dozens of cars tearing down the dirt track as Bae and the others come to the rescue. At the same time, Bae’s two warriors return from the clearing in the woods.

“Alpha Bailey,” one of them says as Bae jumps out of his truck. “We need you to come and see this.”

“What is it?” he demands.

“An Ancient One.”

Bae pales, his eyes widening in a way I’ve never seen before. He seems to shiver in the warm sunlight, and I refuse to accept what I’m seeing.

Is he afraid?

I don’t have time to puzzle it out, because people come flooding out of the trucks as the witches begin to exit the bus. Everyone is talking and hugging at once. Broken parts of thestory are being told as wolves help witches into trucks and hand out bottles of water.

Amanda and I walk quietly through the noise, gently holding hands. When we reach the back of the line, Jack greets us.

“Hey!” he says. “You two look worse for wear.”

“I’m fine,” Amanda says. “The others need help more than me.”

“Do you want to take my truck?” Jack asks. “I can get a ride in with someone else, and it’s better if you guys get out of here and rest while we bring the wounded in.”

“That’s a great idea,” I say, taking the keys. “Thanks.”

When we get into the truck, Amanda snuggles against my side. I’m so relieved to have her with me again, I can’t think of anything to say.

“I am sorry,” she says to me.

“Enough,” I answer. “I understand why you did it, if that helps at all, but just promise me that from now on, we do everything together, okay?”

“Okay,” she agrees, snuggling close to me.

The trip back to town passes quickly, and as I pull into the main street, I think of going back to Shelley’s with some dread.

“They have a crisis center set up at Shelley’s. We’re supposed to go in right away and debrief.”

“Fuck that,” Amanda says bluntly. “I need a shower, and you promised me a cold beer.”

“No complaints here,” I say happily.

I head for the back streets, getting us home as quickly as possible. When we get back, I let Amanda go ahead, turning to go to the bedroom.

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