Page 26 of Forced Plus-Size Mate

“You’re giving me no choice,” Decker spits. “I can’t believe you don’t see that.”

“There is a legend that wolves can lose their power to a witch,” Kelta says. “He can lose the will to shift, and the urge to run the high mountains. He becomes dull, domesticated, and slow as she strips him of his magical essence.”

“See?” Decker shouts.

“Bullshit!” Jen yells back.

“It’s working out great for me,” Peter says, shrugging. “I’m more powerful than ever.”

“Yeah, you outran me the other day,” Rider says, chuckling. “And I think your wolf is even bigger than it used to be.”

“Lies,” Gladys hisses. “You’re just making excuses, trying to cover your petty mistake. We agreed to this meeting as a final straw. Make your decision, as we have made ours.”

“Can’t we at least talk about this some more?” Bae asks. “The witches aren’t evil. Before the coven left town, Amanda was pretty much a member of the pack. The others all have friends and family in town who are connected to all of us. These are people you’re talking about, not she-demons from hell.”

Decker makes a little scoffing sound as Gladys stomps her foot.

“You might let vermin run around in your town,” she says, “but did you ever ask yourself why we don’t have witches in Silverton?”

Even though the reaction of Bailey’s group is palpable, no one speaks.

I’m afraid to ask, too. Did they burn them all? Not a pretty thought.

“Choose, Alpha!” Decker demands, taking a step forward.

Bailey moves to face him, and they glare at each other, beginning to growl.

“Wait!” Kelta shouts, jumping between them. “I would like more talk on the matter. Bailey is a good alpha, and he would not lead us astray. Perhaps meeting the witches before we decide on any action is a reasonable thing to do.”

Something about her outburst seems insincere, but I can’t put my finger on why. When she glances over at me and then quickly looks away again, I’m even more confused.

Decker bares his teeth, his wolf simmering just beneath the surface of his human façade.

“I don’t agree,” he mutters. “But I won’t take any action.... not yet.”

“I think that’s wise,” says Belle. “We worked hard for peace. Let’s not shatter it in a few short hours, okay? It took months to build.”

“Unfortunately, that is the way of empires,” Jen says, her voice ringing with prophecy. “They take years to build… and seconds to crumble into dust.”

Chapter 9 - Amanda

When Body drops me at the bakery, I have to go for a quick walk to center myself. That moment of connection was torture for me, but I couldn’t stop myself from doing it.

Yeah, I wanted to get to him, remind him of what he’s been missing out on—but I also just wanted to feel it again. I wanted to feel alive.

While we were out in the woods, I was pretty good at keeping him off my mind. But every spring, birds would sing in joy as they built their nests, deer would celebrate as they found new mates, and wolves would howl as they welcomed new pups into the pack.

The entire world would sing in love, lust, and the wonder of creation, and I was completely cut off from it… forever.

Being around him again has awakened a raw arousal in me that is so powerful, I can hardly stand it. Even now, my body is still throbbing with the aftereffects of that light touch and how it thrilled me to the bone.

I take a few slow, deep breaths, but the short walk has done nothing to clear my head. My nipples are smoldering, so sensitive the light touch of the sweater is making them rise up into peaks. The warmth spreads through my chest, down my belly, and deep between my legs, where a fierce ache increases in intensity, no matter how hard I try to ignore it.

I close my eyes, letting my awareness sink into the darkness behind my eyelids. Immediately, my senses reach out around me, and I realize that when I give in to this arousal, my connection with nature feels much stronger.

So what does this mean for the coven? What should I tell them?

No fucking clue.

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