Chapter 25 - Eddie

They searched all night. Up and down the streets, through the houses, in the parks, down the back alleys, through the woods.

And yet, they came up with nothing. Every time they tried to pick up Christopher's scent, the trail seemed to go cold. And soon it began to rain.

With mother nature washing everything clean, it made everything even more difficult.

And by the time dawn arrived, Eddie wanted nothing more than to get Winter inside and warm. The way she was shivering set his teeth on edge, and yet no matter how hard he tried to convince her to go home, she wouldn't go.

As the pack regrouped on the lawn of the manor, wet and defeated, Eddie pulled Winter close and wrapped his arms around her.

“You really should be inside,” he whispered, nuzzling his nose against her neck. Her flesh was cold against his face, and he nuzzled in harder, hoping to be like a hot water bottle.

As if he were just that, Winter snuggled in closer, burying her face in his chest. “I'm not leaving you,” she insisted. “We have no way of knowing how bad this is.”

“It's bad,” Eddie said. “With Christopher on the run and the rest of his pack out there, an attack could happen any time.”

He heard Winter gulp and knew she had assessed the gravity of the situation.

“Well, it's a good thing we're basically fighting a human now and not a wolf,” she pointed out.

“Thanks to you,” Eddie said, pecking her on the cheek.

“Alright, everybody, listen up!” Jack called out to the pack as the final members arrived with no further news. “The rain is getting harder, and it looks like there's a storm on the way.”

Glancing up at the sky, the rain pounding against his face, Eddie saw that Jack was right. The smell of rain was layered with a threat, and the sky was so black it was hard to tell if the sun was even coming up.

He thought he heard the rumbling of thunder in the distance. Even werewolves were wary of being out in a storm, especially when there was an enemy loose in their territory. Too many things could go wrong.

“For now, we'll have to end the search and instead go on the defensive,” Jack explained, the rain and wind almost carrying his voice off.

The packmates all around Eddie started to pull their shoulders up towards their ears, turning up their collars and trying to protect themselves from the driving rain. In his arms, Winter shivered harder.

“I want guards posted in town and on the borders. The rest of you are going into lockdown at the manor. Anyone not on guard duty or patrol is limited to the grounds of the manor until we find the threat.”

Eddie sighed with relief. Maybe now he could finally get Winter inside, warm and dry. For a while, at least.

“I'll take the first guard duty,” Jack said, “Along with Bonnie, Hanson, Elena…”

Eddie barely heard the other names that the alpha reeled off, but he was entirely certain his wasn't among the list, and now his only priority was to get Winter inside.

“Come on,” Eddie suggested, but Winter was already pulling away, turned towards Jack with a look of determination on her face.

“Jack, what can I do to help?” she asked, her hands tightening into fists. “I can't just sit idle and wait for news.”

Jack turned to her with a raised brow and said, “You can and you will. You've done enough for this pack already, and by the looks of you, you're dead on your feet.”

“But I—” Winter began to protest even as Eddie reached for her to pull her back against him.

“I want you to go inside and rest. Make sure Eddie does, too, and in the morning, I want you to check on Karena and make sure your plan has worked.”

Eddie gulped at that. He had almost entirely forgotten about Kane's sister during all of the mayhem.

“Is she awake yet?” Eddie asked.

Jack shook his head. “Layla stayed with her. There's no news yet.”

“It could be a while,” Winter said, though her expression was more than a little concerning.

Jack didn't seem to notice as he turned to begin giving orders to the others again.

Seeing his opportunity, Eddie gripped hold of Winter’s wrist and started to drag her back towards the manor. “You heard him. It's time to go inside.”

“I really wish there was more I could do,” Winter protested, shaking her head, though she didn't try to pull away again.

Instead, she walked at a slow and tired pace back towards the manor.

As the rain grew heavier, Eddie grew impatient. Swiftly, he plucked Winter up into his arms.

“Eddie, what are you—”

Before she could finish the question, Eddie moved at full speed to the manor, up the porch steps and inside to drop Winter down on the bench in the mudroom at the back of the house.

In a flash, he had removed her shoes, unable to understand how she had been wandering around for hours in such uncomfortable heels.

Her feet were freezing to the touch, and when Eddie looked at her skin, he saw it was tinged with blue.

“I'm getting you in the shower. Now.”

Before she could protest, Eddie picked her up again and carried her swiftly through the manor towards his bedroom and the adjoining bathroom.

“Eddie, there's really no need for you to make such a fuss,” Winter protested as he set her down in the bathroom and moved to turn on the shower.

“There is every need,” he responded, turning to face her. “You're freezing.”

He reached out and rubbed his hands up and down the lengths of her arms.

“I never should have allowed you to stay out in the rain that long,” he growled, angry with himself.

“Allowed me?” Winter grumbled back at him, her gaze darkening. “I'm not a child, Eddie.”

Cupping her face in his hands, Eddie looked her dead in the eyes and said, “No, you're not. But you're important to me, and I shouldn't have risked your health just to find him .”

“We have to find him,” Winter countered. “He's a danger to us all. Catching a chill will be the least of my problems if we don't find him.”

Eddie leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“We'll worry about him later. For now, let's get you warm and dry.”

Reaching around her back, Eddie found the zipper of her dress and slid it down.

He heard the way Winter gasped as his fingers brushed the bare skin of her back, and immediately, his cock began to harden.

Hooking his fingers beneath her dress, he shoved it off her shoulders, allowing the material to pool around her ankles.

It was only then he realized, “No bra either? What are you trying to do to me, Winter?”

She blushed, shrugging. “That was before.”

Eddie gritted his teeth.

Quickly, he shrugged off his jacket, unbuttoned his shirt and pants and kicked off his shoes.

“Well, I see no reason to change your plans just because the night went to shit,” he said, pulling her close.

She gave a little yelp of surprise as he picked her up. The way she wrapped her arms and legs around him made him quiver as he turned and carried her into the shower cubicle.

“Ahh,” she breathed with relief as the hot water started to cascade down over her.

“I think perhaps we should pick up where we left off in the gardens earlier,” he announced, pressing her back against the tiled wall.

“Eddie, we've been ordered to rest,” Winter protested. “We could be attacked at any minute.”

“Then it's even more imperative that I take you right here and now,” Eddie grumbled, burying his face in her neck to kiss her throat. “I don't know when I might next get a chance to make love to you.”

“Hmmm…” Winter moaned, as if she liked the sound of that.

Pressing her against the wall, still holding her in one arm, Eddie reached down between their bodies and guided his cock between her thighs.

Rubbing the tip gently over her moist folds, he knew she wanted this just as much as he did. She was slick with arousal, more than ready for him, and he easily slipped inside her.

“Fuck,” he gasped as her body welcomed him, warm and wet and inviting as hell.

Winter’s arms wrapped tighter around his neck, resting on his shoulders as she angled her pelvis towards him.

Her words might be reluctant, but her body was most definitely betraying her, telling him she wanted this with every fiber of her being.

And when she moaned in his ear, Eddie began to thrust, burying himself deep inside her.

The way her insides clenched around his cock was magnificent. It urged him on, harder and faster, driving him wild with pleasure and the need to fill her up.

“Oh, Eddie!” she gasped, her fingernails digging into the fleshy muscle of his shoulders.

“Fuck, Winter!” he growled in her ear, taking her earlobe into his mouth to nibble gently.

She came over and over, her body tensing around his manhood in a way that drew him closer and closer to the edge.

Soon, he was unable to stop himself. He had to mark his territory, had to release his essence inside her and claim her as his own once more.

“Fuck, Winter, what are you doing to me?” he growled in her ear, his jaw clenching as he found it harder and harder to hold off.

He wanted this to last, and yet with every time her pussy clenched around him, it grew harder to do so.

“Please, Eddie,” she cried, “I need you to—”

She never got the chance to finish what she was saying as the need in her voice tipped him right over the edge.

***

Having collapsed in bed after their shower, Eddie was surprised at just how damn well he slept.

Yawning awake, he rolled over onto his side, reaching for the warm body next to him.

Yet, instead, he felt cool, empty sheets beneath his fingers.

“Again?” Eddie grumbled, opening his eyes to confirm that Winter was most definitely not in the room.

“Winter?” he called, wondering whether perhaps she had gone to the bathroom.

Yet, when the response came, it didn't come from the bathroom. Instead, it was the bedroom door leading into the hallway that opened.

Winter slipped in quietly, as if trying not to wake him.

“Where have you been?” Eddie grumbled, sitting up in bed.

Winter seemed to jump out of her skin as she turned from closing the door behind her to look at him. “Damn, Eddie, you scared me. I thought you were still asleep.”

Eddie scowled at her harder. “I'm not.”

“I can see that,” Winter said, slinking across the room to slip onto the bed beside him. Wrapping her arms over him, she nuzzled into his chest before reaching up to peck him on the lips. “I didn't want to wake you, but I had to go and check on Karena.”

Eddie's chest tightened. “And? How is she?”

Immediately, her not being in bed when he had woken up was forgotten. There were far more important things to be worrying about. As if surfacing out of deep water, the memories of the last few days came rushing back to Eddie.

“She's fine,” Winter assured him, playing with the small amount of hair on his chest. “She's awake.”

“And? Did the spell work?” Eddie gritted his teeth. What if, like the locator spell, the glamouring potion had failed to work? Then they would be up to their eyeballs in trouble.

Winter rolled her eyes at him and shoved him playfully in the chest. “Of course it worked. I'm not a totally useless witch.”

Wrapping his arms around her, Eddie yanked her over him, pulling her fully onto the bed. Leaning over her, he met her gaze and assured her, “I never believed for a second that you were.”

He kissed her hard then, his morning wood throbbing with a need for her.

Winter gripped his face in both her hands, smiling against his lips as she kissed him in return.

“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 would never hurt you, Winter.”

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