Chapter 7 - Eddie

Holding Winter in his arms, Eddie’s mind reeled at the words that had just slipped right out of his mouth.

He had been joking. Surely, he had to have been joking? Yet, the feeling in his gut felt like far more than any joke he had ever uttered before.

There was something about the way the witch felt in his arms, the way her body perfectly melded against his own.

It was actually painful when she pulled herself from his grip and turned to look at Jack.

Was this where she rejected him?

I was joking, he thought, trying to steel himself for what was to come. It was just a joke. It doesn't matter if she denies me. One of the other witches will do.

He had thought hard about what Jack had said a few days ago. In fact, it had been the only thing on his mind of late.

Jack had been right. He was the perfect fit for the job. He had always longed for a mate, someone to share his life with, someone he could grow old with just as he saw all of his old comrades doing with their mates.

And yet, the thought of it being anyone but her made him feel quite sick indeed.

“I think that's as close as we're ever going to get to someone volunteering,” Kane scoffed, his face a mix of amusement and sheer surprise.

Though Jack remained silent, it was clear he thought so, too. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Winter, as if waiting to see what her next move would be.

Eddie held his breath, not daring to hope for what she might say.

And when her response finally left her lips, Eddie's mind and heart flared to life as if he had only just this second really begun to breathe.

“I'll do it.”

The determination in Winter's voice set his blood aflame and a part of him wanted to drag her back into his arms and never let her go.

He refrained, barely, when Winter said, “But I'll only do it only one condition.”

Eddie's heart stopped when she turned to look at him. In fact, all eyes in the room turned on him, and suddenly, he wished that the floor would simply open up and swallow him whole.

“What condition might that be?” Jack asked, his eyebrow raised with curiosity. He glanced at Winter and back at Eddie as if he thought the two of them knew something he didn't.

Yet, the words that left Winter's mouth next truly shocked Eddie as much as they likely did the others.

“I'll only do it if the werewolf I mate with is Eddie’s friend,” Winter explained, and the devilish look on her face told Eddie exactly what she was thinking.

There was no friend. He knew that, and he suspected that she did, too. Yet, she continued, “I think it would be rather like killing two birds with one stone, don't you, Eddie?”

His chest tightened, as did his throat, and when he opened his mouth to speak, he couldn't find a single word to say.

“Eddie?” Jack said, his tone questioning.

Fuck… Eddie ground his teeth with frustration.

Was this what she wanted? Did she want to put him on the spot and force him to admit in front of his alpha that there was no friend , that he had been talking about himself when he had been asking for her advice on whether there might have been any magical remedy for getting over a woman?

The blazing look in her eyes told him yes, and for a second, he wanted to lunge at her. Whether it was anger or desire, he couldn't be sure.

Biting the inside of his lip, he stared her in the eye as he said, “There is no friend. I was talking about myself.”

Still, Jack and Kane looked utterly confused, but that didn't matter much to Eddie as Winter’s beautiful face swelled into the most glorious smile he had ever laid eyes upon.

The light and confidence that seemed to shine out of her in that moment took his breath away.

“Well then, Eddie, it looks as if we are going to be mated after all.”

Instinctively, Eddie closed his eyes.

The images that his mind produced were far too delicious.

What would it be like to be mated to this woman? How could he fuck her senseless with those glorious curves of hers?

Oh, it was far too easy to imagine, and he felt his cock hardening in his jeans.

Those curvaceous hips practically begged to be gripped tight as he thrust his cock deep inside her from behind. Bent over a desk or a bed or any other piece of furniture, it didn't matter. Suddenly, the urge to take her right then and there was upon him.

She was gorgeous, confident, witty and curvaceous. In fact, she was practically everything he had ever looked for in a mate. She made Carly look plain. In fact, she almost wiped the memory of the werewolf permanently from his mind every time he imagined her.

There was only one problem. Winter wasn't a werewolf. She was a witch. Could she ever truly be his mate?

His cock sure told him so. It practically burned with the urge to be inside her.

Imagining how her soft, supple skin would feel beneath his hands, how her musical voice would moan as he thrust himself inside her, he could think of nothing he would rather do.

“Well, Eddie?” Jack's voice brought him painfully out of his thoughts, and he blinked open his eyes to find everyone in the room still staring at him.

“Huh?” Eddie grunted, feeling as if he had just swum to the surface of the deepest body of water he had ever dived into.

Jack tightened his arms around his chest and glowered at Eddie as he demanded, “Will you do it?”

Everyone's eyes bored into him until he felt as if he were shrinking beneath their gazes. What could he do but say yes?

This isn't just for my benefit, he thought. Though if he was honest with himself, finally having a mate would be a wolf godsend. This is for everyone in town.

Clearing his throat, Eddie raised his head high and declared, “I'll do it.”

The way Winter clapped her hands together startled all the werewolves in the room, but Eddie was at least glad of one thing—it took all of their gazes off him and straight to her.

“Well then, that settles it!” Winter announced, her face a glorious smile once more. “All we have to do now is wait for the full moon in three days' time.”

Eddie's heart stopped. Three days? Was that really all the time he had to get to know the woman he was going to mate with?