Finding the Wolf Within

Chapter 22

Thank you to everyone for all of your comments last chapter! I hope this one garners as much love!

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Recap

We stayed like that for several minutes – his gaze raking over my body, his expression full of lust and desire. I didn’t move, scared that I would break the spell or accidentally reach out and touch him. But then the tides turned. Eddie slowly stood up from his chair and walked over to me. When he was about two feet away, he stopped and crossed his arms over his bare chest. His eyebrows arched up and he gave me a challenging stare.

Is that how it was going to be?

My own eyebrows quirked up and I copied his stance. I heard my mom behind me, probably walking over to the table to set it for breakfast. All of a sudden, she tripped and bumped into my back. Which meant that, in my unsteady heels, I fell into Eddie.

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Chapter 22

Eddie reached out to break my fall. I quickly tried to right myself but his hands were still grasping my arms. I flushed, embarrassed that I had fallen in front of him and slightly worried about what this meant for our bet.

“Oh Ceci. I’m so sorry. I must have tripped.,” my mom said from behind me.

I could hear the laughter in her voice, although she tried her best to cover it. So she had done it on purpose. I wondered whom she wanted to win. I would guess Eddie since she pushed me into him, but shouldn’t her motherly instincts want him to lose the bet? Shouldn’t she want to protect me? Although I guess were mothers saw their daughters’ mates differently than human mothers saw their daughters’ boyfriends.

“That’s okay, mom. I know you wouldn’t have fallen on purpose.,” I replied sarcastically.

Eddie chuckled. The three of us stood there for a few moments until my dad came into the kitchen from his office.

“What’s going on?”

My dad paused as he took in both Eddie’s and my appearances. A slight grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Eddie, Ceci. You both look very nice. Special occasion?”

“Honey, can you believe that I just tripped and pushed Ceci, who had to break her fall against Eddie?!?”

My mom was definitely not a good actress. She was laying it on way too thickly. Her voice was sugary sweet and she was actually batting her eyelashes! I rolled my eyes. Only my own parents would conspire against me.

“Oh, really?,” my dad responded, his eyebrows raised. “What happens now with that little bet you were telling us about, Eddie?”

Eddie grinned. “Well I guess I won, since Ceci fell into me.”

“Oh no you don’t. If anything, I should win since you reached out to break my fall. But, since I play fair, unlike everyone else in this room, we should just call my mom’s stunt fan interference and not count it.,” I huffed.

“I like the sports reference but I don’t agree. I mean, why would your mom trip on purpose? And you definitely touched my arm before I grabbed you.” Eddie had a sly smile on his face while both of my parents put on their best innocent expressions.

“Hey, I have an idea. Why don’t we just say that you both won? Wouldn’t that be fair? It all happened so fast that I’m sure who touched who first is a mute point anyway. This way, both of you get your prizes.”

Ugh. My mom. So not helpful.

I crossed my arms over my chest and narrowed my eyes. “What exactly did you guys talk about while I was in the shower? Were you planning out your strategy to get me to touch Eddie first? You know, as my parents, you really should be taking my side on this, not trying to get Eddie to win.”