CEO's Runaway Mate and Her Cubs

After the storm, the sky cleared and shined in a bright blue. The sun enlightened the day, and the cubs woke up from their protective dreams. They were still in Nate's arms, just that he wasn't whispering to them but reading something on a tablet.

He couldn't move from the chair with the two weights settled on him, so he had asked Lara to bring him a computer to work with. She had found the tablet next to his jacket and brought him that one, and he had started reading reports.

He could only imagine how could Lara manage with two kids alone, so he hadn't dared complain about them. In the end, it was not impossible. Just a little uncomfortable.

«Good morning, dad,» said Jaden.

He would always be the first to talk after a nap. Scarlet needed more time to wake up, which made her exquisitely similar to her mother. Jaden, on the other hand, didn't look like a wolf cub that much. He would talk even during Bright Moons, let alone after waking up.

«It's not morning,» Nate chuckled.

«Oof,» the little boy snorted, trying to turn his back to his father. However, once he noticed it was more troublesome than needed, he renounced and settled in Nate's arms better.

«Are mommy's cubs hungry?» he heard.

He nodded, feeling his stomach rumble. He imaged the scent of his mommy's cooking, and he closed his eyes to visualise it as well.

«Let's go home, then,» Lara said, picking Jaden from Nate. She lifted him by his armpits, and the little boy frowned at being separated from his warm dad. It was so cold after the storm, and Nate was of the perfect temperature to snuggle and sleep some more.

However, eating was not that bad of an alternative.

With one arm free, Nate could get up and catch his jacket. He used it to cover Scarlet, still half-asleep. He didn't want her to catch a cold - no matter how improbable it was.

He took out his phone from his pocket and checked the calls he had missed while cuddling his kids. Most were from Secretary Jack. There was also a message with a picture from him.

Nate sighed, opening it. Discover stories at empire

«Emergency, someone caught Miss Clayton in the city,» he read.

Lara heard his words and walked closer to check. Who could catch her if she was there, in front of Nate? She understood what Secretary Jack meant only after seeing the picture. She had been caught strolling with Jaden.

«It's the first thing as a normal mum I do,» she sighed. «I can't believe someone saw us. It's unfair, you weren't caught and went out with them more often than I.»

Nate shook his head. He hadn't been caught because it's difficult to follow a wolf without being noticed. One had to be very far from them or he would sense the danger. Especially when he was with his children, he would have been very careful.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

As for Lara, she had been unlucky. The man who sold her the second copy had recognised her, and he had taken the picture before she could turn the corner with Jaden.

«It's no big deal,» Lara sighed, much to Nate's surprise. «And it was bound to happen. At least my mother won't have anything to reveal now. Not that she knew about the twins.»

«We can simply deny,» Nate said. «No one will doubt my words.»

«Hey, no! I won't deny Jaden is my son! Never!»

«Oh, you're right... Sorry. I was just worried about you.»

«I've been expecting someone to find out. But today, while strolling with Jaden in the city, I realised how much I was missing. I don't want to hide, Nate. It's okay. However, we might want to declare something before the newspapers make it huge.»

«Or we can let them make it huge and then give a speech. We can contact a trusted reporter for that, what do you think?»

«Sure,» Lara said. «For the moment, I'll stroll around with Jaden only. I don't want the reporters to take pictures of Scarlet as well. Not yet, at least.»

«It would make their brains go on tilt. Explaining one kid is tough enough... A second one would make them go wild with hypotheses.»

«We're just delaying it,» Lara pointed out. «But one step at a time. For now, they discovered that we have a kid. How do we play it?»

«We simply tell the truth. It's pointless to lie.»

«We met, had kids and parted ways for five years?»

«You don't need to be so specific. We met, parted ways, and returned together years later. There's no need to hide you brought them up as a single mother because of... a misunderstanding? Because we weren't together back then?»

He almost blurted out that she could give him every fault. However, it didn't sound right. He would have accepted it, but he knew Lara wouldn't. She wanted to share the burden, which meant saying they weren't together and met again years later.

«I'm not comfortable saying it was a one-night stand,» Lara whispered, hoping her cubs wouldn't hear that terrible word.

«It's okay. As I said, it's our personal life. Every time someone asks, all you have to say is personal. Any other word wouldn't have the same effect. They'll stop asking, soon.»

«I hope it ends soon,» Lara sighed. «Will they ever get tired of following me? I didn't know I was so interesting, really!»

«It's almost over. After this, we won't have any other secret to hide.»

«I hope so,» Lara said.

Other than everyone being a wolf, there truly was no other secret she could reveal. And that one would stay hidden until the very end.

«Let's go eat, now. I'm hungry,» Nate commented.

Scarlet was still sleeping, but she moved her head as if to confirm Nate's words.

Jaden was holding Lara's hand, a little worried about his mommy. However, he didn't want to let go of her even if he knew it was his fault if his mommy was worried.