CEO's Runaway Mate and Her Cubs

After work, Lara decided to use the afternoon to get to know the company better.

She and Nate had lunch in the cafeteria, under everyone's gaze. Still, she was too distracted to notice. Her mind was already on what she had to do.

Melanie had introduced the role of an Alpha female, but Lara still felt not ready for such a challenge. Who in the pack would ever listen to her? Was being Nate's girlfriend really enough?

But, for her cubs, she would give it a try. They were getting more and more part of that pack. She wanted them to continue living with other wolves and to integrate into their society.

After lunch, she reached the HR department. She knocked on the manager's door. As expected, Roxy opened.

«Oh, long time no see!» the woman exclaimed with a big smile. «Are you all right?»

«Yes, I am. I'm here to... ehm... I'd like to help you. If there's anything I can do, of course.»

Roxy signed, relieved she didn't have to solve a crisis again. Lara's expression was distended, even though her tone was a little uncertain. They had to work on her confidence if she was to become Nate's wife.

«There's a lot I need help for,» Roxy exclaimed, a little dramatically.

«What do we start from?»

«Oh, but your contract is only part-time, Lara. You are human: we can't make you work overtime or exploit your work like this. The Government granted us better tax conditions because we are wolves, but we need to keep track of any human working here because things are different when you are involved. Nothing big, though. I can't ask you to work without a proper contract, and we have to formalise your position with the Ministry of Finance because of health and social insurance... Not that Nate wouldn't find the best doctor privately for you, but we have strict rules.»

«So, I can't actually help,» she realised, all her dreams crashing into a thousand pieces. «Not without something as official as a contract.»

«We can just integrate your current contract. I'll put down the clauses about overtime work. Give me a couple of days to understand how things work. I mean, laws, customs, syndicate requests and stuff. It's way more complicated than agreeing with a bunch of wolves.»

«I see. So, I can't do anything now. Just sit somewhere and stare at the wall, waiting for Nate to be done so we can go back home.»

«Just two days,» Roxy said. «I can't make you work if not.»

«I won't tell anyone you're exploiting a stagiest,» Lara tried.

«No way. Better avoid attracting any attention or causing scandals. Our reputation keeps us going, Lara. We're a company run by wolves. Any attention that isn't expected is bad.»

«Not even bad publicity?» Lara chuckled. «I've heard that bad publicity is good, but indeed... This company is an exception in many aspects.»

«Tell me something, though. Has Nate told you to look for me?» Roxy inquired, crossing her arms.

If that was the case, Alpha Nate could warn her earlier! She would have prepared the contract in advance.

«No. I just asked him for permission to snoop around.»

«Ah, okay, then... Let's meet in two days. Also, it will be the Black Moon soon. Every issue that is kept buried tends to surface during those days. I'll need a lot of your help, Lara.»

«Sure,» Lara said before turning on her heels and looking for something else to do.

Oh, she had a new phone. She could try to play a game... It had been so long since the last time she had the chance to play video games. Who knew which were the newest, most popular ones? Were there some from her youth still around?

She turned the phone on and inserted her number. It took her a while to set the phone up, but she had no hurry at all. Every minute wasted was a minute less she would be bored.

As soon as she was done, she connected to the WiFi and started browsing the games. She hadn't found one interesting enough yet, but her phone started ringing.

Her first reaction was a surprised startle which almost sent the phone on the ground.

Her heart stopped for a long moment, but she luckily grabbed it in time. She had almost broken it after a few minutes of usage! How could she be so clumsy?

Her heartbeat calmed down a little, but the uneasiness and fright in her stomach persisted.

It was Nate's present. She had to be more careful, to cherish it.

She answered without even checking the number. She had lost most of her contacts with the old phone.

«Hello?» she said.

It didn't cross her mind that most of the calls she received lately were from people she didn't want to talk to.

«You finally answer; you ungrateful brat,» said the female voice on the other side.

At first, Lara didn't recognise her. It had been so long, after all, and her mother wasn't the type to talk on the phone much, to begin with. She had received something like three or four calls from her during her teenage years. How could she recognise her voice on the phone just like that?

Then, she started sweating. What did that woman want?

«You dare ignore your own mother? I gave birth to you, and you owe me your life! Now that you found yourself a man, you think you're something special, don't you?» Gracelyn Clayton said. She started scolding her just like when she was a child; as if they hadn't spent six years without seeing or hearing from each other.

Lara let her talk, trying to ignore those words. Every single sentence dug a hole in her lungs, making her tremble in awkwardness.

She was still the old, shy Lara Clayton. The girl without any big dream who never let her parents down until college.

Only after a long while did she regain control over her muscles.

She could just turn the phone off and forget about it. But was her mother one to stop bothering her just because she didn't want to listen?

«What do you want?» she inquired, her voice colder than she thought.