CEO's Runaway Mate and Her Cubs

«You seem to know my name, but I don't know yours,» Lara said.

She didn't know where she found the courage. Maybe, it was Nate's warm hand on her back. Or, most likely, it was the worry that he could do something unpredictable.

If Nate was prey to fury, she had to be the cold one among them two.

«It would be nice to introduce yourself, Mister. Especially since it's not the first time we talk,» she continued.

«My name is Luciano Polenta,» he said, pressing a hand on his heart. «But you can call me by name if you want.»

«We're not close enough, Mr Polenta. We barely know each other; isn't it early to be informal?»

Luciano rolled his eyes, hiding his annoyance well enough. Somehow, he didn't seem displeased that Lara had talked back. His eyes stopped on Nate for a single moment before returning on the woman.

«What a spicy character,» he commented. His smile was quite genuine, but that couldn't be noticed by Lara or Nate.

The couple was too on guard to believe any word from Luciano.

The sound of high heels was barely registered by the three of them while they exchanged burning looks. Lara couldn't know how that looked from outside.

«Hello,» said another familiar voice. «How coincidental to meet you here, Mr Polenta.»

The voice was male, but the words were thought of by a female wolf because her husband wasn't really able to think that much.

«Bass Cooper,» Luciano murmured, his face covered by a grimace. «Nathaniel Woods's watchdog...»

The tone has already turned dark and threatening, and the humans had - for some reason - started avoiding them. Their instinct, even though not as developed as wolves', was telling them to run away.

Roxy was standing at her husband's side, holding his arm and observing in silence. It was part of her duty to avoid giving information about the inner organisation of the pack, including her role. To do that, she had to instruct Bass with a few orders and hope nothing unexpected happened.

Hearing the other man calling him a watchdog, though, was not in her forecasting. Luckily, Bass was calm and had no intention to react. Most likely, he was still processing the few rules she had set before walking to them.

«You are here in a group,» Luciano noticed. «Just like always... You're too attached to each other.»

«That must be why we're stronger,» Bass Cooper scoffed. «You wouldn't lose every single of your attempts if your pack was more united... How do they say it? A weak Alpha drags his pack down with his wicked ambitions.»

Luciano's face muscles twitched, finally revealing a weak point. He glared at Bass and, anywhere out of there, he would have already punched back. Still, they were in between humans.

All wolves knew very well that, before everything else, they had to keep their existence a secret from human society.

«Honey?» a blonde woman said, waking him up from his daze. «Are you done talking with your friends?»

She walked to Luciano as if she was on a catwalk, perfectly aware of everyone's gaze on her. She clung to his arm, apparently not aware of Luciano's lack of any reaction. He just let her do, almost used to her way of acting.

«Don't you introduce me?» she wondered with her melodious voice.

«They're not my friends,» he said, turning around and showing her the way to the other side of the hall.

Even if her appearance had annoyed him at first, he realised she had actually saved the day. Getting furious because of a watchdog's words would have endangered his position.

Moreover, once calmed down, he had realised something: Nathaniel Woods was raging. If Abigail didn't come to them, Nate would have been the first to react and break the first rule of every wolf.

Was his relationship with Lara Clayton so close? Were they true mates, by any chance? Oh, but the woman was human...

«Abigail, dear, let's go talk with that group there,» he said, fixing his tuxedo and checking his black hair was still perfect.

«Why didn't you introduce me?» the woman asked, pouting. «I wanted to talk with Nathaniel Woods as well...»

«You stupid thing, he's not my friend but an enemy.»

«Enemy? Oh, you businessmen are so extreme! You should call him an opponent, not an enemy!»

She simply ignored his rude words and smiled at some people she knew from afar.

«I can't just introduce people to him, can I? Moreover, I'm sure they all know who you are.»

Abigail rolled her eyes, amazed about how much he could be inelegant even with such looks. What a waste!

«You promised to introduce me to some relevant people, yet you've missed the best chance already! All the rest of these businessmen are not on his level, are they?»

The man scoffed, but he couldn't refrain from asking.

«Why are you after him? After all, he already has a woman by his side.»

«A woman can be changed easily. Who better than you can testify to it?»

After all, CEO Polenta was famous for having a different beauty by his side every day. Abigail had no big dreams about him, all in all. That kind of man was easy to attract, but it was just as easy to lose him. She didn't have the wits to keep him interested for long, mostly because she knew he didn't like her all that much.

She was just decoration for that event, and he had little to no interest in her. He had barely looked at her before getting in, and she suspected that that single glance was only to check she was presentable.

«Nathaniel Woods is someone worth fighting for,» she commented, «because there's a little chance of keeping him by my side if I attract his attention.»

«Abigail, please... Just shut up,» he scoffed.

He should have brought a girl from the pack, after all. People from the entertainment industry were a lot of bothers.

Unbeknownst to them, Roxy and Lara were already chatting about the couple. In fact, they had recognised Abigail at a first glance, even though Lara remembered her younger version from years before.

She hadn't had too much time for TV and entertainment in general after her cubs were born.