CEO's Runaway Mate and Her Cubs

Nate gave the orders and sent Lara to another room to wait for him. After thorough consideration, he realised it was time she could meet the other pups in the pack.

She could train her instinct before becoming the Alpha Female and being a reference figure for the younger part of the pack.

«You can talk with the teacher and get more familiar with how they deal with ferocious beasts... I mean, with the pups all day. It might be useful in the future.»

«Sure!» Lara exclaimed, too enthusiastic for Nate's taste. He was expecting at least a few complaints.

«Sure?»

«Yes, I was so curious. It's time I find out how to deal with the twins even when they grow up a little. Who better than the teacher can help me?»

«The caretaker can tell you everything, but don't feel disappointed if our kids aren't as easy as the others. I mean, Jaden and Scarlet are good kids. They follow your rules and all. It's just that, with me...»

He sighed, wondering what had pushed him to shoot in his feet like that.

«I know, Nate,» Lara replied. «They haven't accepted you fully yet, and they're trying to exploit you while they can. It looks like they haven't thought yet that you'll stay with us forever. But it will change. Sooner or later, you'll become part of their lives just as much as I am.»

He remembered a word Samantha had said, and he bet his cards on his cousin. She was loved by the pups, and Lara liked her as well.

«They are adorable,» he tried.

Lara just chuckled, waving her hand before leaving the office to reach the kindergarten.

Nate simply took out his documentation and started working in preparation for the long afternoon. He had a lot of work, and he wanted to go home at a reasonable hour.

Meanwhile, Lara couldn't hide a smile at the sight of ten kids all in the same room. Her cubs were in another one, and the caretaker had thought to let her meet the youngest group first. Those were calmer and less wolfish, so things wouldn't have gotten out of control too suddenly.

Much to her surprise, the pups weren't annoyed or ignoring Lara's appearance like they would do with parents who weren't theirs.

As soon as Lara walked in, in fact, ten pairs of eyes had turned in their direction.

«Oh, this is new,» the caretaker said with an embarrassed chuckle. «They usually ignore adults...»

«How cute,» Lara sighed. «Mine were just like this... Well, they aren't much bigger now. But they were small and cute, and they would crawl on the floor exactly like they are!»

«Crawling on the floor,» the young woman repeated, a thrill of dread crossing her spine. Why were even the shiest and the laziest pups interested in Lara?

She had to be careful, or the Alpha would have been mad... But the pups...

«Hey, hello,» Lara said when the closest one reached her. The little one - a boy with big round eyes - pulled her trousers, she crouched down and patted his head.

She didn't hear a word, but she obtained a big smile in response. The boy closed his eyes and let her pat him just like her cubs would do.

«Isn't your job awesome?» Lara continued, giving some of her attention to the others who had joined. At some point, her knees started hurting, and she sat down next to them.

«Awesome isn't precise, but it's not bad. I mean, they are good, just not like this all the time.»

Has she ever seen ten pups smiling at the same time? Not even one crying? Never.

«Ah, is this for me?» Lara murmured when one gave her his toy.

A little girl got up and took a step, a little uncertain, and she pushed the toy away with an angry expression. She then replaced it in Lara's hand with one of hers.

«Oh, I see,» Lara murmured, catching her before she fell after losing balance. «We're going to play together now.»

All the kids had between one and two years, some maybe even younger. They were silent but seemed to move better than usual human kids. Just like hers, their words weren't many but their actions helped them with communication.

«They don't talk, do they?» she asked.

«Some do, but not much. Wolves don't like words as much as they like scents and glances. It's in our nature.»

«I see. My kids were like this, and I was worried at first. But they could tell me everything, somehow. It's not like they needed to talk so badly, did they? And they learned to talk well soon after turning two, so I stopped worrying until... Well, until the growling.»

The caretaker sat down as well, observing that group of calm - even though slightly competitive - group of pups. So small, needy, and completely foreign to most pack dynamics. Yet, they could feel who they were playing with. They had reached their new Alpha Female without delay, and they needed less time than anyone else to make her accept them at the same time.

«This one,» the caretaker remembered, catching one round and blond kid. «This one is Manager Cooper's daughter.»

«His and Roxy's, right? Those two are married...»

«Yes, that's correct.»

«I see. She's their youngest... Oh, Manager Cooper told me he had kids, and that they would be very clingy during the first days in the kindergarten. He said it's normal that they ask for attention at home and not to worry.»

«Manager Cooper is a nice person. Sometimes, he is... Uhm... busy with stuff. But he always inquires whether everything is good. Roxy works full-time at the office, so he's the one walking to the other departments to ask for issues to solve.»

Said like that, it didn't sound as if Roxy would send her husband as an errand boy to ask around, did it? The caretaker didn't want problems with the high-ranking wolves in the pack, so she wouldn't have explained in detail how things worked in the HR department.