CEO's Runaway Mate and Her Cubs

Lara remembered the events as if she was living them again, so vividly that it was scary. Even more than forgetting, maybe.

She was still holding her glass, the cocktail filling it to half. Nate was in front of her, and he looked... Oh, at the time, she couldn't know it, but he was worried.

She didn't know what a man like him was doing at the party, but seeing his younger self made her smile at the memory. His hair was messy, his eyes unresting. They widened when he saw her, and she stopped in her steps. They exchanged a long, meaningful look.

Then, Nate walked away from the people he was with and approached her. Without any trace of reluctance, he offered his hand.

The music was loud, preventing them from talking. However, they didn't need words to communicate. They knew they were safe with each other without the need to say it out loud.

Lara took his hand and smiled when she noticed it was warmer than hers. She left the glass with her drink on a table nearby while they started walking to the door. They got out from the side door, far from the line of people still waiting to get in.

The bodyguard at that entrance threw a few glances at them but didn't say a thing. He just observed the surroundings to avoid someone taking the chance to sneak in.

«It's calmer here,» Nate said.

Lara nodded, shivering at the cold air. It was late autumn, and the weather had been hot for a long while. That night was the first with some chilly air, or maybe it was because she was far from Sheton.

She hadn't brought a jacket with her, but she didn't need it as badly.

However, when Nate noticed how she hugged her arms, rubbing them to provide some warmth, he frowned.

His mate was feeling cold: he couldn't let her freeze!

He took off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders without asking permission. Only later did he wonder whether that had been too forward with a human. Still, she was freezing: priorities were priorities.

Then, when she looked up at him with surprise, he smiled back.

«Hey, it's chilly here. What do you think about going somewhere else?»

It did sound like a trap. It was so, so obvious. However, she stared at him in awe. His smile was so fascinating, full of meanings she most likely was just imagining.

She didn't know him. Following him who knows where was dangerous. But she wanted to go. Wherever.

She took his hand again, and he guided her to a luxurious car.

Later, Lara would realise she hadn't seen that specific car yet. Maybe, Nate had sold it and bought the new models he had at the moment.

However, she didn't know a thing back then. Just that it was so shiny and looked costly even from afar.

He opened the door for her and offered his arm to help her sit.

Just like a damsel in distress, she had accepted his help. Even when he bowed down to fasten her seatbelt, she had found nothing wrong with it. She let him do whatever, feeling treasured by his court actions.

After that day, had she ever allowed him to do so again? Not that she could remember - but, then again, her memories weren't reliable.

He closed the door, being extra-cautious of her. He circled around the car and sat on the driver's seat. He started the engine and, glancing at her every couple of seconds, drove away in the city.

He was staying in a hotel. He was there for business, and he was worried because of everything: the pack was in a difficult position after the death of their previous Alpha. However, as much as he wanted to take revenge, he had to let go.

His pack couldn't survive it. They needed to be fortified first, to find their balance. With some luck, the appearance of his mate would have helped him. They could stabilise the pack together, even if she was human. He would have done anything in his power to make her happy, and she would have accepted to love the others as well.

That was all he could think of.

Lara, meanwhile, openly stared at him. She had never felt so attracted to anyone before. She had started to think that she was frigid or weird, but there it was: a man who could light up every cell in her body. Seemingly, she was just hard to please.

But with his looks, that mysterious man would have conquered anyone in a single blink. And she was smitten, she knew it. It was late to regret, and she couldn't be wary while having him so close.

His presence was intoxicating, so much that all she could think of was how good it felt to have him all for her. Weirdly enough, that thought didn't trigger any warning in her brain.

She was just sitting in a car, for goodness's sake. Yet, she felt like she had some claim on that man.

So much that she didn't need to talk, to ask him questions. She didn't care about his job or his name. Not even what he was doing at that club and whether his friends would have been unhappy that he left them without a word.

She was so lost in contemplation that she didn't even wonder about her own friends. Would they be worried? No, they had gone far from Sheton so they could be free to party without worries, after all. She had tagged along because they needed someone who could be vigil after they were completely wasted, yet she was the first... oh, second! She was the second to disappear.

«We're here,» the man said after parking.

«Nice,» she murmured. It was the first word she said to him.

She didn't find it strange that he could understand her even when she didn't talk.