CEO's Runaway Mate and Her Cubs

Their Alpha had become invincible.

Such a person needed more a companion to soothe his worries than a secretary to solve his problems.

«Even more, she now stays here all day,» he sighed.

He was drinking tea during one of his rare and precious breaks, alone in the resting area of that floor.

Since Lara Clayton would tag along all day, the pups wouldn\'t visit their daddy anymore. They stayed in the kindergarten, and their parents would be alone in the office most of the time.

He hoped to see the twins again, but it didn\'t look possible at the moment.

«We can have lunch all four together,» he heard Alpha Nate say.

The office was on the other end of the hallway, but the door must have been open.

«I\'ll pick them up, Nate. You finish your job...» was Lara Clayton\'s response.

Secretary Jack lifted his eyes from the cup and observed the woman marching out, pressing the button for the CEO\'s elevator, and disappearing towards the school floor.

«Ah,» he sighed.

They were going to visit their daddy\'s office, but he had no chance to play with them.

But... Why was Alpha Nate\'s face so displeased?

The man noticed Jack, and his expression relaxed.

«Jack!» he exclaimed while marching to him. «I have a favour to ask.»

«Yes, CEO Woods?»

«Can you keep the pups after lunch? They will become sleepy either way, so you just have to make sure they don\'t cause any trouble. I wanted to have lunch with my mate, but she...»

His explanations were followed by a heavy sigh.

How could Alpha Nate not like his own pups would have remained a mystery for Secretary Jack.

«Yes, sure, CEO Woods.»

«Ah, but don\'t make it sound like I\'m getting rid of them, okay? Lara would think I\'m taking advantage of my position...»

And wasn\'t that exactly what was happening? Not every employee had a secretary willing to act as a babysitter. Oh, but... The pups were cute enough to accept it.

«You earned a bonus for this month, Jack. It\'s not even the first time that you have saved me like this!»

«Thank you,» he replied.

Not that he needed money to happily play with pups all day. It was easier than solving issues related to the company. And it was pleasant: the pups were so well-behaved that it was weird Alpha Nate didn\'t like them.

After making sure the twins were settled, Nate returned to his office with a grin. Lunchtime was going to be family time, but he had no intention of keeping the pests around in the afternoon.

Returning them to the kindergarten had been his first idea, but it would have sounded like getting rid of them. His improvements with Lara weren\'t stable enough to do something like that.

As for spending time with them, he was already doing enough. He learned how to help the pups get ready in the morning, even how to comb Scarlet\'s hair. He was improving his storytelling skills for the bedtime stories.

All small things compared to what Lara did, he knew it. But it was his starting point. Other than providing them with everything they needed, he was still uncertain about his role.

One pup at a time was still manageable to him.

He knew what Jaden wanted the most, and he liked explaining things to him. The pup\'s defences would disappear when learning something new.

Scarlet was still a mystery. With her, Nate had the suspicion he was getting the shorter end of the stick, that he was the one being won over. Especially when she acted all cute... But she reminded him of Lara, and she had her own special charm. He hadn\'t done any research yet, but he suspected it was that phenomenon he heard about from humans: Scarlet was becoming a daddy\'s girl.

Still, when the pups were together, there was a wall between them. They either would use him to prevent Lara from being hurt, taken away, or distracted by other potential suitors. Or they would growl at him, glare, bite and pout.

Roxy\'s advice had helped him win a family, but he was struggling at putting it together.

When Lara returned, one pup holding each of her hands, he was ready for lunch. He had asked the cooks to deliver it in his office, for he had a dining room on that floor.

Lunching all together in the cafeteria had helped the pack get to know Lara, but he couldn\'t bear that pressure all the time. Whenever he appeared in one of the common spaces, all the eyes would fix on him. It was natural, for he was an Alpha, but it was also exhausting.

It was better to appear only for brief periods, at least until Lara\'s presence would have helped the pack fear him less.

It was already working, by the way! He could feel it, even though vaguely. His pack still respected him, but the lingering fear of his strength was disappearing slowly.

He could talk with the caretaker at the kindergarten without the girl sweating cold. Sometimes, the secretaries could deliver messages without their voice trembling - even though rarely.

The sales agents were the most surprising. He had smiled at a group of them one morning, and they had returned the smile and greeted him, politely yet warmly. As if they were friends.

Nate was no fool, and he knew what was happening. Lara was taking the place of the Alpha female without realising it. Still, he had no intention of stopping her.

It took him a while to erase the evil grin on his face, but he managed just in time. When the door opened and his family stormed in, he was back to normal.

«What are we eating?» Scarlet asked, and his heart let go of all the machinations for the time being.