CEO's Runaway Mate and Her Cubs

«Oh...» Scarlet moaned, observing the last two bites of cotton candy she had managed to leave.

Jaden had left almost a third of his portion, and he was the first among them to remember to leave some for their mommy.

Scarlet, on the other hand, had almost finished hers when the boy had proudly announced he was going to share his candy with their mommy.

As such, she had decided not to finish it.

Still, Jaden\'s was prettier to look at. And she was worrying hers would disappear if she didn\'t find her mommy soon.

«We can leave the cotton candies somewhere and bring them to your mother later,» Nate tried, but both the kids shook their heads.

One didn\'t want to leave her candy anywhere out of her reach, while the other just wanted some love from his mommy.

«She\'s not feeling well, pups,» he sighed, a little annoyed.

Were they always so intruding? How could Lara manage five years with those two pests always hanging on to her?

Since they didn\'t seem to agree to any compromise, he went upstairs with them, settled on making it as short and painless as he could.

For sure, a little sugar wouldn\'t have hurt Lara\'s head even more.

Melanie smiled at them, but she didn\'t say anything. To her, it was obvious that Lara didn\'t just have a headache. She was all fine while they were talking that afternoon. Could it be something she said?

Oh, quite unlikely. Even after their conversation, Lara seemed still all right. It was something that happened later... Maybe a piece of bad news?

She couldn\'t know, and she didn\'t have the closeness to inquire about it. All she could do was prepare a cup of tea and tell Nate to deliver it.

«If she\'s not in pain physically, please... Just be careful,» Melanie sighed.

Women, especially human women, were delicate creatures. Their souls were as fragile as their bodies, and a wolf used to command his pack and solve things with power and quick decisions wasn\'t ready to deal with sensitive states of mind.

Nate just nodded, not even thinking his mother had suspicions on her own. He knew his mate well, after all. Lara was like a rock.

Her headache must have been because of stress.

As soon as he crossed the door, though, he realised something was not quite right. Before he could stop the children from running to her, they were next to her bed already.

«Mommy, mommy!» Scarlet shouted, forgetting that she was supposed to whisper next to a patient. «I brought you some of my cotton candy!»

«Hmm?» Lara moaned, turning on the bed and looking at what remained of the cubs\' sweets. «Oh, mommy\'s girl is so generous today.»

She pecked her forehead and accepted the stick.

She then turned to Jaden and kissed his head as well.

«And mommy\'s boy is as caring as usual,» she added.

After all, whatever they brought back to her was something they didn\'t eat themselves. Especially for wolves, it was difficult to set food apart for other people.

«Mommy loves you both,» she continued, hugging them and biting the first one and then the other candy.

She wasn\'t in the mood for sweet food, but her cubs were watching with expectation.

«Hmm... Delicious,» she added with a frail smile.

Only then did she notice Nate standing at the door.

«Hello,» he said, showing her the cup. «Would you like something hot to drink?»

«Sure.» She nodded, moving the covers away and sitting on the bed. «Come in.»

Differently from her cubs, he had stopped at the door and waited for her permission before barging in. Oh, well, he was an adult after all.

«How are you feeling?»

«I have a little headache,» she sighed. «It will pass soon. I just need to rest.»

«Do you want something? We don\'t have medicine, but I can look for a pharmacy! Or maybe call a doctor...»

«No, Nate. Thank you, but it\'s really nothing.»

He left the cup on the bedside table and rubbed the twins\' heads.

«Shall we go now?» he asked. «Your mother needs to rest. You can talk with her later, okay?»

They nodded, pouting. They felt a little abandoned: if their mommy suffered, they wanted to be with her and hug her until it passed. Just like she did with them when they needed it!

«Kids, go look for your grandmother now,» Nate added. «She must have prepared... Oh, forget it. It\'s better not to eat sweets anymore for today. Just go down and watch some TV, will you?»

Their pouts became even more desperate, but they turned on their feet and walked out.

As soon as they were alone, Nate sat on the bed. He pressed a hand on Lara\'s forehead and checked she had no fever. It was just an excuse to stay because he knew very well she had no fever.

Her body, as much as he could sense, was fine.

«You\'re don\'t have a headache,» he said in the end.

Melanie would have strangled him if she heard. He was doing exactly what she had told him not to.

It was evident: Lara was faking a headache. But it was also evident that she had her reasons for that.

She just nodded, remembering that she could not lie to a wolf. He would catch her lies, and she would feel worse when her mood was back to normal.

«I\'d just like to stay alone. That\'s why...»

«What happened?»

What could have happened in a few hours? She didn\'t get out of the residence, and she was supposed to be safe there!

«Has my mother said something? Hey, you don\'t have to listen to her, Lara... I don\'t know what happened, but whatever problem you have, we can fix it. We can move to the penthouse if you prefer...»

As a response, she just sighed.