After lunch, the kids returned home with Lara. She had to prepare them for a day in a foreign place.

She had to find their backpacks, prepare clothes and all that could be useful.

Also, it was time for them to have a shower! It was so much work. Yet, she was excited about it.

It would have been her kids’ first adventure outside.

Well, not the first because they loved to sneak out and secretly follow her. But they would meet new people and possibly make friends.

With that thought, she started her work. She didn’t know that the LY Corp building was being hit by a storm.

«Who sent her to the sales department?» Nate asked.

Bass Cooper was sitting in front of him, scratching his head and trying to figure out what was the matter.

Roxy, on the other side, was too aware. Yet, she couldn’t sell her husband off. She lowered her head and waited.

«Who sent Lara Clayton in a department filled with young men?» the Alpha repeated, with a calm yet frightening voice.

«It was… It was my idea,» Bass said. «I couldn’t send her to the secretarial department. She had your scent on. The girls are competitive, you know?»

Nate calmed down, and Roxy sighed in relief. It looked like Bass could get out of the situation on his own.

«So, you thought sending her in sales was a good idea?»

«No, it was the only place that came to mind. By the way, Miss Clayton expects to be moved by the end of the week, so you just tell us what to do.»

«Why me?»

«Because she’s your lover,» Bass commented with a snigger.

He felt proud for understanding something about his friend and Alpha. He didn’t know that his intuition was old gossip.

«Is she now? How come I wasn’t informed about it?»

«She’s not?»

«No, Bass. She is not.»

«Then why did she come with your scent all over her? What in the world happened?» Roxy asked. She could trust Samantha’s nose. There was no way she was mistaken!

«She slept in my home. But nothing happened.»

«Was it all… Was it all an excuse to have her bring your scent?» she inquired. She was pretty possessive on her own, but Samantha made her understand that Alphas had a whole different level of territoriality.

She did manage Bass to be in his office far from ladies and under her watch, but she would never think of making him carry around a sign of their relationship without him knowing.

«No, it was not just that,» Nate admitted. It was only part of the whole story.

«So… What about the pups? Are they hers?»

«Yes.»

«And? It doesn’t make you want to get rid of them?»

Possessiveness and territoriality were rather different. Sharing a woman with two pups wouldn’t make him happy for sure.

«I can’t get rid of them. How? She would suffer if they weren’t there…»

Roxy raised her eyebrows. It was weird.

Their Alpha was a kind person; he has always been, even before taking the lead of the pack in those difficult times. But caring for a human’s emotions to such a level?

She couldn’t believe he would be so careful around a lover. Most probably one he didn’t see for too long either. Unless…

«Are you planning to introduce her to the pack, Alpha Nate?»

«It’s too soon. She first needs to know all of you and get used to the idea that this place is just a cover. Also, I haven’t convinced her to date me, so it won’t be that easy to have her be the Alpha female. Moreover, as a human, she might just decide not to get involved.»

He was already thinking that far. The situation was more serious than any one of them imagined. Except maybe for Bass, who got it right… Surprisingly.

«You don’t need to introduce her to the pack, but you should find your happiness,» he said, in fact. «I mean, it won’t be easy this way either. She has two pups, after all.»

«About that…» Nate sighed. «That is another part of the story.»

Roxy and Bass looked at him without blinking. They were starting to realise, but they wanted to hear it out loud. What was the matter with the pups?

«They’re mine,» Nate said. «The pups are mine.»

Roxy found a chair to sit on while Bass got up and walked to his friend.

«She’s that woman? Your mate?»

«Yes, Bass.»

«Oh, you lucky bastard! You found her after so long!» He chuckled, patting on Nate’s shoulder. «You don’t need to whine after her anymore, now.»

«She doesn’t have a spare second for me,» Nate pointed out. «I am not that lucky.»

«But you found her, right? It’s better than the other option. And you already have kids together. Whatever happens now won’t be able to separate you anymore.»

«That’s right.»

«Is this why you don’t want to get rid of them? Because they’re yours! Man, and here we were worried about you!»

«Who was worried?»

«We all,» Bass said. «We were afraid you’d stay alone forever!»

«Bass,» Roxy whispered, trying to calm her husband. All that excitement could become dangerous.

«We thought you lost your mate, and here you already have a whole family!»

«It’s not that easy, Bass. I didn’t know about them, and Lara doesn’t seem… ehm… interested.»

«But you have your family. It will turn out well, eventually.»

«Eventually,» Nate replied.

Roxy poured them a glass of water, returning to the matter of importance. Lara still needed a better place to work.

«Where can we employ Miss Clayton?» she asked while delivering the glass to Nate. «For now, she’s working with Samantha. She’s safe and won’t be overworked, but where else can we place her? She’s an accounting assistant, not a reception girl nor a secretary.»

«A secretary, ah?» Nate said.

«I don’t think it’s a wise idea. Especially if Miss Clayton doesn’t know who you are.»

«Oh, right,» he sighed.