CEO's Runaway Mate and Her Cubs

«Let's go eat, now,» Melanie said, at some point.

She sighed, hiding her relief from Luther. Her heart had skipped a beat when Scarlet had used the word pack. But, how could she explain it was the wrong one in front of Luther? It had been just a moment, and he couldn't understand the whole thing just like that.

However, the pups needed urgent teaching. They knew they couldn't show ears and fangs in public places: Nate had been clear about it. But what about their home when they weren't alone? That was difficult.

How to explain they could do what they wanted in front of Samantha or Roxy but not their grandpa? And it would also be difficult to write a list of words to avoid without forgetting any.

She couldn't say pups but kids, and she could understand it. But Scarlet and Jaden? They were only five.

She had to tell Nate and Lara about the little incident so they could plan a strategy for their education. But, for the moment, her priority was to avoid another misstep while Luther was with them.

Maybe, calling him to watch over the twins together hadn't been so smart. All things considered, they were calm and lovely with her. She didn't need his help as much as to risk being discovered.

The biggest taboo of the wolf community was telling a human about their secret. The only exceptions were mates.

Letting him discover and possibly spread the news was out of the question. A risk too high to take, especially since she knew Luther was planning revenge against the Clayton family. He would use anything at their disposal and, as much as she liked thinking of him as a friend, she couldn't trust him. She'd better be careful next time and avoid dangerous conversations and hot topics.

Even though flowers were the furthest topic from wolves she could imagine. How could Scarlet connect a bouquet of flowers with a pack of wolves would have stayed a mystery.

She had cooked a lot of meat for dinner, but she wasn't too worried about the pups' manners. In front of strangers or new people, they would eat properly. Nothing to do with the show when Nate was with them. Those were special occasions they would use to do their worst.

Especially when they were taken care of by their father. They loved seeing him struggle. With their mommy, they were somewhere in between spoiled babies and big kids.

Either way, it wouldn't be much of a hassle if they were messy. They were five, she reminded herself. Luther wouldn't find anything weird with it.

However, that day, both waited for the maids to cut their steak before eating with their small forks. Luther observed the scene with a keen eye and praised them for their manners.

«Lara taught you well,» he said. «You two have flawless table manners.»

The twins giggled, happy to be praised in the same sentence as their mommy. They liked behaving when grandpa Luther was nearby.

He would find everything they did surprising, and he was also fun to listen to. He knew a lot of things and would sometime whisper to the twins as if they were sharing a secret.

So much closeness made them feel happy. And they loved how much he resembled their mommy. He had a nice scent, and he was always kind.

As such, they did their best to make him proud at dinner. They even cleaned their mouths before drinking.

Their mommy would focus more on other details, but grandma Melanie had told them to do so before drinking not to leave traces on the glass. They had observed their mommy in secret and found out that everything she told them was true: their mommy would do it!

Especially when Nate was with them. She was a little more relaxed when they were alone.

«You two eat rare meat?» Luther asked, at some point.

«I don't think it's rare, grandpa,» Scarlet said.

«No?» he chuckled. He waited for her words, knowing she would say something he would remember for the rest of his life.

That girl was so full of ideas and philosophical questions.

«It's not rare. We have meat every day!» she said, in fact.

Melanie chuckled but didn't say anything. She waited for Luther to solve it just like with the flowers. It was calming, to watch them interact.

«Rare meat is when it's cooked pink like this. Some people find it displeasing, so it's a surprise you two can eat without frowning.»

«We like this more than when mommy cooks too much,» Jaden pointed out. «Don't you like it, grandpa?»

«I do, too. Just, I haven't seen children so disciplined before. You eat whatever is cooked for you.»

They blinked, not knowing how to reply. They wouldn't eat everything, and their mommy had to insist for them to munch some salad. Luckily, their grandma would cook what they liked when they were with her.

«It's a little raw, so you feel the scent of blood,» Luther continued. «But you two bear with it.»

«Why?» Scarlet muttered. «Don't you like the blood?»

«Not really,» he said.

«But it's what makes the meat good,» Scarlet said. «It's tastier, and I feel full after eating.» Find more chapters on empire

He sighed, noticing the same reaction of that afternoon in Melanie. She was worried, sitting straight and trying to hide it but still sweating.

There was something, definitely. Which kids would say they like blood? Even more: how could they be sure that was the scent of blood? So clearly as to know it was what made rare meat special?

They knew it would disappear with cooking, and they liked it raw.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Weird kids, that was sure. However, they didn't see anything wrong with their words. The one overreacting - every time - was Melanie. Even when Luther wouldn't feel anything amiss if it wasn't for her reaction. She was hiding something while the twins were being transparent with him.

But, what could it be?