The first meeting with the cubs' grandmother hadn't been too bad. Lara was relieved they seemed to accept her, even though their little heads were filled with thoughts on the way back.
They didn't make trouble before going to sleep, so much that she wondered if giving them something to ponder about would have eased her life in the future as well.
Their weird state of mind lasted for the whole weekend, and they turned back to normal only on Monday, when it was time to go to school.
As soon as Lara left them in the kindergarten, Scarlet approached Jaden.
«I have an idea,» she said.
The little boy didn't like the sound of her tone.
«What do you want to do?» he inquired.
«If this works, we will get rid of Nate for good,» she said.
«But... Are you sure you want to get rid of him?»
«I was starting to like him, but he's too dangerous now. Mommy trusts him too much!»
At those words, Jaden widened his eyes. It was true: he saw it with his own eyes.
«But we need help,» the girl pointed out. «Let's go look for ideas.»
That said, they snuggled out of school and wandered in the company. Jaden followed his mother's scent, reaching the floor where Nate worked.
What was she doing there? Why was she so close to Nate even during the day? His sister was right! That man had made huge progress and was going to steal their mommy soon.
He looked around, and his eyes stopped on the man working with a big, grey machine. On one side, papers came out at lightning speed, while on the other, the man was placing other copies to be scanned and copied.
«Ah, damn it,» he murmured when the paper stopped coming out. «It's over...»
He looked around and found the stack with paper sheets. He charged the machine, unknowingly observed by a pair of brown, attentive eyes.
He returned to making copies without worries while Jaden moved on and searched for Scarlet.
He needed some time to find her, and they both wandered in search of inspiration. They used Nate's elevator to reach the third floor, for it was the highest button they could press, right next to the one for Nate's office.
They stumbled upon a scene and decided to hide.
«What are you doing here?» a woman was asking a young girl.
«I need some new pens.»
«They're not in this room!»
«But the manager said: fifth door on the second floor.»
«From the other side of the hallway!» the woman yelled. «This door doesn't work well: you risk locking yourself inside!»
«Oh, you saved me,» the girl sighed. She walked away, reaching the right door and collecting her pens.
«All the paper, pens, and other materials are in this room. You don't need to go to the other one for no reason at all.»
«I know, I know...» the girl mumbled. «I understood well enough.»
«Ah, newbies...» the woman snorted, walking away on her clicking heels.
The pups followed the exchange in secret and talked only when alone.
«I have an idea,» Scarlet said.
«I already know what you're going to say,» Jaden replied. He also had an idea on his own... They just needed to be careful.
«We better split,» he said. «I will wait for mommy to need to make a copy, and then I'll take out the papers. She will come here and choose the wrong door.»
«Exactly,» Scarlet said. «I will push the door, and then we will save her. She will feel bad and run away from Nate.»
«Are you sure it's safe, Scarlet?»
«We will be here! Of course, it will be safe!»
The little girl turned around and reached her position. She left Jaden with the most complicated tasks, waiting in a corner for the right moment to push the door.
A little later, Nate went into his office and couldn't find Lara.
Her scent told him she had left a few minutes before, so he sat at his place and observed the notes she left for him. He was going to ask her out for lunch. It was time to introduce her to the pack, little by little. Spending time together in a crowded place like the canteen was a good starting point.
It would have made a point with the pack without alerting Lara too much.
His eyes flew on the paper in front of his chair, the one he was supposed to read first that afternoon. The sticky note was filled in half, and the right bottom corner was decorated with a heart. He smiled, caressing the tidy writing and that cute sign.
He wanted to put it away immediately, to save it next to her other notes, but it was too early. There was a chance she discovered how he used to collect the words she left for him.
Just while he was enjoying that moment, his senses alerted him of something weird. It was Lara...
She was somewhere, worried or maybe scared.
Her body was sending mixed signals, but he could discern her uneasiness. His soul couldn't bear to just wait for her to come back and ask what happened. It was painful, and every second made it worse.
In the end, he got up and walked out of the office. He followed the trail his mate left, precise like a prophet. It wasn't any physical signal anymore: not her scent, nor any traces she left. He simply knew where to go to reach her.
His instinct guided him to press the button with the number three without asking himself anything. How did he know it? It didn't matter.
Lara was in danger, and he couldn't allow himself to waste even a second.
When the elevator doors opened, he had regained a little of his rationality. He took a step outside, and his attention was attracted by something different from Lara. Even if just for a moment, he could feel traces of a familiar presence.. Better said, two.
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