CEO's Runaway Mate and Her Cubs

After the whole morning in pain, Samantha could get up only past noon. She had a shower and got rid of the bedclothes stained with her tears and blood. She found a clean set and got the bed ready for Amanda. That girl would need a place to sleep during the night, after all.

She checked her face and found out it was just as horrible as she felt it, and she sighed while walking into the living room. She could eat something random from the fridge and then go buy real food for the teen girl.

When she stepped into the living room, though, she found Amanda stirring something in a pot. She turned to Samantha and looked at her before checking again what supposedly was some soup. She lowered the intensity of the stove before stepping away to clean the table.

«I hope you don't mind that I'm using your kitchen,» she said. «It's almost done, and you nee

Instead of glaring at her for the confidence of using her few and weird utensils, for dirtying her kitchen and buying groceries without permission, Samantha's mouth opened before closing again. Her swollen eyes filled with tears, and she started sobbing again.

Why was Amanda so similar to Renato in that environment? They both had cooked for her...

Before Samantha could run away again, Amanda reached out to her hand. She didn't do it on purpose, so she winced and closed her eyes, waiting to be pushed.

Still, Samantha didn't do anything. She stood there, crying like a baby and wondering what had she done wrong to deserve all that pain. Why couldn't she even step into the living room without being reminded of him?

«I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I won't do anything like this again! I'll sit in a corner and wait for my brother,» Amanda blurted out, her eyes wide in fear. «Please, don't send me away! I don't want to go back.»

Both the girls were in an unstable condition, one crying and the other trembling in panic. They looked at each other for a long while before recognising what the other was feeling.

Samantha didn't want to send her away, Amanda realised.

And Amanda was trembling like a pup because of the things they had done to her, was Samantha's thought.

They both were broken, even though for different reasons.

They stared at each other for a long moment before splitting their hands and bowing their heads. Samantha's sobbing decreased for a moment before returning frequent and bothersome. Amanda's trembling fingers, though, calmed down.

She did fear going back, but she also couldn't look at Samantha like that. If her presence reminded her of Renato, she would prefer to stay in another place.

«I will call and tell him I want to go,» she murmured. «I'll be somewhere else alone. It's not like anyone will actually look for me, right? I'm just expendable.»

«No,» Samantha sighed, even though she couldn't talk because of the sobbing. «S-stay.»

She turned to leave, to stay alone until returning presentable, but she couldn't move. She didn't want to be seen like that, but she couldn't bear another second alone in her room.

In the end, Amanda took the decision for both.

She circled around Samantha until she could look her in the eye.

«It's nothing, really. I can go. Just wait for the soup to be ready, so you have something to eat.»

Only then Samantha could think about things, a little calmer. Even though she was still crying, she realised. What the brats had done to Amanda must have been as severe as to cause trauma. Moreover, during a war, Omegas were the first to be left behind when things went wrong.

She couldn't allow Amanda to be hurt even if she was angry with Rider.

«Come here,» Samantha said, spreading her arms.

When she was feeling bad, every time, he would hug her. And it would work. Maybe, she could comfort his sister in the same way.

«You've been through a lot, haven't you?» she added while Amanda accepted the hug.

«You too,» the other sighed, letting go of some tension.

Instead of calming them, the hug made all their weaknesses resurface. They cried together. Neither felt awkward nor shy about it. After all, they already knew about it before.

Samantha was as desperate as to hurt herself and stay in bed for the whole day because of a man. And Amanda was as alone and frightened as to shiver every time she mentioned going back.

Even after the war. Even if her place was returned to her. She couldn't think of going back and just resuming her normal life.

Samantha couldn't think of breathing, let alone continuing with her job, her life, and keeping her place in the pack. She had betrayed them, in some way. She had done what she thought she never would.

The girls stayed close until the timer of the kitchen sounded, signalling it was time to turn the stove off. They had to separate, to avoid burned food and turn that annoying sound off.

Samantha sat at the table, collecting the pieces of vegetables left in a single heap. She wiped her tears and took a breath, recollecting all the things she didn't do while she was in pain.

Amanda, meanwhile, washed the dishes and felt her heart beating again. Renato had brought her to Samantha because he trusted her. He knew she wouldn't hurt his sister.

She was safe next to Samantha, even in the enemy's territory.

However... What was that about kidnapping people? And the war? She hadn't heard anything about it until her getaway with Lucretia.

Her personal situation became less relevant while she wondered what would happen to her parents... To her brother. To the rest of the pack!

War was such a gruesome word, and wolves knew how to make it even more bloody. During pack fights, sometimes things could get violent. However, there weren't casualties if things were under control.

But during a war, no one cared about something as feeble as a life.